Page 75 of Under Pressure

“It’s time to end this—right here, right now. Say goodbye to her.”

“You fucking wish.” Delta defended himself, thrusting Hunter backward.

But Hunter twisted and caught Delta, hitting him hard in the shoulder. It was the same shoulder where Delta already had a gash, and he cringed in pain. Hunter then dashed closer to Kendra, looking down on her still body. Blood trickled from the back of her head and her eyes were glazed over. She was losing it.

“You think you can win? You have no idea how strong I’ve become. They’ve made me a better version of you. And now…it’s time to fix you. Permanently.” Hunter’s gaze dropped to Kendra’s position, revealing everything.

Delta broke, seeing Hunter too damn close to her. It was a tactical misstep, but he had no choice. He had to get the sick fuck away from Kendra. So, he rushed forth, exposing himself while slamming Hunter into the wall. But Hunter fought back viciously, swinging his arms and making contact with Delta’s ribs. A trained SEAL, he absorbed the pain, but he had been hit harder than it had likely seemed. As Hunter kept coughing up blood, an enraged Delta growled into his face.

“I’ve done things you only wish you could have done. You’ll never see what I’ve seen, done what I’ve done. You’ll never be me.”

Delta thrust forward again, trying to finish Hunter, but instead he received a massive punch to his ribs again, sending him backward against the wall. Delta panted to the side, trying to catch his breath. Hunter stood tall, his self-satisfied eyes flashing to Kendra, and he flexed to attack Delta again.

The mere sight of Hunter looking at Kendra filled Delta with a burning hate he couldn’t even describe. With clenched teeth and a loud roar, Delta thundered off the wall to rip Hunter to shreds. His passion and fury caused him to overlook his vulnerability, letting Hunter once again connect with his jaw, sending Delta to the side, the taste of blood in his mouth.

He was losing.

Hunter grinned, bloodied but still strong, and called out in threat. “There’s only one way for this to end. There’s only room for one of us.”

And that was when Delta realized that he had to regain control. He had to cool down. Whatever was pulsing through his veins, he had to override it. Breathing in deep, Delta repositioned himself, focusing only on his opponent. He had to let everything else go—his fears, his desires, everything.

He had to gain control.

Hunter smirked, probably from seeing the blood on the side of Delta’s face.

“So, you think you deserve her more than I do?” Hunter gnashed his teeth as he lunged forward again.

“Hell yeah,” Delta replied, cold and precise, grabbing Hunter and quickly spinning him around. He dropkicked Hunter, purposefully impacting his spine and collapsing him to the ground in agony.

“How can this— I am you,” Hunter growled on the floor, exasperated, choking on his blood.

“No,” Delta said as he reached down to grab the assault rifle. “You can never be me.”

The monster within roared to finish Hunter off, kill him—but Delta paused for a split second. Kendra’s body was bloody and unresponsive on the ground. She needed him.

So, using the assault rifle, Delta sent a hard smack to the back of Hunter’s head, rendering him unconscious. Using the rifle’s strap, he threw it over his shoulder so it hung behind him. There’s no question now who’s the better man.

“This isn’t over,” he growled. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done.”

Delta then jumped forward, lifting Kendra into his arms and promptly carrying her to the fire escape balcony. She blinked quickly at him, and he saw she was almost blacking out. He had to get her help. Holding the back of her head, he leaped out of the broken exit, down the fire escape and away from the building. He carried her under the shadow of night, down the alleyway, toward a distant parking lot.

Setting her down on a large decorative rock, he held her trembling body close. He assessed that she wasn’t totally out—but she wasn’t lucid either. He brushed her hair from her face, bringing her head under his jaw, holding her against his chest, inhaling her scent. God, she always smells so good.

After kissing her hair, he slipped his hand up the back of her head, feeling her wound. It had stopped bleeding. That was good. It meant she probably didn’t need sutures.

“I have to take you to the hospital,” he exhaled onto her, checking her pulse and feeling her breathing. Both normal.

She stirred as he said it, mumbling back a very clear, “No—please.”

“Kendra, this is serious,” he said, but her regaining consciousness was reassuring him. She was doing better than he thought.

“No—no hospital.”

He ran his fingers down her hair, wondering what was with her fear of the doctor, wondering what he’d missed when she’d delivered their son. He closed his eyes, thinking about her being a mom, thinking about the son he hadn’t met. He’d saved her. He’d rescued her. He’d fucking pulled it off. And now she’d be going back home to their son. Something rushed up his chest as he felt, for the first time, worthy of holding her in his arms.

And maybe a little more worthy of being seen as a hero.

She stirred in his arms, tilting up her chin, looking at him through glazed eyes. Pouting her pink lips, she furrowed her forehead. He knew he was going to have a lot more explaining to do—eventually. The wind off the ocean climbed the hill, catching her hair. He fished his cell phone out of his pocket, readying to make one of the most important calls he’d ever make.

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