Page 18 of Capture of Capricorn

“Which is where?”

“Two down from this one, but you can’t be seriously thinking of going after it. I thought we were escaping?”

“We are, but we can’t leave without it.” He just hoped Adam hadn’t moved it from the lab because he’d hate to have to go through this entire installation seeking it.

“For fuck’s sake.” She jabbed a button on the elevator’s panel and sent them down.

“Thanks.”

“Fuck you. I can’t believe I’m helping you,” she muttered.

“Don’t worry, Beauty. I promise the plan is still to blow this joint.”

“You can’t guarantee that.”

“I’m a man of my word.”

She rolled her eyes. “Can’t keep it if you’re shot.”

The elevator slowed. “Then I shall do my best to remain bullet-free. Ready?”

“No.”

“How about a kiss for luck?”

He received a dirty scowl instead.

With a firm grip on his silent prisoner, he prepared for battle.

CHAPTER 6

Zora couldn’t believeshe led Capricorn to her dreaded lab rather than hightailing it for freedom. While the alarms blared, distracting everyone, would have been the ideal time to run. Instead, she risked recapture because he insisted on completing his so-called mission. Then again, if anything Capricorn told her was true—which she struggled with because it sounded preposterous—then perhaps removing the sphere from Crius’ possession should take precedence.

The elevator door opened before she could change her mind about the kiss for good luck. She’d save it for later as a thank-you if they actually made it out of this shitstorm alive.

The lab level had extra layers of security, starting in the vestibule where they exited the elevator, the compact room full of guards who’d remained at their posts.

Four against the two of them—well, technically, one, since Zora didn’t have a weapon. Capricorn didn’t appear to care about being outnumbered. He threw the guard they’d brought in front of him, startling the waiting group. The man yelped as four Tasers discharged against his body. Needless to say, he hit the floor unconscious. Before the guards fully registered the real threat, Capricorn began shooting. The man was a crack shot anddidn’t miss his targets. However, he only dropped two before running out of bullets, leaving a pair.

Capricorn threw his gun in their direction, and while the men dodged, he lunged for the closest guard, the problem being both of them were already aiming their weapons. He’d never manage to take them both out. Good thing she was a fast thinker.

She screamed, loud enough to wake the dead, the distraction enough for Capricorn to get within reach and knock the gun from the man’s grip while, in the same motion, spinning and extending his leg to kick the weapon from the second fellow’s hand. A few hard punches to the heads and they were out cold. It would have been a victory if not for the coward they’d dragged along, who apparently recovered more quickly from the Tasers than expected.

He popped up suddenly and wound an arm around Zora’s neck and dragged her back, exclaiming, “On your knees or she dies.” His voice cracked with his demand.

Capricorn rose slowly, fresh gun in hand, a deadly look in his eyes. Even sexier than his usual dark humor. “Let her go,” he growled.

“I don’t think so.” Using Zora as a meat shield, the trembling guard dragged her into the elevator.

The doors shut, but the guy miscalculated since he couldn’t press the button without releasing her. He also mistakenly assumed her easy to handle. A common misconception. When he unwound an arm to lean forward to choose a floor, her elbow came back and rammed him in the gut. As he bent over and grunted, she slipped from the other looping arm, whirled, and rammed a knee into his balls. He collapsed, whimpering.

Annoyance running high led to her giving him a kick in the ribs. “Use me as a shield, will you? Jerk.” The doors slid open, and Capricorn stood framed.

“Oh good, you kept yours alive. We might need his face since I might have hit the others a tad too hard.” No mention of how she’d freed herself. No “good job.” He simply plucked the moaning man from the floor and carried him out.

“So glad you were worried,” she huffed with a hint of irritation.

“As a matter of fact, I was. Why else would I have been coming after you? And don’t you dare spout some feminist bullshit about you can save yourself.”

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