Mission: Impossible to Protect (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 6), стр. 52
Lars and Tom ran to the room off the main area, his pulse jumping and his heart filling with the hope that Danni was there.
He halted in the doorway, quickly scanning the room. Danni wasn’t among the hostages. Bile rose in his throat at the sight of the women and the possibility that Danni had been locked up or still was caged somewhere. He shut down the vision of a terrified Danni waiting for Miro. She was clever and a fighter. He had to believe, or he wouldn’t be able to function to find her.
He had seen awful shit, but he didn’t expect to see such inhumanity in this country that he fought to protect. Young women, mainly teenagers, huddled together in the back of their cells, their eyes haunted and strung out. They were drugged, and some were barely conscious by the way their heads lolled against the bars.
Every muscle in Lars’s body tightened, ready to kill every one of these bastards who imprisoned innocent women. And when he got a hold of Miro…
Tom barked out orders to the men. “Open those cells.” And then into the mic, “We need medics, team support. There are twenty-four imprisoned women in the back room.”
And then Lars heard Reeves. “Danni’s GPS is on the move one alley over from the warehouse. If you exit the back door, there is access to the alley through a narrow opening between buildings.”
“Anything else?” Adrenaline raged through Lars’s body.
“The signal is moving due east at a slow speed. Danni may be on foot.”
Lars’s heart rate did an uptick as his brain flooded with exhilaration. Could it be possible that Danni had escaped? Could she actually be close by and safe?
“We need to move out. My team and I are leaving.” Lars widened his stance to confront Tom.
He didn’t need permission to pursue Danni, but he wasn’t fool enough not to use the resources available.
Tom shouted orders into his mic. “Alpha team, with me. Charlie company, stand by until personnel arrive.”
Lars was glad that he hadn’t taken a swing at Tom as he sprinted next to the commander toward the back entrance.
“You and your team should circle to the street, and we’ll come up from behind,” Lars shouted.
Tom grinned as they made tracks, the loud whacks of their boots echoed in the empty space. “You’ve shown great restraint today considering… Let’s go get your girl.”
The teams split off—Tom and Alpha toward the street where the command center was parked, Lars and his team between the buildings to the alley.
Lars and his men ran down the gap. He raised his fist for his team to halt when they reached the entrance to the alley, not sure what waited for them. He slowly peered around the corner. Empty to the west except for industrial-sized dumpsters. To the east was a black SUV parked near another dumpster. Two men with M4s stood on each side of the SUV, their heads on a swivel. Trained and ready to kill.
Lars raised two fingers to signal that they had engaged two armed hostiles. He had a blocked sight line, obscuring the view behind the dumpster. In case Danni was nearby, Lars hesitated to charge the dumpster and start a shootout.
Sweat dripped down his back and face. His breathing was rapid and shallow. His body and brain were locked and loaded. Danni might be trapped behind the dumpster and in danger. The strategic and safe choice for Danni was to wait for Tom’s team to get into place for a united assault.
Tom reported in a hushed tone, “We’re in position. Have the two hostiles in our sights. But my line doesn’t give me a view of the dumpster.”
Lars’s team could rush the alley while Tom’s men took the two men down. Lars was about to turn to prep his men when suddenly Danni bolted out from behind the dumpster. She was immediately followed by the bastard Miro, who lunged forward, grabbing her long hair. Lars stepped into the alley, gun raised, ready to kill Miro, uncaring of the two men, but Danni blocked his shot.
Danni twisted to face her captor. She raised her elbow for protection as she attacked. Fists flying, she punched Miro’s groin. She was fluid in her motion, using her Krav Maga training. Miro doubled over, grabbing his nuts, still shielded by Danni.
She was relentless. With Miro’s head down, she went for his face, heel to his nose before she kicked him in the groin. Miro dropped to the ground, and Danni moved fast favoring her right ankle down the alley toward Lars.
Lars ran out away from Danni to make himself the target. He felt Ryder and the team close ranks behind him. Lars raised his gun, but both of the guards fell before he got a shot off. Tom’s snipers had fired from the end of the alley.
“Lars.” The joy in her voice unmanned him. He wanted to dash to her and sweep her into his arms. She was safe, alive, and fighting.
Instead, he kept his gun in firing position as he covered the distance between them. He needed her out of the alley and out of the kill zone. He didn’t know who else might be hiding in the alley.
Lars kept Danni and Miro in sight when suddenly, he heard Ryder’s shout.
“Get. Down.”
Lars dove and covered Danni with his body as Miro lifted an automatic. Ryder scored the kill shot as Tom’s men sprinted down the alley.
Lars waited. Both teams rushed to the area. Ryder stood over Lars and Danni with his gun at point.
“Damn, Jenkins. Why do you always knock me down?”
Danni’s snicker was his undoing. The woman had just fought off a vicious killer, and she was joking.
At that moment, Lars fell deeper in love with this difficult, wonderful woman who was his perfect match. His life would never be the same. It would be filled with