Page 24 of Fighting for Lucy

“You mind telling me why you shot me?” he snarled, aiming his weapon at the closest man but confident he could drop all four of them before any could draw a weapon.

Surprise and a tiny bit of fear widened the gazes of each of the four sets of eyes looking back at him, and he smiled. It didn’tmatter that he probably looked half dead—felt it too—they knew he was a threat and they were right.

“We didn't shoot at you,” one of them said nervously, his gaze darting to one of his friends as though they might be able to come up with a plan to regain control of the situation.

“Then why do I have a bullet wound in my arm?” he growled. Too much lost blood, not enough fluids, and no food or rest meant he was beyond cranky, add in his fear for Lucy and he was ready to rip these men apart with his bare hands.

“Because you got in the way, we were aiming for the girl,” another said nervously.

Zander didn't recognize any of them so they weren't high up in Castillo’s organization, just grunt men who were used to do tedious jobs like tracking through the jungle in search of him and Lucy.

“You were leading her away from the house,” a third said, this time with a hint of accusation in his tone.

Of course, his position with the organization would be precarious after the crash, but there had to be a way to salvage it. Not only did his need for revenge hinge on it, but so did Lucy’s life. He had to get back into that house, and not as a prisoner. If Raul doubted him, then it was all over, he could kiss Lucy’s life goodbye.

“I have a concussion, idiots,” he snapped, waving his free hand at his head and the injury he knew was still visible. “I thought Iwasleading her back to the house.”

That explanation drew them up and he could see them all relax.

Good.

He’d gained their trust with the lie, he just had to hope he could keep Raul’s as well.

“Misunderstanding,” the fourth man said. “When we found the plane and saw you and the woman were heading away fromthe house, we thought maybe you weren't to be trusted. Orders were to bring you both in dead or alive, but alive if possible.”

Making a scoffing noise, he glowered at the men. “Never occurred to you to think maybe we were hurt and didn't know what we were doing? And maybe you're the ones not to be trusted. Someone sabotaged my plane.”

Glances were exchanged, and then one of the men hurried to reassure him. “It was not us. Mr. Castillo knows how valuable you are, he would not try to kill you. But his mole at Prey has gone rogue and is no longer following orders.”

Anger surged inside him at the mention of the mole. A man—or woman—who had played a huge role in everything his sister had gone through. They better hope he didn't learn their identity because if he got his hands on them, he would make them pay a hundredfold for his twin’s suffering.

Strength was slowly returning, but he faked a wobble and let the gun drop as though he were no longer able to hold it up. So far, the men believed he had led Lucy away from Castillo only because he had a concussion and didn't know what he was doing, not because he was trying to keep her safe. That was exactly what he wanted them to keep thinking.

The closest man reached out a steadying hand. “Let’s get back to the house. Mr. Castillo’s doctor can check you out and you can get some rest.”

What he wanted to do was get to the house and then scour it top to bottom in search of Lucy. But that was his emotions talking. Logically speaking, if he wanted to keep her alive and get her out, he needed to regain some of his strength. While he might not be quite as weak as he was pretending to be, he wasn’t in top shape, and this was all on him.

Besides, if the first words out of his mouth were demanding Lucy’s location then he’d give himself away.

For a few hours he’d have to keep up the charade. Rest, eat, drink, take some painkillers, and get his body on the road to healing then he could figure out a plan to get Lucy out without breaking from his original plan.

And if he couldn’t?

Then he already knew what choice he would make.

The one the guys on his team would want him to make.

Save the innocent.

That was why they did what they did. They wanted to rid the world of evil and make it a safer place for those they loved.

While Zander was not in any way claiming he loved Lucy Elrod, he couldn’t deny there was an attraction there. More than physical attraction. From the moment he’d first laid eyes on her he’d felt something. Something that he couldn’t explore because she was his sister’s friend, and he wasn’t sure how a woman fit into the life he had chosen.

But that something was still there whether he’d done anything about it or not.

Those hours they’d spent in the jungle together confirmed it.

As did the fact that he was prepared to throw away everything he had worked so hard for, everything he thought he needed to survive.

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