Page 20 of Heat Force

“But it’s okay to risk yours?”

She glared back at him. “It was the only way.”

“Shit.” He glanced around. “Do you have any more weapons?”

A memory triggered. “Yes! There’s a rifle in the golf cart, behind the driver’s seat. I saw it on the way down here.”

Before she could argue, he dashed back outside. The Jeep was only yards away, but the edges of the jungle were alive with movement. Any second now and the rebels would emerge.

Lexi held Moyo in her arms and watched through the window as Hawk leaned over the side to grab the gun. Slinging it over his shoulder, he charged back inside just as the first line of rebels emerged from the foliage.

After he’d locked and bolted the door, he hunkered down beside them. Lexi watched in amazement as he flicked off the safety, checked the magazine, and chambered a round—all in a matter of seconds.

“I’m not even going to ask how you know how to do that.”

“It’s a long story,” he muttered. “But right now we have to get you and Moyo somewhere safe.”

There was the sound of glass breaking as a rock flew through the clinic window. “They’re going to ransack the place,” Lexi whispered, backing into a corner. “They always do.”

“We need to get the hell out of here,” Hawk said, his voice low and steady.

“The back way,” Lexi whispered as she led Moyo out into the yard. The hatch was closed, the wheelbarrow firmly in place. Lexi ignored it as she slipped around the side of the office and through a hole in the fence. Behind it, was a dense layer of vegetation.

Moyo clung tightly to her hand, his eyes huge and haunted. Her heart broke for the boy. His childhood memories were filled with the terror of rebel attacks. She thought of her own indulgent childhood back in the States, filled with trips to the Hamptons and weekends at the Cape, and cringed at the comparison.

“Come on!” She beckoned to Hawk, who kicked some dust over the hatch for good measure before following her.

CHAPTER 9

Hawk followed her and the boy as they crept through the dense vegetation away from the clinic. Nobody would spot them in the darkness. Behind them, they could hear the shouts and cheers of the rebels as they trashed the clinic.

From what he’d been able to make out, there were five of them, all kitted out with what looked like Russian-made AK-47s. From his time in the SEALs, he knew that typically the weapons would be second-hand and poorly maintained. That gave him the advantage. On top of it, the rebels were untrained soldiers, which meant they were unpredictable, but also prone to missing their target.

It was hard to be quiet in the jungle, and three people fighting their way through made an inevitable rustle. Through the trees, backlit by the light in the clearing, Hawk spotted one of the rebels turn their way.

His breath hitched.

Fuck.

He dropped to one knee, settling the rifle against his shoulder as he scanned the tree line.

Lexi cradled Moyo against her chest. “Why are we stopping?”

“They know we’re here.”

The child whimpered, his small arms clutching her neck as she stumbled backward. “Oh, God. What are we going to do?”

“You’re going to run. Go!” His tone didn’t leave room for argument.

Lexi turned and ran, taking Moyo with her.

The rebel shouted and two others emerged from the clinic and came to join him in the clearing. They wore bandanas wrapped around their faces and in addition to the rifles in their hands, they had large pangas hanging from their belts. The rebel pointed toward the brush, shouting and gesturing.

Hawk waited, controlling his breathing, his finger poised over the trigger.

Then a shot rang out. They didn’t know his exact location, it was too dark amongst the foliage, so they were taking potshots in this direction. He hit the dirt as a bullet flew over his head and embedded in a tree behind him.

Shit, that was close.