Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Flash was tense the entire ride back to the resort.
He couldn’t help but remember what happened the last time he’d been in a vehicle in this country.
It helped that his team surrounded him, keeping his mind occupied with questions about the abduction.
He couldn’t concentrate quite so much on how bright everything was after being in that damn bus for so long, or how every time he looked out the front window of the van, it seemed as if they were going to crash head-first into another car.
Instead, he did his best to pay attention to what was being asked of him, and the soothing feeling of Kelli’s thumb brushing back and forth over his hand.
He hadn’t let go of her since he’d joined her outside of the bus, in the jungle surrounding that damn hole in the ground.
He’d held her hand as Kevlar inspected the wound on the back of her head, confirming that he didn’t think she needed stitches, but suggesting it should be looked at again once the wound was clean, just to be sure.
Even as they’d crawled into the van, Flash couldn’t let her go. He was feeling off-kilter. So many emotions swam through his veins. Anger, frustration, worry, and of course relief that his team had come through so quickly and found them.
He recounted everything that happened, from the time the inner tube had popped in the rapids, forcing him and Kelli to share a tube and making them late to reach the pick-up point.
He described Heckle and Jeckle as best he could—even though his team told him the names of the two men who’d kidnapped them, he preferred the stupid nicknames he’d come up with—and how they were forced into the buried bus.
“How come you didn’t disarm him?” Smiley asked. “And don’t say you couldn’t have. We all know it would’ve been easy for you.”
Flash pressed his lips together. He’d already had a similar conversation with Kelli and didn’t really want to rehash it. He still felt a little guilty because if he’d done what he’d been trained to do, it was likely they wouldn’t have had to spend any time in that buried bus.
“I didn’t know if Heckle…er…Brown had a weapon. I didn’t want to risk him shooting Kelli while I was dealing with Jeckle,” Flash said as succinctly as he could.
To his relief, his teammates all nodded. They understood. Yes, he could’ve taken out Brant Williams. Disarmed him in seconds. But if the consequence of that meant Kelli getting hurt, he wouldn’t risk it.
“Besides, I knew you guys would figure out what happened and where we were,” Flash said.
“He could’ve shot you after you were in the bus,” Safe said. “Like fish in a barrel. Easy pickin’s.”
Flash felt Kelli tense next to him. “But he didn’t,” he said firmly. “Did Jeckle really call the commander and ask for only fifty thousand dollars?” He wanted to change the subject. Talking about Kelli getting shot made his stomach clench painfully.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, and Flash and Kelli were brought up to date on what had happened since the guys arrived on the island. How they’d talked to the tubing company, found Errol Brown. And in the morning, they’d see if they could round up Brant Williams.
Flash didn’t volunteer to go with them. He didn’t want to leave Kelli alone at the resort.
No, that was incorrect. He didn’t want to leave her alone anywhere .
The two of them had been through some bad shit together, and while he wanted to make sure she was all right emotionally, he also wasn’t anywhere near ready to let her out of his sight.
When they arrived at the resort, everyone was wearing clean and pressed uniforms. Flash felt uncomfortable…grubby and out of place. The lights annoyed him. All the people annoyed him. This happened sometimes after missions in remote places. It was hard to acclimate back to normal life.
“Come on, I talked to the manager. We packed up yours and Kelli’s things, and the resort put you guys in connecting rooms. Tex is getting us flights out of here tomorrow afternoon, so you have plenty of time to eat, sleep, and get clean,” Kevlar told them.
“If you need anything, all you have to do is ask. Everything has been comped.”
Flash looked at Kelli. She was staring at the floor, not meeting anyone’s gaze. Her shoulders were hunched and she looked completely uncomfortable. He needed to get her out of there .
“Sounds good. We still have our passports, right?”
“Yeah, you’re good,” Preacher said.
“I’ll order you guys some food so you don’t have to come out of your rooms until we’re ready to go tomorrow. Protein, bread, and some dishes without too many spices. Again, if you need or want anything else, just pick up the phone and order it,” MacGyver told him.
“Thank you,” Flash told his friend. He was grateful that was one less thing they needed to worry about. “Let me know how tomorrow goes. Looking for Jeckle.”
“We will,” Blink said. “Take care of her.” He gave a small nod toward Kelli, who was glued to his side.
Flash nodded, then turned toward the lobby doors. They stopped at the front desk to get their new keys, and the entire time, he could practically feel the stress radiating off of Kelli. He needed to find out what was wrong, but that would wait until they were alone.
Their rooms were on the other side of the resort from where he’d stayed before—was it only a day ago?—and by the time they arrived at their doors, Kelli still hadn’t said a word.
Flash was even more worried. This wasn’t the woman he’d gotten to know.
It was as if she’d closed in on herself.
Shut herself off. He wouldn’t allow her to pull away from him though.
He knew exactly how she was feeling. He’d been there in the past, after especially gnarly missions.
But he’d been trained. Knew what to expect.
The adrenaline drop from being a captive one minute, then rescued and on the move the next… It was a lot.
He slid one of the plastic keys into the slot in the first door and stepped inside with Kelli’s hand still firmly in his. He didn’t even offer to open the other door, since they were connected anyway. He simply pulled her inside with him.
The room he’d been given was big. Much larger than the one he’d had before.
This one was a suite. It had a full kitchen, complete with a sink, stove, and refrigerator.
There was even a dining table and chairs in a sitting area.
A couch was against one wall, with a huge TV on the opposite wall.
Sliding glass doors opened onto a huge grassy area of about twenty yards across, before meeting the sand of the beach beyond.
The room was fancy, but all Flash cared about was Kelli.
“Kelli?” he asked gently. She looked up at him with a small furrow in her brows he longed to soothe away. “Talk to me,” he said softly.
“The room is nice.”
That wasn’t what he meant.
“What are you thinking? Are you all right? You’re really quiet. I’m worried about you.”
“I’m just…overwhelmed? That sounds stupid. I mean?—”
“It’s not stupid,” Flash interrupted her. “An hour ago, we were sitting in the pitch darkness, telling fairy tales about possums turning into giants and a grasshopper named Fred. And then our life turned upside down. Again . In a good way this time, but it’s jarring all the same.”
She nodded. “It feels surreal. As if I was dropped into someone else’s life.
And my senses are going haywire. I could smell chicken cooking as soon as we got out of the van at the resort.
And the salt from the ocean. The lights from the other cars and in the lobby almost hurt my eyes, they were so bright. It’s hard to adjust. ”
“It is,” Flash said, proud of her for articulating what she was feeling. “It gets better.”
She nodded slowly. “It’s better already. Now that we’re not around so many people. Oh, no offense. I mean, I was happy to meet your friends and very glad they found us.” She looked up at him. “I was rude, wasn’t I? I should’ve talked to them more.”
“No, you were fine. They understand. Trust me, they definitely understand. We’ve all been there. You want to check out your room?”
She tensed next to him and let go of his hand. That, out of everything he’d been through in the last day and a half, hurt Flash more than anything else. “What? What’s wrong?” he asked.
She shrugged. “Nothing. Sure, we can look at my room. I’m sure you want to shower. So do I.” But she was shrinking into herself again. And Flash wasn’t going to let her pull away now. They’d been through too much together.
He reached out and grabbed her hand, then pulled her toward the dining table. He pulled out a chair and sat, yanking her onto his lap.
“Flash!” she protested, sounding more like the Kelli he’d gotten to know.
He put one arm over her thighs and the other was around her waist, holding her securely on top of him. To his immense relief, she didn’t struggle. Didn’t try to get up. If she had, he would’ve let her go. “What’s wrong?” he asked again.
She sighed and closed her eyes, and Flash could feel her relax against him. He tightened his hold .
“I don’t want to look at my room,” she said quietly. “I want to stay here. With you. If that’s okay.”
Relief swept through Flash so fast it made him dizzy. “If that’s okay?” he asked. “It’s more than okay. I don’t think I could’ve handled you being in another room very well.”
“Because you think I’m weak?”
“No. Because I am.”
That had her staring at him in disbelief.
“It’s true. The thought of being away from you freaks me out. You’ve been my rock throughout this entire ordeal.”
“Now you’re being ridiculous,” she said.