Page 8 of Ruthless

Her eye on her targets, Eve listened closely to the back-and-forth of what was happening inside the warehouse that Olivia and Hawke had just entered. Just because she was on the outside and could see her targets didn’t mean things couldn’t change in the blink of an eye.

Her heart clutched at the sound of two shots being fired inside the warehouse. Seconds later, the noise of a hail of bullets raining down on Olivia and Hawke almost caused her to get up. She wanted nothing more than to go help her friends. That wasn’t the plan, and she knew they could take care of themselves, but one bullet was all it would take to destroy them. They had been through so much already.

Her heart still pounding, she waited, not breathing. When she heard their voices again, she sent up a quick prayer of thanks. So far, so good.

Another voice sounded, less distinct this time since the man wasn’t speaking into the mic. And then, a surprise twist. The man who’d tried to kill Olivia was her ex-fiancé? Things just got weirder.

“Eve, that’s a go for you,” Gideon said.

Adjusting the rifle’s position for the slight change in wind variance, she peered through the sight, eased her finger on the trigger, and took the shot. The man fell from the tower onto the ground. Instead of hiding, the guard who’d been standing beside him looked toward the hill as if he could determine where the shot had come from, giving her the chance to take him out, too. These men really were amateurs.

She shifted her rifle slightly and took in the man on the ground. He was at the warehouse door, looking like he was about to enter. She breathed through the tension and took the shot. The guy went down.

Sitting up, she used her binoculars to scan the entire area. Saw no one.

“Okay. All clear here,” she reported.

“Come join the party, Eve,” Gideon responded.

Out of habit, she quickly collected her hardware and then loaded the gun in the backpack, all the while listening to the happenings in the warehouse. The back-and-forth between Olivia, Hawke, and this Simon character was almost entertaining in its oddity.

She hopped onto the bike and headed the way she’d come. Shouldn’t take more than five minutes to get down there. Then she’d—

The bike shot up into the air as if pulled up by a whirlwind. She barely had the thought that the tire had hit a rock the wrong way before she went one way, and the bike went another. Her body soared through the air and landed with a resounding and agonizing thud. All breath left her lungs. Pain pierced her head.

“Eve? Eve, can you hear me?”

She opened her eyes and blinked at Gideon, surprised to see him hovering over her. Why was he here? Her thoughts were blurred, confused, as her mind whirled with questions. She tried to speak, to say his name, but she couldn’t make her mouth form a word.

“No, Eve, sweetheart. Keep your eyes open. Look at me… That’s it. Stay awake for me. Okay?”

She wanted to agree with him, wanted to do what he asked of her, but darkness was quickly taking over again, and she could no longer fight it. She had the thought that if this was it, if she was going to die right now, having Gideon’s face as the last image she saw would be fitting. He meant the world to her.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to fade away.

A roaring noise woke her, and she felt as if she were floating. No, not floating. She was in the helicopter they’d arrived in for the op. And instead of backing up Olivia and Hawke, she had apparently done something monumentally stupid.

A cervical collar encompassed her neck, she was on a stretcher, and Liam was flying the helicopter. Gideon was sitting beside her, holding her hand, and looking as grim as she’d ever seen him.

Oh, this was not good.

“Gideon,” she whispered. His focus was on the skyline, and the noise of the chopper’s blades was so loud, he couldn’t hear her.

She squeezed his hand to get his attention. His head jerked down, and he locked eyes with her. “Eve?”

A smile seemed a bit beyond her abilities, but she shifted her mouth a little, hoping it would give him some kind of comfort.

He leaned close so she could hear him. “You’re going to be fine. Understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“We’re almost at the hospital. Just a couple more minutes.”

“How bad?”

“Not bad.”

She wanted to believe him, but when he raised his head, she saw the grimness of his face and the dark concern in his eyes. A wave of dizziness swept over her, and she closed her eyes again.