Chapter 14 #2
She sank down on the ground. “We’re not safe yet, are we?”
“Not yet. Not until we get you on the ship.”
She closed her eyes.
Guilt sparked in his chest. He’d asked a lot of her over the past twelve hours. “Scootch down on the floor and rest.” He dug into his pack and handed her a camouflage sheet. “Lay on this.”
“When are you going to rest?”
“Don’t worry about me. I can go days with no sleep.” He smiled.
She groaned. “I don’t know how you do it.” She lay down and looked at him. “Thank you for saving me, Damien.”
His heart pinched. “Any time.”
Trixie lay down next to her, and she put her arm around the dog, drawing comfort. Dobby gave the dog the sign to guard, but it didn’t respond.
Still he was fairly sure the dog would protect Mila if its earlier growl was any indication.
He waited until she closed her eyes before he exhaled. He was far too attached.
He left her with the water and a protein bar, and gave some jerky to Trixie, but took his pack and rifle with him and travelled inland. The cliffs which faced the main island would give him the height he needed, and the ground sloped in that direction.
About ten minutes later the ground shifted up at a steep angle so he walked along the base until he found somewhere he could keep climbing.
Checking his compass, he adjusted his course and ten minutes later reached the edge of the tree line.
Black rocks stretched a few metres further from the tree line with some bushes scrabbling for purchase, but from here he could see across the ocean to the main island.
A large boat was on the horizon, coming from Sumatra. More help was on the way.
Dobby retrieved his scope and the satellite phone and scanned the western horizon where they’d been playing war games.
Clear.
He sighed and called the number, giving the codes that were required.
“Patrol six six alpha, what is your status?”
“Have Angel and zod and ready for extraction.”
“Hold.”
Dobby kept scanning the area while he waited and finally Radar’s voice came over sounding delighted. “Patrol six six alpha confirm Angel is Hawk’s Angel?”
Dobby grinned. “Confirmed.”
“Sun God will rendezvous at drop zone at twenty-two hundred.”
Dobby exhaled in relief. “Copy. Bring a Lassie loop.”
“Can’t wait to see why.” Radar chuckled, but in the background Dobby heard demands for more information.
Dobby signed off before he could be told not to bring Trixie with him.
His superior officer was going to be so pissed with him. Abandoning a mission, going rogue, not making the rendezvous.
He’d be lucky if he didn’t get demoted.
The idea didn’t worry him as much as it would have a few years ago. Maybe it really was time to get out.
If they demoted him, he could resign and start a personal security company. One where he chose his assignments.
He smiled. And he could set up the company wherever he wanted.
The thought of living near Mila, wherever that was, was appealing.
He shook his head. They were thoughts for the future, when they were both safe.
Right now he needed to ensure they stayed safe until extraction.
The beach he’d left Mila near faced west, but he’d prefer to have a wider range of vision in case they were discovered. He needed to find somewhere to camp which kept them close to the zod as well.
A breeze blew from the west, cooling the sweat on his skin and he lifted his face to it. He couldn’t relax fully, but he could rest his aching muscles. He sipped water from his pack and ate a protein bar.
Dobby hoped Hawk was all right. He would have months of recovery and Dobby wasn’t sure how he’d handle it. He didn’t have family to help him.
Maybe that was another reason to get out. To help his mate. Perhaps they could build a new security firm together.
Something to think about when he was home, back in his own bed.
He gave the horizon another scan and moved back into the trees, heading the opposite way from which he’d come to check the rest of the island.
This mission had been the icing on the shit show of the past couple of missions. Someone was pulling strings high up to send them places they shouldn’t be going.
No, that wasn’t quite right. Special ops was all about going places no one should go, but the reasons for doing it—like saving Vance when he’d faked his own kidnapping—were not ones he could get behind.
He’d wanted to help people, and it felt like the missions were more about someone’s private agenda.
He sighed. It wasn’t his job to know why he was sent in, and there were reasons above his pay grade, but the work had lost its appeal. That’s why he hadn’t been able to leave Mila behind. She’d been worthy of saving, not Vance.
They wouldn’t have found Hawk in time if it wasn’t for her. She was selfless, caring and so strong.
He would protect her at any cost.
The strength of his emotion surprised him, but he’d examine it later.
Before he returned to Mila, he scouted for a place to camp. It was just after midday, and he’d noticed a bank of clouds on the horizon telling him it would rain before the day ended.
He found a place on the point where he could see the zod and to the south-west and was surrounded by enough trees that they shouldn’t be spotted. He cleared a space and set up a shelter between two trees so when he fetched Mila she could go right back to sleep.
When he returned to her, she wasn’t sleeping. She leaned against a tree, knees pulled into her chest, arms around Trixie and looked relieved to see him.
“Damien.”
He smiled, though he didn’t like the fear in her voice. “Everything OK?”
She nodded and then shook her head. “Bad dream.”
“Well I can cheer you up. I’ve set up camp and we’ve got an extraction time.”
Relief filled her expression. “When?”
“Twenty-two hundred.” He offered her his hand to help her up. “I’ll carry you.”
She didn’t refuse, just wrapped her arms and legs around him and clung to him like a warm hug. Her hands trembled and he kissed one, his heart aching for what she’d been through. “We’re going to be fine.”
She was his mission now.
***
Tears were far too close to the surface and Mila blinked to stop them from spilling over as she clung to Damien’s back. Exhaustion was a thick fog surrounding her. The only thing that calmed her was being close to Damien. She tightened her hold around him, not ever wanting to let him go.
He was her safe space.
The dream she’d had—the nightmare—had been watching Damien being washed away by the tsunami and being unable to stop it.
She hadn’t even cared she’d been caught in the water.
She’d only wanted to save him.
The water had sucked her under and as she was about to run out of air, Trixie had nudged her awake.
The dog’s wet fur had been a comfort as she clung to her. But though the dog had snuggled in, the panic hadn’t disappeared until she’d stared into Dobby’s beautiful eyes.
So what did that tell her? That she loved him?
No. This type of situation was about heightened emotions. She shouldn’t read anything into her dreams. She barely knew Damien.
But afterwards… perhaps he wouldn’t mind if she looked him up.
Special ops were based on the west coast and she lived in the east so it wouldn’t be easy.
“Here we are. Home sweet home.” He let her down and she looked past him at the camp he’d built them.
He’d set up a waterproof sheet as a tent low to the ground between two trees and placed large palm leaves over it to help it blend in. He’d lined the space with fresh leaves and his pack was to one side.
A safe space for now.
She swallowed the lump in her throat and smiled. “Cosy.”
“It might rain later so I wanted to make sure we had shelter. The sides can come down to give us more protection.”
She groaned. “It will definitely rain later.” She should have thought of it.
He chuckled and held back the flap for her to crawl inside. She bit her lip, butterflies swirling around her chest.
“What’s the plan?” She shifted to a comfortable position as Trixie lay down outside the shelter but close to her.
“We’ll take the zod to the original drop zone and they’ll pick us up.”
She closed her eyes. They were finally getting out of there. “The next time I see Vance, I’m punching him in the face.”
That chuckle again as he joined her under the tent, leaning back against the tree trunk and stretching his legs out next to hers. “I didn’t take you to be the violent sort, sweetheart.”
Every time he called her that, her heart did a little pitter-patter.
She embraced it and answered. “If it wasn’t for him, neither of us would be in this situation.
If he hadn’t faked his kidnapping, you wouldn’t be here and Ethan wouldn’t be injured, and if he hadn’t told Agus who my parents were, I could have stayed on the island and helped with the clean-up. ”
“Yeah, but then we would have never met, and that would have been a damn shame.”
She placed a hand to her chest. His words were like a caress to her soul. “You’re such a sweet talker.”
“Only with you.” His eyes were full of emotion.
She didn’t care if what she was feeling was due to heightened emotions. Right now all she wanted was him.
Before she’d even processed the thought she was across the other side of the tent, straddling him and with her lips pressed against his. It took him only a second to respond and his hands roved over her back as he pulled her closer.
Heat, passion, emotion.
She couldn’t get enough of him as she tugged his shirt free of his pants and his hands slipped up to cup her breast.
The bandage was too thick. She couldn’t feel the slow flick of his thumb over her nipple as much as she wanted to.
She fought to strip off her shirt and then her dress. With a deft hand she fished the multi-tool from her cleavage and tackled the bandage.
Damien chuckled. “Where’d you get that?”
“My mother. Came in handy cutting the sheets.” Finally the bandage fell away.
His eyes darkened. “Sweetheart, you’re breath-taking, but maybe we shouldn’t.” Gently he brushed the purpling bruises on her skin. “You must hurt all over.”