Free Her Risk To Take by Toni Anderson Page A

together.
    He waited for Nat to strike the butt of his weapon into the gunman’s temple. But even then, Henriksson didn’t go down. Instead, he gave a huge bear-like bellow and twisted violently, Sarah and the gun both still in his grip. Cal leaped on the gun, shoving the barrel until it pointed away from their bodies. Henriksson pulled the trigger and Cal held on, the barrel burning his fingers as it jerked in his hands. He drove his knee into the big man’s balls while Nat dragged Sarah out of harms way and pushed her behind him, into the stairwell.
    “Run, Sarah!” Cal shouted. “Get out of here.”
    Henriksson changed tactics and drove forward, pushing Cal backward. Oh, shit . He gained momentum. The lunatic was going to drive him right off the edge of the building. Cal shoved his legs between the other man’s and hooked his foot around his knee. Henriksson tripped and landed like a beached whale on top of Cal. The gun went off again. The noise deafening in intensity, bullets pinging off the brickwork. His eyes searched for Sarah, but he couldn’t see her, thank god. Then Henriksson pressed his forearm across Cal’s throat and Cal couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t defend himself without letting go of the rifle barrel, and if he did that, he was dead. Instead, he helped the asshole empty the magazine, praying the ricochets wouldn’t kill him as his eardrums threatened to burst from the noise. His vision started to gray, but he remembered his legs. He brought his knees hard into Henriksson’s kidney although they didn’t seem to have an impact. The gun finally clicked without firing. Empty.
    Cal smiled. Now they were even.
    He pried one arm loose and clawed at the giant’s eye, digging his short nails deep into the socket. Nat was behind him trying to draw a bead, but right now they were so tangled up it was impossible to shoot Henriksson without nailing Cal.
    Cal dug his fingers in harder. Henriksson reared back in pain, taking the pressure off Cal’s throat and letting him catch a breath.
    “Stop or I’ll shoot,” Nat called.
    Henriksson rolled, dragging Cal to his feet, holding him like a shield in front of him. The man threw down his empty weapon. Sarah ran out of hiding and stood beside Nat, love for Cal clear in her eyes. The big man literally carried him backward, toward the drop off that would kill them both. All Cal could think was he’d never said the words. He’d never told Sarah he loved her.
    The knowledge spurred him on. He hadn’t defended himself and his mother all those years ago just so he could die at the hands of another abusive bastard.
    He drove his elbow hard into Henriksson’s gut. Then smashed his fist backward into the man’s nose, driving the cartilage upwards into his skull. Henriksson stumbled on the very edge of the building. Cal went down hard on his knees, but the big guy had too much momentum, and was too close to the edge. His arms windmilled and he started falling. Dammit . Part of Cal wanted to let him go, let him fall, and eliminate the problem. But he couldn’t. Cal lunged forward and grabbed Henriksson’s hand. He heard the rush of feet behind him as Nat leaped to do the same. And suddenly there they were, holding onto the fucking asshole as he dangled off the hospital roof.
    “Don’t let me fall. Please don’t let me fall,” Henriksson begged.
    “I’m tempted to just let him go,” Nat deadpanned. “World would be a better place.”
    They let the words sit there for a moment, small revenge for the panic and fear this man had caused on a day that should have been filled with nothing but joy and peace.
    “No,” Cal said clearly. He knew what he wanted now. He’d finally figured out bad things sometimes happened whether he was around or not. At least if he stuck close he could watch out for the people he loved, rather than running away like a dumbass. “I want him to answer for laying hands on my woman. I want him to find out what the prison population