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Eden ducked, avoiding the fangs. She rolled across the sand and onto her feet.

Blaze lifted both guns.

“Don’t kill him, Blaze,” Eden yelled as she backed away.

The snake swung in her direction, attracted by the noise, and flew at her.

Blaze fired his gun. It ripped through the end of the snake’s tail, splattering blood everywhere.

Eden shrieked as the snake’s fangs plunged into her forearm and his thick, muscled coils wrapped around her body. The second head remained vigilant, its focus on Blaze.

Blaze roared out his anger and raced toward Eden. He couldn’t fire at the snake again for fear of the bullet going into her.

“Tranq the damn thing,” she wheezed out, blood dripping down her arm as the fangs sank deeper.

Blaze pressed the tranq gun against the snake and fired.

It had no effect, other than to enrage the beast. Its bloodied, damaged tail whipped out, and the end wrapped around Blaze’s throat. He was rocketed toward Eden, and her forehead slammed into his nose.

He cursed as stars exploded in his vision, and he tasted his own blood.

“Tranq it again!” Eden said.

Blaze hit the snake with another dart, trying to avoid the gaping mouth and fangs aiming at his face.

The snake flipped its tail, slamming Blaze into Eden again, using him like a battering ram.

When they made contact, he wrapped his arms around her and held on tight. He pried his fingers under the snake’s body but couldn’t get any purchase on the smooth scales as it choked the life out of Eden.

Her fury-filled gaze met his. “There’s no way I’m going out like this. I do not want squeezed to death by a fucking snake on my tombstone.”

Blaze gritted his teeth as he shot the final dart into the snake.

The coiled, muscular scales that dripped blood loosened a fraction around his throat. He wriggled out from the snake’s grip and staggered away, gasping in a breath. Then he ran back to Eden and dragged the heavy coils from around her throat.

Eden heaved in a raspy breath as she eased the fangs out of her arm. “Holy stars. That was close. I thought I was snake chow.”

“Damn, look at your arm.” Blaze pressed his hands against the leaking fang holes on her forearm.

“I’m too pumped to notice.” She swiped blood off her face and grinned. “Blaze! We did it. We only caught ourselves the star damned snake.”