“What’s happening? Rogue asked. “I can’t see over the debris.”
“A white van just pulled up, and a man is calling out your name. Jade’s holding him at gunpoint.”
“Has to be Crusher, the man who piloted the drone,” Rogue said. “He’s SOS. Don’t shoot him.”
Keira’s lips twisted. “The gun might look dangerous, but it's out of bullets.” She stood and called out. “Crusher?”
The man glanced in her direction.
“Rogue’s over here. He could use some help.” Keira dropped down beside Rogue again. “All of the men from the compound are either dead or gone.” She frowned. “It’s too bad it didn’t get here in time to take out Viktor. He’ll just find another location to build his army of lost girls.”
Rogue shook his head. “I saw the helicopter take off. Was Viktor the man on the bench near the door?”
“Yes, why?”
Rogue sighed. “I figured as much. I could hear what he was saying to you and Jade. I heard him give the order to kill all of you.” His lips pressed into a tight line. “Despite being trapped in this debris, I was able to pop off a shot. I could see him clearly through my scope and watched him slump when the bullet hit him square in the chest. If he didn’t die instantly, he won’t make it to a hospital.”
Keira reached for Rogue’s hand and raised it to her lips. “Thank you. You’ve saved the lives of countless girls.” She smiled down at him. “After all that’s happened, I can say with absolute certainty, I’m pretty sure that if I’m not already there, I’m well on my way to falling hopelessly in love with you.”
He brought her hand to his lips and pressed his lips to her knuckles. “That’s good, because I have no doubt whatsoever that I definitely, maybe, am in love with you.”
Crusher arrived at that moment, a frown denting his brow. “You two should get a room.”
Rogue laughed. “Get this beam off my leg, and we might just do that.”
“Before we get a room,” Keira said. “We need to get back to the compound.”
Rogue frowned. “Go back?”
“I’m afraid for the other Onyx girls. If Viktor is dead, Strickland might give the order to have them all killed.”
Crusher nodded. “Royce has that covered. His contact, Senator Hartley, who happens to be a former Navy SEAL pulled some strings and has a SEAL team out of Mississippi activated. They should be arriving at the compound within the next thirty minutes.”
“What about the compound near Corsicana?” Keira asked.
“Hartley, working with Royce and Hank Patterson pulled some strings to divert a Ranger training event at Fort Cavasos. They’ve been deployed to the Corsicana compound. The two teams are under orders to transport the Onyx women to a secret location.”
“Good,” Rogue laid back. “Those young women deserve a chance at a better life.”
Keira stared down at the amazing man who’d protected her, fought at her side and changed her world. He didn’t just care about her. He cared about the other girls of Onyx like her who’d need help reprogramming from the lies they’d been fed by Viktor and Stickland.
“You’re a special man, Rourke Logan,” she said.
He blinked up at her. “I think that’s the first time you’ve called me by my given name.”
“Your name’s Rourke?” Crusher shook his head. “I didn’t know that.”
Rogue snorted. “Shut up and get this thing off my leg. I have a room waiting for me and my woman once we get out of here.”
She smiled, her heart warming at his words. His woman. She liked the sound of it. She didn’t take offense to it since that would make him her man. And her man had made her realize love was not a liability but a blessing she would never take advantage of.
Rogue was the real deal, and he was definitely, maybe, in love with her.
Epilogue
Rogue stared out the window of the helicopter coming in for a landing at the White Oak Ranch near Eagle Rock, Montana. Royce sat in the seat beside him. Both men still had on the suits they’d worn to their depositions in Washington, DC, after the incredible take-down at the National Security Council meeting.
They hadn’t paused to change into more comfortable clothes before catching a plane to Boseman, where Hank Patterson, the founder of the Brotherhood Protectors, had a helicopter waiting for them. Once onboard, they’d been whisked away to the foothills of the Crazy Mountains, where Hank Patterson and his mega-movie star wife, Sadie McClain, lived.
