Sydney shook her head and rose fully to her feet. She kept her gun in her hand. She’d do whatever was necessary to stop the men from tearing each other apart. “We have to get out of here. Do you understand?”
Slade’s breaths sawed in and out of his lungs.
“Slade, do you understand?” There wasn’t time to waste. The rebels who’d fled before...what if they’d gone out to get reinforcements? Their EOD team was good, but it was just the four of them against a small army.
Slade nodded. “I...understand.”
Gunner was on his feet. Blood dripped from his busted lip.
“Then you stay between me and Gunner when we go out of here. You do exactly what we say.”
Slade glanced at Gunner. Even in the dark, she could feel Slade’s rage.
Rage? At the brother he’d loved so much?
More gunfire. Then...silence.
“Let’s go,” Sydney whispered. She had to focus on just getting Slade out of there. They’d deal with everything else once they were in a secure location. The temple looked as if it would fall on them all any second. Not secure at all.
She led the men out, and Gunner closed in behind Slade. She searched first, making sure it was clear to run, and then they were moving, rushing forward and staying within the cover of trees as much as possible.
And she saw Logan firing at a man who’d rushed up toward him. The man fell, and Logan kept running, motioning for Sydney and her group to join him.
She was more than happy to follow him out of that place.
They went to the left, to the right, following a trail that only existed in Logan’s mind. Then, beneath the hanging vines of a twisted tree, she saw a jeep, half-hidden by the foliage. Logan jumped in the front of the vehicle.
“Get in!” Logan yelled.
She grabbed Slade’s arm and helped hoist him inside and as soon as his feet touched down—
Gunner knocked Sydney to the ground. Two cracks of gunfire sounded, and a bullet slammed into the jeep, exactly where she had been about two seconds ago.
His gaze bored into hers. The sun was just starting to rise, still not giving her enough light to gauge the expression in his eyes, and she wished that she could see so much more.
Logan returned fire on the enemy.
Gunner hauled her up, shielded her with his body, and all but tossed her into the jeep.
Then Logan was taking off and rushing away from the battle. Yanking on the wheel, finding a road—well, not a road so much, just a space between trees that most would never have known existed.
The jeep slowed for an instant, and Cale jumped from the shadows and slid into the back.
Then they kept going.
Faster, faster.
Until the gunfire sounded like fireworks in the distance. Until Sydney could breathe without tasting smoke.
She looked around her slowly. Gunner was pressed tightly to her side, and he had a hard grip on her wrist, as if he were afraid that she was going to try to get away from him.
Slade was on his other side. Not speaking. Barely seeming to move at all.
She stared down at Gunner’s hand. Very slowly, his hold eased.
Then he wasn’t holding her at all.
“Slade Ortez?” Logan said as he gripped the steering wheel.