She quickly looked around and saw that the hut they were in was completely empty. Her gaze drifted to Amber, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. The other woman sat slumped against the wall.
Blood.
Amber had been shot.
“No.” Jessica choked out, crawling across the dirt floor, careful not to stand in front of the window as gunfire continued to erupt on the other side of the thin walls. She pressed the last piece of gauze she still had clutched into her hand onto Amber’s torn side and did the only thing she could do; she prayed they would both get out of this mess alive.
Chapter Nine
Kyle trudged through the rubble of the village that had been attacked alongside his fellow Rangers. The attack was so recent that the burnt remains of the small huts were still smoldering.
Not one single person was left alive.
Again, Jessie’s smiling face crept into his thoughts and he was slammed with the urge to find her. She was so close to this place. The culprits of the attack were no longer at the scene. He didn't want to believe they were on their way to where she was but a nagging intuition told him that was a strong possibility.
“Split up into pairs and search the surrounding area for Rodriquez.” Sergeant Maddox ordered.
Immediately the team, fully dressed in camouflage and face-paint, broke into their previously assigned pairs and scattered in the dense jungle. Kyle made sure he and Mike volunteered to search in the direction of the neighboring village during the strategy meeting. He told himself it was because he was certain that was the route the attackers would most likely take.
Deep down, he knew that part of the reason he jumped at the opportunity so quickly was because it was in the direction of Jessie. He was consumed with a need to make sure she was safe, even when he tried to shove it into his subconscious. It was the only way he could relieve the worry that was eating away at him from the inside out.
It didn’t take them long to hear the sound of shouting as they silently crept through the trees, rifles drawn. After quietly radioing in the possible location of Rodriquez to their sergeant, they continued to approach the edge of the trees.
Kyle scanned over several men lingering outside the huts with assault rifles, none of whom appeared to be Rodriquez. That meant the attackers must have split up to cover more ground. Kyle knew it was only a matter of time before their sergeant arrived and ordered them all to move on to the next village and continue their search.
They were not here to battle the cartel. They were just simply for Alex Rodriguez. Kyle stood frozen in place looking towards the huts, doing a visual search of the area for Jessica.
Was she here?
Or was she smart enough to leave when she had the chance?
Mike urged him back several steps from the break in the trees and their sergeant eased between them without a sound. Sergeant Maddox shot a questioning look to Mike who, at the moment, was the only one who seemed to have his head in the game.
Mike shook his head to signify that they had not found their man yet. Sergeant Maddox nodded to him and motioned with his hands that it was time for them to move on. They were on a covert extraction operation. Rescuing this village was not the mission and on any other day Kyle would have understood those orders entirely.
Today, he didn’t. He remained standing in place earning a scowl from Mike, the sergeant and two other team members who were approaching them. Time was running out to find Rodriquez and everyone was antsy to get moving before they lost his trail.
Everyone except Kyle.
“Our orders are to find Rodriquez.” Sergeant Maddox stated firmly, pointing out what everyone already knew. The men turned to head north, away from the village.
Kyle reluctantly followed. His pace was slow as he glanced behind him at what he was leaving. He felt magnetically drawn to what lay behind him and couldn't drop the subject, despite his sergeant's clear disapproval.
“Sir, we have to go back.” He pleaded, stopping dead in his tracks.
Mike collided into him. Sergeant Maddox spun to face him, anger painted clearly on his reddened face.
“We’re moving on, Winters.” He barked, becoming increasingly annoyed at the series of delays.
“With all due respect sir, I think we should go back.”
“Good thing no one asked what you think.”
“You know as well as I do what’s about to happen. We have to go back and help them.”
"You’re letting your emotions interfere in your job; in my mission. We’re moving out. That’s a fucking order.” He spat.
"Sir, please just-"
“We are done wasting time over this nonsense, Winters. If you continue to risk this mission you know damn well what will happen. Now get your shit together and follow orders before I have you pulled off my team.”
Yeah, he did know what would happen. He would be court marshaled and most likely discharged in the least honorable of ways. The group proceeded to walk toward the next search site but Kyle trudged along at the back of their formation. The sergeant’s tone told him he had pushed the man beyond pissed.
Hell, Kyle was getting pissed at himself.
After all, his team needed him. He kept reminding himself of that as he stalked along behind them, compromising the mission with his slow pace and dangerous thoughts of turning back. He took an oath to be a part of this team above all else.
What in the hell was he thinking? The team needed him.
But…she needed him.
But…he couldn’t ruin his career over a woman.
But…she wasn’t just any woman. She was Jessie; his old friend. He would feel terrible if something happened to her out here knowing he walked away from her when she needed him the most.
Sergeant Maddox turned back to look at him in warning to speed it up and stop sulking, interrupting his inner battle. They stared at each other, tension thick in the several yards between them. Just as he pulled himself together and began taking a step toward his sergeant, the team and what little was left of his sanity, gunfire erupted.
The entire team stopped and immediately dropped to the ground. A few tense beats later a scream pierced the air, causing all the ‘buts’ he had been mulling over to fly out the window. The team rose from the ground upon realizing the gunfire was not directed at them but Kyle remained frozen in place.
He could recognize that voice anywhere, even in the form of a shrill scream.
The sound of her fearful cry caused the first surge of sheer panic Kyle felt since arriving in this godforsaken place four long months ago. He had heard that scream on the rollercoaster rides at the boardwalk every summer. He had even heard it when she was being carelessly tossed in a lake without knowing how to swim.
But this scream was different. It instantly made his blood run cold.
“Jessie.”
Seven Years Ago
Jessica screamed at the top of her lungs. Her boyfriend Sam Hughes was dangling her over the dock, preparing to throw her into Lake Gaston. He refused to listen to her pleas as his friends egged him on.
"Sam, please." She begged again, fighting to bite down her fear and talk sense into him. "I don't know how to swim!"
Kyle sat in the bed of his truck next to Sandy Hughes, Sam’s twin sister, and glared on, shaking his head. Jessica had begged him profusely to come along on this day-trip with Sandy, who had a huge crush on him. She thought she and Sam would have a much better, perhaps even romantic, day without his sister being the third wheel.
So much for that.
Instead, Sam was torturing her for his friends’ entertainment and Sandy was clinging all over Kyle who was clearly uninterested. He had spent nearly all afternoon trying to make that known but it had yet to work.
He was definitely angry and Jessica couldn’t tell if he was more mad at Sam for being an obnoxious idiot, at Sandy for not taking a hint or at her for dragging him to this lake party to begin with. Before she could tell Sam again that she couldn’t swim, he lifted her
above his head. She knew what was coming next. She was so looking forward to dumping him today.
If she didn't drown first.
"No!" She screamed as he tossed her into the ice cold water.
Kyle heard the scream followed by a loud splash. He looked up to see Sam no longer holding Jessie. He had actually thrown her into the lake. As he made his way back down the dock towards his friends, one of the guys who had been loudly encouraging him to throw her in sauntered over for a high-five.
She had told him several times she couldn’t swim. Loudly. Kyle had been under the impression Sam was bluffing just to scare her and, as annoying as it had been to witness, it hadn't been very alarming.
Clearly, he wasn’t just bluffing.
Without thinking twice, Kyle jumped off the tailgate and took off straight to the water's edge. He didn't slow his speed when he hit the chilled water fully clothed. After wading through until he was waist-deep he began to swim toward Jessie who was now gasping for air and flailing frantically, barely able to keep her head above water.
As soon as he was close enough he reached out and wrapped one arm around her waist, gliding her through the water closer to him. When her torso was finally pulled snugly against his, they were both able to relax marginally. She spit lake water out of her mouth, circled one arm around his shoulder to loosely support her weight and breathed deeply.
“You saved me.” She sounded slightly taken aback.
“Of course I did." Kyle smiled softly, amused. "Your boyfriend didn't look like he was about to.”
"He’s not my boyfriend anymore."
"Good." He said simply, earning a look of confusion from her.
"He wasn't good for you." He clarified sincerely.
"I thought you were mad at me." She whispered, looking intently in his eyes before briefly glancing at his lips.
“I was." He admitted. "But no matter how mad I am I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Now let’s get out of here. It’s freezing.”
Once he had her sitting in the passenger's seat of his truck with a warm towel wrapped around her shivering shoulders, she leaned across the seat, grabbed his face between her two chilled hands and kissed him.
Chapter Ten
Jessica inhaled deeply and prepared to scream again.
She was now the only person left alive in the village, unwilling to leave Amber behind when she had the chance. The other huts had been torched, causing the few surviving villagers to flee through the jungle, taking Danielle and Amy with them. She had heard their frantic voices fading as they ran from their hut.
The hut she and Amber, who had stopped breathing mere moments before, took refuge in was beginning to burn also. Smoke filled her lungs making it difficult to breathe, much less scream. She was trapped in the hut by a man who was pointing a huge gun right at her face and backing her closer to the crackling walls.
This was it. She was about to die.
It looked like her mother was right. It was a horrible idea to come down here for the month. Her suggestion to go to Hawaii, or perhaps a spa retreat, was sounding like a great idea right about now. How would her family take the news when they found out about this? What about Amber’s family? She hoped at least Amy and Danielle were able to escape safely and return home.
Suddenly the man in the doorway slowly collapsed to the floor, dropping his gun in the dirt by his side. Behind him stood another man dressed in camouflage, face paint, and the exact same type of gun that had just been dropped. Although it was hard to make him out through the thick smoke in the hut, she could see his form coming toward her. She took as many steps back as the flaming walls behind her allowed and let out the best scream her aching lungs could muster.
“Jessie, it’s me. It’s Kyle.” He informed her as she wobbled on her unsteady feet.
He grabbed her arm firmly to hold her up and quickly dragged her out of the smoke filled hut. Finally, she was able to take a somewhat clean breath.
“Just sit down a second.” He ordered as he saw her swaying and struggling for air.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Jessica choked out after several seconds of gasping. He had swiftly pulled her down to the ground until she sat. He wasn’t sure what he had expected when he came running to her rescue but that definitely wasn't it.
“Not even happy to see me in the middle of a crisis?” When she glared up at him he decided perhaps it wasn’t the ideal time for jokes.
He stood alert, cautiously scanning the area around them as he waited for her to gather herself. She looked around too, realizing that the fire had ran its course and the smoke was simply smoldering.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were about to kill me.”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” He shot back. "Saving your ass."
“You killed that man.”
“I had to.” He told her calmly, still visually scanning the trees for any movement.
He kept his gun in his hands, ready for whatever may come their way. He no longer had the luxury of having his fellow soldiers watching his back. He was on his own now and had to stay prepared. It was up to him to look out for both of them now.
“Of all people…The Army had to send you.” She shook her head, clearly still angry about the previous day.
And six years ago.
And who knew what else.
“I was the only one available.”
“Great.” She whispered in a tone that indicated it was anything but.
She sighed loudly in disappointment as she stood up from the dirt. Despite her less than welcoming reception, he didn’t have the heart to tell her he was the one to come help her because everyone else had wanted to leave her for dead.
"We better get going before they come back looking for this guy." Kyle called out from the hut. He raided the pockets of the fallen man, filling his own pockets with the ammo and small amount of money he found. "It's only a matter of time."
Jessica had turned her back to the distressful scene and took a moment to be thankful it wasn't her lying on the floor dead, right next to Amber. A few more seconds and that's exactly where she would have been. A shudder rippled through her body at the thought.
"Jessie." He prompted, taking a step toward the jungle.
"Stop calling me that." She snapped, getting fed up with hearing the old nickname.
"Well what do you want me to call you?" He asked impatiently.
He clearly wanted to get out of the village but noticed she wasn't budging.
"Jessica. You know, because that's my name. It’s what everyone calls me." She shot back sarcastically.
"I'm not just anyone." He teased despite the severity of their situation as he followed closely behind her.
"Yes you are." She insisted.
"Okay, Jessica," He said putting emphasis on her name, "Let's go."
At that she stormed past him around the hut. Before she could make it to the center of the village he grabbed her arm firmly.
“Don’t run off.” He warned.
She yanked her arm away but slowed her pace. Her slow pace came to a complete stop as they reached the front of the burned village. Thick smoke still filled the air, clouding her vision. She could see bodies of many of the villagers she had been living with the past ten days lay motionless on the ground.
Some of them were children.
Jessica suddenly became nauseous. Looking away from the gruesome scene, she glued her eyes to her feet and took a deep breath. She choked again on the smoke and looked over her shoulder.
Kyle saw her hesitation. She looked up at him, growing increasingly upset the longer she stood in the middle of the devastation. Realizing she had no idea where they were going, she waited for Kyle to take the lead.
He continued to walk over the rubble that had recently been her temporary home and the people that had been her temporary family. His boots crunched over broken ceramic as he took large, purposeful steps. Honestly, he had no idea where they were going either. A
ll he knew was that they needed to get away from where they were as fast as possible.
"Maybe I can help them." She called out desperately. "Maybe they aren't..."
She trailed off, unable to speak the words. She didn’t have to; he knew exactly what she meant. As a nurse, she knew they were dead. It was her shock and personal relationship with them that prevented her from accepting that.
"They are." He insisted gently, throwing his arm over her shoulder and nestling her face in his chest. "Don't look anymore."
He led them on toward the trees as she forced herself not to cry. There would be time for tears later when they were out of this mess and she was far away from him. Despite his sudden compassion, she didn't want to cry in his presence. She had bared her emotions to him once before and it didn't end well; she wasn't one to make the same mistake twice.
Once they crossed over into the jungle, Kyle took his arm off Jessica's shoulder. He put a distance between them as they walked straight ahead through the dense trees and underbrush. He racked his brain trying to come up with a solid plan of how to get the two of them out of this mess.
He hadn't really thought things through before he went racing off to find her. Although he would do the same thing over again, he couldn't deny it was an impulsive move. He hid his inner concern and maintained a calm exterior so he didn't alarm her any further. She didn't need to know the level of the danger they were still in or the sort of people who were also hiding in this very jungle.
Afraid to Fall Page 3