seeing Dymka’s complete confidence and the other leopard turning to run from him, she breathed a sigh of relief. That didn’t stop her from keeping an eye to the scope, just in case she needed to aid Dymka, although she was fairly certain the big leopard wouldn’t appreciate any interference. No one was going to kill that leopard, or her man, Mitya. Not when she had a rifle in her hands.
A whisper of sound had her turning, and her blood ran cold. A leopard had managed to climb onto the roof and was stalking her, already too close. Almost on top of her. She tried to turn toward him, dropping the rifle because he was too close, and pulling the smaller Glock from her waistband as the leopard’s hot breath blasted in her face. Malevolent eyes stared down at her, nose wrinkled, lips pulled back in a snarl.
Jewel rose fast, looking to protect her, but she fought back the change, knowing her little female had no chance against the male. She kept the gun down by her side, out of sight, hoping the male would want to force her to shift rather than kill her outright.
He thrust his head closer, the warning sounds rumbling from his throat, his eyes never leaving her face. She’d have one shot. If she didn’t kill him, he’d kill her. Without warning, he hooked his claw into her leg and ripped down from her thigh to her calf. Pain was bright hot and excruciating. She heard herself scream and hastily shut it off in midcry. That would only divide Dymka’s attention, and she knew he was fighting the leopard he’d chased down.
Tears flooded, blurring her vision, but she hung on to the gun as the leopard dragged her across the roof by his claw. The tiles scraped at the skin on her back, but she barely felt it, not with the rake mark down her leg and the hooked nail embedded in her calf.
She took a breath, forced calm into her panicked mind and made the decision to shoot. She wasn’t going to survive with him dragging her around, and he was strong enough to do it all day. He was definitely trying to force her to shift, in order for his leopard to get at Jewel.
She took another deep breath. He was staring at her with that same malicious stare, his claw hooked into her leg, basically telling her the next swipe was going to hurt even more. She brought up the Glock fast and fired two rounds in rapid succession. The first one struck the leopard as he jumped to the side, clipping his ear. The second missed altogether.
As he leapt away from her, he slid on the tiles and nearly went over the edge of the roof. Ania threw herself forward, headfirst, trying to get another shot as the leopard’s back legs went into the air. He dug his claws into the tiles and heaved, throwing himself forward and almost on top of her.
As she fired, she heard the sound of at least two other guns unloading. The big male’s momentum carried him forward and then he dropped right on top of her, his weight indicating he was dead. There was no movement. Nothing.
Ania could barely breathe with the heavy weight on her. She tried pushing him off, but it was impossible. Then, suddenly, he was lifted off her, and she was staring up at Vikenti and Zinoviy. The looks of fear turned to grins.
“You’re alive.”
“Just barely. He was crushing me.”
Vikenti crouched down to examine her leg while Zinoviy casually removed the weapon from her hand.
Vikenti whistled softly. “He got you good. This is going to be one ugly scar.”
She glared at him. “Very funny. Did Dymka manage to kill that last leopard?”
“He made short work of him,” Zinoviy assured. “They’re on their way back, just making certain they’ve got every one of the bastards. Fyodor, Timur and Gorya along with everyone else have thoroughly wiped them out. No one will be going back to the lair from here.”
“Is everyone okay?”
“We lost two of our men. Four wounded severely and two more with not-so-bad injuries, from what Fyodor is reporting. Mop-up is still going on.” Vikenti reached down and lifted her easily. “Let’s get you inside where the doc can take a look at you. Leopards can give you a very nasty infection.”
Zinoviy shoved the leopard carcass from the roof and watched it drop to the ground below. “Your man isn’t going