Pain flared as he stumbled a bit.
He could see Baz had stopped at a side street. In the distance, he heard the flare of guns firing. More than one. Was Penelope fighting?
Run harder. Run faster. Don’t give in to the pain.
“Come on, mate.” Simon was suddenly beside him, the younger man easily catching up.
Damon’s vision was just the slightest bit foggy, clouding on the periphery. He didn’t let up. He focused on one thing and one thing only. Baz.
Except he couldn’t see him anymore.
“It’s going to be all right.” Simon’s voice sounded distant.
Why wasn’t he running? What the bloody hell was that pain in his leg? He forced his eyes to open—he wasn’t aware they’d been closed.
His chest heaved, trying to get oxygen into his lungs.
“You passed out, mate. One minute you were running and the next you were down for the count.” Simon was staring down at him, his face stern. “We have to get you up. The police are already at the church, and they’ll be here any minute. Up you go.”
His stomach turned as Simon got him on his feet.
Everything hurt. What the hell had happened? Simon slung Damon’s arm over his shoulder.
“Come on. We have to move.”
“We have to get Baz. He was right there. I almost had him.” He’d been closing in.
His legs moved, but he had to think about it. They felt useless. It seemed like all of his effort, all his energy, was spent just trying to breathe.
“Come on, Charlotte,” Simon said under his breath as he dragged Damon’s useless body into the nearest alley.
“Have to get Baz.”
“Baz is gone, Knight. He’s long gone, and we’re going to get hauled into Finnish prison if we don’t get ourselves gone, too. I’m sure it’s very clean and polite, but prison is prison.” Simon sighed. “Thank god.”
There was a squeal of tires as the van they had switched to in the garage stopped at the alley. The side door slid open, and Taggart jumped out.
“What the fuck was that, Knight?”
Simon dragged him along “Not now, boss. He’s in bad shape.”
Damon started to shake his head. He was fine.
Taggart’s boots echoed along the pavement. “Hospital? Did he take fire?”
“No hospital.” He didn’t need a bloody doctor. Nausea threatened to overtake him, but at least he was breathing somewhat normally again. His legs still felt useless.
Taggart leaned over, shoving a big shoulder into his middle and causing Damon to curse. “Let’s go then. We have the package. You owe my wife and your girl big-time, Knight.”
If he vomited all over Tag’s backside, it would be payback.
The van doors opened and Jake Dean was in the back, shifting something to the side to allow Tag to toss Damon’s utterly limp body inside. He was just starting to regain control of his legs as his back hit the floor of the van. The doors clanged closed and in a second, they were off.
He realized what package Charlotte and Penelope had apparently picked up. Brody Carter was unconscious beside him.
Penelope stared down, her hand on his forehead. “It happened again?”
He’d passed out. Like he had in Liverpool station. He’d failed. He closed his eyes and nodded. He kept them closed because he didn’t want to see the pity in her eyes.
“What happened, Penelope? How did you get away?”
“Oh, I shot him.”
His eyes flew open and he twisted, forcing himself to get the hell up. “Penelope?”
Her face was pale, but she seemed steady. “He would have killed me, Damon. When Candice started running, I smashed my foot across the bridge of his and I shot him. I think I killed him. But it was him or me and I don’t think he was likely a very good person.”
“I’m so sorry.” Candice was sitting on the floor, huddled close to the front, her face blotchy from crying.
Penelope had killed her attacker and managed to bring in both of their assets.
He reached out for her. It didn’t matter that she was angry with him. It didn’t mean a thing that she didn’t seem to want him anymore. She needed comfort, and he was damn well going to provide it. She was still wearing his collar. He’d brutally failed to protect her. He could at least offer her this.
If she rejected him, he might die.
She went into his arms the minute he opened them. She was soft and warm and he hadn’t realized how cold he’d been.
“I killed him.” Her body shook as she cried, and he tightened his arms around her.
“It’s all right, love. You did so well.” She’d been more than he could have hoped for. But she was gentle at heart, and it would hurt her that she’d been forced to kill. “You did the only thing you could.”
She simply cried into his shoulder. As they moved deeper into Helsinki, Damon held on and prayed he could be enough for her.
Chapter Eighteen
Standing in an alley near the docks ten minutes later, Damon forced himself to move though every single muscle in his body ached. He had to face certain truths. He was damaged. His body was ruined. Possibly beyond repair. He might look all right on the outside. He might be able to fake his way through looking fit, but he wasn’t. He’d lied to himself, to everyone. He’d hidden from the fact for the last six months, but it was brutally true and he’d discovered something else about himself.
It didn’t matter. He didn’t even care that he’d lost consciousness, nearly wrecked the operation. All that he cared about was the fact that Penelope had held onto him briefly and then shut him out again.
“Are you sure this will work?” Taggart asked.
Jake Dean used a crowbar to force the crate open. “If it doesn’t, we won’t be any worse off than we are now. I already called Chelsea. She’s back on board. She and Jesse cut their trip short once they confirmed it was a distraction. She’s worked the system. They’re expecting crate number 1021009 in housekeeping. It’s supposed to be a new shipment of organic cleaning equipment. Jesse’s back on board, and he’s going to sign for it. He’s waiting for the crate and then we’ll move it to storage and get him back out again with no one the wiser.”
Him being Brody Carter, who was still unconscious. Simon wound rope around the bugger’s massive wrists and Taggart held out a ball gag setup that would have made the subs spit and scream his way, but it would totally work for what they needed to do.
There was more than one way to get on the boat, and they were using it.
If only he could get Penelope to look at him.
She’d clung to him, crying into his shoulder and holding him tight, but when the van had stopped and they’d had to get out and be cruise ship passengers again, she’d pulled away from him.
He couldn’t stand it. He hated not touching her, not being close to her.
It shouldn’t matter. They had the package. Everyone on the crew was fine. The cops weren’t waiting at the boarding level of the ship. It was successful despite the fact that they didn’t have Bennett or Baz. He should have been okay with it, but he didn’t give a shit because Penelope wouldn’t look at him.
“Should we stay here and look for Walter Bennett?” Penelope asked quietly.
At least that was a question he could answer for her. She wouldn’t allow him to do much else. “That’s not a good idea, love. After the debacle at the church, we have to be worried about the police. We need to question Carter and it’s going to be easier to do that on board, where we can control our surroundings. He knows where Bennett is. If we need to come back to find him, we will. But we’ll come back with a full team and support.”