His grip gentled, his voice rough in her ear. “I’m not the danger, Bailee. I’m the one between you and it.”
Her lashes lowered again, a flicker of emotion tightening her mouth. Something unspoken. Something he didn’t know how to name.
“You have no idea. Do you? No idea.” Her gaze drifted over his face, lingering on his mouth, her own lips parting as if a confession trembled there.
Then the brush snapped nearby, bootsteps crunching through the green, and the moment shattered beneath the weight of the hunt.
“Shh. Stay quiet.”
But Bailee was already shifting, her instincts firing before her mind could catch up. She tried to sit up, groaning as her hand went to her head. Flint’s ears snapped forward, a sharp warning rumble in his chest.
Bear’s gut clenched. Too late. More furtive noise, faint voices threading through the jungle. Pursuit had closed the distance.
“Dammit,” he muttered, dragging her close again, pressing her against the earth. “You just lit us up.”
Her lips curved in a grimace, hissing, “I’m not going to lay here like a weak link.”
Leaves rustled, bootsteps too close now. Bear tightened his hold on her, his hand closing around his suppressed rifle. Flint trembled with the need to strike.
“LT,” Bear whispered into the mic, his tone sharp. “Contact imminent.”
Joker’s voice crackled back, urgent. “Hold your ground. We’re five minutes out.”
Five? They wouldn’t last two with Bailee half-conscious and an enemy patrol fanning the brush. Bear’s jaw locked. He wasn’t letting them take her. Not while he drew breath.
The first shadow broke the tree line. Bear steadied his rifle one-handed, the other locked tight around Bailee’s waist as she tried to push up again.
“Stay down.”
Her eyes snapped to his, unfocused but blazing underneath. “Not on your life. I won’t watch you bleed out again. I see it enough in my nightmares.”
Her hand shook, but her grip was sure as she dragged the sidearm from her thigh holster. The sight of her, half-conscious and still ready to kill for him, hit Bear harder than the enemy bearing down.
Bear’s teeth clenched. Even concussed, she had fight. Great Spirit help him, he respected the hell out of her.
Three more figures ghosted through the brush. Flint’s snarl ripped the air, low and savage, vibrating against Bear’s leg.
“Wait,” Bear ordered softly. “Hold.”
But Bailee didn’t wait. She raised the pistol and fired. The shot cracked through the green, the recoil jolting her arm as one man dropped back with a curse.
“Dammit, Bailee,” Bear hissed, pivoting to cover their flank. The jungle erupted: shouts, gunfire, chaos.
Flint launched, a black streak of fury, slamming into a hostile before he could bring his weapon to bear. The man screamed, blood spraying as Flint’s jaws locked on his forearm, dragging him down into the brush.
Bear fired twice, controlled bursts, dropping another attacker. He shifted his body to shield Bailee as she lined up another shot, her arms trembling but her will steady.
“Two minutes out!” Joker’s voice cut through the comms.
Bear ducked low, pulling Bailee tight against him as rounds shredded leaves overhead. His heart hammered, but his voice stayed calm, grounding. He pressed his cheek against her hair, breathed her in, and whispered, “Stay with me, Bailee. Just a little longer. The guys are almost here.”
Her breath hitched, her head dropping against his shoulder. But her hand never loosened on the pistol.
Flint, muzzle bloodied, teeth bared, snarled over the fallen man, ready for the next.
Everything went quiet. Bear counted bodies with a warrior’s brutality, six down, one still breathing, but impaired. Bear had caught the sound of a jammed weapon.
He rose slowly, scanning the area, adrenaline spiking, and every instinct he had on the woman close to him. The man exploded out of the brush, cracking Flint across the skull and the dog dropped. Bailee made a murderous sound and turned, but too late. The butt jabbed into her temple and she went down.
