Page 79 of These Reckless Hearts

“To think I thought you cared about at least one thing.” He darts his gaze to Lucas again, Adam’s apple bobbing up and down. “I thought you had a shred of humanity left in you.” He brings the knife up.

It happens in a blur.

Gun barrels focus on Stone.

My heart dislodges, and I start to run forward only to be taken down, my head bouncing off a boulder. Bullets rip through the air, and I scream. I close my eyes and scream for everything to stop, as if this is all a bad dream. My imagination conjures up horrible images of Stone and Lucas lying on the mountain floor, pale as death. The pictures rip at the seams of my heart.

I’m too scared to look but I can’t stay hiding forever. I have to help them. I get to my feet, using the boulder for support. I sway on my feet, my head pounding and my ears ringing. My thumb brushes over indents in the gray rock, and I gasp when I come face-to-face with an etching. NEC.

No fucking way.

More bullets and another foreign noise yank me out of my shock. Air swirls around us, kicking up dirt and tiny pebbles. It’s so strong hair whips in front of my face, temporarily impeding my view of everything. I curl it back around my ear, and immediately, a body falls to my right. I glance down and find a hole in Bucket Guy’s tan bandana, blood starting to turn the fabric into a muddy brown.

I spin, searching the scene for Wyatt, Lucas, and Stone. One more of Lance’s team is on the ground with fatal injuries. The leader and Mr. Blade Happy still stand with Lance.

Stone’s limp form is crumpled on the ground. I swallow a scream, but I’m immediately distracted when Mr. Blade Happy leaps at me and yanks me against his chest. Raising his gun, he aims it toward a helicopter that finally flies into view. Thewhoop, whoop, whoopof its blades hover above us. Bullets slice through the side of the chopper. Between the strands of hair flying in my face, I spot men leaning back out of it through a gigantic doorway. Dirt kicks up at my feet as bullets soar past me. I stand stock still until my captor stumbles, nearly dragging me down with him.

I shuck him off, and he lands face up, eyes wide with blood spattering his forehead.

My stomach roils, and I crouch next to the NEC boulder to take stock of what’s going on. Lance has taken off, running down the valley. He trips, falls, and ends up sliding the rest of the way on his ass. To my right, however, the leader returns fire at the chopper, his war cries raising the hair on my arms until he slumps to the ground with a hole in his temple.

I shield my eyes and peer up at the metal beast in the sky. Cole leans forward in the passenger seat wearing a headset, his eyes darting everywhere. I nearly fall over with relief. When he sees me, a relieved smile breaks out over his face. I fall to my knees, running my hands through my hair, my body shaking from head to toe.

A rope is lowered from the huge opening, and an armed man rides it down. He moves toward me, raising his voice as he approaches with his hands up. He’s dressed all in black tactical gear, similar style but different color to Lance’s ex-military men who lie dead on the mountain top. He’s armed with a gun and a tool belt around his waist with God knows what weapons at his disposal. “I’m with Cole,” he calls out.

I nod, and he moves in closer. “My friends,” I yell, my voice breaking. “They’re shot, I think. You need to help them.”

I turn toward Lucas who is still lying where he was. A layer of dirt covers him and another swirls above his head like a sandy tornado. He has his hands over his mouth, and his eyes firmly closed. I point him out, and the guy moves in that direction.

Another man dressed in black uses the rope to descend as I crawl on all fours to Stone. Rocks kick up behind me while I make my way to his side. “Stone, Stone!” I hover my hands over his body, scared to touch him. When he doesn’t answer I glance to the right to find two men helping Lucas to a basket that’s waiting on the rocky ground, tethered to the helicopter by ropes. “Wyatt!” I call out.

My mind races a mile a minute. “Just be safe. Just be safe,” I cry as I turn toward Stone again. My cheeks feel wet, and it’s then that I realize I’m crying. I shake Stone. I run my fingers all over his body and don’t find blood or anything sticky. His dusty clothes aren’t tinged red, but he just won’t move.

I grip his shirt in my hands and bend over him, my forehead dropping to his chest. I squeeze and squeeze, wishing I could pray him alive.

His chest moves under me.

I startle back, searching him all over again. It’s then that I find red seeping out from under his head. “Stone!”

Hands come in from behind me and drag me away. I start to fight back but Wyatt’s reassuring touch makes me pause. My cowboy bends over Stone, hat long gone, and checks the back of his friend’s head. When he pulls his fingers away, blood runs down them.

Another body joins him, and I recognize Cole’s form. He rips his shirt off and wraps it around Stone’s head. He ties it tight and then turns toward the chopper, shouting orders.

The spinning of the helicopter’s blades creates its own kind of chaos. Hair flies in front of my face, and my mouth fills with dirt, making my teeth crunch when I shut my jaw. Cole waves two men over as Lucas gets lifted in the basket. My wild-haired guy makes eye contact with me and fresh tears spill over my cheeks. His head lulls back, hitting the side of the basket, and a howl rips through my chest.

Everything has gone to hell.

A voice calls my name, and I nearly jump. “Dakota!” Wyatt calls again right in front of me.

I spin to find him waving me over. Moving closer, I nearly come apart when Stone’s eyes open. A wail bursts from my mouth, and I lean my forehead on Stone’s chest again, grabbing his clothes in my fists as his hand sinks into my hair. We stay that way until Wyatt tugs me back so that two guys can help Stone to the basket and take him up. Wyatt stands with his arms around me as we watch him ascend.

When he’s safe and sound, I turn toward Cole. Dust covers him from head-to-toe. “You came for me?”

“Baby girl.” He wipes at my eyes, flicking away the fresh tears. “Are you okay?”

I nod, even though it feels like a lie. I may be fine physically, but I’m about to come apart mentally. “Just get them to the hospital. Please,” I beg.

The badass leader of the Dragons pulls me in for a hug, kissing my cheek before turning away. When the basket is sent again, the remaining men are picked up and elevated back into the helicopter. They disappear over the cliff face toward Phoenix, Cole in the passenger seat cockpit once again. His hard face tells me all I need to know. He’ll make sure Stone and Lucas are attended to.

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