Mission: Marriage: Bulletproof Marriage

Instead, face blank, she looked at him and shook her head, as though she found him wanting. “I would suggest,” she said, her voice deadly calm, “that you let go of me. If you don’t want to go with me, then turn around and go back to whatever rock you crawled out from under.”

Ah, now this was the Natalie he knew. “Let’s postpone this discussion for after we’ve gotten out of here alive, don’t you think?”

Immediately she nodded. “Of course. Forgive me. I wasn’t aware there was a code of conduct for how a wife is supposed to act when learning her beloved husband had faked his death and not only lied to her, but voluntarily spent the past two years away from her.”

He glared back. “There isn’t. But there is a code of conduct for staying alive. Move!”

“Right.” She lifted her chin and took off.

More gunshots. “What the hell are they doing, shooting randomly in the dark?” He cursed. “They’ll hit their own men with the ricocheting bullets. Stupid idiots.”

The blackness had become absolute. And he didn’t dare light a match. Hands out before him, he felt his way, concrete pillar by concrete pillar.

“I hope you’re right about this exit. If you’re wrong, we’re trapped here.”

“Satellite photos are pretty accurate. There should be another hallway here to the left.”

Bumping into something in the dark, she cursed. “I think I found it.”

“Take my hand.”

“What?”

“Team members.” Impatient, he held his arm out blindly. “Come on.”

A second later, her small hand slipped into his. They kept moving.

“Is it my imagination, or is it getting a bit lighter in here?”

“We must be getting close to the loading area. Keep going.”

More shots.

“Do those fools not realize bullets ricochet off concrete?” he said again.

“Apparently not,” Natalie answered, annoyance still evident in her voice.

“Why didn’t they move in before?”

She shook her head, making him realize he could see her. “I held them off. But you barely showed up in time—I was running out of ammo. Did you bring more?”

“You should always be prepared.”

She flipped him off. “That’s why you’re here. More ammo, another gun. The fact that you knew another way out is a bonus. Corbett did good, sending you.” Tossing her head, she gave him a narrow-eyed, go-to-hell look. “You do have more ammo, don’t you?”

He laughed, and saw her clench her teeth. A second later, he tossed her a couple of clips. Seething, she slammed one into her pistol. “Ready?”

He raised a brow. “For?”

“Moving out. Just in case the shooters have covered the back exit.”

“You plan on blasting your way out of here?”

“Yep.”

Once again she surprised him. The Natalie he’d known before would have wanted to stay hidden, hoping to pick them off one by one.

“Do you have any idea how many there are?” The cool, professional Sean was back. Astounded he might be, but he hadn’t survived this long in such a dangerous game by letting his personal feelings get in the way of his job.

She matched her tone to his. “There are at least two out front. One east, one west. Both armed with AK-47s.”

“Any idea who they are?”

“Does it matter? They want me dead. That’s all I need to know. Now, how much farther?”

They both heard the shouts and the sound of boots running on cement toward them.

“We’re over halfway there. Come on.” He took off. This time, rather than following, she kept pace with him. Side by side.

Another round of gunfire, closer. Chunks of concrete spewed from the wall to the left of them.

Close. Too close. They both knew it.

“Damn it.” Sean drew his weapon. “You go. I’ll hold them off.”

Ignoring him, she flicked off the safety and raised her gun. Leaning around the pillar, she aimed, waiting. An instant later, she squeezed off a shot.

Direct hit. The shooter’s body jerked, then nose-dived forward. “Got him. One down, a few more to go.”

He touched her arm. “They’re shooting blind. No way can they see us back here. Come on.” He took off.

She didn’t waste time arguing.

Left, then right, then right again. With each turn, the darkness lightened.

“Here we are.” Stopping, Sean pointed. “There’s the loading area. See how that one metal door moves in the breeze?”

“Listen. The shooting’s stopped. I wonder why?”

“Who cares?” He moved forward. “Let’s get out of here.”

She climbed onto the cement platform, staying close to the wall. Sean followed right behind her. When they reached the rusted metal door, she lifted one side and pointed toward a narrow alley between two tall brick buildings. “That looks like the only way out.”

“No. Too constricted.” Out of reflex, he grabbed her arm. “We’d be sitting ducks. There has to be another way.”

Again, she jerked away. “Don’t touch me.” Breathing hard, she glared at him, putting every ounce of loathing she could into her expression.

Grimly, he looked around. He lifted his hand to point and as he did, the remaining shooter fired off another round, narrowly missing him. “Damn it.”