Hunter's Pride

by McKenna, Lindsay

  Finally, Dev slipped behind the thick, tangled roots of a huge octopus tree, which shielded them completely. Kulani crawled next to where he was crouched. Here they could talk in a whisper and not be overheard. The rainstorm intensified. All that could be heard now was the rustling sound of water striking the canopy far above them. It would be a good cover for their movements.

  Placing the butt of her rifle on her thigh, Kulani sat against the trunk, her shoulder touching Dev’s. She leaned near, her voice low.

  “That helo will be here in less than an hour.”

  Nodding, Hunter said, “That will be when we’ll take them.”

  She frowned. “Because they’ll be diverted by the helo landing?”

  “Yes.” Dev pointed behind him. “Did you see that cleared area near the wall? Where the trees were cut down?”

  Nodding, Kulani said, “That’s where the helo’s been landing and taking off from. Although—” she frowned and looked in that direction “—that’s one helluva landing place. The pilot has to be good, setting down next to that lava wall. He’s got about a fifty-foot clearance before his blades start taking chunks out of the rock.”

  “I estimate about the same amount of clearance on the other side, too,” Dev said. He flexed his right arm. The pain was bearable, but to his consternation, he could barely move his fingers. Swelling was now setting in around the gunshot wound, clearly inhibiting his ability to use the arm effectively.

  Kulani saw the tightness in his face. “How’s the wound?”

  “Okay.”

  She grinned a little. “Liar. Want me to try that again? How’s your wound?”

  He smiled briefly. “Hurts a little. I’m worried that I don’t have the reflex I want.” He held up his fingers. “I can barely use them.”

  “The swelling,” Kulani said. Biting her lower lip, she said, “Listen, I have a plan. It’s risky, but you need medical help now, not later.”

  “I’m listening,” Dev said. There was no doubt she looked like a warrior in this moment. And even now, he thought she was incredibly beautiful. When the chips were down, Kulani was there. She was strong, and her thinking was clear despite the chaotic action surrounding them.

  He saw the fear and dread in her dark eyes, though. He was scared, too, but now they were a well-oiled, functioning team. They needed one another. And they worked well together because they had put their trust fully in each other. Dev hadn’t thought he’d ever see something like this happen to him. Thanks to Kulani’s trust, her need for him, his heart had opened. Even more amazing was his realization that he needed her just as much as she needed him.

  Rubbing her brow, Kulani said, “Let the helo land and the pilot throttle her back to idle pitch. I know he won’t shut off the engine—he’ll keep those blades turning. I think we should attack at that moment. If you can take out the mercs first, reducing our chances of getting hit with bullets, I’ll go for the pilot. I want to get into that cockpit, yank him out of there, and get you and the professor, along with that anthrax case of his, on board.” She gave him a triumphant look. “I’ll fly us out of here. That way, I can get you to the nearest hospital and Valdemar to the authorities all at once. What do you think?”

  Hunter sat there digesting her plan. “If I don’t take out the mercs, we’re in trouble.”

  “Can you do it left-handed? I know you’re ambidextrous.” She pointed to his right fingers. “You said you can barely flex them. Will you be able to use them to pull the trigger on your rifle? You’re the firearms expert, I’m not. I’m good, but not like you.”

  Understanding Kulani’s logic, Dev sighed. “All I can do is try. Those tranquilizer darts are powerful enough to drop a bull elephant, so once those mercs are down, they’re out. If I can’t get close enough to take them down with the darts, I’ll take them out with the bullets.”

  “If you use darts to incapacitate them, we can leave them behind. All I’m interested in is the professor and his cargo,” Kulani said grimly. “I want that son of a bitch.”

  He heard the grating in her husky voice and saw the glimmer in her eyes. “Okay,” he sighed, “it’s a good makeshift plan under the circumstances. We’ve got to get into position. Do you think you can put yourself in the right place to take a shot at the pilot?”

  “There’s only one way he can land and take off,” she said grimly, “and I’ll be there. I’ll have to get on board and take him out with a dart. There’s no way I’m going to shoot a bullet through the canopy. I don’t want to risk destroying the control panel.” Besides, Kulani didn’t want to use her sidearm to kill the pilot, she simply wanted to immobilize him. She had enough nightmares from the Gulf War to last her a lifetime; she didn’t want to add to them, if she could help it.

  Dev sat there feeling helpless. Kulani’s plan placed her in optimum danger. If he couldn’t take down the three mercs, her life would be in grave jeopardy. She’d never board the helicopter in time.

  “What about the professor?”

  Shrugging, Kulani ran her hand across the top of his hard thigh. She saw he was in pain from the wound. “He’s the wild card in all of this. I didn’t see a weapon on him. Did you?”

  “No. But that doesn’t mean the bastard won’t have one when it comes time for the helo arrival.”

  With a shake of her head, Kulani said, “It will be my responsibility to take him down, that’s all.”

  “Him and the pilot.” Hunter rolled his eyes.

  Grinning tightly, Kulani said, “The price of admission, isn’t it? You’ve got three men to take down, I only have two.”

  “Yeah, the worst two—and with darts, not bullets. That pilot will be carrying a pistol, for sure. He’ll know you’re coming on board. That’s a high ante.”

  Kulani felt Dev’s concern. She patted his thigh. “I’ll be okay. Birds are my specialty.”

  “If you have to,” Dev warned her, “you take them both down with your pistol. Screw the darts. Your life is worth more than theirs ever will be.”

  The glitter in his eyes made her shiver. He meant it. Her hand stilled on his thigh. “I’ll do whatever I have to, Dev. I don’t like killing. I’ll avoid it if I can, but believe me, I’m not putting myself in jeopardy—or you. Okay?”

  He slid his hand over hers. She was so warm and alive. Their mission was hovering like the sword of Damocles over their heads. He could feel the pressure mounting inside his chest and gut. He could taste death in his mouth. Holding her luminous gaze, he rasped, “Dammit, I just found you and the last thing I want is to lose you, Kulani.” His fingers gripped hers. “I want a chance with you.”

  Bowing her head because tears smarted in her eyes, she whispered, “So do I, Dev.”

  Sighing raggedly, Dev felt the water dripping across his hair and down the back of his neck. The storm was easing now. Behind it, he saw another roll of black clouds drifting ominously across the top of the ridge toward them. He wanted to say I love you, but he couldn’t. Not now. Did Kulani love him? How had this all happened? Dev’s head spun with questions but no answers. His heart, however, was wide open and bleeding with anxiety for Kulani’s life. She was the one taking the biggest risk of all, by exposing herself. Him? Well, he’d take out the mercs from the ferns and never be seen. It would be hard to locate him—but not her.

  Lifting his hand, he looked at the watch on his wrist. “It’s time to go.”

  The words sent a chill along her spine. Nodding, Kulani moved silently and picked up her rifle. Her heart was pounding with an adrenaline surge. The rain let up just as suddenly as it had started. They would have to be careful getting back to their respective positions or someone might spot fern movement and destroy their surprise plan of attack.

  As she got ready to go, she felt Dev’s hand on her arm. Turning, she saw his fierce expression.

  “Stay safe, you hear me? You mean a lot to me, Kulani. I want the right to explore life with you after this is over.”

  Shaken, she reached out and touched his ha
nd. “So do I, Dev.” In that split second, Kulani realized how much she loved him. She was stunned by the magnitude of her feelings. She loved Dev with all her heart. It was that simple. That horrifyingly complex. Right now, in the next twenty minutes, they could be killed. Her mouth grew dry as she held his glittering green, predatory gaze. “Stay safe, darling….”

  The words warmed him like a blanket even though he was chilled and wet from the rainstorm. Their fingers separated. He wanted to cry. He wanted to scream at the gods and goddesses of creation on this island. Life wasn’t fair.

  Slowly he got to his knees and slung the rifle across his back. Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Kulani disappear among the ferns. She was heading toward the place where she could intercept the helo once it landed. He had to go in the opposite direction. The bitterness coating his mouth grew with each slow, cautious movement he made through the dense jungle. He loved Kulani. Oh, Lord, he loved her. And now he could lose her….

  The black helicopter arrived exactly twenty minutes later. It was a twin-engine Agusta, the only type, Kulani guessed, that had the speed and range to make such a quick interisland flight. The aircraft was used by the military for its electronic warfare capabilities. The helicopter could fly at night or in foggy weather. She’d never flown this particular helicopter, but, thankfully, she’d flown military helos in the U.S. Navy. That experience would have to suffice. She knew each helo was a little different, and that put her at a disadvantage, because she didn’t know the idiosyncrasies of this aircraft and had no time to learn them. From her vantage point, she watched the huge, black bird slowly begin its descent. It was a very precarious flight operation and her gaze was riveted on the pilot, who was obviously highly skilled. The buffeting wind kicked up by the massive rotor blades shook the entire surrounding jungle. She lay on her belly, the ferns covering her position.

  To the left of the helo, she saw all of the professor’s crew, their faces uplifted, watching the aircraft. She knew Dev was in place by now, but she didn’t know exactly where he was. The professor stood with his arms wrapped tightly around a silver metal suitcase pressed to his chest. He moved nervously from foot to foot. So did the mercs, who kept swinging their attention from the aircraft to the surrounding trees. Sweat dribbled down her cheeks. The rain began again and she prayed that it would not be a deluge and make targeting their tangos difficult.

  Her hands opened and closed nervously around the stock of her rifle. She had six darts in the weapon. She couldn’t afford to miss too many shots. All her focus narrowed on the helo. Within moments, it would land. The mercs were in a group to one side. She knew that would make Dev’s targeting them easier. Anxiously, she craned her neck to see if there was a copilot. There was not. That was good news. Were there other men inside? That she didn’t know. If there were, it would change the game completely.

  The instant the pilot throttled down the rotors and the aircraft settled in for a landing, the professor trotted toward it. As he jerked open the door and slid it back, Kulani heard gunfire erupt and saw the first merc go down. She leaped to her feet. She couldn’t afford to watch the mercs. Her focus had to be on the helicopter.

  As she lunged upward, rifle in hand, she took aim at the professor, who was trying to clamber up into the aircraft. Just as she shot, she saw the pilot come to the door to give him a hand.

  The dart missed! Kulani hissed a curse. She swung her rifle to the pilot, who was leaning down, his hand extended to help the professor into the bay. More gunfire erupted. She knew the mercs were shooting at Dev. Brushing the trigger with her finger, she fired a second dart. Yes! The pilot yelped and instantly released Valdemar. The professor cried out and fell backward. The pilot swatted at the side of his neck, where the dart had sunk deeply into his flesh. Almost instantly, he crumpled to the floor of the helo, unconscious.

  Good!

  The professor scrambled back up into the helo. He jerked the pistol from the unconscious pilot’s holster. His eyes were filled with rage and fear as he jerked his gaze around the area. Kulani knew the moment he spotted her. Instantly, he lifted the pistol in her direction. She dodged behind a tree trunk. Bullets whizzed on either side of her. Breathing hard, she waited a second.

  Go! Now! She leaped from behind the tree. Lifting the rifle, she saw the professor crouched in the bay, both hands on his pistol, which was aimed at her.

  Kulani had no choice. She had to stand still long enough to take her shot. Spreading her legs, she anchored the butt of the rifle deeply into her shoulder and took aim. Kulani saw the pistol buck in the professor’s hands.

  Now! She brushed the trigger with her finger. Bullets screamed by her ear. Dropping to the ground, Kulani saw the professor cry out. The dart had struck him a glancing blow along his arm. Angrily, he brushed it out of his flesh as easily as flicking off an annoying fly.

  Kulani jerked a look to her left. She saw the third merc crash into the underbrush, unconscious. Breathing hard, she shoved herself to her feet. The professor still had the pistol. He was staggering backward, his gun arm waving wildly in the air. His knees began to buckle.

  Leaping awkwardly across the ferns and rocks, Kulani reached the helicopter. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Dev running toward the unmoving mercs. The professor was on his hands and knees, the silver suitcase to his left. He glared at her as she approached the aircraft. Drool was coming out of both sides of his mouth and he weakly tried to lift the pistol as she leaped up onto the lip of the helo.

  Kicking out, Kulani caught the professor’s gun hand with her boot. The pistol went flying off toward the cockpit.

  “You bitch!” the professor snarled, but the words were slurred. He fell forward, his eyes rolling up into his head as he slumped to the deck.

  Kulani pushed by him. She laid the rifle aside and grabbed up the suitcase, taking it forward with her into the cockpit. The helo was shuddering and shaking. The blades were whipping up gusts of wind all around the area, making the jungle foliage quake. Kulani spotted Valdemar’s pistol in the copilot’s seat. Hurry! She settled into the pilot’s seat without preamble. There was no time to shrug into the safety harness. She rapidly scanned the instrument panel. Looking up, she saw Dev disabling the mercs by taking their rifles and slinging them across his left shoulder. She could see he was in great pain as he raced drunkenly toward the helo.

  The instant he was on board, Kulani wrapped her hands around the cyclic and collective. The helo was shaking and shuddering, the blades whirling faster and faster now as she fed the engine more power. Suddenly, she heard shouts behind her. Jerking a look over her shoulder, she saw the professor lunging upward at Dev.

  Dev cursed as Valdemar, whom he thought was unconscious, lunged forward. Already off balance from carrying three rifles, Dev wasn’t ready for the attack. Suddenly the professor’s enraged features loomed threateningly before him, his hands outstretched like claws. He hit Dev squarely in the chest. With a grunt, Dev lost his footing. The professor jerked at one of the rifles slung across Dev’s left shoulder. No! Pain arced up through Dev’s right arm as he tried to snatch the weapon back, but the bullet wound had weakened him considerably. At the same time, Dev lashed out with his right foot to knock the man away from him.

  Too late! Dev cried out as the professor avoided his swinging leg and, using his fist, struck Dev’s wounded arm. Dev instantly released the rifle. Valdemar tumbled out of the helicopter, weapon in hand, as Dev dropped to his knees, blackness rimming his vision. With blood spurting from his injury once again, he sank down to the deck, gasping for breath and unable to fight off the unconsciousness stalking him. He’d used up every reserve he’d had, nailing the three mercs, and the run for the chopper had left him greatly weakened. He was losing a lot of blood. Now, as he lay there on the cold steel deck, sucking in breaths of air, he knew they were in trouble. Through his graying vision, he saw the professor running toward the cover of the trees. The son of a bitch would shoot them out of the sky!

  Rolling over wi
th a groan, Dev released the other rifles and tried to get up. The jolting motion of the helo beginning to rise threw him off balance. He tumbled backward against some nylon webbing in the rear of the craft. Dev understood what Kulani was doing. She was trying to get up and out of there before the professor could shoot at the engine and bring them down. Dev felt so damned helpless as he rolled to his left side. Blood was all over the deck now, making it too slippery for him to get a good footing. He had to clamp his hand over his arm or he’d bleed to death. As badly as Dev wanted to reach for one of those rifles and shoot at the professor out the open door, he couldn’t. He had to stop the wound from taking his life. The escape was up to Kulani.

  Kulani cried out Dev’s name, though she knew he couldn’t hear her. With the door still open, the roar in the helo was loud and grating. She made a life-and-death decision. As Valdemar skittered away, rifle in hand, she pulled up on the cyclic, and the helo, which was at full power now, groaned and broke contact with the earth. She had to get them out of here! It was their only chance. If she sat on the ground, they were sitting ducks for the professor. She saw the horrifying amount of blood on the deck from Dev’s wound. Understanding what had occurred, Kulani knew it was the only decision she could make to save his life.

  Gasping, she strained to check the clearance on either side of the helo. The blades were frighteningly close to the lava wall! Rain was pouring down in unrelenting sheets. Kulani struggled to estimate the distance between the wall and the rotors. This was flying by the seat of her pants; no instruments could get her out of this—only her long experience could.

  To add to her dilemma, the wind was viciously gusting. She had to readjust the controls after each punch from the blast made the helo shudder like a boxer hit squarely in the face. She had to instantly correct for it or crash. Everything was moving so slowly as they cautiously rose.

  They were barely at tree level when the windshield in front of her exploded. With a cry, Kulani jerked her head to one side. Valdemar was firing into the cockpit, trying to kill her! Oh, no! Her heart rate soared. Her hands gripped the collective and cyclic so hard her knuckles whitened. Rain poured through the jagged opening on the left side of the cockpit, drenching her and the controls.