Chapter 18
ALLEGRA
Marcus’s arm hangs at an alarming angle, useless by his side. He crouches on the ledge with his gun raised, scanning the tree line.
My heart pounds against my rib cage, and I cannot breathe. I tear my pack off my back and clutch it to my chest. If they’re coming for my samples, they’ll have to pry them out of my hands.
Marcus scoots across the flat surface of the rock to a large boulder. The terrain is flat up here with boulders and tussocks of grass strewn about the place. A few feet away are gorse thickets and beyond that thick wood.
Marcus glances back and frowns when he sees me clinging to my backpack.
“I need you to move, Allegra.”
His voice is firm and commanding and jolts me out of my trance.
I stay low to the ground like he does, aware there’s a man with a gun across the ravine. A shot rings out, and chips fly from the boulder near Marcus’s head.
He swivels around with his weapon raised. “Get down!”
My stomach hits the ground and air expels from my lungs. Marcus rises to a crouching position and aims his weapon, precise and focused. He’s a soldier now, and the change in him is terrifying.
There’s movement behind him as a figure darts out of the tree line.
“Behind you!”
The figure lunges at Marcus just as he fires off his weapon. The man across the ravine goes down with a cry. Marcus and the other man tumble to the ground. Marcus grunts as he lands with the man on top of him, who’s holding a gun. As they struggle, he raises his hand to point the gun at Marcus.
Marcus fights him off, but he’s only got one good arm. The other hangs useless, flopping around as they struggle. With his good arm, he fends off the perpetrator, blocking him from raising his gun to his head. But the man is using both arms against Marcus’s one.
The strain on his face tells me he can’t hold him off for long. I watch in horror as the gun slowly creeps around to point at Marcus’s head.
My mouth goes dry as I scramble to my knees. I fumble in my rucksack and pull out the weapon Marcus gave me. The gun is heavy, but. I hold it as Marcus showed me, with my hands trembling.
The men scuffle on the ground, and I follow them with the gun, looking for an opportunity.
My heart races fit to burst as adrenaline courses through my veins.
I swallow and channel all the confidence I can muster. “Get off him or I’ll shoot.” My voice comes out squeaky, and the men continue their struggle.
I cough and try again, this time moving forward so the man can’t ignore me.
“I said get off him or I’ll shoot.”
This time my voice comes out more controlled than I feel.
The man turns cold, dark eyes to me. Sweat courses down his forehead, and his arm shakes as his muscles strain to bring the gun around. It’s pointing at Marcus’s ear, and in another moment it will be right at his head.
“You really think you can shoot that thing?” the man hisses. “This is what’s going to happen, princess.” His voice hisses with the strain of fending off Marcus. “I’m going to shoot your bodyguard, and then you’re going to hand over those samples.”
I pull back the safety, and there’s a satisfying click.
The man smirks. “I’m not afraid of Allegra Simpson.”
Marcus shakes his head. “You’re mistake,” he mutters.
The man’s words banish my last bit of self-doubt. All my life, people have underestimated me because of who I am. Fuck this guy.
I jerk the gun down his body and aim for the biggest target I can find. My hand grips the gun tight; I take a deep breath and pull the trigger.
The man howls, and his body jerks sideways as the bullet enters his left butt cheek. It’s enough to give Marcus the edge he needs. He swings his good arm and sends the man sprawling. The gun flies out of the perp’s hand and skitters across the rocky surface.
My hands tremble, and there’s ringing in my ears. Marcus is by my side in an instant. He gently pushes my hands down, and I release the gun. It clatters to the ground, and the enormity of what I’ve just done hits me.
“Did I kill him?”
Marcus shakes his head, and his good hand rests on my shoulder, firm and reassuring. “You did good, Allegra.”
The man lies moaning and holding his backside as crimson-colored blood seeps out of him. Fear and guilt tangle with relief. He’s still alive. I didn’t kill him.
Marcus produces a cable tie and binds the man’s hands behind his back. Then he slumps against a boulder. His arm hangs limp by his side, and there’s blood trickling down his temple. He clutches his shoulder.
He’s too pale. It looks like he’s going to pass out.
“Marcus.” I rush to his side, leaving my pack on the rocks. “Are you okay?”
He manages a jaunty smile. “I’ve been worse.” He tries to stand and stumbles back.
Panic spikes in my gut. “We need to get you out of here. You need an ambulance.”
“I need to check the perimeter.”
He pushes against the rock and pulls himself to his feet. He wobbles, and I wind my arm around his waist, taking some of his weight.
“I’ll come with you.”
He shakes his head, then winces. His good arm comes up to stroke my cheek and tuck a stray bit of hair behind my ear.
“Stay with your samples. Use the gun if you have to. I’ll be back as quick as I can.”
He pulls himself up to his full height. Pain flashes across his face before he grits his teeth and hides it. He’s hiding the pain, as he’s trained to, but seeing his arm hang uselessly by his side scares me. Marcus isn’t invincible. He’s just a man, and a man who needs taking care of.
“No.” My forcefulness surprises me. “We need to pop your shoulder back in, and you need to rest.”
I stand up and meet his gaze. “You can’t do anything with one useless arm.”
He hesitates, and his gaze flickers to the tree line.
“If there was anyone else here, they would have come for us by now.”
He squints at the tree line, frowning. Then he turns to me. “Okay. I’m going to need your help.”
He scans the area for a suitable spot and heads over to a flat boulder. “I’m going to lie down, and when I say, you’re going to rotate the arm until it slides back into place. Can you do that?”
I swallow hard and nod. It’s just a body, I tell myself. A collection of bones and muscles that needs putting back into place.
He lies face down on the boulder and winces as his arm hangs off the side, his hand dragging in the dirt.
I crouch beside him. “Tell me what to do.”
He turns his head, and his gaze meets mine. “The muscles need to relax. Then you’ll need to tug on the arm until the bone slips back into the socket.”
“Okay.” I take his arm in mine, and it’s more than a collection of bones. It’s solid and warm and belongs to the man I’ve come to have feelings for. I push those feelings back and focus on the task. I need to relax Marcus.
My fingers slide to his head, and I run my hands through his hair, the way my mother used to when I was a little girl. I kiss the top of his head as my fingers trail over his temples.
“That’s nice,” he murmurs.
Hs shoulder spasms, and he shudders. “Tell me something nice. Your voice is soothing.”
My fingers continue trailing through his hair. “When I was a girl, we used to go camping before my mother passed.”
“I’m sorry,” Marcus murmurs.
There’s a dull ache whenever I talk about my mother, but I focus on Marcus and the story. “We came here to these mountains. The campsite was basic, only a pit toilet and cold water. This was before Dad’s company skyrocketed. It was fall, and there weren’t many other campers around.”
My fingers trace a smooth circuit up his temples and over his forehead, a steady rhythm as I speak.
“One morning, I was playing cards with Dad while Mom heated water for breakfast. She hissed at us, and we looked up. A deer was standing there peering at us. It had come right into the campsite and it was a few feet away, just staring at us.”
Marcus’s arm spasms again, and I keep up my steady movements.
“Dad put his cards down, and we all watched the deer. It stared at me and I stared back; I looked right into its eyes. It can’t have been longer than a few seconds, but it felt like eternity. Then it sniffed the air and moved away into the undergrowth.
“I spent hours looking for the deer whenever we were back at camp, but I never found it again. A year later, my mom was dead. She had an aggressive cancer.”
I swallow hard, not sure why I’ve chosen this moment to open up to Marcus. But the words spill out.
“I kept thinking about that deer. And the look that passed between us. I couldn’t save Mom, but I could save that deer. It’s why I got into environmental science. To protect those that can’t protect themselves.”
Marcus is silent, and his arm isn’t twitching anymore.
“We’re not so different after all.”
“Maybe not.”
He shifts his head to look up at me. “The muscles have relaxed. Now you need to tug on my arm until the shoulder pops back into place.”
I brace against the boulder and take his arm in my hands and pull it gently.
Marcus hisses in through his teeth, and I let go.
“You need to be firmer,” he grits out. “Be rough.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It has to hurt so it can heal.”
I take his arm again and ignore the hissing sound that Marcus makes. I hold it firmly in my hands and pull.
There’s a popping sound as the bone slides into the socket. Marcus grunts through gritted teeth. Even now he’s an elite soldier, making minimal noise.
“Is it okay?” I stand up, and Marcus pulls himself off the boulder. He rotates his arm slowly, wincing.
“That’s better. It’s a relief.”
He sits for a moment, and the color returns to his face. “Thank you.”
I take a step back, suddenly feeling exposed and vulnerable.
For a moment it felt like just the two of us, but there’s a man lying here with a bullet wound.
The enormity of the last hour kicks in as the adrenaline leaves my body.
Marcus rolls his shoulder and grimaces, but there’s no sharp intake of breath. The pain has lessened.
“Good as new.”
He tries a thin smile, and it makes my chest ache. “Now I need to check the perimeter.”
He picks the gun up off the ground and puts it back in my hands. “Watch my back.”
I hold the gun up, scanning the area as I’ve seen him do.
“You need to rest.”
He shakes his head, as stubborn as I am. “Protect your samples,” he rasps out. “I’ll protect you.”
He leans forward and presses his lips against mine. Then he’s gone into the undergrowth.
I press my fingertips to my lips, and my heart thunders as I watch him disappear into the trees.
Only then do I remember my samples and realize I’ve left them exposed.