Free Before We Kiss (Uncharted SEALs Book 6) by Delilah Devlin

about the next step later. For now, her number one priority was to avoid being moved onto that plane.
    The door handle squeaked as it turned. She held her breath. A dark shadow filled the space—a head, broad shoulders. Screwing her face into a furious scowl, she drew back her arm and punched forward, aiming for her captor’s head and connecting with something unexpectedly hard. Pain stabbed her knuckles. She bit back a cry and reached out both hands to shove him back then tried to slip into the narrow space between him and the door. However, strong arms surrounded her, lifting her off her feet and forcing her to turn. Slammed up against the wall, she took a big breath, preparing to scream, but a hand covered her mouth.
    “Shhh, baby. It’s me. It’s me.”
    Wiley’s voice . Her next breath was broken by a sob. She wilted against him, letting him take her weight as he dropped his hand and held her against his body.
    Poppy cried, pressing her face into the warm corner of his neck as his hands soothed up and down her back.
    “You okay?” he whispered, his voice gruff.
    Too upset to speak, she nodded against his skin.
    He gripped her hair and tilted back her head. His kiss was quick, and the goggles he must be wearing bumped against her, but she didn’t care.
    When he drew back, he walked her to the far corner of the hut and pushed on her shoulders, forcing her toward the ground. “Stay here, babe. I have to get out there. It’s not over.”
    She reached out and fisted her hand around the rough fabric of his cargo pants. “No! Don’t leave me here. I won’t get in the way.”
    “I have to move fast. I can’t be worrying about you. Your guards won’t be a problem, but we have to take that plane.” He cradled her face. Thumbs swept away her tears. “Trust me, babe. I won’t be long.”
    Although she screamed a denial in her mind, she aimed her gaze toward his head and nodded.
    He kissed her forehead then moved away.
    The snick of the door as he closed it behind him sounded as hollow as she felt. But she wasn’t hiding in any shadow. And she wasn’t staying in this damn hut. No matter what she’d just promised. Wiley had needed to hear that promise so he could do his job, but she couldn’t bear remaining here, feeling trapped. She went to the door, cracked it open, and then slipped outside, stepping past two slumped bodies.
    She’d intended to dart around the back of the shack and straight into the cover of the forest, but the sight before her drew her attention. Two men stood at opposite ends of the airstrip, waving flashlights, the beams pointing in the air. They stood there, unaware their little band of criminals was falling, one by one, taken out by dark shadows that darted out and wrapped arms around throats. She was glad of the darkness that hid the gory details of the takedowns. But by the time the plane touched down, only the two men who’d acted like beacons remained.
    Or so she thought. Gravel crunched beside her. Moonlight fell on the sinister smile of Rotten Tooth. Before she could scream, he was on her, pressing the sharp point of a knife against her neck.
    “What will your friends do now?” he said, his eyes mere slits.
    His soft tone oozed as slithery as a snake. Poppy shuddered. Hoping to catch him off-guard by pretending acquiescence, she let him bend an arm behind her back and moved when he pushed her toward the airfield. Small rocks bit into the tender soles of her feet, but that was the least of her worries.
    The plane had come to a halt with the propellers still spinning. A door at the side of the plane opened and a hand reached out.
    She glanced over her shoulder, toward the darkness, knowing Wiley and whoever else was with him were trying to figure out how to stop this without hurting her.
    Suddenly, Rotten Tooth turned her, facing the darkness. “I have a knife. I will slit her throat if you approach,” he shouted.
    The man nearest, still holding his flashlights, trotted toward