“Axel—”
“Shh.” He wrapped an arm around her.
She burrowed against him. He felt so good, so strong. She fought to keep her breathing quiet.
Then she heard the thud of heavy footsteps, followed by several deep grunts. The Minotaur slowed, right outside where they were hiding.
Oh. God. Her lungs locked and Axel gave her a comforting squeeze. He was calm, focused. She wondered how many times he’d been in a situation like this, behind enemy lines, his life hanging in the balance as he fought for his country.
There were more snorts right near the doorway to their room, then a crunching sound as the Minotaur stepped on something. Then it bellowed and headed down the corridor.
Nat slumped against Axel, and he held her close. His mouth landed on hers—the kiss hot and hard.
An angry, frustrated roar echoed off the walls.
The Minotaur was still close and not happy.
“The Hannibal Syndicate is down here as well,” Axel whispered. “I want to get you out, right now.”
She nodded. She was so done with the Syndicate.
“I’ll get you to the stairs. You head up. The team’s on their way. I’m going to keep the Minotaur busy so it doesn’t come after you—”
She shook her head. “No.”
He frowned. “Nat—”
“No, I’m not leaving you. I’m in love with you, Axel Eduardo Diaz. Just as you are. I don’t care what happened before, or what you did, except that it made you the brave, heroic man you are today.” She kissed his jaw. “You mean the world to me, so I can’t leave you.”
His face changed. “Fuck.” He yanked her closer and gave her another intense kiss that, despite the crappy circumstances, she felt everywhere.
“I love you.” His voice was shaky.
She sucked in a breath. “Axel…” Tears welled in her eyes and her chest was so tight.
“Thought that would make you happy.”
“It does.” A tear slid down her cheek. “It’s just, no one’s ever said that to me before.”
“What?” he breathed.
“No one,” she whispered.
He yanked her close. “Your fucking parents—”
She clutched him tighter.
“You own my heart, Natalie,” he said. “And what’s left of my soul. I’ve never given them to anyone before.”
“Oh, Axel. I want them. I want all of you.” She cupped his cheeks. “But I’m still not leaving you down here.”
“Fuck.”
“So, we need a plan to trap the Minotaur,” she said.
Axel dragged in a breath. “I saw a room back in the other hall with a blast door on it. If we can lure it in, it might hold it.”
She nodded. “And I can be the bait.”
“Hell, no.” His voice turned furious. “If you think I’m going to finally find the woman of my dreams, then let an ancient monster take her, forget it.”
She smiled. “Woman of your dreams, huh?”
He sank a hand into her hair. “Yes. Now, let’s get to that room and think up a better plan.”
They crept out of their hiding place and down the corridor. The place was so damp and filled with decay that she had trouble imagining it in its heyday, with Churchill striding the corridors.
Axel pulled her around a corner. From somewhere close by, she heard the murmur of voices. Damn, the Syndicate were close.
Axel jerked his head and she saw the room. It had a sturdy, metal door and some sort of rusted equipment inside.
“Looks like some sort of utility room,” he said.
She nodded. “This might work.”
“Now, we need—”
The loud sound of gunfire echoed down the corridor.
Axel tensed and stepped in front of her.
“Is it our team?” she whispered.
He touched his ear. “Lachlan, you receiving?”
No response.
The Minotaur’s roar mingled with deeper shouts in Russian and French.
“Dammit, sounds like our friends are close,” Axel muttered.
“I hate those guys.”
“Come on, we can’t stay here.”
He peeked out, then pulled her back into the corridor.
“We can’t let them take the Minotaur,” she said.
“I know, but the new plan is to keep everyone busy until Lachlan and the others arrive.” He rounded another corner…and almost ran into a merc.
Nat screamed and Axel charged. The two men slammed into each other. The hard thuds of punches and blows made her wince, but damn, watching Axel fight was something. He slammed the man into the wall, and the merc grabbed his throat, slumping to the floor.
An angry roar echoed off the walls. The creature was close.
“It’s coming!” she cried.
* * *
Axel snatched up the merc’s dropped rifle, grabbed Nat’s hand, and ran down the corridor. They were lost in a maze of rooms and corridors.
Dammit, he needed Nat safe.
Shouts and another roar from the Minotaur reverberated behind them. He glanced back. Hannibal Syndicate mercs were firing on the beast. The Minotaur charged through a wall, plaster flying everywhere. It grabbed a merc and snapped him like a twig.
“Come on.” Axel barreled through a room. He needed to stash Nat somewhere, but didn’t want her trapped. Bullets hit the wall beside them. Axel ducked and heard her make a strangled sound. He threw himself over her, doing his best to shield her.
He felt a burning sear on his arm. He grunted.
“Are you hit?” Her dark eyes were wide and panicked.
“Just my arm.”
“Oh, my God, you’ve been shot!”
“I’ve had worse, Nat.”
She glared. “Why do you guys always say that and expect it will make me feel any better?”
Hannibal Syndicate mercs came into view, fighting the Minotaur. Vernier spotted Nat and Axel, and lifted a rifle.
Fuck. Axel aimed his borrowed rifle—a modified HK416—and fired. He saw more mercs thundering down the corridor.
He shoved Nat into another room. “Go, go.”
She crawled across the dirty floor. Her face was set, and she was fighting back her fear. Damn, he loved this woman.
Axel turned and slammed the wooden door closed. He blocked it with an old filing cabinet and chair.
The door handle rattled.
“Here.” He handed his spare SIG Sauer to her.
“Axel…” She swallowed and then rose to kiss him.
Her gaze dropped to his bleeding arm, and he saw her face go white.
“Here.” She gripped the bottom of his sleeve and with a few grunts, managed to rip it off. She tied it around the wound.
“I was hoping you’d take your shirt off to tend my wound.”
She rolled her eyes. “Trust you to be making sexual innuendos at a time like this.”
“With you around, I’m always thinking about sex.”
There was color in her cheeks now. “After we get out of here, and all of this is over, I’ll let you do whatever you want.”
The door rattled on its hinges, and despite the dire circumstances, his cock hardened. He groaned. “You’re so mean.” He cocked his head. “Anything?”
“Anything.”
He smiled. “In addition to my sexy librarian fantasy, I’ve always imagined you in a tiny French maid’s outfit—”
Bullets slammed through the door.
Shit. Axel dragged her down, pressing her to the floor with his body. He scanned around. “We need to get behind that table.”
They scrambled over to it and Axel tipped it over. A second later, the damaged door flew open.
Axel popped up and fired his weapon. The first merc through slammed to the floor.
“Your team never arrived,” Vernier shouted from the hall.
“I’d watch your six, Vernier,” Axel yelled.
“Don’t warn them,” Nat growled.
“We will take the Minotaur and Dr. Blackwell. She’ll be our means to control it.”
“Fuck you,” Nat yelled.
Axel couldn’t stop his smile. “The lady said no. Besides, she’s mine. No one else can have her.”
“That’s so alpha male and sexist.” She smiled. “And sexy.”
Another hero with a shotgun raced through the door. Boom.
The shotgun bullet tore part of the table away and Nat screamed. Axel shoved her down and waited as the man cocked the shotgun again. He rose and fired his rifle. Bam. A head shot took the merc down.
“We already have the Minotaur,” Vernier yelled.
Damn. Axel looked at Nat.
“If Dr. Blackwell walks out, we’ll let her live, and you as well.”
Axel snorted. Yeah, right.
Nat chewed her lip. “Maybe I should—”
“Over my dead body. You’re mine. End of story.”
Her eyes brimmed with tears. “I don’t want you to die here.”
“Not on today’s agenda.”
Suddenly, deafening roars filled the corridor. It was followed by several curses. The Minotaur charged into the doorway. It grabbed a merc and tossed him against the wall. Then it entered the room, its gaze falling on Nat.
Axel ran through every curse he knew in every language. The beast stepped closer.
Damn thing had fixated on her.
“Hold up, big guy.” Axel edged closer to Nat and she gripped his arm.
The Minotaur growled.
“Sorry, she’s mine, buddy.”
“Mark,” she said softly. “Let us help you.”
All of a sudden, Vernier ran through the door with a huge, machete-type knife in his hands. Several more mercs followed behind him.
“Watch out!” Nat screamed.
The Minotaur whirled. Vernier attacked, and the machete slid into the beast’s gut. Its roar shook the walls.
With a vicious swing, the Minotaur backhanded Vernier. The merc leader slammed into the wall at a bad angle, and his spine snapped audibly.
Nat gasped and looked away.
The mercs all froze, uncertain what to do now that their leader was down.
The Minotaur turned to face Nat and Axel.
Axel pulled her into his arms. “I love her. I’ll protect her with everything I have.”
She tilted her head up. “Axel.”
“You’re the most important thing in my world. I’ll be your shield from anything that wants to hurt you. Your parents, bad guys, and that includes mythical monsters.”
The Minotaur made a strangled sound, then dropped to one knee. It touched its bleeding gut wound. Then it grabbed the machete and with a roar, yanked it out. More blood flowed down its abdomen.
“It’s hurt,” she whispered.
Axel didn’t give a fuck, but he reminded himself that this had once been a man who’d never asked for this.
All of a sudden, more gunfire sounded out in the hall.
Hell. Axel spun Nat behind him. He couldn’t fight off more mercs and stop the Minotaur if it attacked.
“Axel? Nat? Where are you?” Lachlan’s voice called from the hall.
Nat’s shoulders sagged in relief.
“Damn glad you guys finally showed up,” Axel yelled.
“Hate to miss a party,” Blair replied.
There was the sound of vicious fighting out in the hall. Axel itched to go and help his team, but with the injured Minotaur focused on him and Nat, he didn’t dare move.
The mercs in the room with them shifted, looking undecided. The Minotaur’s head turned to look at them and they froze again.
Then there was silence from the corridor.
Lachlan stepped through the doorway, CXM raised. The rest of the team followed him in.
“Well,” Axel said. “You’re in luck, Blair. There are several more Hannibal Syndicate mercs right here and ready to party.”
“Oh, goodie.” Blair eyed the frozen men, then her gaze hit the Minotaur, and she stiffened.
Chapter Nineteen
Nat was so damn glad to see Team 52.
She watched Smith kick a merc and swat the weapon out of the man’s hands. The merc went down under a hail of blows.
Blair leaped on another merc, and with some blinding-fast moves, sent the man crashing to the ground.
“Badass,” Nat murmured.
“They sure are,” Axel said.
A deep, pained groan made her turn to the Minotaur. It was still kneeling on the floor, the knife wound bleeding badly. It turned its head and its gaze met Nat’s.
Its eyes were filled with pain.
Nat crawled across the floor.
“Nat.” Axel bit out.
She stopped by the Minotaur, Axel right beside her.
“He’s really hurt.” A pool of blood was forming under the creature.
“Don’t touch the blood,” Axel warned. “It might contain the virus.”
The Minotaur’s big chest shuddered. More mercs suddenly appeared at the door, and Callie and Seth swiveled to fire on them.
“They’re like rats,” Seth spat. “They just keep coming out of the shadows.”
Suddenly, the Minotaur tipped to the side, falling to the floor.
Nat shifted closer, and Axel tensed.
She gingerly touched the Minotaur’s chest.
“Nat—”
But the beast didn’t attack. Instead, at her touch, air shuddered out of it with a sigh.
Lachlan stepped into view, CXM aimed at the Minotaur.
“It’s okay,” Nat said. “He’s not trying to hurt us.”
The Minotaur’s hand searched the floor, then closed around the machete. It lifted the large blade until it was pressed to its throat. It tried to move, but was too weak to use it.
Oh, no. Nat’s stomach curdled. It wanted to die.
She grabbed its thick wrist. “No. We’ll help you.”
Smith stepped through the door. “Guys, we have a problem. A big one.”
“More mercs?” Lachlan asked.
“Nope,” Smith said. “They’ve rigged the place to blow. They’ve put a bunch of some experimental explosive, that looks like it has more juice than C4, everywhere.”
Lachlan cursed. “How long?”
“Probably not long. I can’t be sure.”
“We have to move,” Lachlan said.
“We need to help him.” Nat squeezed Kitchener’s hand. “I’m so sorry this happened to you. To everyone.”
There was a flare in the beast’s eyes and sympathy flooded her.
Then, the Minotaur’s big hand snapped out. It grabbed the butt of Axel’s SIG out of her hand and pulled.
Axel cursed. The beast ripped the gun free and Axel leaped on top of Nat.
“Get down,” someone yelled.
He pinned her down and there was a single gunshot.
“Axel?” she said.
“It’s okay, mi cielo.” He slowly rose off her.
Nat looked over and bit her lip. The Minotaur had shot himself in the head.
Tears welled. “He never asked for this. Maybe we could have turned him back…”
“I think he knew, Nat. He knew that he couldn’t come back from this. That he couldn’t live with the things he’d done.”
Her gaze flew to his. “Did you ever think of…?” She looked at the Minotaur.
“Maybe, in my darkest moments.” He cupped her cheek. “But I knew that was one way to make sure I never got the chance to make things better. I was lucky, this team gave me purpose. And a smart, sexy, gorgeous woman lit a flame of hope inside me that I wasn’t aware of for a long time. And now, I can live with the past because it led me to you, to our future.”
“I’m going to cry.” Tears welled in her eyes.
“Can you cry once we get out of here?” Smith sounded annoyed. “Remember I mentioned the explosives? Lots of them?”
All of a sudden, a distant boom rattled the floor beneath them.
�
��Move!” Lachlan roared.
Axel grabbed her hand. With her heart pounding like a drum, she sprinted into the hall. The team was right with them.
Together, they all ran toward the stairs.
More booms. Each one was getting closer.
“Hurry,” Lachlan yelled.
They turned a corner. The floor shook wildly, and ahead, a wall blew inward.
“Fuck!” Callie yelled.
“Back it up,” Lachlan ordered.
They backed up and turned down another corridor. Axel was practically towing Nat after him. Another explosion hit, chunks of plaster raining down.
“Keep going,” Blair shouted.
They were all running hard. Nat pulled in some shaky breaths.
A merc staggered out of a doorway holding a gun.
Axel whipped his rifle up and fired. The merc jerked and spun into the wall, before collapsing.
Another explosion almost knocked Nat off her feet. She slammed into Axel.
And then she saw a wall of flame pouring down the corridor right at them.
“Look out!” someone yelled.
The team all dove into the adjacent rooms.
Axel picked Nat up and half tossed her. She hit the floor, just as his big body landed on hers. Flames roared past the doorway.
The inferno died down, and Axel cautiously rose. “Come on.” He pulled her up.
Lachlan appeared. “Everyone okay?”
The rest of the team emerged into the charred hall. Everyone nodded.
More distant booms.
“Let’s get the hell out of here,” Lachlan ground out.
They took off running again and finally reached the stairs. They pounded upward and moments later, raced outside.
Nat almost cried out with joy at seeing the murky London sky. Gray clouds had never looked so good. Her knees gave out and she nearly collapsed, but Axel scooped her into his arms.
His mouth hit hers. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him back with everything she had.
“Everyone, back it up,” Lachlan said.
The ground rumbled, and the squat building started to collapse in on itself. The houses behind it started to tumble as well.
“Oh, my God, what if there are people in there?” Nat said.
“Brooks was evacuating them,” Lachlan told her. “As a precaution.”
Nat clung to Axel as they pulled back to the other side of the road. With the team, they watched as the buildings collapsed into the exploded tunnels with a deafening crash. All that was left behind was a large crater of rubble.
Mission: Her Shield: Team 52 #7 Page 14
