Page 64 of Duty Devoted
“You ran three miles bleeding because I didn’t?—”
“Because we both made tactical decisions based on the situation.” She hissed as I touched a sensitive spot. “If you’d slowed down to baby me, we’d both be dead.”
“And the rest?” I couldn’t meet her eyes. “Using you when you’re hurt because I couldn’t keep my shit together?”
Her hand found my face, forcing me to look at her. “You didn’t use me. We helped each other. That’s what people do when they care about each other.”
I wanted to believe her, but I wasn’t sure I should get off that easily. “Let me finish this.”
She released my face, but her eyes stayed on mine as I worked. Once I’d gotten as much dried blood and dirt from the area as I could, I applied fresh gauze, taping it carefully.
“There’s food,” I said, nodding toward the small table where someone had left bread, dried fruit, and bottled water. “We should eat before we move.”
She sat up fully, pulling the sheet around herself. “I can’t wait for a shower. Between your dirt hair treatment and three days in the jungle and…everything…I must smell like a disaster zone.”
“You smell like survival.” The words came out before I could stop them. “It’s pretty damned sexy if you ask me.”
A smile ghosted across her face. “That’s definitely one way to put it.”
“Hopefully, we’ll have you out of the country and into a shower by the end of the day.”
We ate in silence. And then it was almost time to go. We needed to time it right. We didn’t want to waste time exposed down on the pier, but I would like to be there the second Jace and Ty showed up.
“Ready?” It was time. The sun would be coming up soon.
“As I’ll ever be.”
We moved silently out of the room, down narrow stairs that groaned under our weight. The bar sat empty, chairs overturned on tables, the smell of stale beer and rum thick in the air. I eased the door open, scanning the street before motioning Lauren forward.
In the predawn darkness, the town looked like a giant had used it for a tantrum. Corrugated metal roofing wrapped around palm trees. A fishing boat sat in what used to be someone’s living room, carried there by the storm surge. Power lines drapedbetween tilted poles, and every surface was coated in dried mud that cracked like broken pottery.
The destruction gave us cover. I kept us close to the buildings, moving in short bursts. Lauren matched my pace without complaint, though I could see how she favored her left side.
“There,” I whispered, pointing ahead.
The dock stretched into dark water, a pier extending maybe a hundred feet out. It was hard to make out in the darkness, and what I could see wasn’t reassuring. The planking was missing, and the whole structure tilted like a drunk trying to stand straight, but it was there and looked like it would hold us. Five minutes until Jace and Ty arrived. We were going to make it.
The sound of engines killed my relief. SUVs, moving fast.
“Run!” I grabbed Lauren’s hand, pulling her toward a fishing shack at the land side of the pier. We dove through the doorway as headlights swept where we’d been standing.
The shack walls were sun-bleached plywood that wouldn’t stop a thrown rock, much less bullets. Through gaps in the boards, I counted vehicles. Four SUVs. Doors opening. Men with rifles.
“Dr. Valentino! My dear Lauren.” Mateo Silva’s voice carried across the salt air. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me.”
Fuck.
I checked my weapon. Fifteen rounds against maybe twenty men. Now would be a great time to start believing in the magic bullet theory.
“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Mateo continued. “On the one hand, I’m glad to have found you. But sadly, that also confirms my worst suspicions about my men who told me you were gone. I’ll deal with them later.” His voice hardened. “Come out so I can see your beautiful face again. I’ve been sopatient, chasing you through the jungle, waiting through that tedious hurricane. But my patience has limits.”
“We’re trapped,” Lauren breathed.
“Come out to me now, and I’ll even let your friend live. He can walk away, even though I’m pretty sure he’s not a weatherman.” Mateo’s voice turned coaxing. “This is between you and me, Lauren. It always has been.”
My mind ran scenarios. Each one ended the same: me dead, her taken.
“I’ll go out,” I said. “Draw their fire. You run for the water.” It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the only one that offered even a possibility for her to escape.
