by Anna Hackett
Smith shook his head. “We’ll discuss this later.” He pressed a quick kiss to her mouth, then he rose.
Kinsey watched as Lachlan and Callie flanked him. The three of them raced into the fight, and Smith tossed a grenade.
Staying crouched behind the rock, Kinsey pulled in a deep breath. This would all be over soon.
A hand clamped down on her arm and she spun, expecting to see one of the team.
Instead, she looked up into Enzo’s face.
“You have to come with me.” He looked panicked, a crazed look in his eye.
She yanked her arm away. “No.”
“Yes.” He grabbed her jacket and yanked her up. “I’m trying to protect you.”
She snorted. “Yeah, right.”
“I love you, Kinsey.”
Her eyebrows rose. “What?”
“I realized that I love you, and I need to protect you.”
Fighting the urge to laugh hysterically, she yanked away from him, hard. “You’re joking.”
“You kept all my flowers.”
She blinked. “I gave them away, Enzo. You’re crazy.”
His jaw hardened. “I’m not—”
“You don’t know the first thing about love. Sorry, Enzo, I’m in love with a mountain man badass. He protects me, or I damn well protect myself.”
“No. You’re mine. I loved you the minute I saw you. You’re so beautiful.”
Oh, God. She hadn’t thought things could get any worse.
Enzo gripped her arm again, and this time he didn’t let her pull free. They struggled for several moments, before he pulled her out of her hiding place and into the trees.
He gripped her chin and yanked her face up. Then he shoved a finger in her ear.
“Ow!”
He pressed hard and when he pulled his hand back, she saw her tiny microdot earpiece on his finger. He dropped it in the snow. Then he grabbed her hand and tugged her forward.
Kinsey kicked him. She hit his knee and he fell into the snow. She turned and ran.
But she didn’t get far. Enzo tackled her and they rolled through the snow.
“Let me go!” She punched at his head.
His hands clamped on her arms and he subdued her. “I’m not letting you go.” He pulled her up and dragged her back toward the trees.
“I regret the day I ever saw you,” she spat.
“I’ll take care of you and make you change your mind.”
Smith ran, firing on the Cosca Unita fighters. Rocks slammed down all around him.
Fuck. He dived out of the way, rolled, and saw another rock heading right at him. He rolled again and leaped to his feet.
The rest of Team 52 were doing the same—firing, running, diving for cover.
“Anyone see the artifact?” Lachlan asked.
“No,” Blair answered. She had her CXM raised, the front of her jacket splattered with mud.
Moving together, they spread out, firing on the last of the fighters.
Suddenly, the sound of the artifact cut off. They all froze.
Where the hell was it? Smith scanned around. There was no sign of it.
Then Smith heard the roar of a snowmobile. Shit. They all spun, just in time to see a man on a snowmobile riding off into the trees. A big, black box was lashed to the back of the machine.
“After him!” Lachlan ordered.
They sprinted back toward the hill where they’d hidden their snowmobiles. Smith rounded the rock where he’d left Kinsey.
His heart stopped. She wasn’t there.
“Kinsey?” He pressed a finger to his earpiece. “Kinsey, where are you?”
No response.
“Shit.” Lachlan spun, swinging his CXM onto his shoulder. “Brooks? Can you track Kinsey?”
A second later, Brooks voice came over the line. “Her earpiece tracker is showing her just feet away from you guys.”
“Well, she’s not here,” Lachlan said.
“Someone removed her fucking earpiece,” Smith growled.
Lachlan’s eyes flashed. “Callie, you stay with Smith. Find Kinsey. Blair, Seth, Axel, and I will intercept the artifact.”
Lachlan and the others all sprinted up the hill toward their snowmobiles. Moments later, Smith heard them roar off.
“Whoever took her can’t have gone far,” Callie said.
Smith bent down, studying the ground. That’s when he spotted the boot marks—one larger pair belonging to a man, and a smaller pair that had to be Kinsey’s. He lifted his head. The trail led into the trees.
Someone had taken her.
Both pissed and worried, Smith rose. “Someone definitely grabbed her.” His hands tightened on his rifle.
He jogged toward the trees, Callie falling in behind him as he followed the tracks. They climbed a hill and reached a clearing.
More tracks—different ones. “Fuck. They got on a snowmobile.”
“Let’s get our snowmobiles and follow them,” Callie said. “Where are they headed?”
“Same direction as the others.”
Callie nodded. “Toward Cheyenne Mountain.”
They jogged back to the snowmobiles, and soon, Smith was flying through the trees, trying to keep his cool. If anyone had put another bruise on her…
“We’ll get her back,” Callie said in his earpiece. “She’s smart, and she hasn’t lost it through any of this. You chose a good woman, Smith.”
He hadn’t chosen. She’d been made for him. Smith blew out a breath. In his head, he saw Kinsey’s smile, her glow, watched her rubbing Hercules’ head. She was his. His sunshine, like a beam of pure light in the darkness.
Soon, they cleared the trees, and down below lay the entrance to Cheyenne Mountain. The portal in the side of the mountain was protected by a short length of steel tunnel, barbed-wire fences, and guards.
The mournful howl of the Tibetan artifact rang through the air once again.
Dammit. Ahead, at the heavily protected gate of the base, he watched a Humvee float up into the air. A siren sounded.
Then Smith heard gunfire. He traded a look with Callie. The gunfire was closer.
They crested a snow-covered hill, and he saw Lachlan and the others. They were firing on a small group of Cosca Unita fighters on the hillside.
But where the hell was Kinsey?
Bullets whizzed past and Smith ducked low over the handlebars.
“Incoming,” Callie yelled.
A second group of Cosca Unita fighters broke out of the trees. These guys had to be a distraction. Protecting whoever was operating the artifact.
Down at the base’s entrance, rocks, lengths of fence, and vehicles were floating into the sky. Then, in succession, they rained down, one by one.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Guards ran in all directions.
More bullets, and Smith swung his CXM up, spraying fire on the Cosca Unita soldiers. Then, he saw one throw something.
Shit. The device landed in front of Smith’s snowmobile and exploded.
His machine was tossed up into the air, tipping over. He leaped off, hit the snow, and rolled.
He came up on one knee, firing his CXM.
“Team 52, stop the artifact!” Lachlan shouted.
Smith’s jaw tightened. He had a job to do, but where the hell was his woman?
He rose, racing to join his team. But in his head, her name echoed. Kinsey, where the hell are you?
Chapter Seventeen
Enzo continued to drag Kinsey through the snow, but she wasn’t making it easy for him. At every opportunity, she dug her boots in.
After a fast, wild snowmobile ride, he hadn’t listened to any of her pleading. Asshole. Now, they’d abandoned the snowmobile, and he was pulling her up a hill. Gunfire cracked nearby, and she prayed Team 52 was close.
Snow seeped into her boots and she winced. She had a new appreciation for the desert. The cold sucked.
Finally, she saw something ahead. No, a someone.
She hissed out a bre
ath. It was a man using the artifact. He stood, dressed in black winter gear, with his lips pressed to the end of the trumpet-like device.
The low, melodic hum of sound reverberated in Kinsey’s ears. As she and Enzo got closer, the man using the artifact looked in their direction.
Dark brows moved low over even darker eyes. He glared at her, then Enzo. He was clearly annoyed.
Then Kinsey turned her head and looked down the hill. She gasped.
Below, lay the entrance to Cheyenne Mountain, and all around it, rocks, cars, and other objects were slamming down into the ground. Soldiers were running for cover, and closer, up on the snowy hill, she saw Team 52 in their white outfits, fighting against the Cosca Unita soldiers.
Chest tight, she scanned the landscape, searching for one big form in particular.
There. She spotted Smith wrestling with not one, but two, Cosca Unita fighters.
Then a giant rock went flying through the air. Oh, no. It was arrowing straight toward the entrance to the base.
Boom.
The man using the artifact paused, the sound abruptly cutting off.
He scowled at Enzo. “Why the fuck did you grab her?”
“She’s mine, Angelo,” Enzo said.
Kinsey snorted. “Am not. See that big guy pummeling your guys into the snow?” She pointed to Smith. “I’m in love with him. And he’s going to rip your head off.”
Enzo ground his teeth together. “I’ll make you forget him.”
She rolled her eyes. “Look at him. He’s big, alpha, and a protective badass. And you’re…” she eyed him and wrinkled her nose “…not.”
“Focus,” Angelo snapped. “This is no time to be thinking with your damn cock. It’s time to take these guys out, then we can focus on tearing the base apart.”
“You’re insane,” Kinsey breathed.
Cold, dark eyes bored into her. “I’m dedicated. I have a vision where the powerful take what they deserve and the weak serve.”
She shivered. There was a thirst for power in this man’s gaze. She could see that no rational argument was going to sway him.
Angelo lifted the device and blew into it again.
Sound vibrated out, and this time, the ground around them started tearing up, snow flying into the air. Rocks ripped from the hillside, rising high. The ground beneath them shook.
The rocks flew, moving faster and faster…straight at Team 52.
“No! Stop!” Without thinking, Kinsey dived at the man.
He grunted and lost his grip on the artifact. The sound cut off.
“Kinsey.” Enzo dived into the fray.
The three of them wrestled in the snow.
Angelo shoved Kinsey off and she looked up. She heard shouts. Smith was powering through the snow, his gaze locked on her, and behind him, several figures were sprinting up the hill toward them.
He was coming for her.
She smiled at him. Then, Angelo scrambled to grab the device again.
Hell, no. She had to stop him and protect Team 52. She moved her gloved hand, brushing against a rock. Her fingers closed over it.
Angelo blew into the device, the sound starting again.
She might go to hell for damaging an ancient artifact, but oh, well. She raised the rock, then slammed it down on the device.
Clang.
She lifted the rock and did it again. And again.
The artifact’s sound changed, losing its melodic resonance. All around, rocks dropped from the sky, like puppets that had had their strings cut.
Kinsey grinned. Yes!
Dark eyes glared at her. The man shoved the artifact away, and pulled a gun from his coat.
Oh, shit.
He aimed the weapon at her.
“Kinsey!” Smith yelled. But he was still too far away.
Kinsey heard the echo of the gunshot, just as she felt herself shoved down hard. She landed heavily in the snow, the air knocked out of her. A heavy weight pinned her to the ground.
She turned on her side and saw Enzo.
He was on top of her and he was bleeding. He pressed a hand to his chest, his eyes wide. She sucked in a breath. He’d taken a bullet for her.
Her throat closed. “It’ll be okay.” She pressed her hand against the bleeding wound, trying to stem the blood flow. “Hold on.”
Angelo rose to his feet, and turned the weapon on Team 52. He fired and she watched as her friends all dived for cover.
But not Smith. He kept coming.
Angelo swiveled, aiming the gun right at Smith.
No. Kinsey couldn’t lose him. She wouldn’t lose him. She nudged Enzo aside and pushed herself up. She dived into Angelo’s legs. He swiveled, falling. He cursed and swung the gun at her.
Bam.
Searing pain. Kinsey landed awkwardly in the snow, blinking. Bodies swarmed around them.
She saw Lachlan kick the gun out of Angelo’s hand. He flipped the man over and wasn’t gentle about it.
Kinsey tried to pull in a breath, but it hurt.
Then Smith was there, sliding to his knees at her side.
“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you.”
God, he was so beautiful. He was tugging at her coat and vest with desperate hands.
She frowned. Her white coat was now red. Weird.
“Callie!” Smith roared. “Bastard was firing armor-piercing rounds.”
A second later, the medic dropped down beside them. “Shit.”
Smith’s hands were pressing hard on Kinsey’s stomach and she groaned in pain.
“Gut shot.” Smith’s voice was deep, harsh.
“Hurts.” But strangely, Kinsey’s pain was fading.
Smith’s face appeared, an inch from hers. “Hold on, Kinsey.”
She reached up and scratched her nails through his beard. “You make me feel safe.”
“Hold. On.”
But even though she wanted to hold him forever, Kinsey couldn’t keep her eyelids open.
Smith’s face became a blur, then nothing but black.
Smith carried Kinsey’s limp form down the hill.
They were both covered in blood, Callie walking alongside them, trying to keep Kinsey stabilized.
“Fuck.” Lachlan’s face was grim as he touched his ear. “Brooks, we need to get Kinsey to the hospital ASAP. I need a helo here, now.”
“On it,” came Brooks reply.
“What about Enzo?” Callie called out.
Smith didn’t give a fuck about the asshole.
“He didn’t make it,” came Blair’s answer.
Smith sucked in some deep breaths, his gaze locked on Kinsey’s pale face. He tried to keep a grip on the ugly sensations clawing at his gut.
Inside, he was cold. Frozen.
Kinsey was light and laughter, beauty and goodness. But right now, she was as white as the snow under his boots and bleeding badly. Her life blood was pumping out of her.
“Put her down,” Callie said.
The medic dropped down, pulling things from her backpack. She pressed a new wad of gauze against Kinsey’s belly, and then cut the sleeve off Kinsey’s coat. She set up an IV.
“Pickup is incoming,” Brooks said.
“Hold on, sunshine.” Smith didn’t wonder how Brooks managed to pull off a helicopter pickup so quickly. He kept his gaze on Kinsey, couldn’t look away.
Kinsey was everything. Without her, Smith knew there’d be no light in his life
Lachlan gripped Smith’s shoulder. “You hanging in there?”
“She’s hurt bad.” Smith heard the tremor in his own voice.
“We’re going to take care of her. She’s a fighter.”
“I screwed up with her.” Pain tore at Smith. “I pushed her away. I knew she was special and I pushed her away. Wasted so much time.”
“She loves you,” Lachlan said.
God. It seemed like a miracle. And hell, Smith loved her, too. He’d tear his heart from his chest and hand it to her, if that’s what it took to save her lif
e.
Thwap, thwap, thwap. Hearing the sound of helicopter rotors, he looked up.
Snow kicked up around them, and he saw the sleek helo coming in to land. He spotted Dec and Cal Ward in the cockpit.
“You, Callie, and Axel take her in,” Lachlan said. “The rest of us will finish the cleanup here, talk to NORAD, and then we’ll meet you at the hospital as soon as we can.”
Smith nodded, scooping Kinsey off the ground, and carrying her into the helicopter.
“Hold on, baby.”
Smith laid Kinsey down on the seats at the back of the helicopter.
Dec looked back at him from the cockpit, lifting his headset off his ears. “How bad?”
Callie climbed in. “Bad.”
That single word speared through Smith. He felt parts of him closing down inside.
“Fuck,” Dec said. “Then strap in.”
Callie checked Kinsey’s wound. “Talk to her, big guy. She needs to hear your voice.”
Smith nodded, threading his fingers through Kinsey’s limp ones. God, her hands were small, her fingers delicate.
Axel sat down in the seat across from them, his CXM resting on his knees, and a grim look on his face. He watched Smith steadily, probably for any signs he was going to lose his shit.
The helo rose and Smith sucked in a breath. Finding some shred of control, he stroked Kinsey’s short hair.
“I remember the first time I saw you,” he murmured. “You knocked the breath out of me. You were so damn pretty. I remember you were wearing a pink T-shirt.” He smiled at the memory. “I’d always hated pink, but right then, I’d never seen a prettier color. Then you smiled at me. You have the most beautiful smile, Kinsey. I think that’s when I first started falling for you.”
He glanced up. Callie and Axel were staring at him.
“Don’t let her die.” His voice was like sandpaper.
Callie bit down on her lip and nodded.
Then Smith looked back down at Kinsey’s still face. He kept murmuring to her, telling her all the things he loved about her. How she made his life brighter.
It felt like forever, but finally, the helicopter came in to land on the roof of a hospital.
As Axel opened the side door, an emergency team raced to meet them, pushing a gurney. Kinsey was taken from Smith’s arms, and as they whisked her away, Smith moved to follow.
