Am I dying?
She thought maybe she was. Until suddenly, miraculously, she began to feel stronger. Steadier.
Almost frantically, she lifted her shirt to inspect the wound, shocked to see her bleeding had damn near stopped.
Holy shit. It works!Tears of joy mixed with the ones caused from the pain.
Kat had already known from the tests they’d run before that it had positive effects when administered through the venous system, but she wasn’t sure what would happen when she’d saturated the wound directly. To actuallyfeelthe drug working inside her body was almost indescribable.
Knowing her renewed sense of strength wouldn’t last forever, she bent down and picked up one of the two ceramic halves. Then, squeezing herself into the corner between the small vanity and door, she held the chunk of lid high in the air and waited.
Bukhari kicked the door in, and Kat had to flinch back against the wall to keep from getting struck. His momentary lapse from not seeing her like he’d expected gave her all the time she needed.
With as much strength as she could gather, Kat roared as she brought the toilet lid half down on to the man’s extended arm. The gun flew from his hand, clattering on the floor as he cried out in pain. Taking advantage of the moment, Kat swung the lid upward, the edge catching the bastard’s chin.
Bukhari’s head flew backward, and the rest of his body followed. Landing with a thud, the unconscious man lay half in and half out of the bathroom’s doorway.
Loud pops like gunshots rang out from somewhere in the building. The ringing was still present—something her scientist-trained brain made a mental note of—so it was still challenging to make out specific sounds.
Even so, everything that had happened to her these last few days, Kat was certain of one thing.
I know what a gunshot sounds like.
Dropping the lid somewhere behind her, Kat scrambled to pick up the gun. Her hand shook as she got into what she thought was the correct stance.
Bukhari’s men had come back for him, after all. They’d see what she’d done to their boss, and that she was still alive. And they’d kill her.
I’ll shoot as many as I can before that happens.
In her mind, she began praying as she waited to give the final fight of her life.
Chapter 18
Matt felt as though his heart would explode the second he and his team headed for the blown-out wall. Ghost and the others had divided up, half circling around front, the others heading to the back.
The flames were hot and high, but Matt pressed on. Nothing was going to keep him from finding his woman.
With his gun steady, he held up his hand in a fist, signaling the others to stop. Giving Gabe a tip of his head, he motioned to where at least four men were rummaging through the debris.
Even from here, he could tell they were armed, but with their heads down and their hands full, their guns were hanging loosely at their sides.
Idiots.They were so busy trying to save what they could from the lab, they’d made themselves sitting fucking ducks.
Something else occurred to him. If they were trying to save what they could from the lab, did that mean Kat was gone? Had she been taken somewhere else, or…
No! He couldnotfucking go there now.
Using hand signals they could sign in their sleep, Gabe divvied up the tangoes among the team. As they made their way across the remaining distance to the damaged building, each man knew which target was theirs to take out.
Like a well-choreographed dance, the four men each took aim. Pulling the trigger on his HK-MP5, Matt shot simultaneously with his team.
The unsuspecting tangoes fell instantly. Still, Matt and the others didn’t let their guard down. They’d counted ten warm bodies minutes before, which meant there were still six left somewhere in the building.
And one of those was Katherine.
Keeping his head focused and in the game, Matt quickly swept the burning lab in search of her. But he saw no sign of her or Bukhari.
With no immediate threat in sight, the team made their way across the room. They were careful to avoid the flames, while at the same time, watching their footing.
