“We’ll meet you at the airstrip in forty-five minutes, Tony.”
“Got it. Stay safe, Ryder.”
“You too, Hughes.”
“Forty-five minutes?” Marley asked when he ended the call. “That gives us plenty of time.”
“To play hide-and-seek with your ex? Not happening.” Jake knelt and shoved the sat phone back into his pack. “We’re heading for the airstrip so there are no mistakes.”
Marley drew in a sharp breath. She was fuming. He didn’t have to look to know there was steam coming out of her ears, but dammit, he was just trying to keep her safe. Why couldn’t see she that? This wasn’t a game anymore. It had gotten way too real way too fast, and he wanted her out of it.
“Okay, listen,” Marley said. “I realize this is the last place you want to be—”
“Got that right.” He flipped the top closed on his pack.
“I also know this is my business not yours and that you don’t have to be here. But I can’t leave without searching for Gray. I won’t be able to live with myself if I don’t at least try.” When he didn’t answer, she said, “Dammit, Jake. Would you stop what you’re doing and look at me?”
He didn’t want to stop, he wanted to leave. But he pushed to his feet and faced her like she wanted because he knew there was no way he was getting her out of here until she had her say. “Your intentions were good, Marley, but it doesn’t change the fact there are people out there who want us dead and that the safest thing for us to do is to get to that airstrip before the Black Eagles shut down the entire area.”
“I know,” she said calmly. “I know, and you’re right. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from you over the years, it’s that duty—your word—matters. You’ve never left anyone behind that you’ve gone after. I’ve watched you risk your life for people you don’t even know, all because you gave your word to a relative that you’d do your best. You were willing to do it for Eve before you even knew she wasn’t a traitor, and you’d do it for anyone at Aegis without a second thought. I’m not asking for special treatment here, Jake. I’m not even asking you to change your plans. All I’m asking is to use those forty-five minutes to look before we have to rendezvous with Tony. Because I did exactly what you’ve done your whole life. I gave Gray my word, and I can’t break it.”
His jaw clenched and unclenched. He wanted to tell her no way in hell, wanted to toss her over his shoulder and carry her to that damn chopper himself, but he couldn’t because she was right. Once he gave his word, he stuck to it, no matter the consequences. And he’d be the biggest hypocrite on the planet if he held her to a different standard.
He glanced at his watch, hit the light button on the side of the face, and calculated time. Dammit, he so did not want to do this. And if something happened to her . . . Yeah, if that happened he’d never forgive himself.
Reluctantly, he let go of the watch and reached for his pack from the floor. “Fine. You’ve got thirty minutes. Not a second more. If we don’t find him in that time, we drop back, regroup, and make for the airstrip. And you’re not going to argue about it.”
She exhaled a long breath. “I won’t.” Then her arms closed around him, startling him in the dark as she hugged him hard. “Thank you, Jake.”
Heat rushed all through his body, everywhere they touched. A heat that shot his mind right back to that native hut and the wicked smile on her face just before she’d kissed him crazy. A heat that was warm and encapsulating and pushed aside his bad mood until lightness filled his chest.
Letting go of him long before he was ready, she moved quickly for the door and pulled it open just a crack, just enough so sunlight streamed over her face as she peered out into the street. Excitement shone in her eyes. An excitement that had nothing to do with him and everything, a tiny voice whispered, to do with McKnight. “We’ll find him. I know we’ll find him. Just watch.”
Jake frowned as he slid his backpack on. And that bad mood came screaming back. Finding the sonofabitch was exactly what he was afraid of.
Marley ducked behind a dented car and waited until the soldiers turned the corner. Waving for Jake to join her, she stayed low as he drew close to her side.
“The edge of town is our best bet,” she said softly. “He’d find a place out of view.”
Jake glanced at his watch again. “You’ve got twenty-five minutes, Rambo. I know I’m going to regret saying this, but lead on.”
A thrill rushed through her as she glanced at his profile. Two days’ worth of stubble covered his square jaw, darkening his features, making him look sexy as hell even with dirt and sweat coating his skin. But all she could focus on was the fact he was letting her take the reins. Sure, he was doing it begrudgingly, but still. Mr. Forever in Control had just given her something she’d always wanted and never expected, and she was so moved by the gesture, she wanted to kiss him to say thank you.
Her gaze drifted to his lips. To his soft, warm, seductive lips that had made her absolutely wild last night. So close. So perfect.
He tore his gaze from his wrist and looked at her. “What? Change your mind already?”
Realizing she was staring—and wasting time—she blinked, looked away from his wicked mouth, and told herself not to think about sex. It had been one time. One amazing time. But the sooner she forgot about it, the better.
Right. Like she could ever forget that.
She cleared her throat and pointed across the dirt road. “I’m moving for that building.”
Jake peeked over the hood of the car, looked right and left, then said, “Go. I’ve got you covered.”
Her pulse shot up, and she rushed across the street and then slinked against the side of a dilapidated building. Sweat slid down her temple and dampened her shirt as she waited for him to join her. Her gaze followed a woman carrying a basket as she disappeared into a house. Laughter echoed from inside the building at her side, but she couldn’t make out the voices. When Jake reached her side, she pointed toward the next building. He nodded, and she pushed to her feet. But just before she darted off, a barefoot kid who looked to be no more than eight, wearing nothing but shorts and a ripped T-shirt, stepped out of a doorway, directly in her path.
“You,” he said in an accented voice. “You American.”
Marley drew up short and gripped the gun in her hand. The kid wasn’t armed, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t alert the soldiers who’d just passed. Warily, she glanced down the empty street behind the kid, then over her shoulder toward Jake.
“What’s the holdup?” Jake whispered.
She stepped aside so he could see the child.
“Shit.”
“You no need those,” the kid said, nodding toward the guns in both their hands. “He told me to look for American girl.” He glanced up at Marley. “That you. I his friend.” The kid shuffled backward and waved his hand for her to follow. “You come. I show you.”
Marley’s adrenaline spiked. She opened her mouth to ask who and took a step forward, but Jake’s large hand gripped her arm.
“Wait.” He looked toward the kid. “He who? Who’s looking for an American girl?”
“The white man. The one with the dragon tattoo on his arm. Come. We hurry before the soldiers return.”
Marley looked up at Jake, excitement pulsing in her veins. “That’s him. He has a tattoo of hydra on his forearm.”
She pushed past him. At her back, Jake muttered, “Of course he does.”
The kid disappeared into an alleyway. Garbage cans filled with food and paper were pushed up against a building. Empty cardboard boxes lay scattered across the small space. Marley followed the kid through the alley, glancing at the doors on each side. She could feel Jake’s adrenaline at her back, knew he was checking his watch and stressing over their timeline, but all she could focus on was getting to Gray.
Holstering the gun at her bac
k, she followed the kid down another side street toward a house at the very end of town. “How far?”
“Almost there.” The kid waved his hand for her to follow and jogged backward. “You come. I show you.”
Staying low, Marley and Jake ducked behind a rusted old truck. The kid waved his arm for them to keep up, then headed toward a lean-to shack, overgrown with palms and vines at the very back of the property.
“He stay here.” The kid pushed his way through the vines and moved around the shack.
Marley followed, stepping over weathered two-by-fours, plastic jugs, and garbage littering the ground. Jake didn’t say a word, but she knew he was taking it all in, cataloging everything, scanning the area around them for dangers, and just knowing he was watching out for her, that he was supporting her instead of taking over made something around her heart warm.
The kid reached for a large piece of metal, what looked like it could be a section of corrugated roofing material, and pulled it away, revealing a doorway. “I bring him food. He promise to pay me when the American lady showed up.”
The kid looked up at her expectantly. Marley’s pulse beat hard as she glanced at the kid, then into the dark shack.
“It okay,” the kid said. “He expecting you.”
Anything could be in there. This kid could be working for the Black Eagles and could have just led them into a trap. But if she didn’t at least look, she’d always wonder.
Jake gripped her hand before she could take a step inside. She was about to pull away when she caught his expression—stone face, jaw like steel beneath his skin, eyes focused and intense—but what gave her pause was the hint of fear she saw lurking in those dark irises.
Fear for them? Fear for her? She wasn’t sure which, but fear was something she’d never seen in this man’s eyes before. Fear meant he cared. Fear meant she mattered.
Her mouth went dry and her hands grew damp against her sides, preventing her feet from moving forward. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t order her to move or call her back. He just locked eyes with her and held her gaze, as if asking—not telling—her to let him go first.
Minutes later—or maybe it was seconds, she was so lost she couldn’t tell which—he let go of her, stepped around her, and disappeared into the hut. And alone, all Marley could do was press her shaking hands against her cheeks and draw in a deep breath that did nothing to ease the vibrations suddenly echoing through her entire body.
What the heck was that? They could be overrun by guerrillas at any moment, and she was having a panic attack because Jake looked at her in a protective, caring way? No, she wasn’t letting that happen. No matter what was going on between the two of them, the focus now was on Gray. It had to be or she might lose her mind.
She ducked under the doorway and stepped into the hut. Jake stood over a crumpled blanket on the dirt floor, his big hands resting on his hips as he looked down at the ground. “If he was here, he’s gone now.”
Marley’s gaze skipped over the empty beer bottles scattered in one corner and the crumpled paper in another.
“He supposed to be here,” the kid said at her back. “He be back soon. Never go far. Too dangerous. You see.”
Jake glanced down at his wrist, then looked over at Marley. “We don’t have time to wait.”
A rumble sounded overhead, and Marley quickly looked at her own watch.
Her spirits dropped like a stone into the pit of her stomach. Jake was right. They were out of time.
Dusk was just setting over the small town as Marley and Jake darted behind a parked car and hunched down out of sight next to Alejandro—the kid who’d helped Gray over the last few days.
The boy pointed between two buildings toward a clearing on the other side of town. “The airstrip is just past there.”
“Thanks.” Marley fished a wad of cash she’d converted at the hotel from the front pocket of her pack and handed it to him. “If you see Gray in the next ten minutes, tell him we’re here but that we’re leaving. He has to get to the airstrip as soon as possible if he wants to go.”
“Thanks, pretty lady.”
The kid pushed to his feet and turned to run off, but Jake caught him by the forearm before he could get a step away. “Don’t tell anyone about this.”
“No tell,” the boy said quickly. “I promise.” He winked toward Marley, tugged his arm from Jake’s grip, and scurried off.
“I don’t trust that kid as far as I can throw him,” Jake said at her side.
Neither did Marley. The sooner they got out of here the better. Regret rolled in her stomach over the fact she was leaving Gray behind, but there was too much heat in this town. If they didn’t leave now, they might never get out, and no matter what Jake thought about her intentions, the last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt because of her.
That weird vibration lit off in her chest again. The same one she’d felt when he’d looked at her outside Gray’s hut. And it made her pulse turn to a whirl in her ears as their conversation from this morning echoed in her head.
“How would you like me to describe it?”
“Hot. Amazing. Fan-fucking-tastic.”
Her cheeks heated once more. The memory of that wicked, sexy smile on his tempting lips when he’d said those words and leaned close but hadn’t kissed her sent heat rushing to her belly.
Jake gripped her hand and pulled her to her feet, knocking her out of the memory. “Come on. We need to get a move on.”
Dazed, she had no choice but to follow. But she only made it three steps before a hand darted out of a doorway, closed around her free arm, and jerked her from Jake’s grip.
Marley yelped and swung out. Jake swiveled around, grasped the man by the shirt, and shoved the guy hard up against the side of the building. “Touch her again, and you’re dead.”
The man struggled. “Who the fuck do you think you are? I—”
Recognizing the voice, Marley darted around Jake so she could see better. And when she caught sight of the rangy man in front of her, her eyes flew wide. “Gray? Oh my God, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Freckles.” His focus stayed glued to Jake. “Do you know this guy?”
Marley scrambled to pull Jake back. “Yeah. He’s a friend. Jake, it’s him. Let him go. Oh my God, Gray. We’ve been looking all over for you.”
Jake’s jaw clenched, but he eventually released Gray. The man slumped against the wall and tugged on his frayed T-shirt. Marley took a good look at him, barely believing what she was seeing. He was still as tall as she remembered, Jake’s height but leaner. His hair was long and ratty, dirty blond locks falling past his shoulders, and a thick, matted beard hung down to his chest. But the eyes . . . the deep-green eyes she remembered from five years ago were the same.
His gaze darted between her and Jake. Taking them in, assessing the threat. Confusion passed over his features. He seemed to be having trouble adjusting. But then he looked Marley’s way, and it passed.
“You have no idea how good it is to see you.” Gray captured her in a bone-crushing hug before Marley even saw him move. The scents of dirt and sweat and body odor assailed her nostrils, and her nose wrinkled at the hideous combination. “I thought you weren’t coming. I waited and waited but I didn’t see you. Then I heard the helicopter and I thought maybe.”
Marley could barely make out what he was saying. Her eyes were watering too much from the smell. Carefully, she rested her hands on his shoulders and tried to push him away, but he was like a rock, immovable and unyielding. And the suffocating hug shot her anxiety over seeing him again straight through the roof.
“We need to go,” Jake said in a gruff voice. “Tony’s landing in five minutes, and we’ve got zero leeway to fuck around.”
Gray let go of her and looked toward Jake, as if he didn’t realize the man was still there. “Oh. I didn’t realize you were coming w
ith us.”
“You got a problem with that?”
Marley shot a look at Jake. His irritated expression said he wasn’t enjoying this little reunion at all. And though that aggravated her—he always kept his cool with every other hostage he’d ever rescued, good or bad—she cut him some slack this time because she knew he was simply stressing about their timeline.
“Yes,” Marley said, trying to keep the peace. “Jake’s pilot is the one picking us up. Grayson McKnight, this is Jake Ryder, CEO of Aegis Security, the firm where I now work.”
Gray glanced between them. “You left Omega?”
“Yes,” Marley answered.
“What kind of work does Aegis do?”
“The same.”
“Better,” Jake corrected. “None of my men have ever been incarcerated in a third world country.”
Gray’s spine stiffened and his eyes narrowed on Jake.
Okay, that was uncalled for. Unable to believe he’d just said that, Marley fought the urge to reach over and smack Jake upside the head. He was being rude again, his gaze locked on Gray as if the man were a bug Jake wanted to squash under his boot. But he turned before she could tell him to knock it off, and as she watched him walk toward the airstrip, that feeling hit her again. The one she’d experienced back at Gray’s shack and again only moments ago. The one that told her the reason she was so irritated with Jake now, the reason she’d been growing more frustrated with him these last few months, wasn’t because he was acting any differently than normal, but because she was falling for the man.
Falling for Jake Ryder? No. No, she couldn’t be. Her hands grew damp. Her cheeks hot. The man wasn’t relationship material. He didn’t do relationships. He’d made that clear on numerous occasions. She’d have to be stupid to ever open herself up to someone like him.
“Marlene?” Gray said somewhere close. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.”
Slowly, because the street seemed to be spinning, she looked to her right, toward Gray’s unfamiliar face hidden by that long rangy beard and all that dirty hair, and for a moment had no clue where she was. The last few days spun in her mind like a carousel set on supersonic speed—making her lightheaded, making her stomach roll, making her skin burn—then came to a screaming halt in that torch-lit hut she’d shared with Jake.