Hot Shot Hero Hostage - Chapter 9
The sharp crack of the gunshot reverberated through the dark forest. An eerie silence followed, broken only by a rustle of wings and the scurry of small feet as birds and animals fled the area. Braden and Sam weren’t the only ones in the forest. But he suspected they were now, with the exception of the shooter.
The gunshot had rung out so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that he hadn’t had time to react, to protect Sam. Hell, he’d done nothing to protect her; he’d probably just exposed her. Because when he’d grabbed her, he’d disarmed her, giving whoever had fired at them the clear shot.
“Sam?” he whispered, his voice gruff with fear for her. “Are you okay?”
She was still in his arms, clinging to him. She’d dragged him down so that they crouched low on the ground, deep in the weeds and brush. “I’m fine,” she said, but she sounded as if she was saying it through gritted teeth. “Give me my gun.” He hesitated, but only because he knew what she was going to say next. “Then I’ll cover you when you head back to your vehicle.” She reached for the weapon, her hand over his on the barrel of the Glock.
But he resisted releasing it. “No,” he said. “We’re both going to get the hell out of here. Together.”
A slight shaky sigh slipped through her lips. “But it’s too dangerous…” she said.
He knew that, too. The minute they started to move, the shooter would see where they were and fire at them again. But it was harder to hit a moving target than a stationary one, which was undoubtedly why Sam had wanted him to head out on his own.
At least it was dark enough for them to hide in the shadows, unless the shooter had night vision goggles like Braden had previously considered. “We can’t stay here,” he whispered.
He couldn’t see her nod, but he felt it when her silky hair brushed against his chin. He just wanted to hold on to her, to wrap himself around her and keep her safe. Forever.
But he would worry about forever later and focus on surviving the present.
She tightened her grip on his hand that held the gun. “Give it to me,” she murmured.
Maybe he was losing it because a chuckle tickled the back of his throat. And he was compelled to tease her. “Right here? Right now? Seems like a strange place for sex…”
She didn’t hold back the short, husky-sounding laugh that reached his ears and had his skin tingling and his pulse racing. “We’ve done it in stranger places.”
His chuckle slipped out now. “Making love with you is how I want to go out…” he said.
“Me, too,” Sam shared. “Just not right now. We have to find that shooter.”
She was right. That was the only way they could make certain they stayed safe. To find out who the hell was trying to take them out and stop them before they succeeded.
He turned over his hand and released the gun to her. But his other hand tightened around her, holding her so she couldn’t rush off without him. “But we do this together.”