Page 15 of Tactical Lies

Even though everything in him screamed to rush in and rescue his girl from whatever fate these men wanted to deliver, Connor forced himself to move forward slowly, creeping toward Becca rather than running headlong into danger and making things worse.

“Pretty girl,” another voice crooned.

So there were at least two of them. Easy enough to eliminate so long as there weren't too many more. He’d strike before they were even aware he was there.

Footsteps sounded, moving in a slow, almost lazy pattern, and he wondered what the hell was going on. He needed eyes on Becca sooner rather than later.

Another few yards and he finally spotted her.

She was maybe twenty feet or so ahead of him. Two men dressed the same as the ones who were attacking the village and similarly armed were circling around her. Her gaze kept darting from one to the other as she was forced to spin in slow circles in an effort to not allow the men to get behind her.

There was fear on her face, but something else was there too.

Determination.

His girl wasn't going down without a fight.

Pride swelled inside him, and he palmed the knife he’d pulled free from the neck of the man he’d killed earlier.

Creeping closer, he watched as the men continued to circle Becca, their attention focused solely on her.

Their stupidity was going to be the death of them.

As soon as their backs were to him, he threw the knife, lodging the blade in the back of one of the men on his left side, where Connor knew he’d hit his target and pierced the man’s heart.

The other one yelled and spun around, lifting his weapon to fire.

But before the man could get off a shot, something hit him in the side of the head.

Becca had snatched up a rock and thrown it at the man distracting him. Connor was laughing as he launched himself at the man, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him.

“Shouldn’t have looked at my girl,” he told the man right before he snapped his neck.

When he stood, Becca stared at him, mouth hanging open, eyes wide. Did she see him differently now she’d seen him kill several men? Was she afraid of him on top of hating him?

“That was …” Becca trailed off and he couldn’t place her tone over his growing panic. Then a small smile lit her face. “Can you teach me to do that?”

“Do what?”

“The knife thing. You hit them both right where you aimed. It’s very cool.”

Her response had him chuckling, a little of the tension easing out of him. While her assault had changed her and she was no longer the sweet innocent girl he’d fallen in love with, he still loved her every bit as much. There were some sharper edges to her now, before she’d been all soft, so it was jarring in a way, but he was so proud of her for adapting and coming out the other side of her trauma still fighting. Still living.

Which reminded him that if he wanted to keep her alive, he had to be vigilant, had to be at the top of his game. Bending down, he scooped up both weapons and handed one to Becca.

“I can teach you, but for now I think this is going to be a more effective tool.”

“I've never shot a gun before,” Becca said tentatively.

“Point and shoot, only if I tell you to,” he instructed. Hopefully she wouldn't need to, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

“Could you … save anyone?” Becca asked.

“I'm sorry, Becca. I would have if I could have, but there were too many of them.” While he braced himself for her anger, especially when she found out about her friend, she didn't ask anything else, just gave a tight nod.

“I understand.”

Wanting to get her as far away from the bloodshed as he could, Connor set a brisk pace, one he knew would be difficult for Becca to keep up with. But his need to get her safe was all-consuming.

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