Page 14 of The Lazarus Protocol

“Go help the others.”

Her order was enough to get the guy moving, off the ground and jogging to the building. Though, not without shooting Ice a dirty look.

“On your knees.”

“Nope.” Ice shook his head. “Not gonna happen.”

“American.” She didn’t seem surprised.

He was just glad the accent stayed intact, but then he’d been using it for so long that the subterfuge had become part of him. Sometimes even he believed he was from Florida.

Ice got to his feet, ignoring the dampening shirt over his shoulder or the sting under the fabric. “What’s that line from The Princess Bride? ‘You’re trying to take what I have rightfully stolen.’ Something like that.”

“You think I’m here to steal from you?”

“I’m sure you’ll take whatever you can find after you kill the three of us.”

She almost smiled. “There are five of you.”

He got the impression she wasn’t quite certain, though. “That you know of.”

That did get him a smile. “How intriguing.”

“International man of mystery. That’s me.”

She lifted the gun, cupping her free hand underneath to steady her grip, and pointed it at his head.

“You’re gonna shoot me, and leave me bleeding out on this grass?” Ice stared her down. “Maybe you could hear me out, and after I’m gone, you could send a message to my mom. Let her know that I’m sorry. ‘Kids being kids’ and all that. You know how it is. I just don’t wanna go without knowing that she’ll forgive me. You’ll do that, right? Pass on a message?”

Behind her the helicopter circled around, and a gunner on board opened fire on the far side of the building where Ash and Kai had entered. Wrecking their chance at exiting the same way they’d gone in.

She lifted her chin. “How do you know I won’t put a bullet in your mother, too?”

Ice shrugged. “You could try, but she’d shoot you first. She doesn’t like strangers on her property.”

The woman let out a laugh, a sharp sound that made him think of shards of broken glass, then walked around him until she was at his back. Don’t like that. He started to glance over his shoulder when she grabbed the top edge of his vest and curled her fingers in. Got a real good grip on him, scratching him with her nails in the process, then jerked him. The barrel of the gun pressed against the back of his neck.

“Walk.”

So the plan was to take him hostage? Probably so she could try to get his teammates to hand over the two programs they’d downloaded.

Ice grunted. “Gotta say, we didn’t expect the security system here was good enough you’d respond so fast, or so thoroughly. That’s one for the storybooks, right? We break in, and the response is you guys and your helicopter. I thought the two security guards were it. We would’ve been in and out by now.”

Except the chopper was doing serious damage to the building, hovering low enough the gunner in the open door had a good angle. Ice didn’t actually think whoever hired them sent her, but every theory had to be eliminated. He figured she worked for a rival company, but he was on a roll spitballing aloud. Wasting time.

“I don’t get why you’d destroy your own building, though,” Ice continued. “Or is this place expendable? Some defunct research lab you guys don’t use now, and it’s scheduled to be destroyed. Why not use it as a training ground for your security forces?”

“You talk too much.”

“Just trying to get a handle on this assignment. Turns out it’s not as advertised.”

“Unless you have my book, you should shut up.”

“I mean, for starters—” He frowned. “Your book? That’s what you’re after? Why didn’t you just say! My friends and I will help you⁠—”

She used her grip on the back of his vest to drag him backward so she could whisper in his ear. “Shut. Up. Or I put a bullet in your head, and you never talk again.”

Ice lifted his hands, splaying his fingers out and saying nothing.