Page 79 of Protecting Maggie
“That’s my line!” Preacher shouted as he ran past him.
“Fuck!”
At the sound of MacGyver’s curse, Preacher turned just in time to see Borysko hit the ground. Hard. He fell flat on his face—and didn’t immediately make a move to get up.
Everything seemed to happen in slow motion after that. MacGyver made a move that only a stunt double in an action movie could’ve managed. He leaned down and scooped up the little boy, holding him in one arm and Yana in the other as he yelled at Artem to keep moving.
It occurred to Preacher in that moment that MacGyver had never planned on leaving the kids. No matter what it took, he was going to take them with him when they wererescued. Preacher was glad, because it would’ve eaten at his soul to leave them behind in this hell to fend for themselves.
He arrived at the chopper then, and with Safe’s help, practically threw Maggie into the cargo area. Turning, he grabbed Artem, and was relieved to see Maggie pulling the boy away from the door after he’d been tossed inside.
As if they’d planned it, Blink and Safe climbed in, grabbed MacGyver’s arms and hefted him into the helicopter, still holding both children.
Preacher leapt into the door and turned, reaching for his remaining teammates. Smiley and Flash entered the chopper, then it was only Kevlar left to be picked up.
“We gotta go!” one of the pilots shouted over the roar of the rotor blades.
“Kevlar!” Flash yelled. “Now!”
But their team leader was standing with his legs braced, shooting at the Russian soldiers who’d crept closer and closer.
Without thought, Preacher leapt back out of the chopper, ignoring the sound of Maggie screaming his name, and grabbed the neck of Kevlar’s vest. He never stopped shooting as Preacher dragged him closer to the helicopter. Even as Blink and Smiley hauled both his and Kevlar’s asses into the chopper, their leader continued to shoot.
The lights from the helicopter blinked out and plunged them all into pitch darkness again.
The pilots took off and immediately banked hard to the left. Then right. Then left again. It felt as if they wereactually dodging bullets, which wouldn’t surprise Preacher in the least. The Night Stalkers were almost scary with what they could do in a chopper. He’d always been in awe of their skills, and he wouldn’t want anyone else shuttling him and his team into and out of the dangerous drop zones they frequently experienced.
The ride evened out, and after another fifteen seconds or so, a light was turned on in the cargo area. Thoughts of the pilots flew from Preacher’s mind as he turned toward the commotion behind him. MacGyver had placed Borysko on the floor and was attempting to remove his shirt, while Blink was on his knees, cutting off the little boy’s pants.
The blood pooling under him was obscene, and the sight made Preacher’s guts churn.
“Get an IV started!” MacGyver ordered Flash. The man was already rummaging through the first-aid bag at his side.
Preacher held his breath as he watched his friends tend to Borysko. It looked as if he’d been shot in both his calf and his right side. Moving around, careful not to jostle anyone, Preacher made his way to where Maggie was huddled against the wall of the chopper with Yana in her lap and Artem huddled against her side. For once, the eight-year-old didn’t look calm and in charge. He looked like a terrified little boy.
Preacher sat next to Artem and wrapped his arms around both him and Maggie. The boy didn’t take his gaze off his brother. Borysko was unconscious now, notmoving as the SEALs frantically attempted to save his life.
No one asked who the kids were or why they were involved in the rescue. They simply did what needed to be done. Any concerns about what would happen to the children would come later.
It seemed to take forever to get to the small military base on the western side of Ukraine, where the SEALs had been based during their mission. It was supposed to have been a quick in and out. The longer they were there, the more likely their presence in the country would be noted and advertised. They needed to get the hell out, especially now that gunfire had been exchanged. Russia wasn’t going to let an opportunity pass to announce to the world that the United States had broken their unstated agreement not to get involved in the conflict.
But none of that mattered right now. Not when a little boy was lying bloody and fighting for his life.
By the time they landed, the commotion surrounding Borysko had calmed down. The bleeding was staunched and the wounds tightly wrapped for now. MacGyver still hovered over the boy, but some of the terror in his eyes seemed to have dissipated.
Artem had crawled over to his brother and was sitting at his side, holding his hand. But when they landed, there was no time to relax. A plane was already waiting on the runway nearby.
“Load up. We have to get the hell out of the country,” Kevlar said.
Everyone began moving quickly, gathering bags and heading toward the plane. Still no one questioned who the children were, or if they were coming with them. They simply assumed as much.
“You got her?” MacGyver asked Maggie, who was carrying Yana.
“Yes.”
“We’ll take care of these two,” Preacher told his teammate, turning to Artem and holding out his hand. To his surprise and relief, the boy took it. He looked uncertain and scared. Preacher couldn’t blame him. Things were happening very quickly, and he had to be feeling out of his element. In the bombed-out city, he knew where to go and what to do. He was in charge and in control of what happened to himself and his siblings.
Here? He had no idea what was going on. And his brother was hurt. He had to be terrified.
