Chapter 21
Chapter
Twenty-One
Sleep was just starting to creep into the corners of her mind when Emma felt Nathan stiffen behind her.
They couldn’t build a fire because they knew that Stephen Joseph’s men would be out hunting for them, and that would be like a beacon calling them in. Which meant that not only was it hard to see in the dark, but they also had no protection from the wildlife.
Since she didn't hear the rev of an engine, she had to assume it was a four-legged creature that had Nathan tensing.
“What is it?” she asked softly, wishing she could do that thing he did where he spoke, but the sound didn't seem to carry. It was a neat trick, and she wondered how long it had taken him to learn how to do it.
“Heard something,” he murmured, his lips close enough to her ear that she felt his warm breath.
“Yeah, I guessed that,” she said dryly. Maybe she didn't know how to talk without her voice carrying, or how to wield a weapon with the calm confidence that Nathan portrayed, but she wasn't stupid. “Is it an animal?”
“Doesn’t sound like it,” he replied, and she felt her own body stiffen.
Every single time, she would choose the animals.
Just like when she was back in Stephen Joseph’s possession and picked facing the grasslands over facing him and his men, she would pick that again now.
Animals weren't cruel, they just did what they had to do, nothing more, nothing less. While she knew not everything would be as harmless and awe-inspiring as being as close to a wild animal as they’d been to that cheetah earlier, she’d still rather face a hungry lion than men who would enjoy torturing her and turning her body against her.
“So, it’s them? They found us?” Who else could it be?
They were close to the exfil point, Nathan said that if they got up early, they could be there in less than a couple of hours of walking.
She knew it was taking longer than he would have liked, and way longer than it would have taken him if he were alone, but he hadn't made her feel bad that her weak and exhausted body couldn’t do what his could.
If they were caught now, so close to freedom, it would be her who would be the one blaming themselves for the two of them getting caught.
“Want you to stay here,” he said softly, pulling her up with him, lifting her off the ground, and tucking her deeper in under the bushes so she’d be harder to spot.
“Take this.” He shoved a gun into her hand, and she stared at the shadowy weapon with wide eyes.
She hadn't realized how heavy it would feel against her palm. “And stay here. I mean it, Emma,” he added before she could argue. “I want you to stay right where you are, no matter what happens. Then as soon as it starts getting light, you keep walking north. The guys will see you when you get to the extraction point, and they’ll take care of you from there.”
“Don’t talk like you're not coming back home with me,” she said, grabbing onto him with her free hand. “We’re both going home.”
“Going to do everything in my power to make sure that happens, blondie.”
Although he said the words, she knew he didn't truly mean them. Not really. Well, he meant them, but he also meant that if sacrificing himself meant keeping her safe, he’d do it in a heartbeat.
Before she could argue with him, tell him he’d better not get himself killed or captured, his mouth crushed down on hers, searing it with a fiery kiss before he was gone, leaving her panting, her lips feeling like they were on fire, desperate to beg him to stay.
Lifting the weapon he’d given her, she held it in front of her, pointing at anything that might come for her.
Emma never would have believed she was someone who could hurt another person.
Growing up, she and her sisters had fought like cats and dogs, even though they loved each other, but it had never been physical.
No one had ever done anything to her that made her want to get physical.
Until now. Until these people.
Slamming that boy’s head into the door had been easy. He was an obstacle between her and freedom, he was a willing participant in the horrors she’d endured, and she would always choose what she had to do to survive.
Just like now, she would shoot anyone who came at her.
Waiting was the worst. She kept waiting for gunshots or shouts to sound. Signs of a fight. Even the roar of a lion, or the trumpet of an elephant, anything to let her know what was happening.
Then she heard it. The shuffle of feet.
Was that what Nathan had heard?
It was barely a hint of a sound, and if she wasn't straining to hear anything that might give her a clue as to what was going on with Nathan, she was sure she would have missed it.
But she didn't miss it, and her hand tightened painfully around the weapon.
Even though she would shoot anything that was a threat to her, it didn't mean it didn't make her stomach queasy at the thought of killing another person.
She hadn't killed the boy, but would have if she had to, at least she was pretty sure she would have.
But knowing she might be taking a life in the next few seconds made her realize the gravity of what life actually meant.
A shadow moved just feet away from where she was hiding.
Easily close enough to spot her if the person turned their head in her direction.
Please don’t look this way.
Unfortunately, at that very second, the figure dressed all in black did turn their head in her direction. Even though it was dark, she could tell because it stopped moving, then changed direction and headed right for her.
Without hesitation, she fired.
A curse was muttered, and she had no idea if she’d shot anyone or not, but she did know she’d given away her position. If the man wasn't alone, anyone else who was with him would soon be coming this way. As it was, even if he hadn't seen exactly where she was, he knew now.
Scrambling out from under the bush, Emma ran.
Even though Nathan had told her to stay there no matter what, she couldn’t stay there now. Not when she might have shot someone, not when others could be coming. She had to run, it was her only choice.
North. That’s where Nathan had told her to head, so that’s the direction she ran. She wasn't one hundred percent positive she was going north, but she was pretty sure, and she didn't have time to second-guess herself.
Footsteps pounded the ground behind her, and she tried to run faster. But she was so tired and her body was weak. Nathan had been feeding her protein bars and making sure she didn't get dehydrated, but neither could stave off over a week of being starved and kept locked up.
Still, she ran as fast as she could, pushing herself harder. She wasn't going down without a fight, and she still had the weapon in her hand.
Not that it prevented her from being tackled to the ground.
Whoever took her down turned at the last second so their body took the brunt of the fall. She had just enough time to think that was something Nathan would do before she was flipped onto her back, the much larger man on top of her.
Emma lifted the weapon still in her grasp, determined to fight until her last breath, but a hand circled her wrist, pushing her hand down again, and the shot she fired went uselessly above both their heads.
“Whoa there, honey, you keep shooting at me and I'm going to think you don’t like me,” a voice drawled.
“I don’t like you,” she snapped back.
“Aww, and I came all this way to rescue you,” he said, amusement in his voice.
His words had her freezing. Was it possible …?
“Emma?” Nathan’s panicked voice called out, and she saw more figures running toward them.
“I got your girl, she’s good, made sure I didn't hurt her as I took her down. She’s something else, shot at me twice,” the man on top of her said, and she was sure there was respect in his voice as he gently eased the weapon from her hand, then helped her stand.
Then Nathan was there, dragging her into his arms. “You're okay?” he asked, voice frantic.
“I'm okay,” she assured him, then eyed the group of men now surrounding them. “Who are they?”
“They’re the Delta Force team I told you about that came with me to get you out,” he replied, his face pressing into her hair and breathing in deeply, as though he needed the reassurance that she was, in fact, okay.
Stroking a hand through his short hair to soothe him, she cast an apologetic glance at the man who had tackled her, even though she was sure he couldn’t see it in the dark. “I shot you.”
“Shot at me,” the man corrected. “We need to do some work on your aim.”
“I did my best.” She huffed.
“You did amazing,” the man assured her. “You acted without wasting time, that’s smart and could mean the difference between life and death.”
“I still missed, though.” If it hadn't been one of the Delta guys, she would have been captured for real.
“Doesn’t matter. You fight to the best of your ability, that’s all you can do,” the man told her.
“That’s Grover,” Nathan informed her as he somewhat reluctantly set her back down on her feet. “The other guys are Trigger, Lefty, Brain, Oz, Lucky, Doc, and Rocket. We’ll do proper introductions once we’re on the helo.”
Emma just nodded, for the first time since she ran out of that hut, safety actually seemed within her grasp. Now it wasn't just her and Nathan against the wildlife and the men hunting them, they had a whole team.
But the universe Nathan kept telling her he wanted to give her seemed to hate her. Because the revs of multiple engines suddenly cut through the night, and she saw several sets of headlights approaching them.
The gunshots must have been heard, and she’d just led danger right to all of them.
August 11th
12:00 A.M.
Damn. Just when he’d thought they were out of the woods, that he was going to get his girl home, everything went to hell.
“I'm sorry,” Emma whispered beside him. “This is my fault.”
“No, blondie,” Nathan said fiercely, dragging her up against his chest.