Page 3 of Cold Ignition

“Exit route?” Niko asked.

Kael nodded toward the western desert. “Two clicks. Rock Canyon.”

Niko grimaced slightly. “That’s a long walk.”

“Then don’t die,” Luca said. “Because it would suck to have to walk that far carrying your ass.”

Keanu stepped forward, sliding Niko’s arm across his own shoulders before the smaller man could protest.

“Lean,” Keanu said.

“I can walk.”

“Lean.”

Niko hesitated. Then did it. The extra weight barely slowed Keanu down.

Gunfire cracked again behind them.

“Move!” Kael barked.

They ran.

Black Tide surged across the open desert in a tight formation, Keanu carrying Niko while Tane and Luca laid down covering fire behind them.

The sand shifted underfoot, sucking at their boots. The canyon walls loomed ahead in the darkness. Almost there. A rocket streaked overhead.

The explosion hit the ridge they’d just left, the shockwave slamming into their backs like a hammer.

“Jesus,” Luca hissed.

“Not cartel gear,” Tane said grimly.

“No,” Kael agreed.

Another explosion rocked the desert behind them. Then another. Whoever was hunting them wasn’t worried about subtlety anymore. They were trying to erase the entire operation. Every witness. Every trace of them.

Keanu adjusted his grip on Niko as they reached the mouth of the canyon. The rock walls rose steep on either side, swallowing the wind and the moonlight.

For the first time since the ambush began, the gunfire behind them faded.

Silence crept into the canyon. Heavy. Waiting.

Keanu didn’t like it.

“Hold,” Kael said quietly.

They stopped.

Niko’s breathing was getting rougher now. Too much blood loss.

“Keanu,” Niko murmured.

“Yeah.”

“You ever get the feeling ... this night isn’t done with us?”

Keanu glanced back toward the desert. The fires from the helicopter still burned in the distance, flickering against the dunes. But the enemy soldiers had stopped advancing. They weren’t chasing them anymore. They were watching.