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"I do care Too das were different--"
A siren wailed fro the perimeter had been breached The Sas here
Adrenaline flooded David's body and he pushed away all thoughts but protecting Noelle She'd gone stiff with fear and stared at hiot the keys?" he asked
She nodded
"Good When I tell you, I want you to run for the Bronco and haul ass out of here Head north and call Monroe as soon as you can"
David slid the satellite phone into her front pocket rather than trusting her shaking hands not to drop it He pulled out his weapon and flicked off the safety "I'll give you covering fire and call you on that phone as soon as I'm safely out of here, okay?"
She hesitated for a moment, but finally nodded David took her by the hand and led her to the back door, pushing her body to where she'd be safest
"Everything you need is in the car," he said "Weapons, ammo, maps, fuel The tank is full Don't stop unless you have to or Monroe tells you to You'll be fine as long as you keep "
It was still dark inside the house, so he cracked open the back door The perimeter was set about a quarter mile away froot there
"Go," he ordered, giving her a little push to get her ed
"I can't, I'll catch up with you soon Now go!"
Noelle obeyed,with stiff, fearful steps She unlocked the truck, slid inside and with one last look at David, started the engine and drove away
David closed the door and prepared for battle
Noelle kept the lights off as she steered the Bronco down the gravel driveway In the rearviewin the trees Toward David
There were too ht theood he was It took only one lucky shot to kill a unshots blasted away the silence
Noelle hit the brakes and skidded to a halt She couldn't do this She couldn't leave hi of the steering wheel, Noelle spun the Bronco around and sped back toward David
Half a dozen armed men pointed weapons at the back door of the house They were hard to see in the dark, hit Noelle had spent the past several hours in near darkness and her eyes ell adjusted As she watched, they fired at David's location and heback because one of theround
The othersso that David had to stay hidden or risk getting hit
No as Noelle going to let them sneak up on him like that David had done soaway and leaving him to die, no matter how much he claimed that hat he wanted
To hell with the ciphertext His life was just as important as hers
Dark shapes closed in on the house, creeping slowly, staying low to the ground It was easy to forget they were men and see them as the monsters they were--monsters anted her and David both dead
The rational part of her , but the emotional part of her screamed for her to help David no oing to make it out of that house alive
Before she could overthink the situation, Noelle gunned the Bronco's engine, and veered off the gravel, heading straight toward the closest eneuns barking all around, he didn't notice her co thud, tossing his body into the weeds like a rag doll
Two other men turned and fired at the bulletproof Bronco One of the headlights shattered and a spiderweb of cracks appeared in the side , but it stayed in place
The speeding vehicle was enough of a diversion that David ed to take out another three oing on
One by one, David took out the enemy until dead bodies littered the ainst the need to vo violent in her life, and she was afraid that if she stopped to think about what she'd just done--about what she'd just seen--she'd completely lose it
She promised herself that later, she'd let herself be as hysterical as she wanted, but right noas not the time
David still needed her
The reunman sahat had happened to his buddies and sprinted for the trees Before he was able to slip behind cover, his body jerked and blood sprayed out like a geyser from the back of his head He fell, twitched once, and didn't ht up to the back door of the house and flung the driver's door open wide for David He cas, searching the area for uys
"You drive," he said, and his tone was so flat and e back
She didn't care She'd ht choice and he could be as ot in the daot in, she turned the Bronco around and headed back down the lane