Unshackle (Deliver 7)

“I can’t wait to hear how the two of you pulled this off.” Luke grinned.

Romero might’ve been a genius, but his story wasn’t much different than hers. Poor Latino boy supporting his poor family. A wealthy, powerful man strolled in, offered him a high-paying job, U.S. citizenship, and a slew of other empty promises.

She’d learned about him through the gossip of the girls in the estate. The cartel kept him sequestered away from the guests, but with Silvia’s key card, she’d been able to enter his room and take him by surprise.

Romero wasn’t really a bad guy. He’d made some mistakes, the same as her. Now they were both working toward redemption.

“The pounding on the door stopped,” she said.

The explosion had drawn the crowd away.

Luke glanced at the grenade in his hand, then at the wall near the exit. “What’s on the other side of that door?”

No way could he carry her, a grenade, and aim a gun at the same time. He must’ve been thinking the same thing.

“A garden.” Romero looked up from his phone. “Lots of foliage to hide anyone who might be waiting for us to come out.”

“Stay here.” He strode toward the door, opened it with Marco’s key card from his pocket, and chucked the grenade.

Seconds later, it detonated with a chest-rattling bang.

Well, there was no one waiting out there now. But more would come.

She didn’t know how he planned to carry her to the gate without taking gunfire. But the pain in her leg was eating away her ability to worry about the endless details.

The persistent pull to close her eyes was grueling. She wanted to sleep, needed it desperately after being awake all night. But Luke probably hadn’t slept, either, and his night had been much, much worse.

“Here we go.” He crouched over her, gun in hand, more guns strapped to his back, and lifted her into his arms.

She bit back a scream as her leg jostled and burned with a vengeance. “Remove my vest. It’s bulky. Too heavy.”

“Not a chance. Hold on.”

She tried, but the universe was spinning around a black curtain. Daylight speckled in through moments of darkness. Gunfire sounded off and on, muffled pops, as if passing through wads of cotton.

Then there was nothing.

“Vera.”

“Huh?” She woke with a rumbling vibration beneath her and a rumbling voice beside her.

“Vera. Wake up.”

She rubbed her eyes and found herself in the luxurious leather seat of a fast car. Like really fast. It flew down a barren road, hugging the turns and growling through the gears.

Behind the wheel sat the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Red hair glinting in the sunlight, shirtless chest boasting strength and hard work, and powerful hands that knew how to maneuver high speeds, deliver fatal punches, and touch a woman until her eyes rolled back in her head.

“We’re alive,” she said in wonder, watching trees blur by. In the distance, clouds of smoke billowed on the horizon. “Is that the compound?”

“Yeah, it’s burning. We hit them hard and fast. There will be nothing left by the time the authorities show up.”

“How did you get us out?”

“Your badass haul of guns. I had enough firepower to clear a path to the car. Romero’s safe. None of us were hit.”

“What about the girls?”

“Rounded up and protected. This is what we do. Trust me, they’re fine.” His green eyes cut to her and returned to the road. “How are you doing?”

“I’m in shock, I think.”

“It’s the blood loss. And the adrenaline dump. You single-handedly took down all four of Hector’s sons.”

“I had help.”

“You’re a goddamn warrior. The fucking bullet is still in your leg.” His hand clenched on the steering wheel. “Restrepo’s doctor is waiting on the plane. You’re going to be okay.”

She believed him.

She loved him.

How could she not? They’d been through hell and back together. Sacrificed their lives for each other. Witnessed each other at their lowest, most degrading points.

Funny how the threat of death opened a person’s eyes. Without tribulation and strife, a woman could go her life and never truly understand the meaning of love.

Had Vera spent enough time with Luke without all the danger, she would’ve eventually fallen for him. But after everything they’d been through, time had no bearing. After meat hooks, spiders, metal dildos, jealous bitches, and gunshot wounds, their relationship had been tested more in a short period than most couples experienced in an entire lifetime.

They’d already proved they could overcome anything together.

“Luke.”

“Mm?”

“I have something to tell you.”

“I know.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I love you, too.”

She grunted a breath that tumbled into a pain-laced groan. “You ruined it.”

“You can still say it. Go ahead.”

“But now you know what I’m going to say. It’s lost its impact.”

“Jesus, Vera, don’t you know that every word that passes your lips impacts me? When you say those three words the first time, the next time, and if I’m lucky enough to hear them more times than that, they will have an impact, profoundly, significantly, in every way that matters.”