Dammit, he shouldn’t care whether she was hurting or not. He should revel in her pain. But he couldn’t, not with this doubt nibbling away his defenses. Maybe that’s why his voice was so gruff when he spoke. “You’re going to have to move faster today.”
She wrinkled that curvy little nose, scrunching up her freckles and her full pouty lips. “If you want me to speed up, you’re gonna have to lighten my load.”
“And how do you expect me to do that? Carry my brother and the duffel for another mile?”
“Yes.” Her one-word answer traced along the edge of annoyance and humor. He let annoyance win. “Since you’re the one who helped put him in this condition, you’ll have to suck it up. And if you slow me down, you won’t like the consequences.”
She flinched. Jared held her gaze, daring her to say anything, but she dropped her mysterious golden eyes. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the cave.
“Give me your hands.”
He expected her to protest, but she meekly held up her bound hands. He quickly attached the lead rope to his belt. “You know what will happen if you slow me down?”
Still, she refused him her gaze, her stooped posture almost defeated. “Yes.” Something about her stance sent guilt washing through him.
Jared retrieved the duffel and held it out for her. She took it, letting the back bang into her shins. He didn’t miss the slight flinch. The bag hadn’t felt that heavy to him, but he was over twice her size and weight. She really was a petite woman. A petite woman with beautiful, full breasts and achingly curvaceous hips. Even now he could see her nipples bead hard and tight against the material of her shirt. His hands itched to lift up her shirt and caress her.
Why shouldn’t he? Jared groaned, lifted his hand and brushed the back of his knuckles over her breasts through the material of her shirt. She jerked at his touch. Her nipples budding even more. The bag pulled her arms straight down, forcing her breasts to mound over the top of her shirt. He rubbed her other nipple, soft and gentle, brushing his thumb back and forth over its tip until she trembled beneath his hands. Shit, his cock was aching and swollen. Eager to bury itself in her sweet depths. It would be so easy to take her right now. Right here. Already she leaned into his touch, seeking more.
Jared pulled on his control, forcing his mind away from thoughts of her parted thighs and soft lips.
Her head was tilted down to the floor as she meekly submitted to him. A growl of possession grumbled from his throat. He liked her like this. Liked knowing that she was trembling for his touch even though she feared him. She bit her lower lip and his control slipped. Grasping her chin in his hand, he lifted her face to his and took possession of her mouth, plunging his tongue inside deep and hard. Using her mouth to forget. To distance himself from the horror of his brother’s torture.
Something almost animalistic took over and he deepened the kiss even more, winding his hand in her hair and holding tight. But instead of trying to struggle away from him, she dropped the bag and lifted her bound hands to his chest, grabbing onto his shirt and pulling him to her. His touch seemed to awaken something in her, and her open response stunned him. Drove him wild.
Before he knew it, he’d laid her on the ground and settled between her legs. He broke the kiss, both of them painting and hungry. He found the flesh between her neck and shoulder, and bit down, sucking her greedily into his mouth. He pulled hard, wanting her to remember she belonged to him now.
Sparrow moaned and arched up. Jared roughly pushed her crop top the few inches it took to expose her nipples. Those beautiful dark rose, tight buds begged for his lips. Greedy, he took the first nipple into his mouth, sucking hard and long until she cried out, and then he lapped at her gently until she settled down.
“Jared,” she gasped, her hips undulating beneath him.
Jared pushed his hips forward, frustrated by the material separating them. He lifted enough so that he could yank at the button on her shorts.
“Jared. Stop.”
He could just imagine her soft pink flesh glistening and wet. He yanked down her zipper. He needed to taste her there, to see if she was as sweet as he imagined she’d be.
“Jared, your brother.” It was like she’d thrown a bucket of ice water in his face, Jared reared back onto his heels and yanked his hands from her body. Sparrow lay spread before him, her breasts bare, her legs wide open. He’d gotten so caught up in her that he’d temporarily forgotten about his brother.
Dammit. What the fuck was wrong with him?
His sat phone rang just then, and Jared jumped on the distraction, unsure what to say.
I hate you, but I want your body. The worst part was he was even more certain that she couldn’t be solely to blame. She might have had some involvement, he couldn’t completely rule that out. Not until Hoyt woke and told the truth.
Yeah, that would work out well.
He ripped open the phone. “Hello.”
It was Merc’s voice on the other end of the line. “We’re an hour out. What’s your status?”
“About an hour too. You got the medical supplies?”
“Yep. We’ll be ready and waiting, brother. Just get here.”
“Roger.” Jared hung up, the phone call giving him a burst of renewed energy and purpose.
Hoyt’s sleep had been much more peaceful last night than Jared’s, who’d roused every half hour on the hour to check on his brother. Though he didn’t want to admit it, he’d been unable to keep his gaze off his captive. He’d been miserable, through and through.
“Come on, they’re almost there.” His words startled Sparrow out of her thoughts and she quickly jumped to her feet, snatching the short top down in one movement. “Get the bag,” he added. “Stay close.”
He scooped Hoyt into his arms, avoiding the worst damage to his back, even though there was no way his brother could feel it. Jared had given him another dose of the morphine early this morning as soon as he started to twitch and moan in his sleep.
They headed out from the cave to the river where they could follow it south to the extraction point. The morning air was crisp and the sun just rising over the opposite mountain when they started on their journey.
When they were young, just boys, Miss Kay had taken them in after their parents’ sudden death. Jared had been young and innocent and trusting, until the next day when she tossed them in the closet and shackled them both to the floor. He hadn’t understood at first. He beat against the door, screaming and kicking, scratching at the wood until his fingers had bled.
But no one ever came.
And even then Hoyt, a few years younger, had tried to calm him down. He’d joked about the situation, saying it was a big adventure. Hoyt had always looked at the world like it was a bright and wonderful place.
But deep down Jared had known better.
*
They’d fed them a little at first, but after a while even that stopped. Jared and Hoyt had slowly starved to death in that closet. And even up to the end, when they’d been too weak to move, Hoyt had held out hope. But Jared had none. He’d realized they’d been fated to die just like their parents.
Until a golden eyed little girl stuck her head in the door and freed them …
16
Sparrow saw the boat through the trees, maybe twenty or thirty yards ahead. She couldn’t make out the number of men on board, but the more there were, the harder it would be for her to escape. Dammit, she hadn’t counted on them being so close. The sun had barely risen on the horizon. And as the sun rose higher, her chances for escape would grow even dimmer.
At least the heavy exercise of walking through the mountainous trail and lugging the huge bag had kept her warm enough. She still had her knife tucked into her boot, so as long as Jared didn’t wise up and check her, all she had to do was wait for a distraction.
They marched out of the trees and down to the shore, every pair of eyes on the boat locked on them. Sparrow gulped as her gaze locked in on the tallest one. He was hu
ge. His skin a deep tan, his midnight hair hanging to his shoulders. But it was his eyes that held her. They were…empty.
Another one, smaller than the giant, but still larger than most men she’d seen, jumped from the boat into the water and waded onto the shore. He had long brown hair that ran into a neatly trimmed brown beard. He focused on her for a split second before turning his attention to Jared. She knew when he saw Hoyt because his entire demeanor shifted from curiosity to aggression. “Mother of God.”
Even though she’d had nothing to do with Hoyt’s injuries, she shifted her gaze to the river, knowing what was coming next.
“Who did this?”
Silence followed, and unable to contain herself any longer, Sparrow glanced back at the men. All of them were all staring at her. She wanted to scream out the truth, that she was innocent, that she’d never do such a thing. But she dropped her gaze to the ground. She had a part to play, that of the meek, defeated little girl. As soon as they dropped their guard, she’d be gone.
“No way.” The bearded man spoke again.
“She’s coming with me until I know the truth.” Jared’s voice sent a shiver through her.
“Get them on the boat. I’m ready.”
“Thanks, Aaron. I patched him up, but he needs real medical attention.” Jared walked to the edge of the water, pulling her leash tight, and stopped at the edge of the boat. The giant lifted Hoyt from Jared and placed him in the boat. Jared turned to her, lifted her on board, and followed.
“Merc, put him here, on the blankets.” Aaron knelt on the floorboards.
“Wait. Make sure you put him on his side.” The boat shifted as Jared strode toward the others, leaving Sparrow with the choice to either follow or be thrown to the floor. The giant, Merc, gently placed Hoyt on the blankets.
The boat was unlike any she’d ever seen. It was camouflaged and big, like a cabin cruiser. The front of the boat boasted a metal platform where a large gun was mounted. Behind that was an open cabin with a steering wheel, and behind that a large open area with bench seating down the sides. They were arranging Hoyt to lay in the middle of the seats on the floor.
Aaron leaned over him, shined a light in his eyes and placed a hand on his head. “Jesus Christ, he’s burning up. Did you give him anything?”
Jared shook his head. “All I had was morphine.”
“Riser, give me that syringe of antibiotics. Merc, get us the fuck out of here as fast as you can.” Riser pulled a syringe from the medical bag and Merc got behind the wheel. Jared pulled her over to the bench and pushed her down. He cut the rope holding them together and quickly tied it to a metal ring right on the edge of the boat. “Stay here.”
Not waiting for her to respond, Jared went to kneel beside his brother.
Merc backed the boat into the water and gunned it down the river. The water was choppy and fast flowing from last week’s storms, which had caused the river level to rise. The boat jumped and bumped through the rough water, but Merc didn’t slow down.
“We’ve got to get his fever down. He might have a seizure if we don’t. Maybe even permanent damage,” Aaron yelled.
Sparrow closed her eyes, praying that wasn’t true. Hoyt had to make a full recovery. He had to for Jared’s sake, and for her own.
“Jared, hand me that IV bag, Riser, hand me the meds,” Aaron spoke loudly enough to be heard over the sound of the boat’s engine. He worked efficiently, first sticking a needle in Hoyt’s arm and then feeding an IV into the back of his hand. He injected the syringe into that as well. “That should lower his temperature pretty fast. But it won’t keep it down.”
“I think his wounds might be infected. I cleaned him up the best I could last night, but I just…” Jared dropped his head into his hands, his voice trailing off on a ragged grunt.
Riser placed a hand on Jared’s back. “Hey, man, you know Aaron is our best medic. He’ll survive.”
“Damn right he will, now help me get these bandages off of him. I need to see the damage.”
The boat picked up speed. The river was wide and open for as far as Sparrow could see.
Aaron began cutting the bandages from Hoyt’s body.
“The chopper’s going to pick us up about five clicks from here. Hank loaned us a ranch house for you two to stay at and Dr. Jane is setting up for him there. You two can stay there as long as it takes for him to fully recover. That way we can keep this off the locals’ radar,” Riser said.
“Thank you.” The ragged edge to Jared’s voice tore at Sparrow’s heart. Yes, he’d treated her harshly, but despite thinking that she’d mutilated and tortured his brother, he hadn’t really laid a hand on her. That spoke to his true nature more than anything else.
Any other man would have killed Sparrow long before now. The worst thing Jared had done to her was to make her desire him.
“Hang tight, brother,” Jared shouted. “We’ll be at the chopper in less than fifteen minutes.”
Their words registered. Fifteen minutes. If she got on that chopper, there would be no escape. And if Hoyt never woke up to profess her innocence…
A huge lump formed in her throat. It would destroy Jared for one thing, and he would never, ever believe her.
No, she needed to get as much distance from them as possible. Maybe one day, if Hoyt lived and found his way back to consciousness, Jared would realize the truth. But she’d realized how stupid her dream of finding a happily ever after with him had been. Sparrow was the white-trash daughter of a prostitute. Jared was not only the true heir to Crowe Mountain, but he was also a well-respected man in his own field.
Men like Jared Crowe didn’t waste their time on scrawny little girls like Sparrow.
“Jared, these look great. I don’t see any signs of infection.” Aaron’s voice pulled Sparrow from her thoughts once more, and she watched as he prodded and poked at the wounds on Hoyt’s chest.
Jared cleared his throat. “Those aren’t the ones I’m worried about.
Sparrow stiffened, her blood freezing in her veins. No way she wanted to be on this boat when they rolled Hoyt over. Have to escape.
“Five minutes,” Merc said.
“I’ll get a shoulder. Jared, you get his hip. Aaron, make sure we don’t damage anything.” Riser was already in action, reaching for Hoyt’s shoulder. The men moved as one, efficient and precise—the perfect team.
They got Hoyt onto his chest and Aaron began to peel the bandages from his back. Sparrow tensed, steeling herself for the explosion. Jared’s hand shot out and wrapped around Aaron’s wrist. “Not from the top. Pull it up from the bottom.”
Sparrow sucked in a breath and looked away. Jared left off the reason for his instructions. If Aaron peeled the bandages from the top down, he’d more than likely peel Hoyt’s skin from his back. Again.
She felt the violence building in the air and tried to focus on the muddy water. The trees. Anything but the horror coming. But the dread was forming around her, inside her. Everywhere. And Sparrow could no longer deny the pull to watch Jared as his brother’s back was revealed. Only Jared’s steady gaze wasn’t locked on his brother. It was locked on her. Sparrow’s heart stopped. His gaze communicated one single word—revenge.
“Jesus Christ.”
Jared looked away first and Sparrow was helpless to follow. Hoyt’s back looked worse—oozing red blood and pus.
“Shit. It’s infected, all right.” Aaron rubbed a hand down his beard and Sparrow saw the worry in the small lines around his mouth.
“Chopper,” Merc called out from the cabin. Sparrow heard the bird coming before she saw it. Then the helicopter swerved around a bend in the river, circled over their boat, and led the way down river. Sparrow couldn’t make out a landing area, but the helicopter veered left and hovered a ways off the river before lowering down, seeming to disappear in the trees.
“We need to leave the dressings for now and let Dr. Jane handle it back home.”
“Whatever you think.” Jared ground out. The boat
slowed and turned left.
This was it, she had to escape. Had to get the hell out of here.
“He’s seizing! Hold him still!” Aaron yelled. Hoyt’s body convulsed and the three men around him focused all their attention on him. Sparrow seized the opportunity, her hands shaking and her heart pounding faster than the blades on the helicopter. She pulled her knife out of her boot and cut the lead rope. Then turned the knife inwards, cutting as fast as she could through the bonds on her wrists.
She sliced her own skin in her haste, but the rope snapped free. No one looked her way. Hoyt flopped on the floor like a fish out of water and Sparrow felt a brief tinge of remorse for leaving at such a time.
But not enough to stick around and see if he made it.
Sparrow crouched on the bench and tucked her knife into her boot. The boat slowed even more. She climbed onto the ledge, surveyed the distance separating her from the opposite shore and dove in headfirst.
Dark water surrounded her, its freezing temperature stunning her into immobility. The cold air was nothing compared to the water. It stole her ability to think. To move.
Have to move. Have to survive.
Sparrow shook herself free of the haze and swam. She swam underwater as hard and as long as she could before surfacing.
She took the split-second to gulp in a deep breath of air, then dived beneath the surface once more, thankful for the dark waters of the muddy Mississippi.
Her arms and legs ached, but she didn’t stop kicking. She didn’t stop swimming. She just kept moving forward. Staying beneath the surface until her lungs felt liable to burst. When she couldn’t take it anymore, she burst through to the surface, gulped in air, and turned to see if anyone had noticed she was missing.
The boat was docked at the edge of the river and men were scrambling to lift Hoyt and carry him onto dry land. She was safe.
For now.
Reckless River: Men of Mercy, Book 3 Page 13