Page 72 of Redemption

Ryder could’ve told them that, but then, what would his mate have to do? He wiped the sweat from his face, pushing his numb body into action, and policed the brass round his rifle expelled.

“Let’s move,” Brock ordered in his ear.

“Roger that.” Ryder had his gear in place, and he covered any signs he’d been there for hours.

“Donotforget the perimeter is wired, triggered, and trapped,” Brock repeated for the umpteenth time.

But the reminder was always a good one. “Yeah.”

“Air support is incoming. ETA two minutes.” The logistics report came from Parker Black at Titan HQ. “Hustle to rendezvous. Should take you a minute-thirty.”

“Be there in less than that,” Javier jabbed.

Parker laughed. “Got you both on thermals, and I say you’ll be on time.”

“Prove you wrong.”

“Be smart, dick,” Brock snapped.

“Smart, smart, all over the smart, brother.”

“Jesus fucking…” Brock’s muttered reply cut off.

“Ryder, eyes up.” Parker’s voice turned serious. “Something’s tracking you. Doesn’t fit human form or pace.”

“Great.” He kept his gaze on the pivot as he pushed forward, still keeping eyes up for trip wires.

Dogs howled in the background.

“Canines out and heading your way, hot on your trail.”

Great, though expected. “Yours, who?”

“Both. Closer to Javier though. If you hear traps tripped, it might be them. Keep moving,” Parker’s even voice stayed steady. “But seriously, Ryder, your left, ten, fifteen feet, something’s ran ahead, and closing back in on you. You see anything?”

Fucking hell. He pulled his sidearm as he pushed toward the rendezvous. “Not a thing, mate. I’m about to start shooting—”

A blast detonated to Ryder’s front left. The roar of fire hit his ears before the bright light and blast made sense. The reverb threw him back, his head ringing as his feet lost their grip.

Ryder blinked. Breathed—couldn’t. His ears screamed. His eyes teared. They burned. Smoke and charge filled his nostrils, and he coughed, finally, rolling to his side, gripping his ribs, head spinning for stability. He needed a baseline to get up and keep moving.

Then he was. The jarring harshness of the move didn’t help him stabilize, but the realization that his screeching earpiece wasn’t helping did. Javier had grabbed him, and Ryder yanked the busted comm speaker out of his ear as the jumbling fast pace came to an abrupt end. Ryder blinked and was on his back again.

His head fell to the side, and Ryder rubbed a heavy hand over his face, wiping open his eyes.The clearing.He pushed up onto his elbows, focusing on his surroundings as Javier popped a squat beside him.

“Ready?”

The near silent helo seemed suddenly there, and hell, if Ryder’s head took a hit. “Yeah.”

He tried pushing up and needed Javier more than he wanted to. Wrapped into his teammate’s arm, getting to safety under his direction, Ryder somehow found himself in the belly of the stealth chopper.

“What the fuck…” His mind tried in vain.

“Some big-ass jungle animal tripped a wire too close, bro.”

Two men Ryder didn’t know pushed Javier out of the way on the pretext of checking Ryder out, and Javier let him, joking that it was nothing but a scratch.

“I’m fine,” Ryder mumbled, elbowing them away. Nothing seemed broken.Disoriented. A concussion.A few days off were coming.

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