“Oh sweets. Oh thank God. Fuck, the helicopter.”
I pointed behind me. “I think it might be totaled. And getting it off the top of some pines is going to be really hard.”
“Fuck,” Kennedy breathed and pulled me in for a hug.
“What’s the status on the enemy?” I asked, stepping back. I loved being in his arms, but this wasn’t over yet.
“Probably in pursuit,” Ford said grimly. “We heard them fly in as we were coming to you. They landed on our helipad, I’m sure.”
“A fucking welcome mat,” Hayes grumbled.
I swallowed. “You let them breach the compound?”
“Extracting you was priority one,” Ford said.
I shook my head because tactically, coming for me wasn’t the smartest move. Instead of feeling defensive that they were babying me, though, my eyes went misty. Leave it to my team to put my safety above all else.
“Mrs. L,” I gasped.
“She’s in town. Staying there,” Taft said, his gaze scanning the forest.
Relief coursed through me knowing she wasn’t in danger. The merc team wanted us and would probably use Ford’s grandmother against him.
“We need to get back right away,” I said. “Before they destroy the place.”
“You’re not going anywhere until we know it’s safe,” Kennedy said.
I pulled the gun from his thigh holster. “I’m armed. I can take care of myself.”
Kennedy shook his head. “Not happening.”
“Stay close. We all cover Quincy if there’s any fire,” Ford ordered, at odds with Kennedy. I wasn’t a SEAL, but I wasn’t a simple civilian either. “You’re good to hike it out?” he asked, shifting his gaze from mine and downward to my stomach.
I nodded. “I’m not injured. I’m good.”
I looked at Kennedy as I fell into step, and the group closed around me in a pack. Kennedy walked behind me, AR up and ready. “You told them?” I looked over my shoulder.
“You got shot down in a helicopter. I was nearly out of my fucking mind.”
Again, instead of taking offense, I grinned. I patted my still-flat belly. “Your daddy is going to take very good care of us,” I told the baby.
Kennedy’s steps faltered. “Damn straight,” he growled. “And you’re going to let me, right?”
I turned, and he stopped, moved the assault rifle out of the way when I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Yeah,” I said softly just before I kissed him.
“Your job is to cook this baby, but I have to stand back with my thumb up my ass. This isn’t something I can fix or take care of. I’m helpless.”
I never thought about it that way. Besides his super sperm getting past my birth control, he was on the sidelines for this job.
“I’ll let you,” I told him. If it gave him some peace of mind… and something to do, I was okay with it.
Some of the tension in his body slackened, and he kissed me back, hard. Then he turned me around, smacked my ass and told me, “We'd better keep walking.”
As it turned out, there was no time to walk. Shots rang out in the air, and we scattered and dove for cover behind trees, weapons drawn.
“Two o'clock,” Taft shouted.
Someone returned fire. Hayes, I thought.