“Where does that lead?”
“The Oasis.” Eve’s lips press in a thin line. “At least it’s in that direction. Along with the servants, Benefield moved the girls along these halls.”
Another shudder rocks the building. Eve’s troop of monkeys complain, screeching and reaching out to each other for comfort. Eve takes their tails, unwraps them from around her throat, and gives me an apologetic smile. Silence is our greatest ally right now, and that’s difficult with screeching monkeys. At least, they’re on her back, not mine.
My team is out there, fighting to free dozens of abducted women. Not happy about being separated from them, I hurry us along until we come to the end of the hall. There, I pull to a stop to check for potential threats on the other side. Eve’s monkeys settle back down.
She checks the wall to my left, looking for the switch that will open the door. Her contingent of spider monkeys look at me with wide eyes, but otherwise, keep their chattering conversation to a minimum. Knox points his weapon back the way we came, ever alert for threats.
Palms pressed to the door, I lean into it, listening for anything, or anyone, who might be on the other side.
“I found it.” Eve’s excited voice takes me by surprise.
“Hold up.” I reach out to stop her, but I’m too late. The door begins a slow slide.
Four men turn at the noise, staring down the barrel of my weapon; three guards and one man I know all too well.
Weapons lift. Gun barrels swing.
They aim at Eve.
Thirty
Eve
There are four men standing on the other side of the door. All of whom aim their weapons at me. One of whom is my nemesis, Tomas Benefield.
Max shoots.
The harsh bang makes my eardrums pop. The monkeys on my shoulder screech and holler, terrified of the loud noise. They cling to me, ducking behind my hair, as they try to find someplace safe to hide.
Max’s aim is spot on. He shoots one of the men in the center of his chest. Knox takes out another man with his gun. Both men crumple at Benefield’s feet, dead before they hit the ground.
The third man is quicker with his weapon. It swings up.
Points at me.
Before I know what’s happening, Max jumps in front of me, pushing me behind him, and shielding me with his body. The monkeys continue screeching.
The gun fires, and Max’s body shakes. A grunt escapes him; he stumbles back. My heart leaps into my throat as he sags against me. I loop my hands under his arms, supporting him, until he roars back on his feet, enraged.
His body shudders, then braces. Please be okay. If anything happens to him…
I don’t want to think about anything bad happening to Max and stop that train of thought.
The monkeys go ballistic, barking and howling. Two of them scamper down, using their long limbs and prehensile tails to swing down to the floor, where they continue with their loud, prolonged screams.
Benefield bends down. He grabs a gun. With a malevolent glare, he aims it right at me.
Knox takes out the third guard. The loud retort rings in my ears. More screams from the monkeys. His next shot misfires. He racks the slide and pulls on the trigger, but nothing happens.
“Shit.” Him cursing is not what I need to hear.
Benefield closes the distance. The barrel of his gun points directly at me. I slam my hand against the door release on the wall. The door slides closed but not fast enough. Benefield gets off a shot. Once again, Max grunts in pain.
It’s dark again in the hallway. The flickering lights seem to have given up for the most part. But every now and then, we get a flash. It’s barely enough to see. I look at Knox as Max bends a knee.
“I don’t know how long it will hold.” Actually, I don’t think there’s any way to lock that door. “We have to go back.”
“Max?” Knox moves to the side and gestures for me to get behind him. No doubt, he’s thinking the same thing as me. That door is going to open soon.
“I’m good.” Max responds, pain threads through his voice, sharp and wavering. “Got my arm and leg, but I’m good.”
He doesn’t sound good.
Max took two bullets for me. I want to hug him, kiss him, but now isn’t the time.
Will there ever be a time when I can show him what he means to me? We may have started out on the wrong side of things—at least that’s what I thought—but he’s always been there for me. Even when I thought the worst of him, he was literally there to rescue me.
I hoped to be wrong. I hated the weirdly insane attraction I felt for him, back when I thought he was nothing more than a despicable slave buyer, but now…
Now?
Now, I just want to make it out of this hellhole alive. I want to see if whatever this thing is between us is real. First chance I get, I’m going to find out. Before that…
“Can you walk?” Knox helps Max to his feet.
“I’m good.” Max breathes through his pain. “Back the way we came?”
“Either that or reopen that door?” The two men confer while I soothe the screeching monkeys. They’re back on my shoulders. I guess I’m their safe place.
Max does something to his gun. All I hear is the sound of metal scraping against metal.
“There are probably more of his men out there,” Max says. “We go back.”
I don’t like the way Max braces against the pain. The urge to go to him, help him, overwhelms me, but he looks up at me with a fixed stare. I read his message. Now is not the time.
“Eve, lead us out of here.” Max issues a command. That tone, it’s sexy as fuck, but I need to focus on getting out of here. Not on naked fantasies with Max.
Naked fantasies?
Yeah, that’s totally what’s going through my mind right now. Me and Max, together, skin touching skin, hands seeking hands, mouths colliding as desire consumes us.
I give a shake of my head. Definitely not what I need to be thinking about right now.
Turning on my heels, I take us back down the long passageway. We reach the section leading off toward the Oasis. For a split second, I almost take it.
Max wants to meet up with his team on the south side of the compound, but if we go back to where we started, I can take us to the western side of the estate. We can escape into the jungle and find his team later.
Whatever timetable his team is on, we’ve already blown through it. Or, so I assume. Also, there’s a second reason I head back. Benefield may not know where the access panel is to the door from the kitchen side, but one of his men will know. We’ve got seconds to get out of here before we become sitting ducks. I don’t know how to lock the door, but that alcove had a bookshelf in it.
We should be able to push it in place and block his men from following us.
I take Max and Knox back down the hall. Max loops an arm around Knox’s shoulder. Knox helps him walk. We make it to the original door we came in when I hear the sound of a door scraping against the floor in the darkness behind us.
We exit into the alcove. Max looks like shit. There’s something shiny on his sleeve and on his pants leg over his thigh.
Blood.
Two bullets meant for me.
“Knox, they’re coming,” I warn Knox.
He grabs Max and gets ready to move.