Todd was faster.
Pointing his gun at Shorty, he kept the other guy in his peripheral vision. “Drop it.”
Lindsey scrambled behind Todd as the shiny Glock hit the dirt.
“Kick it to me,” Todd said.
Glaring and red-faced, the man did as instructed.
“Now you,” Todd said to the spokesman of the pair, who followed suit with defiant slowness.
“You a cop?” the guy asked, removing his shades to reveal hard green eyes. He hooked the glasses in the V of his heavy, button-down work shirt.
“Nope.”
Green Eyes put his hands on his hips and shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re fucking with.”
“I have some idea.” Not that it mattered. “Lindsey, if you look in the middle outer pocket of my pack, you’ll find a roll of duct tape.” He never went anywhere without it.
She disappeared from view, reminding him how much he was trusting her. But she hadn’t fallen off a cliff—barefoot, no less—just to get his attention. She returned to his side. “Got it.”
“You okay with this?” What if he’d completely misread her discomfort? Or overreacted?
“Definitely. I just didn’t want you to get hurt.”
The tightness in his neck eased a fraction. He’d made the right call. She’d even tried to sacrifice herself for him.
“Toss the tape to that one.” He gestured to the green-eyed goon.
“Not a chance, dickhead.” The sun glinted off a five-inch blade in the stocky man’s fist as he lunged toward Lindsey.
With a shrill cry, she threw herself sideways and landed on her knees in the dirt.
The thick man’s momentum put him on Todd’s right, and he took advantage, kicking the side of the attacker’s knee while keeping his gun aimed at Green Eyes. Shorty dropped like a bag of wet cement, howling and releasing the knife to grip his knee in both hands.
The injured shit-for-brains spouted creative insults against everything from Todd’s mother to his manhood while his buddy—following Todd’s orders—bound the man’s wrists and ankles.
In silence, Green Eyes let Lindsey secure him under Todd’s watchful gaze, the scowl never leaving his face.
Once both men kneeled or lay before him with their hands and feet tied behind their backs, Todd finally dropped his guard an inch, returning his Sig to the holster hooked discreetly onto the front of his waistband. He searched both men, netting another hunting knife, two more guns, and two radios.
He removed the radio batteries and stuck them in his pack before crushing the hardware under his boot heel. The guns he unloaded and tossed up the hill, keeping the ammo because he wasn’t going to leave lead in the forest.
One blade went into the cargo pocket of his pants. He offered the other to Lindsey. “You want this?”
With a shudder, she clipped the sheath onto her waistband at her right hip, her gaze hopping from Todd to the men on the ground.
“One more thing,” Todd said. He crouched behind the injured man. “I’m taking your shoes.”
“Fuck you!” The man kicked out, striking Todd at the hairline, and then locked up, howling like a demon.
“Forgot about that knee, huh?” Todd shook his head against the stars crowding his vision and unlaced the lightweight tan combat boots, similar to what he’d worn in the Air Force, sliding them from the man’s feet. “Size nine.” He glanced at Lindsey. “Think they’ll fit?”
She wrinkled her nose, but nodded. If the redness and scratches were any indication, walking wasn’t going to feel good no matter what she wore, but boots were far better than bare feet.
“Let’s get you bandaged up first.” He kept an eye on their attackers and retrieved his first aid kit.
Digging into his supplies, he turned his attention to her cut and blistered feet. Once satisfied that they’d staved off potential infection, he handed her the softest, thickest pair of socks he had with him, and then carefully donned his backpack. “Don’t worry,” he said to the green-eyed man glaring at him. “When we get to town, we’ll be sure to let the police know where we left you.”
