The man was a machine.
Whatever genetics they’d used to create him were beyond belief. The guy should be passed out and almost dead. Instead, he sent her a smart-assed smile.
They reached the shoreline, and Nate had already uncovered a small wooden boat with three tiny benches stretching across. “I found it scouting last night.”
Laney glanced out at the churning lake and dangerous clouds. She shivered in her wet bra as the rain drenched her bare skin. “We can’t go out in that.”
Nate yanked off his wet T-shirt and tugged it over her head. Then he grabbed her hips and plunked her on the middle seat of the boat. “We stay here, we die. I’d rather take my chances.” Sliding his arm around his brother’s waist, he helped ease Matt onto the third seat and shoved the boat out to the violent lake.
This was such a terrible idea. Laney reached for Matt to lean back against her. “Let me see.”
“You’ll faint,” he murmured with a quirk of his lips.
“No, I won’t.” And she wouldn’t. She’d suck it up and deal with ghosts in order to save him. “Let me see.”
He moved his hand. Red coated the shirt. Bile rippled up her throat. She glanced at the wound and quickly replaced the shirt. “You’re still bleeding, but it’s stemming.” Not really, but he didn’t need to know that. She angled around toward Nate, who was rowing the boat against the wind with fierce grunts. “As soon as we dock, I need to tie off the artery.” God. Could she do it? A real surgery in these conditions?
As she glanced at Matt’s gray face, she realized she didn’t have a choice. “Hurry, Nate.”
The boat bucked and spun in the dangerous waters. Water poured from the sky, and lightning lit up the night. It’d be a miracle if they made it to the other side without being electrocuted. Water splashed over the sides, and the boat began to fill. Laney wanted to bail, but she had to keep pressure on Matt’s wound. If the boat began to sink, she’d have to release him.
He glanced over his shoulder, flashed her a halfhearted grin, and his eyes fluttered shut.
“Matt!” she cried, grabbing his undamaged shoulder and yanking him toward her to prevent his falling overboard. His rear slid down, and she allowed his butt to fall into the waterlogged bottom of the boat, keeping his head elevated to avoid venous bleeding.
The boat pitched dangerously, and Laney glanced wildly over her shoulder.
Nate kept rowing, his face a grim mask. “Is he okay?” he yelled over the storm.
She shook her head and bit back a sob. “No. We need to tie off the artery. Now.” The wind slapped her wet hair onto her cheeks.
Nate nodded and turned the boat just slightly. Rain slammed into him, coating his bare chest and his tattoo, which was identical to Matt’s.
Freedom.
The price they’d already paid for it stunned Laney. She turned back to Matt with determination. They wouldn’t pay any more… not today.
Nate beached the boat, jumped out, and dragged it along the shoreline. Hustling over, he studied his brother, concern bright in his eyes. “If I throw him over my shoulder, he’ll bleed out.”
Yes. Gravity was a disaster they didn’t need right now. Laney kept her hand on Matt’s wound and stood, her shoes squishing in the water. “How about you take his torso, keeping pressure on his injury, and I take his feet?”
Nate nodded. “You keep the pressure on until I get him from the boat.” Reaching for Matt’s armpits, Nate turned his brother and lifted him over the boat with a fierce grunt and kept him in the bear-hug position. “Jesus. What has he been eating?”
Laney snorted and tried to ignore the fact that Matt might bleed out anyway. The guy was solid muscle. She gingerly stepped over the side, keeping the pressure strong. Finally on squishy sand, she took Nate’s hand and put it into place. “We need to hurry,” she yelled while running to grasp Matt’s ankles. Wrapping her arms around him, she bent with her knees and lifted. He did weigh a ton, and his huge feet took up her entire torso.
Nate strode backward, up the embankment, keeping a quick pace.
Laney kept a strong hold of Matt, even while her shoes slipped in the waterlogged sand. Her knees and shoulders shook from the exertion of carrying Matt, although Nate had kept most of the burden. Even so, her breath panted out with the difficulty.
They arrived at a rough wooden shack, and Nathan kicked the door open without even turning around. Matt didn’t make a sound as they carried him inside and all but dropped him on a crude kitchen table.
“I need a knife.” Laney took over again with the wound, her mind fuzzing. Fear made her hands tremble, and that wouldn’t do. Matt deserved better. “And a light.”
Nathan dug a survival pocket knife out of his left boot and tossed it to her. Then he reached into Matt’s pocket and drew out a cell phone. “Go, satellite phone.” He quickly dialed. “Shane, lock on to this phone or on Laney’s bracelet. We need extraction now. It’s Mattie.” His voice cracked on the end. “We’re at the north end of the lake and might have an hour before the commander’s standing force of fifteen get here. Unless they’re dumb enough to come across the lake like we did.”
Tears filled Laney’s eyes even as she glanced around the space as she gently removed Matt’s shirt. There was only the table, so she yanked Nate’s shirt off of her and slipped it under Matt’s head to minimize bleeding. “I need string. Some type of string.”
Blood slid down Matt’s arm, and the room tilted. Laney dropped to her knees, her forehead hitting the table.
“Damn.” Nate hustled around and yanked her back up, his breath brushing her hair. “You okay?”
She slid both hands onto the table and tried to tighten her knee. “Yes.” She loved Matt, and she was the only person who could save him. The warrior was defenseless, and she’d protect him, even if it meant cutting into him. She could do this. “Get the string.”
Nate released her and hurried toward a row of haphazard cupboards, returning with a ball of twine. “It’s thick, but it won’t cut him.” Nate grabbed a half-full bottle of whiskey and ran it over the knife.
Laney nodded. “Light.”
Nate used his burner phone as a flashlight.
Laney glanced up. “Infection is a strong possibility.”
“One thing at a time, Laney Lou,” Nate said softly. “Stop the bleeding.”
Swallowing, she nodded. Taking away the saturated cloth, she peered at the wound, the knife in her hand. She turned Matt’s head to the side and extended his arm just enough. Nausea swamped her, and she swayed.
“Whoa, there.” Nate clamped her shoulder. “You can do this. Talk me through the procedure, and you’ll be fine.”
She wiped away tears. “Okay. First, we make an incision just above the antecubital fossa, and we don’t want to mess with the median nerve.” Falling back into her old life, she slowly made the cut. “Sharp knife, Nate.”
“Always.”
She squinted to see better. “I’m extending the incision to see better.” Whew. So far, so good. “Now, let’s repair this ugly hole in his nice artery.” Her hands stopped shaking. “Twine.”
Nate handed her unrolled twine, and she slid it around the brachial and tied it as close to the origin as possible. She exhaled slowly and put everything back into place. “It’s tied, but I don’t have anything to stitch him up with.”
Nate took duct tape off the small counter. “This will do until we’re somewhere safe.”
Laney’s eyebrows rose. “I guess.” She took the strip Nate offered and plastered it around Matt’s arm, trying not to wince.
Her hands shook again when she stepped back. “If this works—”
“You saved his life, Laney Lou,” Nate said somberly. “When he wakes, I won’t even tell him you spent all night trying to show me your boobs.”
Laney coughed out a laugh. “What?”
“You took your shirt off. Twice.” Lines of fatigue cut into Nate’s strong face, but his tone was light.
?
??To save your brother.”
Nate shrugged. “So you say.” He stretched across Matt and gave her a half-armed hug, his gaze serious. “Thank you for saving my brother.”
Laney glanced down at the silent patient. It was way too early to tell if Matt would survive or not. “We might as well dig those two bullets out while we’re here.” Angling for a better look at his other arm, she went to work.
Chapter 31
Laney kept an eye on Matt’s vitals. It was entirely possible he’d slip into a coma, and without medical help, real medical help, he’d never make it.
Nate paced by the window. “Matt’s tough. He’ll be fine.”
“How do you know?” Laney asked softly, brushing her hand against Matt’s forehead.
“Because he’s Matt.” Nate ducked down to squint into the still-turbulent storm. Confidence filled his words, but his jaw was set and his shoulders tight.
Laney drew in air. Now surgery had passed, and any calmness she’d claimed had deserted her. From head to toe, her body ached from trying to navigate through the battering storm. Even with all the bruises and scrapes, nothing hurt as badly as her chest. Terror lived there. Fear she’d lose Matt after finding him. She leaned down and pressed her mouth near his ear. “Don’t leave me. Not now. Please.”
Love was supposed to be romantic and sweet. Not so painful her lungs hurt to breathe.
Nate’s phone buzzed, and he listened for a moment. “I hear you out there. How close until touchdown?” He waited and then swore. “Shane—” Nate’s breath heaved out. “Yes. I understand. Hold tight.” He hung up and strode toward Matt. “If I awaken him, can he walk?”
“No way in hell.” Panic rushed through Laney. “I just used fucking twine to tie his brachial artery. In. A. Shack.”
Nate pierced her with sharp eyes. “If we stay here, he dies for sure. Can. He. Walk?”
A normal man? No. But Matt? Laney shook her head. Now she was seeing Matt as invincible as Nate saw his big brother. “It’s too dangerous.”
“So is death.” Nate grasped Matt’s shoulders and shook. “Mattie? Time to go, bro. We have to flee—now.”
Matt’s eyelids fluttered open, and his gaze focused way too quickly. “Status?” he croaked.
“Shit storm. The doc tied off your artery, the commander’s forces are close. He brought a definite squad of twenty-one that is moving as teams of three from every fucking direction, and Shane flew a helicopter through this storm to a landing spot about a mile away.” Nate dropped his hands over Matt’s shoulders and eased him to a seated position. “Dig deep. We have to move.”
Matt growled low. “Shane flew a copter into this storm?”
Nate grimaced. “We’ll yell at him later. Can you walk?”
“Did you say a full twenty-one?” Matt groaned.
“Yes. We’ve taken down six men. That leaves fifteen still vying to kill us,” Nate said tersely.
Matt turned toward Laney. “Are you all right?”
She sniffed. “Yes. Much better than you.”
“Did you actually perform surgery? With blood?”
“Yes. You’re not dying on me, Matt Dean.” She eyed the duct tape around his arm. How was the man even conscious?
He swayed. “Why are you shirtless again?”
She shook her head and took Nate’s shirt from where it had supported Matt’s head. Wet and now bloody, it nevertheless beat Matt’s bare skin if they had to go back out into the rain. “Long story. Put this on.”
He shook his head. “No. You put it on. Your skin is nearly blue.”
She opened her mouth to argue, and the hard glint in his eye stopped her. The man would try to force the shirt on her, and he’d probably ruin her fine surgical work. “Fine.” She gingerly slid the cotton over her head.
Matt cleared his throat. “How much blood did I lose?”
Too much. Way too much. Laney lifted shoulder. “Eh. Maybe about a teaspoon?”
“Right.” He pushed off from the table and kept going down.
Laney scrambled for him, but Nate caught him first. Fierce lines cut into Nate’s hard face as he waited for his brother to balance. “Shane’s out in the storm all alone, Mattie.”
Matt’s head jerked up. “Never alone.” He pushed back from his brother, raw determination darkening his eyes to nearly midnight. Blood leaked from under the tattered duct tape. “You take the lead, and we keep Laney between us.”
Nate nodded and grabbed the sawed-off shotgun he’d placed on the tiny counter. “If you need a lift, just holler.”
Matt winced. “I don’t need to be carried. Just go.”
Laney peered closer at his arm. While the duct tape around the bullet wounds in his other arm remained dry, that artery couldn’t start bleeding again. “I need to make sure your artery is still clamped.”
“I’m good.” Matt grasped her arm to follow Nate. “Let’s go.”
Laney’s mind swirled as she headed back into the storm with a soldier in front of her and the man she loved behind her. Their chances weren’t good, and she had so much to say to Matt. While he remained conscious. But, as he nudged her with a push to her lower back, she lowered her head against the driving wind and followed Nate into hell.
Matt tried to concentrate on remaining upright by putting one boot in front of the other, like he’d done so many times in his life. Each step was sucked into the mud while wind and sleet attacked his bare chest and arms with a vengeance. The tape pulled against is injuries, and more liquid than just rain coated his skin. He could control the pain until sensation didn’t exist, but blood loss? Yeah. Even the genetically engineered needed blood for strength.
But if Laney could conquer her fear of blood and operate to prevent him from bleeding out, he could suck it up and walk to safety.
If they found safety, he would even wait until tomorrow to beat the shit out of Shane for flying a helicopter by himself into the deadliest storm Matt had ever seen. It was as if even the gods above wanted him dead.
Fuck the gods.
Matt had his brother and his woman in front of him, and if he had to beat the gods to get them to safety, he’d damn well succeed.
The forest pressed in on him, and he tried to tune in to the world beyond the nearest trees. Not much permeated the roaring in his head, but every instinct he’d honed whispered the commander was closing in fast. But the speed with which Nate rammed down the nonexistent trail, he felt it, too.
Had the commander found Emery’s body?
Matt stumbled and quickly righted himself. He’d killed someone he’d known as a kid. True, they’d never been friends. But they’d shared a childhood that had shaped them differently. Even being raised by monsters, they’d had choices in life. He’d chosen his brothers and loyalty.
Emery hadn’t been strong enough.
Doubt had often assailed Matt that he could be as bad as Emery… that maybe they were alike. But his brothers made him human and kept him from evil.
He owed them for that, and he’d save them if it was the last thing he did.
He would’ve given almost anything to have saved Emery from the demons possessing him. But the man had tried to kill Laney. He died for that choice.
Still, a surprising sorrow welled in Matt’s chest.
Laney slipped on pine needles and yanked his attention to her. He rushed to catch her, but she hit the ground before he could get there.
“Ouch.” She shoved to her feet with mud covering her butt.
“You okay?” he asked.
She shot him a look. “You’re bleeding again.”
“Well, at least you’re not passing out.” His vision wavered. “Get moving, baby.”
“Okay.” She slipped her hand into his. “We can walk together, right?”
Since his senses currently sucked, there wasn’t a reason to keep her at arm’s length. He wouldn’t know anybody was upon them until they came into sight. “Sure.”
She tightened her hold and moved into a quick walk. ?
??What are our chances here?” Her hip touched his, keeping them close enough she didn’t have to yell.
Not good. “Great. We’ll get to Shane, head home, and have breakfast.”
“Right.” She edged her shoulder into the undamaged side of his body. “I want you to know… The time we’ve been together? It’s been the best of my life.” Her head remained down, and wet hair covered her face.
Matt tucked her closer. “Me, too. What do you say we make this permanent?”
Her head shot up, her eyes glowing emeralds in the darkness. “Permanent?”
“Yeah.” His gut lurched. Now probably wasn’t the time. “I love completely, Laney, and I’m sure it’s a pain in the ass.” He stumbled and she helped him to right himself. “You have my heart and always will.”
She caught her breath. “You know we’re not going to live through the night, right?”
“So say yes. What do you have to lose?” His vision kept graying, damn it.
“Yes to what?”
“Me. Marriage. Life.” His right leg was beginning to go numb. This had to be the worst wedding proposal on record. But Nate had been right. Matt had found happiness, and he needed to hold on with both hands. No matter what happened. “We need something to live for, don’t you think?”
She smiled and shook her head. “You’re crazy. Definitely crazy.” Taking a deep breath, she snuggled closer. “I say yes.”
His head snapped up as his chest filled. Love. She’d said yes. “You’re the crazy one,” he said with a smile. “I’ll keep you safe, baby. I promise.”
“How about we start with breakfast?” she asked, peering ahead into the storm. “We lost Nate.”
“He’s scouting ahead.” Matt’s head wanted to fall back on his neck. How long would his artery hold out, anyway?
Nate brushed leaves aside and appeared in front of him. “This way. Forces moving in on all sides. Shane is setting down in one minute, and we need to load before he hits the ground.” Urgency cut lines into Nate’s face. “You up to it?”
“Of course.” Matt blinked to clear his vision while he released Laney and followed Nate to the edge of a small clearing. A very small clearing. “How close are the forces?”