Chapter 19 #2
For now, they’d put enough distance behind them that he was confident they wouldn’t be spotted any time soon.
Stephen Joseph would still send men after them, assuming he was still alive, and that had been the final communication he’d received from Trigger and his team before he lost his comms device when he jumped the fence after Emma fell.
Finding a small clump of acacia trees, he checked the area to ensure there were no animals about, then he stooped, setting Emma on the ground before him, and knelt at her side.
This was the first time he’d gotten a good look at her, and the mottled bruising on her skin looked so much worse than it had earlier.
It was approaching midday, so the sun was high in the sky, although given that Kenya was an equatorial country, it didn't get obscenely hot.
The temperature was in the low to mid eighties and probably wouldn't rise higher than high eighties, perfectly bearable even if they had hours more walking to do to get to the extraction point.
Pulling off his backpack, Nathan set it beside him, pulled out his canteen, and handed it to Emma.
“Are we rationing?” she asked, and he absolutely loved that after everything she’d been through, in the worst of circumstances, his girl still managed to keep her wits about her and keep her intelligence shining through.
“Yes. I have some water purification tablets, so when we find a water source, we’ll be able to refill. Water won't taste so great, but it won't kill us. For now, though, take a big drink, you're dehydrated and your body needs it.”
Water wasn't all she needed. Food, medical care, proper rest, a shrink, and a safe place where she could begin her healing journey. He couldn’t get her most of that, but he could make sure she had water to drink, a protein bar to eat, and a quick first aid examination.
Not enough, but all they could spare the time for.
Emma drank greedily for a few seconds, and he could tell it took tremendous effort on her part to stop and hand the canteen back. They weren't anywhere close to getting her hydrated, but at least it was something, a step in the right direction.
Grabbing her a protein bar, he unwrapped it, passed it to her, then shoved the wrapper inside his pack, not wanting to leave anything behind that would indicate they’d spent time here.
“He’s going to be looking for me, isn’t he?” Emma asked, her big blue eyes wide in her pale face as she nibbled on the bar.
Lying wasn't going to do her any good, she was in this mess because of him, but she was in it, and as such, she deserved to be treated like the intelligent and capable woman that she was.
“Yeah, blondie, he is. Trigger and the guys took out some of the guards, but once I told them I had you, they pulled back.
Last I heard, Stephen Joseph hadn't been eliminated.”
“Stephen Joseph, that’s his name?”
“Yes.” Curling his fingers into fists so he didn't slam them into something, the last thing he needed was an injury of his own to deal with. Emma was here, and she was mostly whole, but she was weak. Already, they’d been switching between her walking for a bit, then him carrying her, and he didn't see that changing.
Needing something to do, he nodded to her wrists. “Can I take a look?”
When she nodded, he very gently took her free hand, lifted it from her lap, and examined the angry red welts circling her wrist. Another wave of anger washed over him, and he had to grit his teeth to maintain his control as he rode it out.
Seeing marks on her beautiful body, knowing that she’d been chained up at some point, it messed with his head in ways he couldn’t afford right now.
“Those ones aren't the worst,” Emma whispered, and his gaze snapped up to meet hers.
“Where?” he growled the single word, but instead of the harsh sound scaring her, it seemed to comfort her because she offered up a smile.
“Ankle, that one.”
She gestured to her left one, so he immediately released her wrist and rolled up the leg of the pants she was wearing.
It was obvious that these clothes weren't hers, but she hadn't offered up why she was wearing them or how she’d gotten them, and he hadn't asked. While he’d listen to anything she needed to unload, his priority for the moment was getting her home safely.
Hissing when he spotted the angry, inflamed red marks on her ankle, it took everything he had to keep his touch gentle as he swept the pad of his forefinger around the deep gashes.
The metal cuff still on her ankle fueled his rage, and he was desperately in need of something to destroy.
Part of him wanted to leave her tucked away while he made his way back to the compound so he could find Stephen Joseph and show the man what it was like to not hold all the power.
“It doesn’t hurt too much,” Emma piped up.
“Oh, baby, that’s a lie, and we both know it. Is the other one this bad?”
“No. I was mostly kept chained to the wall in a hut with the metal cuff. The cuts on my wrists, knees, and other ankle are just from …” She trailed off, and he didn't want to push her right now. She’d open up when she was ready, and while he hoped she knew there wasn't anything she couldn’t tell him, he wasn't sure she’d ever want to discuss her ordeal with him.
Still, she didn't hate him, and that was more than he could have hoped for.
More than he deserved.
“Keep eating the protein bar,” he told her as he rifled through his pack for his first aid kit.
It was well-stocked for emergencies, but it didn't have everything she needed.
Still, he could clean her wounds, put antibiotic cream on them, and dress them, assuming they made it to the exfil point it should be enough.
Nodding at him, she watched him work while nibbling away at the rest of the bar.
Nathan hated the way she winced each time he brushed the wipe over the welts.
Causing her more pain was the last thing he wanted to do, and he was sick of reminding himself that it was short-term pain for long-term gain.
“You really just blew your cover for me?” she asked as he began to repack his kit.
“Of course, blondie.”
“I … it feels overwhelming that you'd do that just for me. What about all those other women?”
“There are three other undercover Prey operatives at Azure. They’ll keep working to shut the place down.”
“There were? Who?”
“Don’t know. Falcon—my boss—decided it was safer for all of us that we didn't know who else was working with us. That way, if we were caught, we couldn’t give up the others’ names because we didn't know them.”
Emma let out a small breath. “That makes me feel better. I was feeling guilty that all those other women were going to suffer even more, all because of me.”
And that right there was why he couldn’t have stopped himself from falling for her even if he tried.
Despite the horrors she’d been through, despite how relieved he knew she was to have been rescued—although she’d been doing a hell of a job rescuing herself when he’d found her—she cared enough to worry about the others.
“Nathan?”
“Hmm?”
“Remember in the storage closet, after you saved me from what was going to happen in the bathroom?” Her voice hitched on that last part, and his muscles tensed, wondering if she’d been through something like Mateo had planned for her that day.
“Yeah, sweetheart, I remember.”
“You gave me what I needed to feel in control, even if I knew that control was mostly an illusion.”
“I'd give you the world, blondie.”
“Don’t need the world, but … could you … kiss me?” she asked, somewhat shyly.
His heart stuttered in his chest. “After I failed you, let you get sold, you still want to kiss me?” he asked as he trailed a fingertip along the dark bruises and small lump on her forehead.
“After you blew your cover and came all the way to Africa to find me, I want to kiss you,” she corrected.
“You're something else, you know that, blondie?” As he framed her face with his hands, doing his best not to press on any of her bruises, he tilted it back and leaned in so his lips could find hers.
Nathan knew how lucky he was that she didn't hate him, more than that, she was allowing him to offer her the comfort she needed, and he knew nothing short of death would stop him from getting her home.