Rescue Me by Cherry Adair Page A

out at number two who had come in from the side, his AK47 raised to fire. Kicking out, Sam got rid of both man and weapon. The second guy went flying, striking a tree trunk with a hollow thud that set off a flock of birds in a screeching flutter of wings, ghostly through theNVGs . A group of chimps shot out of the lower branches, screaming annoyance as they swung from branch to branch.
    Bending his arm, Sam used a chopping motion from the elbow, his entire body weight behind the edge-of-the-hand blow to the first guy's throat as he came at him full tilt. His hand made a satisfying connection just below the enemy's Adam's apple. The guy gagged and dropped.
    The other soldier was already up on his feet and charging back for more. With a feral smile Sam sidestepped the punch to the jaw, grabbing his opponent's wrist with one hand, and pulled him off balance. With the other hand he yanked off the guy'sNVGs , then melted into the high bushes to his right.
    The man came blindly after him. Sam stayed dead still.
    The man turned in a circle, scared now, babbling God only knew what. Sam came up on him from behind, wrapping his left arm around the guy's neck, bearing down on his throat in a Japanese stranglehold. One arm across his throat, the other on his shoulders, his palm on the back of the man's head. Pulling him backwards, Sam pressed the guy's head forward.
    The guy tried to grab his balls with his free hand. TheLockOut suit gave him no handhold.
    Sam straightened and gripped the front and back of the guy's head, then gave a quick twist. It had been a while since he'd last heard a neck breaking at such close quarters. He hadn't missed the sound. Sam tossed him aside as he heard a loud scream of fear. The scream was cut off mid note.
    Beth.
     
    Elizabethflung herself into Sam's arms the moment he came through the trees. It was barely light, but she could see him well enough, and God, was she happy to do so. "Oh, Jesus, Jesus," she said hoarsely into his throat, her heart pounding so hard she was sure he must hear it. "I'm sorry, Sam. This giant pig-like something came at me, and scared the living crap out of me. I promised myself I wouldn't scream like a girl and distract you no matter what, but it ran right into me before I even knew it was there… Sorry, I'm babbling."
    She looked up at his face. He'd removed the night vision goggles, and they'd left a red mark across the bridge of his blade of a nose. He was several days past a shave, and the dark shadow on his jaw made him look wicked and disreputable. The sheen on the front of his black body suitElizabeth easily identified as blood. She stepped back, her gaze tracking across his body for signs of injury.
     
     
    "Are you—?" The matte black body suit hugged his muscular torso so that she could see the sharp definition of his tautpecs and cut abs, and the long length of his muscular legs, and the bulge, somehow flattened, large, and protected by something. She pictured his penis tucked neatly inside. Her body tightened and her nipples ached.
    "Am I?"
    Her gaze shot up to his face, and her cheeks felt warm. "Hurt. Are you hurt?"
    "I teach advanced survival skills to highly trained counter terrorists operatives for a living. I'm excellent.
    Thanks for asking." He grinned, a flash of white teeth in his tanned face. "Did your run-in with the pig give you any nicks or cuts?"
    "I scared him as much as he scared me," she muttered, searching his face. She didn't need to ask him if he'd taken care of whomever had been following them. Seeing Sam in his warrior gear, knife belted to his thigh, the big gun, his dark hair damp with sweat, his eyes glittering as if he had a fever…
    Good grief, if he'd looked at like this back home, she would have jumped his bones at the first opportunity. She gave him a more assessing look. "How did they catch up with us so fast?"
    "Obviously someone went to your room to check on you after I cut the generator. They'll send more soldiers when those