The Hero She Needs (Unbroken Heroes #1)

“Taking down the loudmouth leader is a good place to start.”

Boone nodded. “Can you see any of them?”

“No.”

Boom.

Shep made a pleased sound. “Someone hit another booby-trap.”

A grim smile crossed Boone’s face. “Let’s circle around and mark all their locations. Then we’ll stop them, once and for all.”

Shep nodded.

They crept quietly through the edge of the trees. Boone heard voices ahead and lifted a hand to signal Shep. His friend nodded.

He and Shep split, moving to surprise the mercenaries from two different directions.

There were three of them standing in a group.Idiots. It made them easy targets. One was hunched over a heavy-duty tablet.

Boone frowned.What the hell were they doing?

“They’re closing in,” one merc said.

Who was closing in? And what were they closing in on?

“In position,” Shep said through the earpiece.

Boone pulled out his Glock and readied himself. “Go.” He rose and fired. One merc went down with a sharp cry.

Shep rushed out of the nearby bushes like a nightmare. He pounced on a second merc and dragged him down.

Boone aimed his gun at the man with the tablet. The young guy raised one hand, his other still clenched on the device.

“Good choice.” Boone snatched the tablet from him, just as Shep appeared. His friend yanked the man’s hands behind his back and zip-tied them.

Lifting the tablet, Boone focused on the screen. It showed an aerial view of the trees in a dark shade of blue, and there were some orange blobs in the center. Three of them in the trees and moving fast.

“What’s this?” he demanded.

The young merc swallowed. “The thermal camera. It’s mounted on a drone.”

Boone looked up into the sky.Shit.

“I spotted a thermal signature up on the hillside, near the mine. Radu deduced that it was our target. That you’d hidden her.”

Ice filled Boone’s veins.

The merc swallowed. “He took two men, and he’s moving to intercept her.”

With a growl, Boone dropped the tablet and gripped the front of the man’s shirt. Emotions charged through him, fear leading the way.

“Boone,” Shep said sharply.

Boone met his friend’s gaze.

“Go,” Shep said. “I’ll hold the rest off. Go get your girl.”

Boone swiveled and ran.