Chapter 2 #3
“Be careful,” the smooth-talking man said. “Out here.”
“It’s imperative that the asset is delivered unharmed,” the gravel-voice man warned.
Again, Crusher’s gaze met Marta’s. “Understood,” he repeated. “Out here.”
After the call ended, Crusher glanced at the satellite phone screen. “There’s a village not far from here. We need to get close but wait to enter until after nightfall. We could wait here, but I don’t want to risk Vasquez’s men catching up to us.”
“Let’s move.” Marta reached a hand up to him.
Crusher closed his fingers around hers and drew her to her feet.
When she swayed a little, he pulled her close, letting her lean into his chest.
She appreciated how sturdy he was and the firmness of his muscles.
The male scientists she’d worked with were nothing like this man.
Crusher was raw, rugged and intensely masculine, wrapped in a body built for action.
For a long moment, she remained pressed against him as if she could absorb some of this strength.
“Are you sure you can make it?” he asked, his breath stirring the tendrils of hair near her ear.
Her heartbeat fluttered and then raced. She pushed back, smoothed the loose hairs behind her ears and nodded.
“I’m okay.” Marta was anything but okay.
Her reaction to her rescuer was beyond okay, bordering on insane.
She was covered in filth, hadn’t eaten a decent meal in weeks and probably smelled.
He was all man, musky from running through the hot jungle, and yet, she wanted to run her hands across his rock-hard... chest.
She forced herself to turn away from him and started walking. “Let’s go as far as we can in the daylight.” His chuckle made her stop and glare over her shoulder at him, “What?”
“I’m glad you’re ready and able to keep moving, but you’re heading the wrong direction.”
Her cheeks heated even more than what the temperature and humidity inspired. “Please,” she said, waving a hand, “lead the way.”
His lips still turned up at the corners, he strode toward her, gathered her hand in his as he passed and guided rather than led her through the jungle. If she weren’t so exhausted from everything that had happened, she might have insisted on shaking free of his hand.
Oh, who was she kidding?
She liked that he held her hand as they moved through the jungle. His assistance helped her over fallen trees and through muddy sumps, pushing aside thorny vines so that she wasn’t caught by their wicked points. He could kill a man with those same hands, yet, with her, he was gentle.
Night came quickly, the canopy blocking the fading rays of sunlight, making sunset sooner than if the trees weren’t there.
Crusher stopped short of a shallow river, hanging back in the shadow of the trees. “The village is just over the hill on the other side of the river. We’ll wait to cross until later, when the people of the village are asleep. You might as well rest. We could be up most of the night.”
She nodded and sank to the ground, too tired to argue. Her stomach rumbled loudly enough she could hear, reminding her she hadn’t eaten since the guards had given her a corncake for breakfast.
“You know,’ Crusher frowned, “while you’re resting, I want to check on something.”
Marta’s growling stomach clenched. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I need you to stay here, behind the bushes and don’t move,” Crusher said. “I’ll be right back.”
“What?” She started to get up, but his hand on her shoulder urged her to stay put.
“I can move faster if you rest here,” he said.
Her heart beat escalated. “Wait. You’re not leaving me, are you?’
He squeezed her shoulder, gently. “Only for a few minutes. I’ll be within range. If you need me, I’ll be there. I promise.”
She needed him, but she didn’t want him to think she was needy. He’d already risked his life to get her out of the compound and this far. She bit down on her lip to keep from begging him to stay and instead nodded. “Hurry,” she whispered.
He gave an almost imperceptible nod and pushed through the brush, paralleling the riverbank before disappearing into the gloom within seconds.
Marta’s breath caught and held. She was alone in a jungle…at night. Almost worse than being held captive by a cartel. But Crusher was only seconds away, even if she couldn’t see him. He’d said so, and she had to believe him or freak out.
She forced air into her lungs and rolled the stiffness out of her shoulders.
He’ll be back.
Minutes passed. Minutes that felt like hours.
Come back, Crusher.
She rocked back and forth, repeating that mantra in her head. By the time she thought he might have gotten lost, she pushed to her feet, staying within the shadows, away from the moonlight reflecting off the water.
A rustling of leaves, followed by the snap of a twig, froze Marta in place. Should she drop down, stay still or run? Quietly, slowly, she sank back behind leaves.
Leaves shimmered in the moonlight before a dark shadow pushed through the brush and headed straight for her.
She held her breath, terror locking a scream in her throat.