Page 26 of Rescuing Brinley

“Shit. We’re all hunkered down in the hotel room with the VP and his wife. We’ve got them covered. Echo and Zero?”

“No word. Stay put. I’ll see if I can find out what’s happening inside. Keep trying to get intel from Zero and Echo. We have to make sure Ayla’s protected.”

“You need me to join you?”

“No. Stay there. Assuming Roling is the target, they might bring a full force to the room to kill him.”

“Ten-four. Out.”

“Ayla,” Brinley breathed. “They’ll kill her.”

“They might try,” Shadow agreed grimly. “Come on, let’s head around to the back side of the property. Keep your head down and stay quiet. If I tell you to stay, you stay. Understand?”

He knew his tone was harsh, but he didn’t try to temper it. This was a life-or-death situation, and if he saw the Vipers taking the VP’s daughter out of the building, he’d need to act fast and do what he could to stop them.

“I understand,” she whispered.

What he did next was so out of the ordinary for him, it surprised even Shadow. But he couldn’t have stopped himself if someone was holding a gun to his head.

He leaned down and kissed Brinley.

It was hard, rough, and brief. He pulled back and stared into her eyes for a moment, seeing the same worry, desire, and desperation in her gaze that he felt coursing through his veins.

Without a word, he took her hand and curled it around the waistband of his cargo pants, then pulled a sidearm out of the holster at his calf. He felt her grip tighten as he eased out of the foliage and headed toward the back of the conference center. He had no idea what the next few minutes would bring, but if the woman behind him was hurt because of something he did or didn’t do, he’d regret it for the rest of his life.

CHAPTER SIX

Brinley was terrified.

She’d never been so scared in her life, and the only thing holding her together was the man whose pants she was currently holding onto with a white-knuckled grip.

She didn’t want to be here, slinking around the building, most likely walking toward danger rather than fleeing in the other direction. But at the moment, she didn’t know where to go that wouldn’t put her in the crosshairs of the assholes who’d taken over the pageant. Who were probably already counting the money they’d make off the women they managed to kidnap.

The only thing she knew for certain was that she felt safe with Dash. That was probably a stupid thing to think, since the only reason he was in Fiji was to protect the Vice President and his family, not to babysit random women he met while on the job, but she couldn’t shake the thought.

She made a mental vow not to get in his way. To do whatever he demanded, the second he told her to do it. She wasn’t going to make his job harder, but she also wasn’t going to let him out of her sight if she could help it.

The kiss he’d given her lingered in her mind as they snuck around the area, doing their best to stay out of view of windows and behind the abundant foliage in the lush landscaping of the resort. When she licked her lips, she could still taste him there. It had been short, and his lips had pressed almost painfully against her own, but it had been the most real kiss she’d ever received. Filled with emotions the likes of which she’d never experienced with a guy before.

And she wanted more.

Which was totally inappropriate, given the circumstances.

She didn’t know why he’d done it, but she didn’t really care.

Dash stopped abruptly, and Brinley’s thoughts immediately turned from the kiss to what was happening around her.

She heard shouts and cries. They’d made their way to the back of the building, where there were two solid doors. But no one was exiting. She figured they’d probably been chained shut as well, or maybe a gunman blocked them so no one could escape that way. There was a wall of windows that she and Dash had just crawled under, but when she’d risked peeking in after they’d cleared the last one, she hadn’t seen any movement in the hallway outside the large ballroom, where the pageant had been taking place.

As they continued to move around the building, gunfire broke out, making her jerk in terror.

“Easy,” Dash soothed.

Brinley had no idea what was happening, but whatever it was seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the large building, where they’d previously been. Away from where she and Dash were now, thank goodness.

They’d made it the length of the building, and she had no idea what the plan was, where they were going next, but she still firmly believed that being with Dash was the safest option. When they reached the back corner, Dash stopped and knelt on the ground. Brinley immediately copied him, one hand on his back to steady herself. She found she was breathing way too fast and hard, and she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She’d never been this scared in her life. Never.

Because she was behind Dash, she couldn’t see what was beyond their side of the building, but she heard a loud bang, then angry voices. She ducked her head against Dash’s back and prayed no one would see them.