Chapter 7
It was hard to believe this was the same guy she remembered. Blade Wilson. The girls who flocked around the base couldn’t even say his name without swooning. He’d been something of a god at Fort Bragg. From his broad, muscular shoulders and washboard abs to his sexy, carefree smile and witty banter, he was every woman’s wet dream. Tough too, outperforming most of the others in the training exercises and, according to Pat, a natural leader.
Personally, she’d always wondered what the fuss had been about. She didn’t deny he’d been good looking, if you liked the whole blue-eyed, bad-boy thing, but he’d lacked substance. There’d been something shallow and dismissive about him that had turned her off.
No one ever stayed with Blade for very long. He’d love you and leave you, but then, his women knew what they were getting. She masked a snort as she struggled to keep pace with him. His commitment phobia didn’t change those women’s minds. They looked at it like a challenge, each wanting to be the one to tame him. But no one ever did. Blade’s only loyalty, as far as she could see, was to his country and to his friends.
Then, there was the brooding hulk of a man he’d become. He was still good looking—she’d be a fool not to see that—but in a haunted, brutal kind of way. The easy smile had vanished, and the blue eyes no longer laughed. Instead, they gleamed with an intensity that made her nervous.
Joe had looked up to him, almost hero-worshiped him, a trait that had irritated her. Joe had been a smart guy, but he’d lacked confidence, particularly in the beginning. She supposed the unit had cured him of that. He’d always been able to figure out how anything worked, take it apart and put it back together again. He would have made a brilliant engineer, but that wasn’t what he wanted. He’d wanted to follow his cocky, self-assured friend into what she secretly called the death squad.
Deep down, she’d always known it would end this way.
Joe wasn’t like Blade and Ricky and the others. He was strong, had been well-trained, but he was a softie at heart and killing bothered him. He’d struggled to process what he’d done. He’d had nightmares. Once, a few weeks before he’d deployed that last time, she’d woken up to find his hands around her neck. Luckily, he’d come to his senses and realized what he was doing before he’d done her any harm.
When she suggested he get some help, he’d flatly refused, saying they’d kick him out of the army if he was diagnosed with PTSD. Unfortunately, he was right, that would have ended his career as an operator. Not that it would have been such a bad thing, in her opinion. But he’d made her promise not to tell anyone about the incident, not even his father. The unit was his life. His teammates were his family. And Blade? Joe looked up to him as an older brother.
On they marched, Blade with a look of intense concentration on his face, his shooting hand gripping the pistol, ready to go should there be a problem, the muzzle in front of his nose, the weapon angled at forty-five degrees. There was another sidearm in a holster strapped to his leg. She tried not to notice how thick his thigh was, how it filled out his cargo pants.
The growly beast had clammed up since her little outburst and hadn’t uttered a single word for at least two miles now. Did she feel bad about what she’d said? Hell, no. She did blame him, but she also blamed Joe. Maybe she should have added that.
Basically, she was just pissed he was dead and needed a target for her anger. Blade made a big target.
Hot tears stung her eyes, but she blinked them away. Now wasn’t the time to have a moment, now was the time to stay focused and get out of there, far away from the men who wanted the codes.
“When do you think they’ll realize we’ve gone?” she asked, to break the silence.
“Not long.”
Great. Now he was giving her the silent treatment.
It would take her captives some time to clear the debris caused by Blade’s explosive device, but it had already been a couple of hours. Exactly how long, she had no idea. The miles seemed to blend into each other, and she was walking on autopilot.
Blade stalked rather than walked, always a step or two ahead of her, his head moving like a homing beacon. Wary, cautious, alert.
To raise her spirits, she thought about what might have been. She and Joe would be married by now, maybe even have a baby on the way. He’d be working at Fort Bragg as an engineer, building airplanes, tanks, or something else he was passionate about, while she went to work at her computer job, comfortable knowing her husband would be home safe and sound when she got back.
Sadly, that’s all it was. A dream. Her fantasy.
Not Joe’s.
His had been to join the Special Forces.
Glaring daggers at Blade’s back, she followed him farther into the forest. Dense trees blocked out the moonlight, and dark shadows loomed in front of them.
“You do know where you’re going, right?”
He shot her a look hinging on disbelief.
“Okay, fine. Sorry I asked.”
But she had noticed that every few yards he’d turn to check on her, to make sure she was still stumbling along behind him. He was a good soldier, she’d give him that much.
On they went. Her feet were aching, her back breaking. Weren’t they ever going to stop? There was no more talking, the only noise—other than her footsteps—came from small animals scurrying into their burrows as they approached.
Blade seemed to glide through the undergrowth, barely making a sound, which was bizarre given his immense frame and those enormous boots he was wearing. Easily six foot four or five, with muscles bursting out from under his shirt and shoulders that could carry two men.
He was strong too. When he’d lifted her up in the vertical tunnel, he’d done so effortlessly, as if she weighed nothing more than that blasted rifle he carried with him. Heat stole into her cheeks as she thought of how she’d had to rub against him to get out.
No way was she going to dwell on how hard his body had been, how firm. How he’d smelled so masculine that it had awakened a longing in her that she hadn’t experienced since Joe.
Lily stumbled, only just catching her footing.
“You okay?” he growled, barely turning his head.
“I’m fine.” God, how she missed Joe’s body. Missed having his arms around her at night. Most of all, she missed his smile of delight when he woke up next to her in the morning, like she was this wonderful surprise he hadn’t been expecting. Even after ten years together, he still did it.
Had done it.
Joe was gone. Why couldn’t she get her thick head around that?
They walked on for another hour, until the sun started to poke its sleepy head over the distant purple mountains. Her breath had grown ragged, her body beyond fatigued. “How much longer?”
He stopped so suddenly, she bumped into his back. An oomph escaped her.
Solid. Wall.
Yet she was too exhausted to apologize.
His dark eyes roamed over her. Was that concern she saw in them? Couldn’t be. She must have imagined it. He didn’t give a damn about her. He just wanted to get her out of here so he could go home. It was written all over his body. She was just another job, a mission he had to fulfill.
“There’s a cabin not far from here. I was hoping to reach it before daylight.”
She gave a weary nod.
He handed her the water bottle. “Drink.”
Hey, she wasn’t about to argue. Lily downed what she could, dribbling down her chin. Who would have thought water tasted so good?
“Easy,” he said softly.
She wiped her mouth and handed it back. “Thanks.”
“You think you can manage another mile or so?”
Another mile. Shoot. At this point she didn’t know if she could manage another step. “I can try.”
He gave a curt nod, then re-attached the water bottle. It was nearly empty now. Hopefully there were supplies at this cabin, wherever that was.
They set off again, but it was too much. Her mind was willing, but her body rebelled. When was the last time she slept? Twenty-four hours ago? Forty-eight? She was too tired to work it out.
In the east, the horizon shimmered with an electric blue glow. They were almost out of time. “I can’t?—”
Her legs gave way.
He moved quickly, so quickly she didn’t realize what was happening. Strong arms caught her before she hit the ground.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not a problem. I can carry you.” His dark eyes softened with concern, like the sky.
God.
It was easier hating him.
He scooped her into his arms.
With every step toward the cabin, she felt his heart beating, firm and steady. He smelled good too, like a man. Like Joe smelled when he got back from a day at the base. It had been so long since she’d smelled that manly scent that she inhaled deeply, savoring it. As they gained more ground, her mind grew groggy. Before she knew it, she’d lapsed into an exhausted sleep.