All Chapters of COLLATERAL DESIRE : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

"Let go of me, Ethan!" I slammed my palms flat against his chest, the violent roar of the wind sweeping inside the open bay door as the stealth helicopter pulled into a steep, stomach-churning vertical climb.The floor tilted beneath us at a brutal seventy-degree angle. G-force shoved my spine down against the freezing metal, but the sheer momentum threatened to throw me backward into the open blackness of the night sky.Ethan didn't let go. His fingers dug directly into my waist like iron bands, pinning my hips flush against his thighs to lock me down against the incline."Stop fighting me, Ava!" he barked into my ear, his deep voice cutting through the terrifying howl of the engines. "You slip out that door, and there isn't a chute in the world that saves you from the water below!""I'd take the drop over you!" I screamed back, twisting wildly in his grip.My shoe scraped against the slick steel edge, slipping half an inch toward the empty drop. Panic flared hot in my throat. I grab

Ethan slammed me behind his frame, his back crashing into the cold stone pillar as a heavy hail of machine gunfire tore through the space where we had been standing a second before.He didn't hesitate. Pulling two heavy sidearms from his tactical rig in a single, fluid motion, he leaned out into the open courtyard and opened fire. Continuous, deafening suppressive rounds exploded from his weapons, targeting the automated turrets mounted along the high marble walls.Shredded metal, concrete dust, and endless shards of heavy glass rained down on us in a thick, blinding cloud. The air turned white and bitter with the smell of burnt gunpowder and pulverized stone. Every time an explosive round hit the pillar above our heads, the shockwave rattled straight through my teeth, but Ethan didn't give an inch. He locked his left arm backward like a steel bar, pinning me flat against the hard stone wall behind his spine. He used his entire body as a solid shield, absorbing the dangerous spray of

The heavy blast door slammed shut with a metallic screech that rattled my teeth, but Ethan was already moving. He hauled me up over his shoulder in one violent motion, my stomach crashing against his hard body as he fired his sidearm through the thick black smoke. Three advancing syndicate enforcers returned fire, their rounds pinging off the heavy metal frames around us.Hot shell casings rained down over my bare legs, burning my skin as Ethan squeezed off single-handed precision shots. The deafening cracks of his weapon echoed down the corridor. He dropped two guards before they could even level their rifles, his free arm locked around my thighs like a steel vise, holding me completely secure while he maneuvered through the crossfire."Hold on!" Ethan barked, his voice raw against the roar of gunfire.A heavy guard lunged out of the haze, a black combat knife flashing toward Ethan’s chest. Ethan didn't even hesitate. He ducked-swerved smoothly to the left, using his momentum to catc

"If you pull that trigger, you won't live long enough to watch the bolt land," Ethan growled.The dark water of the subterranean pool churned violently behind him as he shoved me flat against the freezing stone ledge. I couldn't breathe. Cold ocean air burned my chest, and salt spray stung my bare skin where I lay pinned beneath his massive weight. Right above us, two armed divers hovered in the water, their spear-guns leveled directly at my exposed throat. Steel bolts caught the dim glow of the emergency lights."Shoot her and we lose the lever," the lead diver shouted through his helmet communicator, his voice muffled by the thick glass of his rebreather. "Take out Vance first!"Ethan didn't give them the chance. Before the man could adjust his aim, Ethan reached down and grabbed a heavy, discarded construction brick sitting near my head. With a brutal swing born of pure muscle, he hurled the heavy concrete block straight down into the water.CRACK.The brick struck the second diver

"If you move, someone dies," Ethan growled in my ear, his arm locking across my ribs with enough force to knock the breath straight out of my chest.Before I could drag air back into my lungs, the floor dropped six inches under a heavy pneumatic hiss. Metallic thuds echoed through the air as reinforced glass panels shot up from the floorboards, sliding instantly into ceiling tracks with absolute precision. Bulletproof walls surged around us, cutting off our breach team in the outer hallway and sealing Ethan and me inside a twelve-foot square glass cube."Get off me!" I yelled, driving my elbow back into his ribs.He didn't flinch. His grip tightened, pinning my arms to my sides as pressurized nozzles overhead began to hum. The sound vibrated against my teeth, sending a shot of pure adrenaline through my veins. I stomped down on his boot and twisted violently, trying to throw my weight forward against the front panel to test the glass."Stop moving, Ava!" Ethan barked, his breath hot a