Duty Bound (Blackthorn Security Book 1)

Chapter 17

“Don’t ever grab my arm like that again!”

Blade was furious. He paced up and down, adrenalin pounding in his ears. He’d been about to neutralize the threat, and she’d stopped him, potentially putting them both at risk.

Her eyes flashed like flaming opals. “You were going to kill him? A harmless goat herder?”

“Yeah, I was.”

“Why? He wasn’t a threat to us.”

He turned to face her, blood boiling. “Until he gets home and mentions to his buddies that he saw two foreigners up in the hills. Word gets back to the fighters, and before you know it we have an army hunting us down on this side of the river too.”

Lily paused, thinking. “He didn’t see us.”

“Let’s hope you’re right.” Blade took a ragged breath, trying to calm down. Right now, he was acting like a dick. She didn’t deserve that. Lily was a civilian, not a killer like him. She didn’t understand the need for fast, aggressive action.

“You think he was pretending?”

“Anything’s possible. That’s why we can’t take chances. We”re not just evading an army. Everyone in this region is hostile toward us. There are eyes and ears everywhere.”

“Violence isn’t always the answer, you know.” She glared at him. “There are other ways to resolve conflict.”

“Not out here, there aren’t.” He sheathed his knife. Even now, that goat herder could be racing back to tell his friends how close he came to getting his throat slit by an enemy soldier. It would make a good drinking story. “Do you think if we’d asked that guy nicely not to tell anyone we were here, he would have listened?”

“Maybe.” Her defensive expression belied her words.

“Don’t be naive. It would be in his best interests to tell what he saw. That way he’d ingratiate himself with the men in control of the area.”

She stood her ground. “I’m telling you, he didn’t see us.”

Blade clenched his jaw, hoping she was right. “It’s still not worth the risk. Every action has consequences here. A footprint, a discarded wrapper, a word spoken too loudly. Anything can give us away.”

“Okay, I get it. Geez.”

She pulled on her backpack, wrestling with the weight of it. Blade wanted to help but didn’t think it would be particularly welcome right now. Besides, he was still simmering with pent-up aggression. The sooner they got out of there, the better.

They marched in silence, him storming ahead trying to work out his tension, Lily several paces behind. He wanted to put as much distance between them and their last rest stop as possible. The niggling feeling the goat herder wasn’t as harmless as he’d seemed wouldn’t go away. And over the course of several ops, he’d learned to trust his gut.

That plus being out in the open in broad daylight made Blade set a grueling pace. As they ate up the miles, the forest thinned in favor of low-lying shrubs and bushes, which meant less coverage. In the valley, the lush floodplains expanded and contracted with the meanders in the river.

Blade couldn’t stop thinking about the goat herder. Something about the whole situation bothered him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. Maybe it was his whistle—too contrived, too deliberate.

On the other hand, maybe he was just being paranoid, and like Lily had said, the guy was harmless.

The sun was dipping over the hills when his temper cooled. Though he still couldn’t shake his suspicions, he felt better about the distance they’d covered. He also felt bad about pushing Lily so hard. Though she hadn’t said a word, she’d been panting behind him for some time. “Let’s stop here.”

Silently, she dropped down onto a tree stump and bent over.

“You okay?”

She gave a sullen nod, either still mad at him or totally spent. Or both.

He couldn’t blame her for being angry. He hadn’t handled the situation very well. Actually, that was an understatement. He’d fucked up. Royally.

“I’m sorry I lost my temper.” He handed her a water bottle. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.”

“You were just doing your job.” She took it but didn’t look up. Instead, she unscrewed the cap and took a long pull.

Her hair had gone all wispy and curled around her face, softening her features. When she finished drinking, a few droplets remained on her lips.

He fought the urge to lick them off.

“I was, but that wasn’t the way to handle it.”

She bobbed her head, the movement short and terse. “Apology accepted. I’m sorry I grabbed your hand. Actually, no, I’m not. I didn’t want to see you kill that man.”

“I know.” He wasn”t going to go there again. She was entitled to her opinion, and it was probably best she didn’t live by his rules, anyway.

His world wasn”t a particularly pretty one.

She shook out her hair, then tilted her head back and closed her eyes, exposing her elegant neck.

Was it bad to want to run his tongue all the way down it to her breasts?

The heat must be getting to him.

But damn, she was beautiful when she was angry. All flushed and desirable, amber eyes shooting fire at him. Their exchange had left him edgy and frustrated. Needing something to do, he took out the map and focused on that. “If we move to higher ground, we might be able to find a small cave or crevice to shelter in until the sun sets. We shouldn’t be out here in the open.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“You ready?”

She answered by climbing to her feet.

The next mile was uphill.It was tough going, and Blade slowed his pace so Lily could keep up. The ground beneath their feet changed again from spongy grass and clumps of foliage to dry dirt and pebbles.

As they got to the rugged peaks, he took Lily’s hand to stop her slipping and sliding on the gravel. He was also conscious that they were visible from the valley below by anyone with a pair of binoculars. He had to get them undercover as soon as possible.

“Here.” He stopped beside a horizontal rock crevice just wide enough for both of them to lie in.

“You sure?” She looked out over the valley.

“Yeah, the shadow will protect us from prying eyes below, and we can shelter from what’s left of the sun.”

Lily removed her backpack and shimmied into the crevice. He handed her the flask again. “Thanks.”

“We should be safe here for a spell.” He climbed in beside her. There was just enough height for them to sit, in a reclining position. The view was spectacular, but neither of them could enjoy it.

Lily seemed lost in her own world, while he plotted their next steps. So far so good, but their pursuers wouldn’t quit. She was too damn valuable for them to stop chasing.

Well, she was also too damn valuable for him to give up on. One way or another, he’d get her out of here.

“Are you always so suspicious of people?” she asked, startling him.

He answered carefully. “In enemy territory, yes. Are you always so trusting?”

She chuckled, easing the tension. “Actually, no. Usually I’m the one with trust issues, although there are two people I trust implicitly.”

“Spade?” he guessed.

She nodded. “And Pat.”

“Pat’s a good guy.”

‘Yeah. Joe was there for me when I needed him most. When my mother died, I had nobody. Joe asked me to move in with him, and his folks sort of adopted me. They were wonderful. I owe them so much.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Spade hadn’t told him Lily had lost her parents. Spade hadn’t talked about her at all, come to think of it.

“It was a long time ago now, but I don’t know what I would have done without them.”

He turned toward her. “How’d they die?”

“My father disappeared when I was little, so I never knew him. My mother died in a car wreck when I was sixteen.”

He could see why she had trust issues. Everyone she’d ever loved had left her.

Even Joe.

He ground his teeth together. Sometimes life could be a bitch.

“It was Pat who asked me to come and get you. He was worried about you.”

Her gaze softened. “He’s like a father to me. A real sweetie.”

Blade thought of the barrel-chested bear of a former Navy SEAL and laughed. “I haven’t heard Pat described like that before.”

“He’s got a softer side.”

If he had, Blade hadn’t seen it.

“I trust you,” she said, out of nowhere.

He glanced at her, surprised. “You hardly know me.”

“I know you’ll do everything in your power to get me home safely.”

He didn’t reply. Hell, he’d move mountains to get her home.

Not for Pat.

Not even for Joe.

For himself.

He might never be able to have her, but there was no damn way he was gonna leave her out there at the mercy of killers.

The way she was looking at him. God help him.

“I want you to know I’m grateful, even if I don’t show it. You didn’t have to come here. After what happened to Joe, I’m surprised you did.”

“I owed it to Spade.”

She threaded her fingers through his. “You’re a good friend, Blade.”

He stared at her, his big hand enveloping her small one. Suddenly, all the tension of the last few hours rose up to strangle him. “Lily, I?—”

“Shh.” She leaned in. “Just kiss me.”