by Aliyah Burke
Her heart leapt up to her throat and it felt like time slowed to a crawl. Her imagination raced over a hundred miles an hour and didn’t give her anything encouraging. He released her arm only to rotate his body and withdraw a sidearm from where it rested against his leg in a holster. He now held two.
She flicked her gaze from his broad back to the IV so close. Thunder cracked and she jumped.
“Caleb?”
“It’s okay,” he said without turning around.
She didn’t entirely buy that, what with the way he remained ready for whatever happened to be out there. But she trusted Caleb to keep her safe and so without a word she grabbed for the pack and hooked the IV up herself. She’d just adjusted the flow when he sank beside her.
His intense blue eyes stared directly at her before dropping to check the needle in her arm. An act she’d normally bristle over. She’d put in more IV’s than most. Show’s how exhausted I am that I’m not commenting on it.
“How’d you know where I was?” she bit the bullet and asked.
He sat beside her in the mud and grabbed some MRE’s, opening one for her and handing it to her. She took it but didn’t eat.
“We were at your dad’s to celebrate the release of his latest cd.”
Her dad. God, she’d give anything to have his comforting arms around her one more time. More tears threatened.
“The bracelet arrived that afternoon.”
He reached into his pocket and withdrew the object she’d never thought she’d see again. Without asking, he attached it around her wrist. Hell, she’d assumed they just took it and pretended to mail it. Although from what she gathered, they enjoyed just being evil. Taunting families by sending things back and making them wonder. Asking for ransom.
Licking her lips, she worried the bottom one. “How’d you come?”
He just stared at her. “Eat.”
She scooped a glob and put it in her mouth. Escalloped potatoes and ham. “How’d you find me?”
“A lot of luck.”
She ate another bite, her stomach rolling and heaving. She opened her mouth to ask another question only to halt when he spoke again.
“No more questions get some rest. We’ll move out in thirty.”
There was no room in his voice for discussion. She glanced at him, everything on him rigid.
He hates me. That thought made her wonder again if she’d imagined the slight kiss on the corner of her mouth from earlier. Makes sense I imagined it. Hell, I’m so tired I could imagine a lot of things. There were however, no tears left to fall. Therefore, despite the urge, she didn’t. Nor could she let it go.
“Why did you come?”
His head snapped towards her, eyebrows lifted in shock. Or was it disbelief that she didn’t immediately listen to his command?
“Don’t do this, Kam.” The words sounded like a beg, a deep graveled beg.
“Why?” she responded, her own voice high-pitched and unnatural. Desperate for an answer. “Look at you; you can’t even look at me without distaste in your expression. Why did you come? You’ve never called me Kam. It’s always been Kami.”
The only word she could think of for his expression would be tortured. Below his stubble, she could see his jaw clenching, in a repeated motion.
He shook his head with a low growl. “This isn’t the time for this.”
She bared her teeth and leaned toward him, ignoring her broken and fractured ribs, and bruised body. “It’s a perfect time. We’re not going anywhere.” Unsure she wanted to actually hear the words she continued to press him. “Tell me.”
The words from his mouth made her blush. He put his face right in hers, eyes flashing blue lightning.
“I’m doing my damndest to get you out of here, safe. My face expressions are blank because I’m furious, furious, about what happened to you and I don’t want you thinking I’m mad at you. Every, and I mean every single ounce of my training and attention has to be focused on getting you stateside. To do that, Kamden Zyanya Strong, I can’t think of you as Kami. You have to be a nobody, just another rescue. I have to get you home.”
She shook her head, not fully understanding. “But, I am Kami…to you,” she whispered, acknowledging that she never wanted to be anything but Kami to him. Only him. It was a name he alone could continue to call her.
She watched his iron will crumble. There was very little light left and his face remained mostly in shadow but his gaze remained riveted upon her. A mix of possessiveness and desire. His palm settled along her face and her body, even exhausted and beaten, trembled with the passion he elicited within her.
“Always.”
The first tear leaked over, and she pressed her lips together to keep her cry contained. So much for being out of tears.
“Let it go now, please.”
“One more thing,” she said.
“What?” He removed his hand.
She swallowed and hesitated before plunging ahead. “Kiss me.”
The words hadn’t even faded from the air before his mouth slanted over hers. Her world turned upside down and she melted. The touch while light didn’t detract from the intensity. His tongue trailed along the seam of her lips. They parted without hesitation.
It was like there had been no kiss in Miami the way he explored her. Took his time delving into all parts of her mouth. His growth tickled her skin.
It was agonizing. Wanting him so bad. The kiss so gentle, she could have cried from that alone. She loathed for it to end but he pulled away, his fingertips faded last. Heart thumping wildly, she licked her lips, grabbing all she could of him and sank back against the tree.
“Rest,” he ordered. His voice deeper than before.
She did. With the memory of his kiss, she closed her eyes and kept her mouth shut.
* * *
Caleb clenched his hand around the air that separated him from Kami. He’d been an idiot, giving in and kissing her. Now was not the time to be thinking of her as the woman who could make him as hard as a railroad spike from across the room with nothing more than a smile. Hell, it didn’t even have to be a smile directed at him.
Since the night he’d turned her down it took the mere whisper of a memory to get that reaction. But her voice had sounded so…so helpless, he’d been powerless to resist. He shifted his weight so he no longer sat on the wet ground. They were both wet and covered in mud. This was his element. Not hers. Days on end of harsh living. He’d signed up for it. Kami had become a doctor.
Kami.
He signed heavily and with one more cautious look through the woods surrounded them. Spotting nothing but rain and more rain, he glanced to where Kami reclined against the thick trunk. Staring at her via the NVG’s he noticed her closed eyes and she seemed oblivious to the mud that she sat upon.
How’d she make it through what she did?
He knew she had more injuries than the ones she’d mentioned. Hell, he’d seen her feet and she had yet to mention those. The fact she’d pressed on without so much as a complaint…he shook his head.
His Kami had one hellacious mettle.
In silence, he touched her shoulder, then removed the IV and stored it with swiftness. Kami didn’t ask, just got to her feet with agonizing slowness. Beside her, he could hear her, over the rain, laboring for breath.
“Can you press on?”
“Get me the fuck outta here.” Her words were drenched in determination and a steel backbone.
Taking into account her weakened physical state, he pressed her as hard as he thought she could go. Branches smacked them as they hurried up. So close on her heels was he when she collapsed, he didn’t even hesitate, just grabbed her and with a low apology about her ribs, dropped her over the shoulder without the gun. And picked up the pace.
The climb was anything but easy. Arduous would be a good way to put it. His body had shifted into auto mode. He powered up the mountain as some men ran flat roads, his right arm tight around Kami’s legs. His left hand on the M4. His mi
nd focalized in on the mission. Get out and get her home.
The rain sluiced down his face, mixing with the sweat and removing dirt. He noticed none of it. Cadences ran through his head, helping him not concentrate on nor feel the pain.
...Two brass balls
And a cast iron rod
He’s a bad mother jumper
He’s a Marine by God
M
Mean as hell
A
All the time
R
Rough and tough
I
In the mud
N
Never quit
E
Everyday…
On and on they went until she made some noise. Her slight moan stopped him as if he’d just hit the Great Wall of China. “Hang on,” he said searching for a place to set her down. There was no ideal spot so he just stopped and placed her carefully on the ground.
“I’m sorry,” she gasped.
“Shhh.” He moved closer. “What do you need?”
“Can you knock me out and carry me?”
He would have laughed had he not known she wasn’t making a joke. “How about a break instead.”
She huffed and muttered, “Well, if that’s the best you can do.”
This woman never ceased to amaze him. Humor at a time like this. She was unparalleled.
“I’ll make it up to you.”
“See that you do.”
He knelt on the ground beside her, the wetness permeating his pants and cooling his skin. The rain had slowed but the thunder and lightning seemed to increase. He flipped up his NVG, the lightning making it unfavorable to use.
“Tell me about them.”
She tipped her head back and let the rain clean the mud from her face. His heart constricted when she stared in his direction, her expression illuminated on occasion by the brilliant and deadly display of lightning. Even surrounded by the night, mud, and rain, she was the most exquisite woman he’d ever met.
He sat beside her and stayed focused on the lower slopes, peering through the NVG every now and again, ensuring there was no sign of movement. Kami began to talk, her voice still rough and almost detached but it had become much stronger. His fury grew by leaps and bounds, as she recanted Evan and Missy’s deaths as well as her own trials there. He’d never met Evan, didn’t much care for him merely for being with Kami but she’d loved him and the man had been ruthlessly murdered.
“So,” she said. “I was kept by the leader, Sing. Beaten by many.”
The question was on the tip of his tongue. He shook his head and swallowed. Not his place to ask.
“How many and what weapons did they have?”
“At least twenty. Automatic weapons. I…I don’t know what kind. They looked like AK-47’s but I’m not sure about that. I’m not so good with the larger guns.”
Crap. I should have killed those four. He knew that would have been stupid on his part. Alerted them sooner most likely.
“Okay.” He felt antsy. “Ready to press on?”
“Nope,” she said even though he could see her getting to her feet.
He slipped a pair of NVG’s on her head, wishing so much they were somewhere else, warm, healed, and well…naked.
“What about you?” she asked.
“Have another.” Another which was on and attached in no time. The lightning had stopped, thunder rumbled in the distance. Unfortunately, the rain had also faded. He knew their tracks would be much more visible without the streaming water to wash them away.
He kept them moving for another few hours. It was four in the morning when he spotted what he searched for. A large hole in the rocks.
“Wait here,” he said.
Kami didn’t argue, just sagged against a small tree, enervation obvious. He palmed his weapon and moved toward it. It wasn’t a huge area, there was room to stand and move around in, but what worked the best was the fact one couldn’t see directly into the cave. There was a corner you had to circumvent.
He returned to Kami and brought her with him. With her inside, he went back out and did his best to cover tracks. He placed some loose shale at the corner to alert him if anyone came in. Then he repositioned himself by her again.
“Come on.”
She didn’t say a word as he set up blankets for her. He took off her NVG’s and helped her lay back.
“Sorry to be slowing you up.”
“Shut up, Kami,” he said with no heat. “Sleep now.”
“What about you?” her question came, slurred and hushed.
“I’ll be right there.”
He put his weapons at his fingertips and lay down on the last blanket. The other one covered her.
As prepared as he could be, Caleb took a deep breath and settled in for a light, yet still most welcome sleep. Not much later, the side of his mouth lifted in a smile as Kami shared the blanket with him, allowing them to share body heat in the damp cave.
When he woke, natural light streamed into their small hideaway. He felt rested and sat up slow as to not disturb a still sleeping Kami. Cautious, he made his way to the entrance and peered out. No sign of rain but he knew that could change within seconds.
Content there was no one posing an immediate threat; he made his way back to Kami’s side. Drawing back the blanket, he stared at her. His shirt swallowed her. He tugged his gaze down to the bruises on her legs and back up. Her eyes were open, waiting for him. Blank faced she merely watched him.
“How are your ribs?” he asked after a few moments of charged silence between them.
“They still hurt like a bitch.”
His grin wry, he nodded. She sat up almost totally hiding the pain he knew she experienced. “We have to stay hidden until night. Or until more rain moves in.”
On her feet, he noticed she moved stiff and tried to limber herself up. One hand on her side, she met his gaze with unflinching directness and said, “Give me a gun.”
He immediately went to his bag and unzipped it. She sank to her knees beside him and peered in.
“Nice,” she muttered, pulling out a Stryer TMP.
She followed that with its sound suppressor that was longer than the weapon itself. He watched in silence and he’d admit it, arousal, as she attached the suppressor to the threaded barrel of the Stryer 9mm Tactical Machine Pistol, TMP, then checked to make sure the magazine was full.
Placing it beside her, Kami dug back in and came up with the H&K .45 SOCOM pistol, attached a full magazine and its suppressor.
Fuck me! Who knew watching her handle weapons would be such a turn on? He shifted so his erection wouldn’t be noticed if she happened to glance at him.
“What’s this?” she asked.
Ripping his attention away from sex, he focused on the item in her hand. Instead of answering, he countered with his own query. “Where’d you learn to handle weapons like that?”
She stared at him, one eyebrow up and the item in her hand forgotten for the moment. “Seriously? Your parents are my godparents. Aunt Serenity as well, not to mention Uncle Nik.”
Of course. “Right.”
She shook the item in her hand. “What’s this?”
“Semtex,” he said, his eyes holding hers.
“Is that another name for C-4?”
He shook his head. “No. C-4 is different. Semtex is Czech developed.”
Her head cocked to the side. “Is it safe to carry like this?” she questioned, putting it back in the bag.
Caleb rocked back and sat on the dirt and stone floor of the softly lit cave. There were moments which seemed to defy logic, he’d put this one near if not at the top. He’d rescued men from hostage situations without enduring the abuse Kami’d gone through, who didn’t have half the brass ones. Kami did.
There was no simpering, no cowering, and no complaining about how much she hurt. Not Kami. She had questions upon questions for him.
“Caleb?”
He blinked and nodded. “Yes. Semtex is very stable like that.
”
Apparently, her curiosity had been appeased. The explosive back in the bag, she sighed heavily. He caught the wince of pain.
“Let me check your ribs.”
He had positioned himself by her before his words faded. With care, he lifted up her shirt and stared at the bindings. One the edge he frowned at the sight of the bruising. He touched, gently, and retied the knot holding everything in place. Using the same care, he had lifting he returned the shirt so it covered all of her upper torso.
“I need to use the bathroom,” she said.
Immediately he tensed. Outside in the day was dangerous. Without a word, he led her out there. The only privacy he allowed her was he averted his gaze. She could be embarrassed; all that mattered was her safety. To her credit, she didn’t argue at all. Did what she needed to and followed him back to the cave where she lay down and closed her eyes. Weapons near her grasp.
Chapter 6
Kami woke to the cold fingers of fear tightening around her heart. Disoriented, she struggled to find her bearings. Her side throbbed even more. Grunts reached her ears and she squinted through the haze of pain along with the ever-present exhaustion.
Not even the pain in her ribs could keep the gasp contained. Caleb fought with a man, she well knew for his cruelty. Sing. The men would circle one another, feinting and slashing with knives only to clash with the force of a rogue wave pounding a coastline.
Fear rose swift and sharp. She rolled to her side and spotted Xiao-xing lying face down on the ground, as still as death herself. Grinding her teeth, Kami pushed to a sitting position and kept the gun resting on her leg, in the direction of Xiao-xing. Not willing to take any chances.
Even still, she was hard pressed not to watch Caleb. The grim expression on his face spoke only death. He had the moves of a jungle cat. Powerful. Fluid. Most of all, deadly. She saw the blade of his knife flash and Sing fell back, clutching his throat. It couldn’t contain the persistent blood from escaping.