Chapter 8

8

Cameron

I yank Penny down and to the left. Roark has the same idea and covers the other side of her, using his body as a shield. Another bullet hits the tree right where we'd been standing.

Maybe Roark and I weren't trained for bounty hunting, but we were trained for fucking protection, and by god we're going to protect Penny.

"Just give us the girl and you don't have to die today," a man says.

"Clive," Penny whispers. "He's here."

He sounds like a typical asshole supervillain, too, his voice all cultured and rich and shit. I want to punch him in the throat, see how cultured he sounds when he's garbling and gasping for air.

We drop our bags and duck behind flimsy cover—a few trees and a boulder that's more like a big rock. This position can't be held long. I don't know how many guys Clive brought, but it's probably enough to surround us. They're likely already moving in.

"Penny, I only need to talk to you," Clive says. "You stole some very sensitive information. My feelings are hurt, darling."

She shakes her head, her deep brown eyes wide with fear. "I think he knows what I saw."

Even if he didn't know, he's too dangerous to be trusted. Case in point: shooting at us before trying to talk. He wants our attention, he got it.

"We're not giving you up," I whisper, squeezing Penny's hand.

Roark nods in agreement, but his gaze is bouncing around as he constantly checks our surroundings. The man's a machine, doing everything we were trained to do.

"If you give me the files and I'm assured they haven't been copied, I won't press charges," Clive continues.

Yeah, even I can hear the insincerity in his voice, and I never met this dude until now.

"But Penny," he says, "I can't wait forever. We need to resolve this now."

"We can't trust him," Penny says quietly. "He prides himself on being unpredictable."

Every second that ticks past only reinforces my belief this guy is a total douche. Unfortunately for us, he's a homicidal and unpredictable douche.

Off to the side is the ridge we'd originally been aiming for. We need help, and we need it ten minutes ago. Maybe if one of us runs with the phone…it's a long shot, but things are looking dire if we stay here. Whoever runs will be safest, and that means it's got to be Penny.

We didn't bring guns—Ironwood encourages non-deadly force. Protection, not aggression. Usually it's a moral I can get behind, but our situation would be a fuckton easier right now if we had an even playing field.

If we don't have guns, we need to get guns.

The closest supply can be found in the fists of our enemies.

"Penny, if I can't reason with you, darling, I'll have to reason with your bounty hunters," Clive says again. "Hand her over. We'll stop shooting if you do and you'll still get paid. I just need to talk to her."

I catch Roark's eye. We aren't giving Penny to this monster. It doesn't matter what Clive says he wants with her, there's no fucking way.

"Penny," I say, pulling my phone from my jeans pocket, "do you think you can run to the ridge over there?"

Roark gives me a surprised look. "That's a good idea. We can cover you, Penny, and you'll get reception to call for help."

Accepting my phone, Penny frowns. "I don't want to leave you guys."

"I'm losing patience," Clive says.

"We'll be okay," I say to Penny. She has to run now, before Clive's people can surround us. "We'll fight better if we know you're getting to safety."

"Okay." Her voice is uncertain, but she nods and straightens her shoulders and says it with more force. "Okay. I'll go."

I give her a swift kiss and stare briefly into her fathomless brown eyes.

"The ridge," Roark says.

"When you get there," I say, "stay down. Don't come looking. We'll let you know when it's clear."

Roark clasps his hands briefly over Penny's. "Run."

No sooner does she take her first step, than Roark and I dive from opposite ends of our cover, distracting our attackers. Bullets whiz past us. I swear I feel one speed just over my head. Fuck, it's all too close.

We find new cover. Hidden for the time being, Roark signals at me to stay put and he moves, pulling more of their fire. I use the opportunity to sneak back and around. My footsteps are silent over the wet pine needles covering the forest floor. If I could just get behind someone…

Not far from me, a man points his gun at Roark.

My buddy's in danger, and I don't think he sees this threat.

Silent. I have to be silent. When I'm a few feet away, my foot slips on the wet needles. The guy hears me, turns, and raises his gun. The barrel shines dully in the filtered light coming through the pine branches. There's nowhere to go, left or right, that would offer cover—so I jump toward him.

Probably not my smartest move, but it surprises him and he doesn't squeeze off a shot. Maybe he wasn't expecting or planning to actually shoot someone point-blank today.

I tackle him to the ground, wrench the gun from his grasp. A sharp blow to the head knocks him out cold. Sweet dreams, motherfucker.

One down.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins, the headiest of cocktails. I'll take every one of these assholes down to keep Penny safe. And now I have a weapon.

"What's going on—team, report," Clive calls. Fuckin' douche-bucket.

"Your team is indisposed," Roark says as someone else hits the ground with a thud.

More gunshots ring out, but nothing hits me so I retrace my silent steps to keep coming at the enemy, approaching from behind. We got this.

Roark might be boring and inflexible on the job, but right now? I fucking respect that, and there's no one I'd rather have at my back.

Penny

A voice crackles through the phone's speaker. "He—o? Cameron—are you?"

Sweat drips down the back of my neck. I ran up this hill, and now I can barely breathe.

"Hello?" I say into the phone. The bark of a fallen pine tree presses into my shoulders through Roark's coat. "Please help. I'm with Roark and Cameron and people are shooting at us."

"We're pulling—coordinates—coming."

Bullets sound in the forest below. I want to look. My guys have to be okay. I need them to be okay.

I grip Cameron's phone tightly in my fist, waiting further instruction, but the line goes dead.

Roark

It's killing me not knowing if Penny is safe. Sending her up the ridge was the right call, and I know she's tough. But tough is not the same as invincible.

Cameron shoots one of Oberon's guys in the leg and before the guy can recover, he steals his gun, too. Good, just like we were trained. No excessive force. Do not shoot to kill.

More gunfire rings out, the shots deafening. The very fact this asshole brought in so much firepower makes it clear he never had any intent of letting Penny live.

I come up behind another of his punks. Guy doesn't even hear me approach, he's so focused on aiming at Cameron across the clearing. I kick in his knee and he topples. His gun is in my hand before he even sees me. I use the handle to knock him unconscious, then spin around to take stock of my surroundings.

Clive Oberon is right in front of me, a handgun held steady in his grasp and leveled at my head.

Fuck.

"Put down the weapon," he says in a cold voice.

I consider my options, but he lets off a warning shot at my feet. Asshole isn't afraid to pull the trigger, and because of Penny's story I know he has no qualms about murder.

Slowly, I set down the gun and raise my hands.

"Now," he says, "where's the girl and my files?"

I will never give up Penny. Maybe he sees it in my eyes, because he pulls the trigger.

The pain isn't immediate. It's like he pushed me. I stumble back and fall. The impact rocks through my body and I stare, unblinking, at the crisscrossing pine branches hovering between me and the sky.

Oberon steps into my line of sight. I stare down the barrel of his gun. He's going to shoot me in the fucking face and there's not a goddamn thing I can do about it.

Penny . I'll never have the chance to get to know her, to love her. I won't have the chance to explore this relationship building between us. With or without Cameron, I would've been fine with it. I would've been more than fine; I would've been overjoyed. A relationship with Penny and Cameron might be the only kind of relationship I can have.

It's the only relationship I want.

A cruel smile plays on Oberon's lips. His finger tightens on the trigger.

Suddenly, he stumbles back. His cruel smile transforms, his lips parting in shock, outrage. Then he topples out of my sight. I think he's dead before he hits the ground, but I refuse to spend my last thoughts on this earth wondering what happened to Clive Oberon.

"Roark!" Cameron shouts.

Running footsteps. Cameron presses down on my chest. Fuck, that hurts. Blinding pain, right through my shoulder. My heart stutters, my brain wants to quit but I refuse to let go.

"Penny," I say, my voice hoarse and too quiet even to my own ears.

Cameron stares into my face, his brows pinched in concern. "She's on her way down, I told her the coast is clear."

I don't know how much time passes. All I can think about is how I'm not ready to leave. My life started yesterday when I met Penny. I need more than one night with her.

"Roark, I'm here." Penny is leaning over me, too.

They're talking. Something about Ironwood, an ambulance.

"It's okay, it's okay, it's okay," Penny says, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You're going to be okay, Roark."

I have my doubts. Already darkness is creeping in. If I live through this, I'm not holding back. I'll be all-in, if she'll have me. No matter what that looks like, I'll do it.

"Stay with us," Penny says, kissing my forehead.

I wish I could.