Page 37 of Flint's Battle

Emery grabbed Moana’s hand, motioning for her to hunker down as the footsteps started up, then paused. That eerie silence weighing down the air until the noise started again.

The bastard was checking the rooms.

She held her breath, staying clear of the window when the handle rattled, a shadow blocking out the light from above. The door shook, the guy putting some of his weight against it before huffing — his footsteps moving away.

Moana shuffled in front of Emery, chancing a peek out the window. “I think he’s gone.”

Emery snorted. “Not for long.”

“Who is that guy?”

“Thinking he’s the asshole behind the scope this morning. Guess he’s here to finish the job.”

Moana paled. “Oh god. This is all my fault. If I hadn’t told Flint to take Bowie with him?—”

“This isn’t your fault. I should have known better than to ask Flint to leave us unprotected. Not when I’m barely operating at fifty percent.”

But with her head foggy and her brain set to buffer mode, she hadn’t really been thinking clearly about anything, other than wanting to spend the future with Flint. How she needed to heal so she could hunt down the asshole who’d tried to kill her.

Moana worried her bottom lip, still glancing out the window. “What do we do? Make a run for it?”

Emery would have laughed but it would have taken too much effort. “Not sure I’ll be running anywhere. But we need to make sure he’s really gone and not just waiting in the shadows before we open that door.”

“How do we know when it’s safe?”

“Good question.” She pushed off the door, nearly dropping to the floor when everything shifted. “Shit.”

Moana wrapped her arm around her waist. “Your shoulder’s bleeding, again.”

Emery waved it off. “That’s not going to matter if we don’t find another way out of here. A lot of these treatment rooms have double exits. We should look along the back wall.”

She really hoped there was another exit because that voice inside her head was certain the asshole knew they’d hidden inside that room and was waiting for them to make another bad decision.

Moana nodded, groping her way along the wall. Helping Emery stumble along beside her. “Why isn’t there anyone in this wing, anyway? Shouldn’t it be brimming with nurses and orderlies and security guards with guns?”

Emery sighed. “That’s because of me. If Milligan was worried there might be another attempt on my life, he would have had the hospital isolate me as much as possible. To minimize any possible collateral damage. There’s some construction on the far wing. I assume that’s where we are and why we’re alone. Ironic, really.”

“Remind me to kick your boss in the ass later.”

Emery snorted, still dragging her butt across the room, when the door rattled, again, the handle clicking as someone tried to open it.

That got Moana moving faster. Half-carrying Emery along as she headed for the back, shrieking when the window above the main door shattered — a fire extinguisher careening through the opening before skipping across the floor and crashing into a gurney. Bits of mesh curled out from the broken glass, a decent-sized hole brightening the room.

Emery scanned the opening and either she really was seeing double or there were at least two men, now, twin silhouettes peering through the broken window.

That was all she needed to push through the fatigue and pain — get her weight under her and start moving on her own. Not as fast as she would have liked, but it freed Moana up to dart ahead — find the door they’d been hoping for positioned off to the left.

A twist of the lock and a pull and they were out. Running down a darkened corridor. Emery wasn’t sure if this section was still being repaired or if the men had found a way to cut the power — maybe use night vision goggles in order to give them the upper hand. Either way, she kept going, dodging through a set of sliding doors and into another emptydepartment. Something crashed behind them, voices sounding in the distance.

Emery took the next door, shoving Moana behind a large machine off to one side. “Stay hidden. And once those bastards race past to follow me, you fucking run back to Flint and Bowie.”

She held up her hand when Moana shook her head. “I know you don’t want to leave me, but it’s me they’re after and these aren’t your average players. If they aren’t worried about killing a cop, they won’t think twice about you.”

Her stomach heaved at the thought. Or maybe it was all her injuries starting to play havoc with her body. The stress of having to push past those limits. “Please, Moana. I can’t be the reason you don’t get a future with Bowie.”

Moana pursed her mouth, shaking her head, again, only firmer than before. “I’mnotleaving my wingman. Period.”

Emery stared at her before nodding. She really didn’t have the energy to argue. And she’d be lying if she said a part of her didn’t want Moana’s help. That maybe with the two of them working together, they might actually live through this. “Okay,Mav. Then, it’s time we made a plan — go on the offensive. Because I’ll be damned if I die with my ass hanging out of this crappy gown. So, take a breath and gather your courage. This is going to be messy.”

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