Gunfire erupted, pinging off the metal structures and sending up sparks in the semidarkness. She heard Finn saying something, but she didn’t quite catch it as more gunfire rang out, reverberating in the vast openness of the factory floor. Instinctively, Maddie crouched, dragging Jack with her as she sought somewhere to take cover. But as they dove behind the remnants of one of the factory’s conveyor belts, a searing pain tore through her leg and side, and she tumbled to the ground, dragging Jack down with her.
“Shit,” she hissed, pressing her hand against her side as they worked to drag themselves into a sitting position behind the conveyor belt. She reached up to her ear to contact Finn, but the device was gone, having fallen out at some point when they were being shot at.
As hopelessness began to settle in, she let her head fall back against the metal, and closed her eyes, panting through the pain.
With Jack in his current condition there was no way they could make a run for it. Hell, she probably wouldn’t get ten feet either before Kozlov’s men mowed her down. And shooting it out with Kozlov and however many of his men remained was risky. But it looked like that was going to be their only option.
Maddie opened her eyes and turned toward Jack, her eyes holding his for a long moment, then followed his gaze as he looked down at her stomach and thigh, assessing her injuries. She was losing blood fast. With trembling fingers she reached for the tourniquet attached to her gear, but her grip fumbled as she attempted to tie it around her thigh. Fortunately, in spite of his own injuries, Jack’s hands moved in swift, sure motions.
Maddie groaned through clenched teeth as he tied it off. She cursed under her breath, chastising herself for not being able to remain silent.
“So close to escape,” Kozlov called out, his voice echoing in the openness, making it impossible to locate his position, “only to have your path blocked at every turn. It seems almost too cruel.”
Jack’s fingers closed around hers, giving them a comforting squeeze. She turned her head so she could see him, could look into his beloved face one last time. If she had to die that day, at least it would be beside him.
“I love you,” he whispered, offering her a sad smile. Then, before she realized what he was doing, he lifted his arm in the air, his gun raised in surrender.
“I’m coming out!” he announced.
“No,” she rasped, clinging to his hand, trying to pull him back down as he struggled to his feet. “Jack!”
“Let’s end this, Kozlov,” Jack continued, his hand slipping from her hold. “Just let Maddie go.”
By some miracle, the asshole didn’t take a shot at Jack. Instead, she heard his deep rumble of a laugh, which sent a chill down her spine.
“Jack, please,” she pleaded. “Don’t do this.”
“And why would I do that?” Kozlov asked.
Jack glanced down at her, his brows furrowed. “The last wish of a dying man.”
Maddie pushed up just enough to peek over the conveyor belt and saw Kozlov strolling toward them, his gun trained on the center of Jack’s chest.
“I could agree to this ridiculous bargain,” Kozlov mused, his lips curving into a sadistic grin. “I am certain Feliks would enjoy another session with you. But what guarantee do you have that I will let your woman live?”
Maddie’s gaze snapped to Jack in time to see his deadly smirk. “This.”
Jack dropped his arm and fired so fast, Kozlov didn’t even have time to react. She whipped her head around on a gasp in time to see Kozlov drop to his knees, a rivulet of blood making its way down the center of his forehead to the bridge of his nose before he listed to his side and crumpled to the concrete floor.
In the next moment, Jack’s knees gave out and he dropped to the ground beside her, wincing in pain and mumbling a string of curses as he curled into himself. Maddie was reaching for him when a click brought her head around.
A massive man with blood spatters covering his shirt towered over them, a gun in his hands. In the next moment, he staggered backward as if convulsing. But the report of the M4 reached Maddie’s ears as crimson stains spread across the man’s chest.
And yet the man somehow recovered his footing and raised his gun again, staggering toward them. Before he could get a shot off, the side of his head exploded, spraying the nearby machinery with gray matter.
A moment later, Adam stepped into view, his gun at his side. Hurried footsteps rushed toward them, and then Will was vaulting over the conveyor belt and dropping down in front of them. He set aside his M4 and hurriedly assessed their wounds, barking orders at Finn and the rest of the team.
Maddie closed her eyes again. Her body felt light, like she was drifting away. But then the familiar weight of Jack’s arm encircled her, holding her close, keeping her with him.
“Don’t let me go,” she murmured.
She smiled when she heard his whispered response. “Never.”
