Blake shot her an amused smirk, and his good-natured laugh eased some of her guilt.
He crossed his arms and puffed out his chest. “All right, Corporal. Answer me this. Have you always been so damned disagreeable?”
Kellie allowed her focus to travel from his head to his toes, then looked away and shrugged. “Damn right, sailor.”
Blake raised a brow, his expression stony. The next instant, he threw his head back and hooted a laugh. Turning to MacGyver, he slapped him on the shoulder. “She’s gonna be fine, Bro. Too damn ornery to stop fighting just because some lightweight gangster doesn’t play well with others. Open that kit. Let’s get the woman fixed up. What are you waiting for?”
MacGyver did as his friend suggested, casting Kellie a curious glance.
Who would have thought Blake Sorenson would ever understand me better than MacGyver?Yeah, maybe hell did just freeze over.
Blake knelt in front of her and held the open first aid kit MacGyver handed him. “I ran into Travis after we landed. He was on his way to meet up with you, but I asked him to backtrack to the chopper and stay with Charlie and Jeremy in case there was trouble.”
“Good idea.” MacGyver cleaned and applied antiseptic ointment to her busted lip and the cut on her neck. “The man who did this to Kellie claimed Palazzi was on the move. I think Charlie is off his radar for now. Unfortunately, my aim was a little off. He didn’t have an opportunity to tell me where Palazzi was heading.” He fixed a butterfly bandage to her throat, his touch sending warmth radiating through her.
“There you go—good as new. Think you can walk?” With a wink and a smile, MacGyver held out a hand to help her up.
“I can walk.” She was in a hell of a lot better shape than if MacGyver hadn’t come for her. “Which way?”
“About a half mile…straight up.” Blake jabbed a thumb back the way she’d come.
Kellie laughed and shook her head. “You couldn’t have parked that thing on the downhill side, huh?”
MacGyver’s phone vibrated and he checked the screen before accepting the call. “Hey, Travis. Where are you?…Palazzi? What happened?…Charlie knows better, right? I warned him Palazzi might try that.”
“What’s wrong? Is Pop okay?” Kellie tried to squelch her impatience when MacGyver wouldn’t answer her.
“Yeah, I can see how that would upset him. Kellie’s right here. Calm down and put Charlie on the phone.” MacGyver held out the device and started to chuckle as he kept her from raising it to her ear. “He needs to know where you are and that you’re all right. He’s holding Travis and Jeremy at gunpoint, giving them one chance to prove Palazzi doesn’t have you.”
Kellie almost laughed at the image of her pop holding a Navy SEAL and a US Marshal hostage, but she cleared her throat and managed to swallow her amusement. “Pop?”
“Kellie?”
“It’s me, Pop. You can let Travis and Jeremy go. I’m fine.”
She heard him exhale. “Palazzi said he’d kill you. I wasn’t there when Anna needed me. I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you.”
Kellie’s eyes misted. “I know. You’ve always been my hero. You know that, right?” Was he crying? “Everything’s okay. MacGyver and Blake are with me, and we’re heading your way. We’ll go somewhere far away from here, where Tony will never bother us again. Don’t shoot the guys, Pop. They saved our lives.”
An awkward silence filled a brief moment. “I’ll try to stay out of trouble.”
“Might be too late for that. See you soon.” Kellie ended the call and handed the phone to MacGyver. Then she took the point, starting up the deer trail that led to the top of the rock outcrop.
Twenty-five minutes later, worn-out, battered and fighting a headache from hell, Kellie crawled into the belly of the chopper and hugged Pop. As soon as she slid down the bulkhead and sat, Chip climbed in her lap and welcomed her with whimpers and butt wiggles.
Blake, Travis and Jeremy remained outside and followed MacGyver to a spot a few feet from the open bay door. They huddled and spoke quietly together. Paranoid as she’d become, Kellie tried not to jump to the conclusion they were discussing her, but a balloon of dread inflated in her stomach just the same. If not her, what were they talking about, and why hadn’t she and Pop been included in the confab? She pushed Chip from her legs and stood just as the group disbanded and strode toward the chopper.
Blake hopped in, threw her a grin and continued to the front to slip behind the controls. Jeremy climbed up as the engine cranked over and the rotor blades hummed into action. Kellie watched as he stuffed an extra water bottle in both MacGyver’s and Travis’s packs and carried them to the opening.
MacGyver’s glance skittered over her as he took his pack from Jeremy and shrugged it onto his shoulders. Fear pierced her chest like a knife. He wasn’t coming with them. He and Travis were…what? Going after Tony and his hired guns—just the two of them? Were they crazy?
Her hands squeezed into fists as she rushed to the bay doorway. “What are you doing?” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the engine noise.
He slanted his head up to look at her, and the sexy grin that had grown so familiar nearly knocked her legs from beneath her. He reached for her ankle, slowly skimming his hand to her calf. The intimacy of his touch was almost unbearable.
He leaned closer. “Thanks to Palazzi calling Charlie and demanding he surrender, we know he left here thirty minutes ago, and he’s headed for Felts Field, outside Spokane. Figured we’d take Charlie’s car and surprise him.” MacGyver zeroed in on the left side of her face, where she was sure an ugly bruise and swelling had done her looks no favors. “The bastard has terrorized you, your sister and Charlie long enough. It ends today.”
“Going up against that many men—just you and Travis—it’s suicide! Don’t go, MacGyver. Let the Justice Department and the marshals have him.” Kellie was about one argument away from panic, and she struggled to calm down.