I rolled in their grip and ended up with my rifle in their face. The man leered down at me, unafraid of the weapon I had trained on him. His knife flashed in the moonlight on its way down toward me. I had two options, roll to avoid the knife, or shoot him, but the odds of getting stabbed were high if I took the shot. Rolling wasn’t even a conscious thought. My body reacted, avoiding the sharp blade.
Kicking out toward him as I moved, I tried to knock him away from me, but he was fast. He straddled me, his body over my hips, and brought the blade toward my face. My shoulders and head were hanging off the edge of the rock, preventing me from trying to buck him off. It would probably send him flying off the edge and into the gorge below, but I’d go with him. I didn’t have anything to grab onto.
My rifle was useless when he was this close to me. The realization that I might die, here and now, filled me with dread. The only comforting thought was that maybe I’d provided an avenue of escape for Rafe, Arsen, and Sig. This was three times now they’d saved me and if I could return that favor, it was worth it.
The blade sliced against my collarbone in a shallow cut and I hissed out a breath. My brain was scrambling, trying to decide the best way to go out. Fuck it. I wasn’t going to let this asshole kill me. I’d rather fling us both over the edge and control my own death.
His hand went to my throat and he growled something at me in Arabic. I gathered my strength and set my right foot, preparing to thrust my hips up with enough force to topple him forward over my head. I was ready for what I was about to do. In the short brief span of time, I’d made my peace with it.
His weight was heavy on top of me, our rough breathing as we struggled heavy in my ears. My hands were on his wrist, trying to prevent him from bringing that knife down into my body a second time.
It was slowly moving closer toward my neck and I had to time it just right. I wasn’t strong enough to fight him off. I had to use cleverness instead of strength. As soon as it dropped down to within an inch of my flesh, I jerked to the side and released my grip on him. At the same time, I used my planted foot to buck my hips as hard as I could. He was already off balance as his knife sliced down into nothing but air, and the added thrust of my hips displaced him.
He began to fall and I rolled with him enough to give him that last kick in the back that would send him tumbling to his death. His scream echoed around the rock walls until it cut off sharply.
My fingers scrabbled at the edge of the rock. I was holding on by the very tips, the rest of my body dangling off the cliff that I’d just shoved my enemy off. I could feel every molecule of pain as I dug in as hard as I could to try to get a better grip. It wasn’t possible. My gasp was loud as my fingers slipped and I started to fall.
I’d only fallen a few inches when steel closed over my wrist and I was jerked to a halt. I looked up and almost sobbed when I saw Arsen peering over the ledge. The relief on his face had to mirror my own.
“Did you get her?”
Sig sounded anxious as hell and Rafe was barking questions at Arsen. Arsen didn’t bother to answer, he reached down with his other hand and grabbed my other wrist, then began hauling me up over the edge.
“Thank fuck,” Rafe growled as Arsen yanked me up and into his arms.
I buried my face in his chest, not saying anything, just letting my heart slow down from its freight train speed. Burly arms tightened around me as Arsen cuddled me on his lap. We both needed a minute.
The others gave us a few brief moments before Rafe was prompting us. “We have to go. There could be more.”
Without another word, Arsen picked me up, carrying me away from the rock and back onto solid ground. I saw Sig pick up my weapon and sling it onto his back.
“I can walk, Arsen,” I told him. I knew it wouldn’t matter, not right now. His face hardened, but he didn’t say anything or put me down. To be honest, it was a relief. I was safe here, wrapped up in his arms. I let him carry me bride style for what felt like hours before my heavy eyes closed.