Rescuing Jenna - Anna Blakely Page 0,86

heart racing frantically between his ribs. “I love you, too, Jenna.” Did she know that? He hadn’t actually told her that before now. “I love you so much.”

“On your feet!” Matais yelled, his patience clearly gone.

“Please hang on, baby. For me.” With another soft kiss, Adrian replaced his hands with hers and stood.

“It is time for justice to finally prevail, don’t you agree?” The man’s words were laced with excitement.

Adrian turned to face him, unprecedented fury smoldering just beneath the surface. “As a matter of fact, yes. I do.”

“The choice was yours, you know.” The man stared back at him with the same arrogance Cesar had. “The second you went after my father, you chose your fate. You chose her death.”

Ortiz glanced toward Jenna, giving him the perfect window to act.

Adrian surged forward. In one fluid motion, he used his left forearm to knock the bastard’s hand—the one holding the gun—to the side while simultaneously reaching over and transferring the knife into his right hand.

Eyes wide with shock, Matais fought to bring the gun back around. Adrian was much stronger.

With his fingers wrapped around the man’s wrist, he twisted hard, snapping the bones clean through.

“Ah!” Matais bellowed in pain.

Adrian shoved his knife into the man’s heart. “I warned you.” His tone was a low, lethal growl. “I told you I would kill you for touching her. Like I said”—he twisted the knife—“I’m a man of my word.”

“P-please,” Matais begged for his life.

But that life was already gone.

“Go to hell.” He pulled the blade free. “And tell your fuck of a father I said hello.”

Matais gasped his last breath, his blood pouring from his chest as Adrian let go of him. He crumbled to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Adrian didn’t waste another second on the dead man. Instead, he rushed to Jenna’s side.

Her eyes were closed, her head lolled to the side.

Baby, no!

He felt for a pulse, damn near bawling when he found one. It was faint and thready, but it was there, all the same.

Scooping her up, Adrian fought through the pain in his leg and ran. He needed to get back to where his coms would work so he could tell Ryker to get the chopper in place.

“Hang on, Jen.” He spoke to her as he ran. “You’re going to be okay. Just a little longer, baby.”

Her blood covered them both, but Adrian ignored it and continued on. Yanking open the door at the end of the hall, he ran up the stairs and through the open area with the pillars, talking to the guys as he went.

“Target is down!” he yelled. “I repeat, Ortiz is down!”

“Damn glad to hear ya, brother!” Ghost’s voice came through crisp and clear. “Perimeter is clear. Moving inside, now.”

“Jenna’s been hit!” He huffed as he ran. “Get that fucking chopper here, now!”

“Shit. How bad?” Gabe’s worried voice broke through.

“Gut shot. Lower right abdomen. She’s—”

A bullet whizzed by his head. The damn thing was so close Adrian felt its heat as it passed.

“What the fuck?” he yelled as he moved behind one of the pillars. Holding Jenna close to his chest, he curled his body around her as best he could. “We’re taking fire!”

“Hang tight, Walker,” Ryker responded. “I’ve got the shooter in my sights.”

Chunks of their concrete shield flew off as a second bullet struck.

Jesus. “Today would be good!”

“Just need him to move another inch to the left…and…there.”

Glass shattered as Ryker’s bullet traveled through a partially intact window before lodging itself into the target’s head.

“Thanks.” Adrian blew out a breath and started running toward the building’s entrance. “We’re coming out, so if there are any other surprises I should know about, now would be the time.”

“That was the last straggler,” Ghost assured him. “Prick must’ve been hiding out in one of our blind spots.”

“We got an ETA on the chopper?” He’d no more asked the question when he heard the comforting sound of a helicopter’s blades in action.

Thank God.

Carrying the most precious cargo he’d ever hauled, Adrian burst through the doors and out to the grassy area he’d first crossed when coming here. From his peripheral vision, he saw the other men filtering toward the designated landing zone.

The chopper landed several yards away, and Adrian pushed his bum leg to its limits to get Jenna there.

Gabe met him at the opened side of the bird.

“How bad?” The worried man asked a second time as they worked together to load her into the bird.

Adrian shook his head. “She’s been unconscious for a few