Javier (Alpha Heroes #12)

Chapter Forty

Missy

My eyes rolled to the back of my head and my neck flopped forward, but at the last minute, I braced my wobbly legs and steadied myself against Javier’s body. Breathe, Missy. Breathe. I was not going to faint, not now, not ever again.

Holding onto Javier, I looked down at myself. All that blood. It stained my top, dripped down my jeans, and drenched my hands and the slippery gun I held on to. Someone battered the door from the outside. It rattled on its hinges, but it didn’t give. When I looked up at Javier, his face was ashen.

“Missy…” His throat rippled and his eyes widened with desperation. “Are you…?”

“Behind you!” I cried out.

Bekker slapped his hands on the floor and in one smooth, powerful glide, slid himself to the corner, leaving behind a trail of blood. He jerked the blanket out of his way and jammed his hand behind the upturned chair, reaching for his gun.

Javier snatched the Glock from my hands, whirled, and aimed.

Bekker’s bloody hands closed, not over his gun, but around the metallic sheen of the cobra’s tail. Cornered and riled up, the creature struck, not once, not twice, but many times.

In whip-like bursts of explosive power, the snake hit, sinking its fangs into the merc’s face, nose, cheek, and neck.

I slapped my hand over my mouth and gawked at the cobra’s sheer ferocity. An odd thought drifted into my head. Was this the snake’s natural defensive reaction or was the reptile taking vengeance on the one who’d forced it to kill on his behalf?

“Stay out!” Javier shouted to whoever was trying to bring down the door. “There’s a cobra in the room.”

The sound of glass clinking caught my attention. Javier cleared the jagged edges off the broken window with the IV pole. A wave of dizziness hit me and my knees buckled. Next I knew, I was in his arms even though he himself wasn’t totally steady on his feet. Carrying me, he stumbled outside into a back alley. Before we could go very far, the emergency exit exploded open.

The building disgorged the full team. Kai ran ahead of the others, holding his carbine up, looking for a target. Dash and the others stacked behind him, all armed. Thena stood at the center of their spear formation.

“She’s hurt.” Javier fell to his knees, holding me tight against his heaving chest. “A doctor. Now! She’s been shot.”

The anguish on his face struck me as infinite. His capillaries’ crooked red lines glared against the white of his eyes. His chest and pants were blotched with blood. His body trembled against mine.

I closed my eyes, and working my diaphragm, made my biggest effort yet not to pass out. Breathe in, breathe out. Find the calm within. Connect with what brings you peace . When I looked up again, I found my peace in the warm, loving light that shone in the depths of Javier’s amber eyes.

I felt better, stronger, capable of tackling anything that came our way as long as he was alive. Around us, orders were given. Thena knelt by my side, and Tracker Team formed a protective rim above us.

“I’m fine,” I rasped, rushing to reassure Javier. “No need to worry. It’s Bekker’s blood. I clicked off the safety and shot him. With your gun.”

Javier opened his mouth and closed it. “You… shot the fucker?”

“Until I ran out.” I took another breath and succeeded at driving away the darkness for good. “I’m not hurt.”

“Are you sure?” He ran his hands all over me, still looking for wounds.

“I’m sure.” I lifted my hand and cupped his face. “I’m not bleeding out, but you could be, if we don’t get you back on the antivenom right away.”

“You’re okay,” he rasped to himself. “She’s okay.” He grinned up at his friends then crushed me to his chest. “Goddammit woman, you are so brave, so fucking fierce.”

It struck me that I had been fierce. I had defended Javier and myself, and I hadn’t wavered or fainted. From now on, fierce, confident, and free was who I was going to be.

“You’re fierce, too, but…” I studied his weary face. “You’re looking rough around the edges.”

He loosened his hold on me and caressed me with his gaze. “I’ll survive.”

It was a pledge, and I believed him.

“Bekker’s dead,” Micah’s grave voice announced. “The snake has been secured, but it got him in the jugular. The doctors think he had a massive reaction to the cobra’s bites.”

“There’s justice,” Finn quipped.

“A technician has been found locked in a supply closet upstairs,” Micah added. “Bekker rendered her unconscious, but the woman is okay now.”

“Let’s get Guzman back on an IV stat,” Dash ordered, and he and Micah helped Javier to his feet. “Ferranti, run ahead and coordinate with the doctors.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Let me help you.” Kai’s strong grip raised me up.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Thena asked, bracing me on the other side. “You’re not about to faint, are you?”

“I don’t faint anymore,” I met Javier’s eyes. “Unless he faints, in which case, I’m not sure I can stand the fright.”

“I’m gonna be all right.” He winked at me. “No venom in the world will ever come between us.”

“Deal.” I blew him a kiss and followed him and his friends as they made their way back inside the hospital, but I crossed my fingers behind my back, praying he was going to be okay.