Page 71 of Russian Rescue

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My heart detonated in my chest as I let Piper’s words wash over me.

She loved me. She really freaking loved me.

But I had no time to process that bomb of information because Piper rocked back on her chair and kicked up high, impaling her stiletto heel into the throat of the guard in front of her before she finished rolling backward.

He fell to the floor, spurting blood everywhere as she leaped back to her feet, the chair still attached to her as she ran forward and slammed into the second guard.

“Stop!” the guard beside me shouted as he lifted his weapon, swinging it in her direction.

I jumped up, knocking him backward with the force of my blow. A well-placed head butt sent him stumbling back, and I grabbed my knife from my ankle holster and threw it, sending it directly into his chest. The life flitted from his eyes as he spurted up blood, and I launched forward and yanked my knife from his chest before he collapsed forward onto the ground. I spun to face Piper, watching in awe as she slammed the leg of the chair down onto the head of the guard on the ground, killing him instantly. The chair shattered, and her restraints fell free.

“Behind you!” I shouted as the fourth guard took aim.

Piper ducked low, flying across the room and taking out his legs as she tackled him down. Several well-placed blows rendered him unconscious, and she grabbed his gun and put two bullets in him before standing up. Her gaze flicked to my side, and I spun to see Dima reaching for a gun.

Not this time, you son of a bitch.

I launched at him with my knife, missing with my swing as each of us grabbed for the gun. He slammed his elbow into my jaw, and for a second, I saw spots. But I fought the urge to pass out and gritted my teeth as I landed several blows to his face. The gun flew from his hand and landed in the middle of the room.

He started toward it, but I jumped on his back, wrapping my arms around his neck as I squeezed.

“Move! I need a shot!” Piper commanded, but Dima and I fell to the ground.

He struggled against me, and I felt the fight drifting out of him as I tightened my grip. The gun hovered just within his reach, and he grasped at it one last time, nearly dislodging me with the force of his fight. I didn’t notice him get his hand on the gun. By the time I saw the metal glinting in the light from the computers, muzzle fire had set off a brief flash. As the shot fired, I tightened my grip one last time and slammed him back to the ground.

“Fuck you, Dima!” I growled as I climbed on top of him. I grabbed my knife and pushed it to his throat.

“No, please!” he begged, but this time I didn’t listen. This time I did what needed to be done to save the woman that I loved. I pushed the blade into his skin and watched his eyes widen as he took his last breaths.

“Second-rate dickhead,” I breathed as I climbed off him and grabbed my gun from his hand. “That was fucking close.”

“You okay?” Piper asked breathlessly.

“Yeah.” I panted hard, still stunned we were alive. “You good? What’s the plan?”

She didn’t answer. When I spun around to look at her, my heart plummeted to my feet. Bright red blood poured down her thigh as she stood leaning back against the door. The bullet had traveled the perfect path right through the slit in her dress.

“Holy shit! He shot you!”

I bolted over and caught her just before she slumped to the ground.

“Piper! Holy shit! What do I do?”

Panic pushed my blood to racing as I held the woman I loved while she groaned in pain. I saw my comms on the ground that they’d ripped from my ear when Petro had arrived, and I flipped on the switch then shoved it back into my ear.

“Knox? Knox? Can you hear me?”

“Yes. What’s happening?” Knox demanded. “I got cameras back in the hall, but I still have no cameras in there.”

“Piper is shot in the thigh!”

“Fuck!” he growled. “How bad?”

“Bad,” I answered as I saw the blood pooling under her. I shoved my hand over the wound and pressed. Piper groaned in response. “I’m sorry, Piper. I need to put pressure on it.”

“My garter,” she breathed. “It’s a tourniquet. Take it off my right leg and put it on my left above the wound, then twist the windlass.”