Looking down, she saw him trying to get a clear shot at her. Jinx scrambled when he fired, grateful that it missed her head. She moved up higher, but the new branch was weaker. Uh oh.
Gunshots and yelling caught her attention—mainly because she wasn’t the one being fired at. She tried to get a better view, but all she could see were dark figures moving on the outskirts, closing in. That’s when she heard someone shout out a command—it was Vic.
“Give up now and no one has to get hurt!”
Relief flooded her when she realized her team had arrived. Thank God! All Jinx had to do was stay up here out of the way. That was when the branch she was holding on to decided her weight was too much. She came crashing down, hitting almost every branch below. But she didn’t hit the ground as she expected. Instead she landed on the brother who had been shooting at her.
“Umph!” Shards of pain rushed through her body. She couldn’t move, but the man she landed on was recovering much faster. He shoved her off of him and got to his knees. Where the hell did he find the strength?
Footsteps approached. She couldn’t let this guy get away. Taking a deep breath, Jinx willed herself up to her knees and grabbed for his legs, jerking him down. She forgot about the gun; he must have dropped it when she landed on him. He saw it at the same time she did, and they both scrambled toward it.
He punched at her. Jinx kicked at his head and moved forward scraping her hands against the rocks and branches. She got to the gun first and didn’t hesitate. She swung down, hitting the man in the head. The perp fell down unconscious half on her legs.
Jinx lay on her back on the dirt, exhausted and in agony. Man, she wanted to get an IV of pain meds and sleep for days in Drake’s arms. Drake...where was he?
*****
Jinx!Drake felt like his heart was crashing down to his stomach when he saw something fall out of a tree. He knew without a doubt it was her. He wanted to rush to her, but he was backing up Vic as his boss took down one of the perps. He had to concentrate on disarming this asshole first.
“Watch out Vic.” He shoved his boss out of the way when the male discharged his weapon. Drake felt a scrape of the bullet as it sliced over his shoulder. Asia ran past them and did her flips and tumbles, surprising the male, and kicking his gun out of his hand. She punched him in the gut hard. The perp went down to his knees. Vic moved at the same time as Drake and together they took the male’s arms behind his back, secured the electric cuffs. That would keep him immobile until they were ready to move him.
Drake turned toward where Jinx had fallen, relieved that Shy and Kalen were already by her side. He turned to Vic, who waved him to go for Jinx.
As he got closer, he noticed that Kalen had the other perp in electric cuffs. Jinx had knocked this one unconscious. Shy was leaning over Jinx, who was lying flat on her back. He saw the bruises and his gut clenched at the pain on her lovely face. She tried to sit up.
“Don’t move Jinx. Isaac is getting the first aid supplies.” Shy gently pushed her back down.
Jinx looked up at Drake. “Are you okay?” she asked.
That was just like her, checking on others first. God he loved her. It hit him like a ton of bricks. This small female with multicolored hair had won his heart in such a short amount of time.
He knelt down on her other side and gently touched her cheek. “I’m in better shape than you. Why did you decide to take down a tree from the top first?”
Jinx laughed then groaned in pain. “Things happen around me, but I caught the bad guy.”
He smiled at her. “You sure did.”
Isaac sat down on her other side. He took out a handheld medical scanner. It would let him know what her ailments were and propose treatment.
“You have a lot of bruises and your ankle is sprained. I don’t detect anything internal, but I’m not a paramedic. You’ll need to go to a hospital to be thoroughly checked out. I can give you something to ease your pain, but it will only last a few hours.”
“Please, I would appreciate it,” Jinx said as she reached for Drake’s hand. He squeezed it reassuringly. As Isaac injected a needleless air pressurized pain medication, the lines of pain eased from her face, and Drake felt that tightness in his chest ease with it.
“The authorities are on their way.” Shy told him.
“Good. As soon as they get here we can take her to the hospital.” Drake said.
“I’m okay,” Jinx mumbled.
Drake raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Humor me beautiful. I would feel better knowing a doctor has taken a look at you.”
Jinx twitched her lips as if to argue with him but then her eyes softened. “Okay.”
Drake smiled at her easy agreement. She must really be hurting, or she saw his concern and responded. The sirens signaled the authorities approaching. Bending over, Drake lifted her in his arms carefully and stood up with her.
Walking to the van, he noticed the truck tires. “You did a good job sabotaging their ride.” There was no response. He glanced down; Jinx had passed out. Her chest was rising, her breathing was even. She was the most precious cargo.
Vic approached, “How is she?”
“Okay, except for cuts and bruises. We need to take her to the hospital immediately so she can be fully checked out.”
Vic got into the driver’s seat, while Drake sat on the second row so he could hold Jinx. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You did great babe, but don’t scare me like that again.”
Her lips moved up in a smile, but she didn’t say anything. Jinx rested peacefully in his arms and Drake knew he would never let her go.
