Chapter 15
Chapter
Fifteen
July 13 th
5:28 A.M.
A scant couple of hours later, Cooper had to wake Willow.
She hadn't gotten even close to enough sleep. Her body would take weeks to recover from the physical and psychological trauma she’d been through, and two hours on the sand in the desert wasn't even enough to take the edge off her exhaustion.
But the sky was beginning to lighten, streaks of color painting beautiful pinks, reds, and golds across the expanse above them, and he knew that they had to get walking. In reality, spending these last couple of hours resting wasn't the smartest thing to do if they wanted to give themselves the best chance of getting out of there.
Only when it came to Willow he couldn’t think clearly.
Torn between doing what he’d do if he was out there alone, or if he’d been with either his Delta team or Charlie team, which was get walking, get as much distance between them and the crash site, and doing what was in Willow’s best interest. In that moment it was rest. She was running on empty, she’d given everything she had, and walking was out of the question for her at the time. While he would have carried her, he was wiped out, too, covered in bruises and gashes, body aching and screaming for rest, he wouldn't have been able to carry her indefinitely.
So sleep it had been.
Two hours was the best he could give her because now what was in Willow’s best interest was to get them the hell out of there.
“Hey, honey,” he murmured, stroking a lock of hair off her face, and touching a kiss to the side of her head. He was such a goner when it came to this woman, she’d blasted into his life like a hurricane, tossed him up, thrown him about until he lost all sight of anything but her.
Giving a small groan, Willow burrowed deeper into his arms, and he couldn’t help but smile. She was adorable half asleep like this, all warm and soft and pliable. What would it be like to wake up with Willow in his arms when they’d spent the night in a real bed, after making love, falling asleep sated and safe?
There was no use denying he wouldn't love to find out, but now wasn't the time to focus on anything but their lives and their safety.
Later.
When they were out of danger he could see if she’d be interested in going out on a date with him.
“Come on, honey, you have to wake up.”
“Don’t wanna,” she muttered, pressing her face against his neck.
Cooper chuckled. “I know you don’t, honey. But the sun is rising and we have to get walking.”
Another groan tumbled from her lips, but she lifted her head, blinked sleepily, and gave him a soft smile that shot like an arrow straight into his heart. “Did you get any sleep?”
“Dozed a little.” It was all he could allow himself. While they’d both been kidnapped in Saqqara, and they’d both been in that crash, he was still streaks ahead because these were just the latest in a series of traumas Willow had endured over the last few weeks.
“I wish we could have had a proper bed to sleep in and about a week of uninterrupted time so we never had to get out of it,” Willow said wistfully.
We .
A slip of the tongue, or had she meant she wanted to see him again after this ordeal ended?
“Hold onto that, honey,” he told her as he framed her face with his hands and touched the softest of kisses to her lips. “You're going to need something for motivation to keep putting one foot in front of the other.”
The truth was, they had hours at the least, possibly days’ worth of walking to find their way out of there. Cooper wasn't sure they could do it. If he was on his own, he’d give himself a reasonable chance, but Willow was so weak. They’d already been concerned about cracked ribs, there was no way, if they’d only been bruised before, that they weren't broken now. Plus, there was the broken arm, and the finger one of their abductors had snapped, and bruises littering her body. Cooper didn't doubt that she would give this one hundred percent, but she couldn’t give more than was in her.
Willow’s face was serious as she looked back at him. Her gaze moved slowly from his lips to his eyes, and he felt something flow from her turquoise depths, he just wasn't sure what exactly it was he was feeling.
“Don’t worry about me having motivation to keep walking, I have the best motivation in the world. I have to pee,” she added without giving him a chance to respond to what she’d said, to ask what she was using for motivation.
“Sure thing.” Gripping her elbows, Cooper stood, his body protesting every movement, each muscle screaming in pain, and brought Willow up with him.
The small, pained gasp was the only indication he knew she was going to give him that she was in agony. His heart urged him to sit her right back down, make her stay still so she didn't hurt herself worse, and just wait there and pray for a miracle.
His head reminded him no miracle was coming.
If they wanted to be rescued, they were going to have to do it themselves.
Breathing in short, sharp pants, Willow had scrunched her eyes closed, and he knew it had to be taking everything she had not to sink back down.
Torment plagued him .
He wanted to help her but … there was nothing he could do. He had no medical supplies, no water, and no vehicle he could just stick her in and drive her out of there. He had absolutely nothing and it tore at him in a wave of helplessness that felt like it was going to pull him under and toss him around in a sea of despair he might not be able to fight his way out of.
If Willow herself hadn't been the one to break the spell that felt like it trapped them both in place, Cooper wasn't sure what he would have done, but he was sure it would have been led more by emotion than his training.
“Pee, right, I'm just going to hobble over there and take care of business,” she said, giving him a tight smile and jerking her good hand at the other side of the small hill he’d used for protection while they rested.
How she managed to keep going after everything she’d been through he had no idea.
The woman was the Energizer bunny. While she maybe wasn't jumping about with spunk and sass, she just didn't give up no matter what life threw at her.
Taking care of business was a good idea, and once Willow disappeared, Cooper moved slightly away and did the same. Just as he was zipping back up, he saw Willow walking slowly but determinedly toward him and he felt a rush of tenderness sweep over him. As soon as he had her safe, he was going to fuss over her like she’d never been fussed over before. He would make sure her every need and want were taken care of.
“Ready to start walking?” Willow asked as she held out a hand.
“Ready.” Cooper closed the distance between them and curled his fingers around hers, giving a slight squeeze. Despite the pain bracketing her mouth, and the fatigue in her eyes, she offered him a smile that warmed his chest.
Those first few steps were silent, but they hadn't gone more than half a mile before Willow broke it.
“So, I’m a little jealous that you have so many siblings. I always wanted a brother or sister, but after having me, my mom had complications and couldn’t get pregnant again. What was it like growing up in a house with so many kids? Was it pure craziness?” she asked, a hint of wistfulness in her tone. If she’d had a sibling to help support the load after her dad’s death, he was sure it would have been a lot easier to bear. Cooper knew he wouldn't have survived the aftermath of his parents’ deaths without his siblings and stepsiblings. They were a family, and they always had one another’s backs no matter what.
That’s what he wished for Willow going forward. That she’d have a team there beside her, supporting her, watching over her, helping her not because she wasn't capable of going it alone, but because she shouldn’t have to.
He wanted to be the one to give her that.
To be her teammate, to give her back a family after she’d so tragically lost hers when she was so young and needed them so desperately.
“The best kind of crazy,” he told her as he tightened his grip on the hand that felt so small and fragile in his own. For now, they were teammates, and when they got home, he would fight for a chance with her. If friendship was all she wanted while she healed, then that’s what he’d give her, he’d be the best friend she ever had. And when she was ready, he’d give her more. Give her everything.
But for now, hand in hand, they were going to face whatever was coming.
July 13 th
11:44 A.M
How had this ever seemed doable?
As Willow forced her body to take the next step, the one after, and the one after that, it felt less and less like she was capable of walking through the desert and back to a town or village.
Not just much less.
Impossible.
But as impossible as it felt she didn't have a choice.
One thing she knew for certain was that if she couldn’t walk any further then Cooper would carry her until he collapsed from exhaustion. And if it came down to it, he would sit there with her in the desert under the blazing hot sun until she died.
Until he died.
That wasn't something she could allow to happen.
So, she had to keep walking. Had to keep finding strength she was sure she didn't have. Had to keep putting one foot after the other.
Sweat poured down her back. She’d tucked her broken arm inside her long-sleeve T-shirt, but it did little to stop it from throbbing with each step she took. Her head thrummed with a constant pounding headache that was likely a mixture of the head injuries, dehydration, and exhaustion. Even breathing hurt. If her ribs hadn't been broken before, the crash would have fractured them, which meant even if she stopped moving and could make the rest of her body rest, she had to keep breathing which meant she was never free of that pain.
After going on three weeks now since she’d been kidnapped, Willow barely remembered what it felt like not to be in pain.
It had consumed her for weeks and all she wanted was one tiny little break from it.
Only instead of getting a break, things just seemed to keep getting worse.
When Cooper rescued her from that little underground cell, she’d been na?ve enough to believe that everything would be okay. They’d lay low, pretend to be tourists, let the dust settle a little, then get out of the country and return home. She’d write her article, Professor Mahmoud would be arrested, and she’d move on to her next story.
Na?ve.
But not a mistake she’d make again.
Not after they’d been caught, tortured, almost died, and were now left to wander in the desert in the scorching heat. There was no way she would ever again be na?ve enough to just believe that things would work out.
When her foot struck something, likely one of the many rocks lying beneath the layers upon layers of sand, Willow didn't have the energy to catch herself before she fell.
Her good arm cartwheeled, but it didn't help her regain her balance.
Instead, she landed hard .
Pain shot up her knees and into her legs when they struck rock, and she slumped forward, her bad arm getting squashed between her body and the ground as she toppled over.
A muted cry fell from her lips, and she would have been able to hold in her tears, only Cooper was right there. Crouching beside her, he gathered her up, righting her then sinking down to sit beside her, settling her between his spread legs and guiding her head to rest against his shoulder.
All she wanted was to keep walking. She didn't want to be the weak link and didn't want Cooper to lose his life because of her.
That’s the only reason her tears fell.
They weren't necessarily tears of sorrow, although she was sad thinking that this was how Cooper’s life might end. It was more from frustration. She’d come to Egypt to do the right thing, it shouldn’t end this way.
It wasn't fair.
Sure, she knew life wasn't fair, she’d learned that lesson a long time ago when she stood at her front door and watched grown men beat her dad to death. But this was going so far beyond fair that it was hard to comprehend.
Willow wanted to have the strength to walk out of there and do what she’d set out to do, and now she was forced to confront the reality that she might not be able to do it.
“It’s okay, honey,” Cooper soothed, his hands gently stroking up and down her arms.
It wasn't though.
Not even close.
In fact, it was as far away from okay as it could be.
But Cooper was a good guy. He’d saved her life, he’d fought for her, and he didn't even know her. And now he was going to stay with her no matter what. He wouldn't leave her alone, not for anything, and that terrified her.
When she tried to struggle back to her feet, Cooper’s fingers curled around her biceps, easily holding her in place.
“We have to keep walking,” she protested, trying to force her way out of his hold.
It didn't work .
Cooper’s hands held firm, his touch careful not to squeeze too hard on her bruised body, but they were still an unbreakable hold. “No, honey, we need to rest for a few minutes.”
“We’re not moving fast enough.” Willow knew it was her fault, and she would give anything to change it, to have more strength, more stamina, and power through regardless of her injuries.
“We’re moving as fast as we can.”
“I'm sorry,” she said, her voice catching on a sob she somehow managed to stuff back down before it could fully erupt.
“You don’t have to apologize, you're giving this everything you have.”
“It’s not enough.”
“It’s all we can ever do, Willow.”
Darn him for being so noble, honorable, compassionate, and kind. She wanted him to just ditch her and get himself out. After all, this was her mess not his.
There was only one thing she could do right now.
If she didn't give him permission, he wouldn't do it.
He was too caring, his heart was too big, and she wasn't going to allow it to get him killed. Not on her account.
Just because she hadn't known Cooper for long didn't mean this was hard to do. In fact, it was surprisingly easy. She might be signing her own death warrant, but she’d save Cooper’s life and that was all that mattered.
It made this more than worth it.
Stopping fighting against his hold, Willow sank back against his chest, willing to take this one last moment to soak up the warmth and comfort of his touch. Because this was it. As soon as she said the words, it would all be over.
“Cooper?”
“Yeah?” There was a slight hint of trepidation in his tone like he somehow knew that whatever she was going to say, he wouldn't like.
Time to spit it out. The sooner she said it, the sooner he could get himself to safety. “You have to leave me behind.”
His entire body went stiff.
The hands that had been smoothing up and down her arms stilled.
In fact, his chest barely rose and fell.
Seconds ticked by and he didn't say anything. Willow would have thought that he hadn't heard her, but she knew he had.
“Cooper? You know I'm right. I can't do this.” Those words tasted bitter on her tongue. If there was one thing she hated, it was admitting failure. Normally, she wouldn't, but these weren't normal circumstances, and the stakes were higher than they had ever been before.
This was a matter of life and death. Cooper’s life. Her death.
“You can do this,” he countered vehemently, and the fingers on her biceps tightened until she winced, and he immediately loosened his hold. “You can do this, Willow, I don’t want to hear you saying you can't.”
“You think I like saying it?” she whispered. She hated it but it was true. Refusing to accept reality wasn't going to help either of them, least of all Cooper, and that was all she was focused on right now.
“I won't leave you,” he said fiercely.
A sad smile curled her lips up. “I know you don’t want to, but you have to, Cooper. I’m too weak, and the sun … it’s too hot … I feel like I'm burning alive. Each step … it’s agony. Maybe I can go a little further, but I can't walk out of the desert. You can, Cooper. You have to. Please. I don’t … I don’t want you to die because of me.” Tears started falling down her cheeks in a torrent and she didn't even bother trying to hold them in.
“Oh, honey.” Cooper shifted her so she was facing him, sitting on his lap. His hands framed her face, and his thumbs caught her tears. “There is not a chance in hell I am walking out of here and leaving you behind.”
“But you have to,” she wept.
“I don’t have to. We keep moving forward together. I wish I had water for you, I wish I had shade, I wish I had painkillers and a bed so you could get the rest you need. I wish I could just transport you out of here and back home where you're safe. But, Willow, listen to me because I'm only going to say this once.”
His hands stilled and he waited until she met his gaze squarely.
“We are in this together. We live together or we die together. It’s as simple as that.”