Wolf Untamed (SWAT - Special Wolf Alpha Team #11) - Paige Tyler Page 0,5

Diego pulled out his handcuffs, he realized he couldn’t feel the rough metal under his fingers. In fact, he couldn’t feel his legs either. Breathing seemed to suddenly be a lot more trouble than it was worth, too. And the pain spreading through his body was way worse than before.

That was probably really bad.

The guy he’d knocked unconscious was slowly coming to, but Diego somehow managed to get the gun and knife shoved away before cuffing him.

Diego started to clamber to his feet, intending to pick up Tina and get the hell out of there. Unfortunately, it was hard finding the energy to move, much less stand, so he knelt there on the floor, telling himself he would just take a second to catch his breath. But the seconds began to drag out, and even though Diego knew he had to get moving, if it wasn’t for the sound of footsteps nearby, he probably would have stayed right where he was until help arrived.

He lifted his head, frowning when he saw it was darker inside the building than it had been before. Even so, he could still make out the shape of a man standing ten feet away, an automatic pointed in Diego’s direction.

Diego reached for the Glock still holstered at his waist, but knew he’d never get it out in time, not with his reflexes slowed from the blood loss. Even when he got his right hand on the polymer grip of the weapon, he couldn’t seem to pull it out. The slow smile spreading across the other man’s face in the dim light told Diego he’d run out of time.

Then out of nowhere, a cardboard box flew through the darkness, slamming the asshole in the side of the head.

From the corner of his eye, Diego saw Tina slumped to the floor, all her energy exhausted in her effort to throw the box. It wasn’t enough to rip the man’s head off or anything close to that, but it distracted him enough for Diego to finally get his weapon out.

The man shoved the box aside with a curse and fired at Diego just as he pulled the trigger on the Glock. The guy fell to the floor even as a bullet slammed into Diego. Pain bloomed in the center of his chest and breathing became impossible, making Diego doubt his vest had been able to stop the round. But it must have, or he’d be dead.

Rolling painfully to his knees, Diego crawled toward Tina, terrified all of this was going to be for nothing. But when he slipped a hand under her shoulder and rolled her over, she let out a little groan and he released the breath he hadn’t known he was holding.

“Let’s get you out of here, okay?” he murmured.

Diego slowly picked Tina up and stumbled to his feet, only to promptly drop to a knee, his head spinning so fast, he thought he was going to pass out for sure. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to stand again, and this time, he stayed upright. He staggered toward the exit, ignoring the guy he’d left cuffed on the floor, murmuring the whole time to the girl in his arms, promising she’d be okay.

The trip through the shops, which had seemed rather short on the way in, had lengthened considerably. He was convinced he’d stumbled at least a hundred miles and still didn’t seem close to getting out of there.

Diego didn’t realize he’d fallen to his knees until he felt the grit of sharp rubble digging into his skin. He immediately tried to regain his feet, but instead, slid to the floor in a boneless heap. He twisted sideways at the last second, so his shoulder slammed into hard linoleum instead of Tina. She lay a few inches away, her hazel eyes fighting to stay open as his started to close.

“I’m so sorry,” he whispered, the words little more than breath moving across his lips. “I know I promised, and I’m sorry.”

Tina’s eyes opened for a moment, and he thought he saw understanding and forgiveness there. Or maybe that was simply wishful thinking.

Diego fought the blackness, trying to reach for his radio mic so he could beg them to hurry and get to the girl before it was too late. But his arms were beyond numb and movement impossible. All he could do was lay there and watch Tina fade away.

It was so damn wrong.

Then, all at once, cops and paramedics were surrounding them. He closed his eyes,