“Here.” Jane handed down to him Kenny’s huge Bowie knife. Moonlight glinted off its evil silver blade. “Good luck.”
For just a moment, looking up at his aunt, he thought about calling the whole thing off. They could rethink this whole thing and regroup. Find another opportunity to kill Mia.
Jane must’ve read the hesitation in his eyes, because her gaze went razor-sharp. “We’ve come too far to turn back now. Finish it.”
Chapter 21
8:34 PM...
Doc shifted uncomfortably.
The meds Cami shared with him had worn off long ago, so he could feel every heartbeat in the bump on his head and in the bones of his fractured arm. Also, it was impossible to forget that somewhere close by Romeo and Mia were wrapped in each other’s arms. Which only made him acutely aware that the sexiest woman he’d ever met was sitting a foot away from him. And that meant he’d been sporting semi-wood the whole time, and now his balls ached right along with his injured limb and noggin.
Glancing over at the cause of his latest malady, he found her staring into the fire. The orange flames reflected in her dark eyes which, when combined with her ruby lips and raven hair, made her look a little witchy, reminding him of that old Eagles tune.
She held me spellbound, indeed, he thought. And then he followed that up with, What the hell, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
She’d shot him down a dozen times, but maybe thirteen was his lucky number.
He leaned close enough to make her uncomfortable. And even though she would never admit it, close enough to make her a little excited too, because there was no denying the heat in her eyes when she turned to him and demanded, “What?”
“I’m just thinking that once you get past the part where we’re stranded in the middle of nowhere, this little island is actually pretty...and kind of romantic. It seems a crying shame to let Romeo and Mia have all the fun.” He lifted one eyebrow in invitation. “Come on. I won’t be as good as I usually am without the use of both arms, but I can still promise you a night you’ll never forget.”
Her delectable mouth puckered with feigned distaste. “You need to chuck that idea straight into the fuck it bucket and move on.”
“Damn, woman, you are seriously giving me frostbite.” He faked a pout.
She snickered and pretended to be holding something in her hand. “This is my cup of care.” She peered down at her hand. “Oh, look! It’s empty.”
He felt laughter rumbling around in his chest, but he didn’t give into it. Instead, he pinned her with a narrow-eyed look. “Am I really supposed to buy that nonsense about you not mixing business with pleasure? I’m supposed to buy that you’ve never kissed the IT guy at the company Christmas party or gone out for drinks that turned into drunken shenanigans with a colleague?” “No purchase required,” she stated flatly. “I’m telling you, business and pleasure are oil and water. No mixing. None.”
He frowned. “That’s really unfortunate for you.”
“How so?”
“Because I’ve heard it said that everyone who plays it safe always dies wondering.”
Her glance was shrewd. “Wow. Profound. You’re like Yoda. You know, if Yoda was completely full of shit.”
He couldn’t hold back his laughter any longer. It tumbled out of him. An instant later, he sobered.
He wasn’t a superstitious man. And he was far too scientifically minded to believe in such things as a sixth sense. But growing up in the wilderness of Montana, and then spending a decade running missions for the government, had honed his instincts and taught him to never second-guess that scratchy feeling at the back of his head that told him he was lined up in someone’s crosshairs.
His hand slowly sought the grip on the Glock stuffed into the back of his jeans. Looking away from the fire, he allowed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. When he turned back, he peered over Cami’s left shoulder, and immediately noticed two things.
One, Cami was smiling that huge smile with all those blindingly white teeth. And two, a large, dark shadow moved beside a palm tree about thirty yards behind her.
Adrenaline scorched through Doc’s veins, burning away all the pain that’d dogged him. He lifted the Glock in an instant. From the corner of his eye, he saw Cami’s eyes fly wide. “I take it back!” she yelled. “You’re not like Yoda at—”
That’s all he heard before he yelled, “Come out where I can see you with your hands up!” When the shadow hesitated, he added, “Do it now, or I swear on all that’s holy I’ll pull my trigger and drop you dead!”
Slowly, the shadow edged away from the tree. Even though he couldn’t make out the man’s features, he had no trouble identifying the object held at the end of the bastard’s arm.
The barrel of a pistol was like a black hole; it absorbed all light.
“Drop your weapon!” Doc roared, his vision tunneling until all he saw was the weapon and the arm attached to it. But the shadow ignored his command and took a menacing step forward. Deadly intent had a smell, like sulfur, and Doc would swear he smelled it drifting on the wind.
When the shadow’s arm moved slightly, in preparation of firing and absorbing the kickback, Doc didn’t hesitate. He pulled his trigger.
In such close confines, the boom of the Glock was deafening. But even though he barely registered it, from the corner of his eye, he saw Cami instinctively cover her ears.
It was from the corner of his eye, because he dared not take his eye off his target. A target he’d managed to hit. Center mass. Kill shot.
He’d learned long ago that when it came to gunplay, there was no such thing as a shot across the bow.
Unfortunately, the man’s brain didn’t register that his body was already dead. As the shadow fell sideways, he managed to squeeze off a shot.
“Down!” Doc launched himself atop Cami and pressed her hard into the sand as he felt the hot puff of displayed air that accompanied the bullet as it flew by his shoulder.
Half of him registered the warmth of Cami’s breath against his cheek, the softness of her breasts cushioning his chest, and the heat of her womanhood because her spread thighs cradled his hips. But the other half of him was completely focused on pushing to his feet, aiming at the second shadow that disengaged from the palm tree closest to the downed gunman, and yelling, “Stop right there unless you want to end up like your friend!”
The second shadow skidded to a halt, lifting his hands high into the air. “Don’t shoot!” A panicked voice cut through the darkness. “I surrender!”