Chapter 16 #2
Turning back toward the gate, he went to put her down, but once again she was thinking more clearly than he was.
“Just get close, I’ll shut and latch it.”
Leaning down, Smiley did just that, and Bree pulled the gate closed then reached out and lowered the latch.
If anyone looked closely enough they’d see the broken lock on the ground, but closing it might give them a few precious minutes to lose themselves in the slums surrounding the port.
Smiley wasn’t happy about not being able to take Bree immediately to a doctor, or hell, straight to the airport to get her out of Ecuador. Still, nothing could dim the immense relief he felt at finding Bree.
Taking her back to the motel for now would be ideal. But it was on the opposite side of the port. He wouldn’t risk taking her back through the dockyard, nor could he possibly know if the assholes searching for them had enough manpower to spread out to the nearest streets…
He needed to find a place to hole up. To wait for Tex to find him using the fucking tracker in his underwear and come to his aid.
Any other time, in any other situation, Smiley would resent having to go to ground, but right now, Bree was his only focus. He absolutely would not risk her safety after everything she’d been through. He’d hide for years if it meant keeping her safe and secure.
Smiley began to jog once more. The small forested area on this side of the shipyard gave way to dirt roads, then asphalt.
They began to pass more buildings and cars until they were in the midst of civilization once more.
But that didn’t mean they were safe. There was no telling where the loyalties of anyone they came into contact with might lie.
Ecuador was full of honest, hardworking people, without a doubt, but like any country in the midst of a violent uprising, people did what they had to do in order to survive.
And this neighborhood wasn’t in good shape.
Even as he jogged with Bree in his arms, Smiley could hear gunfire in the distance.
They weren’t safe here. Castillo could have spies everywhere, people who would be more than willing to give up two Americans for a hefty payday.
Kicking himself for dropping his phone, Smiley looked around for a place to hole up. To check on Bree. To breathe for a moment before meeting up with his team.
The sun was just beginning to light up the world around them, which would soon mean more people out and about and more eyes on them—and Bree was in no condition for anyone to be looking at her.
She was practically naked. That could result in a whole different set of worries if he didn’t find a place to hide pronto.
Then, he found what he was looking for. Down an alley was a dilapidated building. Actually, it could hardly be called a “building” anymore, from the looks of it. The roof was half caved in, but from the street, Smiley couldn’t see past the wall that had fallen inward.
Praying they could get inside and hide from any prying eyes, Smiley carried Bree down the dark alley toward the structure. Checking to make sure there wasn’t any glass to cut her more than she was already, Smiley put Bree on her feet.
“Give me a second,” he told her.
She nodded, and he didn’t like the faraway look in her eyes.
Moving quickly, he ducked under the partially collapsed doorway and looked around.
There was nothing of value in the small space, just rubble and glass.
But it would work for now. At least until Kevlar and the rest of his team could pick them up.
Returning to Bree, Smiley saw her weaving on her feet with her eye shut.
“Come on,” he said, kicking himself when she jerked violently. “It’s me, Bree. Just me.”
“Sorry,” she told him.
“Nothing to be sorry about. Let’s get you inside.” He didn’t give her time to take even one step before picking her up once more.
Ducking down again, he brought Bree into the small island of safety—at least, he hoped that’s what it was—under a section of ceiling that remained intact.
He leaned over and gently set her on a wide board.
Then he went to work, trying to shuffle away the worst of the glass and debris out of the area immediately around her.
“Smiley? Will you sit?”
He shouldn’t. There were a million things he needed to do. Further secure the area, go out and find something for Bree to eat and drink—if she felt secure enough to allow him out of her sight—and contact his team. But he couldn’t deny this woman anything.
He sat, then picked up Bree and placed her on his lap.
She inhaled sharply, and he froze. “Fuck. Did I hurt you?”
She shook her head. “No. My ribs are a little sore though.”
A little sore, his ass.
Smiley began to gently probe her side, noting when she flinched, where he was touching when she did so. Then he held her head in his hands once more and studied her bruised face, the eye that was still swollen shut.
Honestly, she looked like hell. She had black circles under her eyes, her lips were chapped and peeling, she had bruises everywhere, and he could tell she’d lost weight in just the few days it had been since he’d last seen her.
“You found me,” she whispered, staring into his eyes. “I’m okay now that you’re here,” she told him.
Smiley swallowed hard. He didn’t want to ask this next question, but he had to. Had to know what he was dealing with. What they were dealing with. “Did they rape you?” he asked quietly, not beating around the bush.
She shook her head.
“Be honest with me,” he pleaded. “Nothing between us changes if they did. I love you so much, and nothing those assholes did will ever change that.”
Her expression shifted then. Any pain she was feeling seemed to disappear. “What?” she whispered.
“If they violated you, that’s a stain on their soul, not yours. We’ll get you some help when we get home, so you can talk it out, process it. I want you to understand that nothing that happened to you is your fault. You did nothing wrong.”
Bree laid her palm on the side of his face as she shook her head. “No. You love me?”
Understanding dawned. “Love seems like such a tame word for what I feel for you. Nothing in my life scared me as badly as when I realized you’d been taken. Did you mean what you told Julie and Fiona? What you asked them to tell me?”
“They’re okay?” she asked urgently. “You found them?”
“Yes. Cookie and Tex took them back to California. I came here with the rest of my team to find you. They told us you’d been taken on a boat, and I think I lost ten years of my life, wondering if we’d be able to find you.”
“Where are we? Ecuador?”
“Yes. Guayaquil.”
She sighed.
“Bree? Did you mean it?” Smiley repeated. It didn’t matter, not right now. Not when she was almost naked, hurting, and starving. But he couldn’t stop himself from asking. He felt exposed. Vulnerable. And didn’t like it one bit. He needed the words from her own lips.
“If that was going to be the last time anyone saw me, I wanted to be sure you knew what you meant to me. How much I loved you.”
Smiley’s world turned upside down once more.
He knew how much this woman meant to him, but hearing from her own lips that she felt the same made him all the more determined to get them home so he could spoil the hell out of her.
To give her as easy a life as he could. He never wanted to let her down. Never wanted her to regret loving him.
He gathered her into his arms gently and rocked back and forth.
As soon as the sun dropped below the horizon again, if his team hadn’t found him by then, they’d venture out and attempt to make their way to the motel. The sooner he got Bree on a plane back to the States, the better.