“Can’t tell you that, mate.”
The man moved aside and another shot cracked a bloody centimeter from Ash’s foot. Ducking, he spun, sought cover, and eyed the aircraft. They weren’t shooting at the giant, he realized, but him.
He crouched behind the outcropping of rock, hoping his proximity to the woman would keep them from firing at him again.
“I’d better be going,” he said, leaning to the side with a quick look down. Ignoring his distaste at the idea of following Deegan’s corpse, he noted the pool at the base of the falls, white with froth. Possibly deep, then again, maybe not. If he jumped far enough out, he’d just make it. “That’s your team up there. Not mine,” he called, watching the giant’s face go through a series of expressions—from that adrenaline-crazed look to indecision and finally some kind of understanding. “Tell them to stop.”
After a moment, the man waved his arms at the helicopter.
Just the distraction Ash needed. He stood and moved a few meters back, peripherally noting that the woman on the ground was moving again. A tiny spark of that old, untrustworthy hope returned. “You’re Elias?” he yelled, to which the giant finally nodded.
“I’m Ash.”
“Okay.”
Before the man finished the word, Ash was off, bypassing him with a grin. “See you around, mate!” he bellowed as he threw himself off the cliff and into the water’s roaring embrace.
***
For two seconds, Elias stared, stunned, as the man disappeared into the waterfall.
A moment later, his instincts kicked in. Not trusting that the people in the aircraft were his, he turned and raced back for Leo; diving, he wrapped her up in his body and rolled against the ledge—the only cover he could find—expecting to be riddled with bullets in the process.
Nothing. No shots fired. No sound but the never-ending pounding of water to stone. In his brain echoed the man’s last words—See you around, mate—said like some fucking James Bond.
“Elias!”
Who the hell was that, calling from above as if he knew him? He ignored the voice, wrapped his arms around Leo as carefully as he could and put his lips to her ear. “Leo,” he whispered through his raw throat. “Sweetheart. I’m here. I’m here.” She stirred, though her eyes didn’t open. Both of them shook from the wet and the cold.
The helo hovered low, its shadow darkening the entire slab of rock. The shadow chilled him almost as much as the wind from the rotors.
There was no way out. Well, they could take to the water like the Bond dude, but at this point, neither would survive.
He was flat out of energy.
“Elias. Elias Thorne.” A man dressed in khaki tactical gear rappelled to the ground above him, then jumped from the ledge to land a few feet away. “I’m Von Krainik. Leo’s teammate,” he yelled. “Come on, man. Let’s get you guys to a doc.”
Elias shook his head and refused to move. They’d have to get through him to touch Leo.
“Elias. Amka sent me.”
“How’d you find us?”
The man nodded his head to where the two men had fallen a few minutes earlier—one a dead body, the other a freaking stuntman. “One of those guys activated a personal locator beacon a couple hours ago.”
“There are more.”
“They’ve been contained.”
“How?”
Though he didn’t actually smile, the glee on Krainik’s deeply scarred face was the creepiest thing Elias had ever seen. Well, the second creepiest, after the British guy’s maneuvers. “Your godmother led a rebellion. From what I heard, the old lady tore their shit up. Contained ’em before we ever arrived on the scene.”
That would have made Elias happy if Leo weren’t lying limp in his arms.
“There’ll be more.”
“We’ve been informed the team expected no backup. This was a one-and-done operation.”
