Damage Control (Valiant Knox)

by Jess Anastasi

  “Our window is closing, if we’re going to do this…”

  Kayla tightened her grip on the gun and gave a resolute nod, her expression grim.

  They crept out from the protective shadow of their hiding spot, moving toward the CS Soldier who was staring off in the direction his companion had gone. A shout came from the far end of the church—the bodies had been discovered.

  Hell, she’d wanted to be closer than this. A swift glance at Kayla, and she brought the gun up. They both shot at the same time, taking out the single guard. Sprinting the remaining distance, Mia kept her gaze focused along the church as Kayla motioned for Steve to run. For a moment the guy simply stared at her in confusion, then glanced at the soldier they’d just shot. Finally, he got to his feet and came toward them. Obviously shock was making Steve’s moronic tendencies worse than usual. Which didn’t bode well for this rescue attempt. The other guard appeared from the far side of the church and almost without thought, Mia squeezed off another few rounds. He crumpled in a heap.

  While she waited a few long breathless moments, she caught sight of the reinforcements coming in from behind Kayla and Steve.

  “Come on, we’ve got to go now!”

  The CSS didn’t hesitate. They opened fire and Mia ducked, returning a few halfhearted shots. But, she didn’t plan on holding this ground, and the number of soldiers shooting in their direction left them at four-to-one odds. The only reason the three of them weren’t full of holes was because the soldiers weren’t in range yet. But that would change in about two seconds.

  Steve hesitated yet again. But he was close enough for her to grab his arm and propel him into motion. Kayla fell into step, and they headed out past the church and deeper into the ruins of the city. Here was where their plan got a little hazy. They needed somewhere to hide, but unfortunately, the soldiers pursuing them probably knew the crumbling buildings far better. Their head start wouldn’t last long. They needed to find shelter. Quick. It had to be somewhere clever, somewhere the soldiers would never bother to look—

  She skidded at the next bombed-out street corner. “Guys, this way.”

  Kayla immediately switched directions, while Steve stopped.

  Idiot. Jackass. Total jerk bastard. But, whatever. Kayla and she had saved his useless hide once. If he didn’t follow them now, she wouldn’t attempt rescue number two.

  After a long moment, Steve followed them. Mia picked a path leading off at an angle from the pursuing soldiers, then altered her direction again. At the next change in direction, even Kayla hesitated.

  “Mia, where are you taking us? This is going to lead right back to—”

  “Where we started?” She puffed, breath starting to get short. “I figured the soldiers wouldn’t search where they’ve already been.”

  Kayla shot her a grin. “Brilliant.”

  Steve muttered something behind them, but kept up as they rounded on the church, slipping right back into the first place they’d hid. Except as they knelt, another transport ship touched down in the decimated graveyard.

  “More reinforcements?” Kayla shot her a worried look. “Maybe we should have gotten as far away from here as we could when we had the chance.”

  “I’d say that was a given.” Steve shot her an angry glare, taking a swig from the water bladder.

  “Gee, I’m so glad I risked my ass to save you.” Mia swiped the water back before he could go and drink it all on them. Who knew how long it would have to last?

  Steve continued glowering at her, but didn’t reply as he slumped against the wall.

  Mia risked another look, to see the door of the transport lifting open. She couldn’t read any identifying marks—the landing had kicked up too much dust.

  Hunkering down, she offered Kayla the water and tried not to second-guess her decision to come back here.

  “I think there’s someone coming,” Kayla whispered, bringing up the gun she still held.

  Yes, there seemed to be something, some disturbance, that told her someone was getting close to their position. She crept to the end of the wall, keeping the gun out. As she reached the end, a shadow spilled across the dusty floor and her heart pounded to a stop.

  She grabbed in a short breath and surged up and straight into a counterattack, as though the person had known she was hiding there. As she swung the butt of the gun around, the man caught her wrist and pinned her up against him.

  “Mia.” The husky whisper made her freeze, and she looked up to meet a familiar, hard, gunmetal-blue gaze.

  “Leigh!” She released her death grip on the gun and snagged her arms around him, relief pouring through her in blood-tingling waves.

  For a short second, he returned the embrace, then hustled her back to where Kayla and Steve waited.

  Leigh and Steve exchanged hateful glares, and then he nodded at Kayla.

  “Snyder?” he whispered.

  Mia shook her head, and Leigh swore under his breath. He crouched and half unzipped his leather jacket, not the flight jacket she was used to seeing him in. Instead, he was wearing the protective battle gear of a ground soldier, holstered and strapped with enough weapons to turn him into a one-man army. In short, he looked deadly and so gorgeous it battered her heart.

  He pulled out what looked to be three small protein bars and handed them around.

  She made a face as she took it, her stomach roiling too uneasily to eat anything. “No offense, but I don’t exactly have an appetite right now.”

  He reached over and ripped the foil open, his fingers brushing hers. “This is a combat bar. It’ll regulate your blood sugar, plus it has a chemical compound to mitigate the affects of an adrenaline high or extreme anxiety. You’ll feel better if you eat it. I promise.”

  She took a small bite, her mouth too dry as she chewed, but forced herself to swallow and take another bite.

  “So, what, the mighty Captain Alphin doesn’t need one?” Steve scowled and dropped the bar to the ground at his feet.

  “This isn’t my first firefight, kid. Plus, the three of you have already been on the ground for over an hour. I’ve used them plenty of times before during prolonged battle situations. This isn’t about pride, this is about smarts.”

  “Yeah? And you think you’ve got it all worked out?”

  Leigh’s expression hardened into one she’d never seen before—this was the legendary Alpha people spoke in awed tones about.

  “I’m not going to waste air arguing with you, Robinson. Eat it or not, I don’t care. But if you want to get off the ground alive, you will shut the hell up and do exactly what I say. And if you put the rest of us in danger, I’ll shoot you myself.”

  Steve’s glare got even darker at that. And then suddenly he moved, sidestepping to grab Kayla and her gun. He wrapped one arm around her neck, but pointed the gun outward. Mia froze as the barrel aimed at her chest. At this distance, she wouldn’t survive a single bullet from that caliber weapon.

  Leigh started to step in front of her, but Steve moved faster until the nozzle was against her breastbone. “Stop right there, Alphin, or your piece of ass stops breathing.”

  Leigh held his hands up in a supplicating gesture. “Fine. I’m holding my ground. Now tell me what the hell this is.”

  Steve sent him a cutting grin. “Since you’ve got it all worked out, sir, you tell me.”

  “Whatever your problem with me is, you don’t need to put Mia or Kayla between us.” An edge of frustration entered Leigh’s hard tone.

  “This isn’t about you or either of these stupid bitches. This is about me getting a promotion, about proving I’ve got what it takes to move up in the ranks.”

  Leigh gave a short, humorless laugh. “You’re going the total wrong way about getting a promotion, buddy.”

  Steve didn’t seem fazed by Leigh’s taunting. Instead his expression seemed too satisfied. “I’m not talking about the UEF.”

  For a second, confusion flashed through Leigh’s expression, but it didn’t last long as compr
ehension dawned in his gaze, bringing a furious light with it.

  “You.” Leigh’s tone came out icy and infuriated. “You were Lawler’s accomplice.”

  Steve smirked. “You really don’t have a clue. Lawler was covering for me. I was the one who stole the intel from the master datapad on squadron level. I was the one who tampered with your jets. Lawler was just making sure any evidence of my activities couldn’t be traced. I heard he nearly sent the two of you on a spacewalk without a suit.”

  “But you were on the transport with us when the CSS tried to shoot us down the day we arrived on the Knox,” Mia blurted out, her need for answers winning out over the fear in that moment.

  Steve sent her a look as though the answer should have been obvious.

  “They weren’t trying to shoot the shuttle down; it was to divert suspicion. Who would suspect anyone on board might be CSS when they attacked the transport?” Steve smirked at Leigh. “It totally worked. And it was a bonus that you were so distracted by this slut you had no idea what was really going on.”

  By the way Leigh clenched his jaw, it seemed that barb had hit a little too well.

  “So you had it all over me. Bravo.” Leigh lowered his hands a little. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt, Robinson, so I’m giving you one chance to let Kayla go, lower the gun, and walk out of here. Take the out, because you won’t get a second.”

  Steve shook his head, not looking the least bit concerned about the situation.

  “You really think I’m going to walk away from the opportunity of handing over the legendary Alpha? I’m sure my superior officers would love to have a chat with you.”

  “Not going to happen.”

  “Oh yeah? I don’t see how you’ve got any say in the matter.” Steve pulled the nozzle of the gun away from Mia’s chest, but before she could take a breath he switched his aim to line up Leigh and let off a round.

  Leigh half spun from the impact and landed against the crumbling wall, then slumped to the ground.

  “Leigh!” Her scream echoed off the remains of the church as she rushed over to drop down beside him, not caring if Steve shot her as well.

  Even as she grabbed his shoulder, he started to roll over and get himself upright, leaning against the wall. He reached up to clamp a hand over the wound in his shoulder, breath short.

  “It’s okay.” His voice came out choppy “It’s just a flesh wound. He’s not going to kill me. It’ll piss off his superior officers.”

  Steve walked over to stand beside them, thrusting Kayla down next to Leigh and shoving the end of the gun into the side of Mia’s face. “He’s right. I don’t want him dead, just manageable. You on the other hand, I could quite happily fill with bullets.”

  Leigh clenched his jaw, spearing Steve with an infuriated glare. “So help me, if you touch her—”

  “What?” Steve bent at the waist and braced one hand against his knee, bringing his face level with hers, though he was looking at Leigh. “What are you going to do when you’re lying down there bleeding, and I’m the one with all the control?”

  Leigh didn’t reply, but closed his hand tighter around the wound until his knuckles were white, contrasting with the dark blood seeping through his fingers.

  “That’s what I thought.” Robinson smirked and straightened, lessening the pressure from the gun. “Now, Mia, be a good little slut and strip all his weapons. Try not to enjoy yourself too much though.”

  She hesitated, glancing at Leigh as fear wound tighter within her. When she didn’t move fast enough, Steve grabbed her arm and propelled her into Leigh’s chest. He blew out a sharp breath when she jostled his shoulder. With careful movements, she leaned back and glanced down at the guns in their holsters. She didn’t want to take them, because if Leigh still had a weapon they had a chance of getting out of this. But Steve was back, this time pressing the gun into her shoulder blades.

  “Hurry up, or I’ll shoot you and bring Kayla over to do it instead.”

  “Do what he says, Mia,” Leigh said in a low voice.

  Clenching her teeth, she flipped open the holsters and drew the guns out, tossing them aside.

  “And the rest.” Steve stabbed the nozzle of the gun harder against the middle of her back. “I’m smart enough to know the bastard has more than a few spare weapons stashed elsewhere.”

  At Leigh’s murmured instructions, she found and removed two other guns and one knife.

  “Now secure both of them.” Steve tossed down some plexi-reinforced cable ties that landed in Leigh’s lap.

  With sick anxiety expanding within her, she sent Kayla an apologetic look then tied her hands and Leigh’s. Without his hand holding the wound, blood flowed more freely down his arm, wetting his jacket sleeve.

  She turned to glare up at Steve, the traitorous bastard. She should have listened to Kayla and left him with that patrol, who apparently hadn’t been holding him captive. He was one of them.

  “If you want to hand Leigh in alive, at least let me bandage his shoulder; otherwise he’s going to bleed out.”

  For a second Steve simply stared at her, and then he shrugged. “Do what you need to keep him alive.”

  She turned back to Leigh and pressed a hand against the wound. He sucked in a sharp breath, beginning to look a little pale in the dim light.

  “There’s a small field medic kit inside my jacket, left side.”

  She nodded and kept her left hand pressed against the injury while she pushed his jacket aside and reached in, searching for the pack. It turned out to be a slim vacuum-sealed kit with a few painkillers, bandages, tweezers, and a small scalpel. She paused as her fingers brushed over the blade and glanced over her shoulder. Too busy glaring at Leigh, Steve wasn’t paying attention. With a half breath and a prayer she didn’t get caught, she slid the scalpel into the sleeve of her jacket and went back to pulling out bandages.

  For the moment, she concentrated on tightly wrapping the wound to staunch the flow of blood. When she went to fashion a sling to minimize Leigh moving his arm, he caught her hand and shook his head. Obviously he didn’t want to be incapacitated.

  She bit her lip against saying anything, knowing it would be pointless. Leigh would take any risk to save Kayla and her, including sacrificing himself. But she wouldn’t let him do it. She wouldn’t let him be some big hero simply to see them safe. Somehow, she had to find a way out of this before Steve did something stupid, or more CS Soldiers arrived. And now that she had a weapon, she just needed to bide her time and strike when Steve least expected it.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Leigh flexed the numb fingers on his injured arm. Hell, he wouldn’t be holding a weapon in that hand any time soon. Mia sent him a worried glance as she finished with the bandages and sat back. She’d wanted to put his arm into a sling, which was the best thing to do according to basic field medics. Even though his hand felt next to useless, he wanted it free so he wouldn’t be hampered if he had to make a move. Well, as free as it could be considering his wrists were cable tied.

  “Finished playing doctors and nurses now?” Robinson reached down and grabbed Mia’s braid at the base of her neck, using it to pull her up.

  He clenched his fists, barely resisting the urge to leap up and wrap his hands around the guy’s neck. The only thing keeping him down was that damn gun Robinson kept pushing at Mia, and the fact that a bullet moved faster than he could.

  Still, every single time Robinson touched her was one more broken bone he planned to inflict once he got the upper hand.

  Robinson yanked Mia a few steps away then shoved her down to the dirt-strewn flagstones.

  “You and I have some unfinished business and this time your tough guy sugar daddy won’t be coming to save you. But he does get a front row seat. Think he’ll enjoy watching as much as he does when he gives it to you?”

  A sharp stab of disgust and dread sliced through him, numbing the pain from his shoulder wound. “You think that’s going to make you the better man, Robinso
n, by forcing yourself on a woman who doesn’t want anything to do with you?”

  Robinson sent him an arrogant smirk over his shoulder, reaching down with one hand to unbuckle his belt. “That’s just it. I don’t want to be the better man. I want to be the man who does whatever it takes to get what he wants. And I want this haughty, frigid bitch to realize that I don’t like being told no. She should have given it to me when I wanted it, because what did running off to the CAFF get her?”

  Steve finished unfastening his pants and looked back down at Mia, greedy anticipation in the gaze he raked over her. Mia stared up at him, her features blank, but he could see the panic on her face.

  Goddamn it, he was not going to sit here and watch that sick bastard rape her. Not while his heart beat in his chest. He started yanking desperately at the cable ties, hard enough to cut into his wrists.

  Crouching down, Steve swapped the gun for the knife Mia had tossed to the side earlier.

  “Are you going to undress for me, or should I just slice your clothes off? Got to say, that idea really gets me going.” His voice had thickened, and Leigh clenched his jaw at the sick sensation surging through him.

  Mia didn’t move, but a definite stubbornness had crept into her expression. Steve shifted forward to loom over her, setting the tip of the knife in the middle of her chest. He thrust lewdly against her and then groaned. “Oh yeah, I’m going to enjoy every second of this, you uppity whore.”

  Leigh cursed, pulling harder at his wrists, but all he managed to do was make his hands slippery with blood as the rigid plexi cut into his flesh.

  “I’m warning you, Robinson, if you hurt her, I will end you. It might not be today, but on my life, I will hunt you down and slit your throat. Only not before I make sure you piss yourself in terror first.”

  The threat made Robinson pause and glance over at him.

  Suddenly Mia moved, though from the angle she was sitting at, he couldn’t see exactly what had happened. Steve reared back, clutching his neck. Mia used her legs to shove him off, then scrambled away as he collapsed to the ground.