Duty Bound (Blackthorn Security Book 1)

Chapter 12

Blade didn’t hesitate. He opened fire and let off a short, sharp volley of shots. One in the head, one in the chest. The soldier fell to the ground, the expression of surprise still on his face. Lily screamed and put her hands over her ears.

The other two men spun around, but Blade was faster. He gunned one down with another lethal double-tap before the fighter managed to get off a shot. The remaining soldier fired, but his enthusiasm compromised his aim. The bullets flew harmlessly over their heads. Before he could bring his weapon under control, Blade shot it out of his hands. It fell to the ground, leaving his hands damaged and bloody. The man didn’t have time to register the pain before Blade gunned him down with another controlled burst.

Lily stared at the three dead men, slack-jawed and gasping.

There was no time to comfort her or help her process this. No time to do anything other than move.

“Come on! We’ve got to go. The gunfire will have given our position away.”

He grabbed the netting and stuffed it back into his backpack in one practiced motion.

She didn’t move, her attention still fixed on the dead men.

“Lily! We have to go.”

“You shot them.” Her voice was a hoarse whisper.

“I had to. They were going to kill us. Now, let”s get out of here before their buddies find us.” He pulled her out of the ditch. It was like leading a zombie, but at least she let him guide her through the undergrowth and around the trees. He was desperate and determined to put some space between them and their compromised position.

“We’ll head to the river.” If they could find a way across, at least they’d have a chance. He was pretty sure the Taliban fighters wouldn’t cross the raging river, as many of them couldn’t swim. Not right now, anyhow. They’d wait until they could find a boat.

Additionally, the enemy also wouldn’t expect them to go that way. It was dangerous, and in the opposite direction to where they needed to go. Kabul. The fighters would know that was their final destination, their only hope of getting Lily out of the country.

Blade was running now, pulling Lily behind him. Her breathing was erratic, but she kept up. For a moment there, he’d thought she was going to fall apart, but somehow she’d held herself together.

He recalled the disbelief on her face after he’d dispatched the young Taliban guard in the cave. That had probably been her first. Now she’d witnessed three men gunned down in front of her in the forest. It was a lot to take in when not used to it. Plus, a weapon discharging that close to your ear was deafening. Both the traumatic visuals and the loud noise would contribute to her shock.

Her face was a mask of concentration, her eyes gleamed with determination. Blade didn’t know her, what drove her. Not really. But she was stronger than she looked.

He wanted to get to know her, to learn the answers to his questions. The thought hit him like a damp branch to the face. For the first time in God only knew how long, he actually wanted to get to know someone. And for longer than just one night.

Problem was, she was out of bounds. A no-go area.

Blade pushed on, keeping a tight hold on Lily’s hand, until the trees began to thin out. Before long, they were in the open air. Fresh, cold air tinged with mud and silt. He muttered, “Nearly there.”

The earth was softer there, their shoes sinking into the fertile soil. It made walking difficult, so he slowed for her and released her hand. A patchwork quilt of agricultural fields lay between them and the river, each demarcated by a low, stone wall.

“Come on.” He nodded to one of the barriers. They clambered over it then slunk across the dark field to the next one. The soft roar of rushing water told him they neared the river.

Lily stumbled, and he turned to help her, but she’d collapsed on the other side of the wall with a sob. The horror of what she’d seen had set in, and her body had shut down. To be honest, he was surprised they’d gotten as far as they had before shock set in.

He sat beside her and put an arm around her. “Shh… it’s okay. We’re safe.”

For a little while, at least.

She was probably trying to get a grip, but he recognized the signs of horror overriding control. Chest heaving, eyes wild and unfocused… her brain was failing to work through what she’d seen.

He didn’t blame her. How could she process such an extreme level of violence? It was difficult enough for soldiers, who were trained to do it on a regular basis. But for civilians?

Her breath came in shallow gasps, like she couldn’t get enough air.

“Lily, look at me.”

Panicked eyes swung toward him but didn’t settle. She was hyperventilating, in the throes of an anxiety attack.

He had to get her breathing under control.

A distraction, that’s what he needed, but there was nothing out here but fields.

So he did the next thing that popped into his head, trying not to think about the ramifications.

He kissed her.

When he captured her mouth with his, she gave a little moan of protest and tried to push him away, but he held her head securely in place, curving his fingers around the back of her neck. After a few rapid heartbeats, he felt her relax against him. The wetness on his cheeks told him she was crying silent tears of fear and horror.

It sucked that she was out here, fleeing for her life.

She didn’t deserve this.

Didn’t deserve to see the level of death and destruction that he’d wrought on their enemy and would again if the need arose.

He couldn’t erase the images in her brain. She’d have to live with it for the rest of her life. All he could do was take her mind off it, get her anxiety under control.

He kept his lips pressed against hers, gentler now that she wasn’t so tense. She yielded, her mouth opening under the pressure of his lips. His tongue slid against hers, and he was relieved to feel her reciprocate. He kept the kiss light, not delving too deeply, not wanting to startle her any more than she already was.

It was hard because damn, she tasted good.

She felt good too. Her body was soft, with desirable curves in all the right places.

With a muffled sob, she flung her hands around his neck. He released her mouth and gave her space to cry. She clung to him, her tears wet against his face, and they sat like that for a moment. Before he expected, she gave a deep, shuddering breath and got herself under control.

Slowly, he pulled away. Her curious eyes glistened with tears, but they weren’t glazed over with shock anymore, and her breathing appeared to be normal.

His approach might have been unorthodox, but it worked.

Lily let go of him and scooted over.

He removed his arm from around her shoulders, giving her space, and was surprised to find himself wishing it was still there.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to fall apart. It’s just… I’ve never seen anyone shot before yesterday, and now?—”

“I know.” He gave a stiff nod. “I’m sorry you had to see that. I wouldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been necessary.”

A reluctant nod. “I knew it would happen at some point, but I didn’t think it would affect me so much.”

“It always does, the first time.”

“Even for you?” She stared up at him, looking for reassurance.

“Even for me.” He’d stopped thinking about his first kill years ago, but at the time, it had affected him. How could it not?

“Joe used to have nightmares,” she said, after a beat.

Blade frowned. “He did?”

She gave a sad nod. “He’d wake up screaming, drenched in sweat. Once, he even tried to strangle me in my sleep. He thought I was the enemy.” Her shoulders heaved in a desolate shrug. “But then he woke up and realized what he was doing.”

“Christ.” Blade was appalled. “Why didn’t he say anything?”

Spade hadn’t mentioned he was suffering from nightmares or flashbacks. His performance in the unit had been stellar. If he’d been struggling with PTSD, he’d managed to keep it under wraps.

“He didn’t want to be kicked out of the squad.”

Blade sighed. If they’d known, they would have had to suspend him pending a psych evaluation. “I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t know.”

She shook her head sadly, “It’s not your fault. He didn’t tell anyone. Not even his father.”

“Pat would have insisted he get help.”

She sniffed.

“Exactly.”

“You ready to get going?”Blade asked.

Lily gave a weary nod, then her gaze flicked to his lips.

She was remembering their kiss, and she wasn’t the only one. It had been soft and tender, completely different to the first time, back in the cabin when she’d thought he was Joe.

“Blade?”

Now wasn’t the time.

Besides, he didn’t know what to say. He didn’t know what this thing was between them. This weird magnetic pull drawing him to her like a moth to a flame. A cliché, but it was true. But the attraction didn’t matter. She wasn’t available. Never would be. For him, anyway.

He had to stop thinking like that.

The thought made him wince, almost like a physical pain. What the hell was that all about? He never got this hung up on anyone. And certainly not while on mission.

“Once we’re across the river, we can rest for a while. Maybe get some sleep.”

She gave a tight nod.

Damn, he’d sounded harsher than he’d meant to. Holding out a hand, he said, “Not far to go now.”

After a second’s hesitation, she took it. Once he pulled her to her feet, she immediately let go.

Blade led her across another couple of fields and over a few more low, stone walls. Finally, they reached the river—a broad, dark oil slick curving through the pre-dawn landscape.

It ran thick and fast. White specks on the surface rolled over onto each other, spitting up spray. It hissed angrily as it rushed past.

Lily halted, her eyes widening. “We”re going to cross that?”

“You can swim, can’t you?” He hadn’t thought to ask. Shit, if she couldn’t, they’d have a problem.

“Yeah, of course.”

He exhaled. “Good. We’re going to wade across. It’s deep in the middle, so we’ll have to swim that part, but I’ll make sure we’re tied together, so you won’t get washed downstream.”

Lily stared at the frothy channel in the middle.

“It’ll be okay,” he muttered, praying he was right. The danger with water was often not the current or the temperature. It was the panic. When people freaked out, they were done for. Flailing around would only make things worse.

But they didn’t have much of a choice. It was cross the river or be caught.

Blade glanced back the way they’d come. After their mad dash across the fields, he half expected the enemy to come charging toward them, tipped off by a surprised farmer. The darkness worked in their favor, and if anyone had seen them, the message would take a while to filter back to the Taliban camp.

They had some time. Not a lot, but a small window in which to vanish across the river.

“I’ll tie us together using the rope.” With her rucksack weighing her down and the powerful current, she’d battle to cross on her own. Anyone would.

“Okay.” Her gaze was fixed on the raging river.

Reaching around her waist, he wrapped the rope and tied it in a bowline knot. Perfect for a rescue situation, it held up best when there was constant pressure pulling against the knot, like in a moving current. Then he repeated the process, securing the rope around himself, but leaving a decent amount of slack between them. Enough to give them swimming space, but short enough to haul her in should she run into trouble.

Next, he shrugged off his backpack, took out a thick, black plastic bag.

“What’s that for?” she asked, finally dragging her eyes from the water.

“To keep some of our stuff dry,” he said.

“Our backpacks?” He noticed she was shivering, but whether it was from the cold or the shock, he couldn’t be sure. Probably both.

“No, we’re going to wear those. They’ll help keep us afloat. This is so we can get warm on the other side.”

He took out the sleeping bag, wishing he had dry clothing to add to it, but he’d had to leave his original backpack in the damn cave. The team hadn’t given them any extra jackets or sweaters, only a down sleeping bag in one of the emergency packs. After this, keeping warm was going to be one of their biggest problems, but he didn’t mention that now.

One dilemma at a time.

Right now, getting across this river was their priority.

After tying the black bag firmly, he placed it at the top of his pack, then refastened the straps. “Okay, we’re good to go.”

Lily wrapped her arms around her, a gesture he’d come to know—she felt scared and vulnerable.

“You got this.” He forced a smile.

She bit her lip. “Is it cold?”

“Yeah.” It was going to be freezing, no way to sugarcoat that. “But we’ll be across in under ten minutes.”

She gave a little nod. “Do we get undressed?”

“Remove the body armor, and stuff it into your pack. You can keep the rest on. Wade in as far as possible. The longer you keep your feet under you, the less ground we lose. When you can’t stand anymore and have to swim, try to keep your feet up as high as you can.” That was enough of a warning without mentioning an undertow. “Don’t be alarmed when you start moving rapidly downstream. At that point, we have to let the current take us. As soon as we can stand again, we’ll be able to go straight to the other side. Got it?”

Her lip quivered, but she gave a brave nod.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you. I’ll pull you across if you get into trouble.”

A shaky breath. “Let’s get this over with.”

“That’s the spirit.”

Blade went first, his weapon on his back, secured to his body along with the backpack. He needed both arms free to swim. After a few steps, he felt the rope tighten around his waist, then slacken again as she followed him in.

This was it.

They had to make it across undetected.

Holy crap!

The water was freezing.

Lily gasped as a million little icicles pierced her legs, then her stomach, then her chest, threatening to squeeze all the breath out of her.

Already, her toes had gone numb.

She exhaled, long and slow, trying to keep calm.

“You okay?” Blade cast a worried glance in her direction.

I can do this.

Frigid water lapped at her shoulders. She’d caused enough bother over the last hour, so she wouldn’t bail out now no matter how much she wanted to. And boy, did she want to. Icy tentacles clawed at her, drawing her in. Teeth pressed together to stop them from chattering, she muttered, “I’m okay.”

The riverbed was slippery, and her feet felt weird under the water—heavy, but at the same time unable to grip the sandy bottom.

“Keep going. You’re doing great.”

How’d he keep so goddamn calm all the time? She tried not to freak out as they moved farther into the middle of the fast-moving channel in the center. The current tugged at her legs, and she fought to keep her feet down.

“I think I’m losing my grip.” She panted through the exertion. The undertow strengthened and threatened to pull her downstream by her clothing, her backpack, her legs.

“Go with it.”

Fine for him to say. He was a head taller than her and wasn’t having the same problem.

Lily felt like she was walking on the moon—long, loping hops instead of normal steps, the buoyancy of the water lifting her up.

She yelped as the ground disappeared and her legs were sucked out from under her. The current washed her quickly downstream. It was much faster than she realized, and for a moment, she fought a flicker of sheer panic. Forcing her feet down, she tried to stand. Couldn’t reach the bottom. The undertow caught her, dragged her under. Flailing her arms, kicking her legs, she surfaced, spluttering.

Blade shouted, “Relax. I’ve got you. Don’t fight it.”

The rope went taut. Her pace slowed.

Oh, thank God.

Desperately trying to keep her head above water, she put her faith in Blade. How the hell did he do it? No longer walking, he swam, taking big, powerful strokes toward the opposite bank. It felt like they were getting nowhere because of how quickly they moved downstream. The landscape flashed by in a blur.

Panic hovered, but then she began to calm down. They were, in fact, making progress. The bank looked like it was getting closer. Blade was doing most of the work, even though she was swimming as hard as she could, which wasn’t easy with a rope around her waist and a huge backpack on her back. He was right, though, it did help to keep her afloat. So did her frantic flutter kicks.

Breathe. Stroke left, stroke right. Breathe. Stroke left, stroke right. Breathe…

She talked herself through the motions, trying to build up some sort of rhythm, like in the communal swimming pool back in her hometown. The current, however, had other ideas. It tossed her around, buffeted her, and slapped her in the face. Once, she almost rolled over onto her back.

After what felt like an eternity, they rounded a bend in the river and the current slowed down. They’d reached the point bar of the meander. Blade stood. A second later, the rope tightened, jolting her and halting her downstream momentum.

He pulled her toward him. “You should be able to put your feet down.”

Tentatively, she reached out and managed to touch the bottom.

Yes!

She could stand.

After a few more tugs, she found much firmer footing. It wasn’t long before Lily trudged out of the water behind Blade. Her clothes and pack weighed her down like they’d absorbed half the river. Her legs wobbled from the exertion.

“We made it.” Lily turned and stared back across the river for their point of entry, but it was around the bend. They’d traveled roughly half a mile downstream thanks to the current.

Blade undid the rope from around his waist, then took it off hers. He looped it around his arm then clipped it back onto his belt. “We’re out of sight here. Let’s have a rest while we dry off.”

“Okay.”

His intense gaze unnerved her. It conveyed thousands of messages while keeping countless secrets.

That look mingled with a sense of pride swelling inside her. The combination elicited a strange sensation in her core that made her stomach tighten.

“You did great.”

She grinned. “Thanks.”

For the first time since her capture, she didn’t feel in immediate danger.

“We should get warm.”

Strangely enough, she was so numb from the frigid water that the cold night air felt burning hot against her skin.

“How are we going to do that?” Everything in her backpack was wet.

“We’ve got one dry sleeping bag. You can use that.”

“What about you?”

“I’ll be okay. I’m used to it.”

“You’re sure?”

He grunted and stalked off up the bank.

A dry, warm sleeping bag sounded great. Finding her footing, Lily scrambled after him.