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Because the photo linking Anders to Cavanagh was gone, and the one she’d found in Anders’ office proved nothing except she’d been at the murder scene. It might indicate a friendship, or it might be a one-off meeting that none of them even remembered.

Seemed unlikely considering the fact she and Kurt were being chased, and Bjorn had hidden the thing and was now dead.

It suggested the men had done something together that wasn’t legal.

Or maybe they were still aiding their friend, the terrorist who’d kidnapped innocent Westerners and ransomed them off for cash.

She’d read one hostage had been repeatedly gang raped and knew it was a definite possibility should she be captured.

It was a tactic as old as hominids to dominate and suppress women, keeping them firmly in their place.

Cockroaches.

Row pushed the possibility out of her mind. It was a fear women always carried with them and something she fervently hoped she never experienced.

“I want to see about getting you into protective custody until Gilder’s arrested.”

Protective custody? For how long? In the US? Or back in the UK? She didn’t like the sound of that. Not at all.

She didn’t want to die either.

“Assuming Gilder’s involved.” She picked at the dry skin of her thumb cuticle. “I’m selfishly hoping he’s not because the other two, Spartan and Hurek, as scary as they may be, don’t have the global reach of the billionaire.”

“I’m hoping the same.”

She looked up at the sky through a gap in the branches and realized they’d been keeping beneath the shade of trees and weaving through thick scrub all day. Avoiding being spotted by satellites wherever possible.

Kurt definitely believed Gilder might be involved .

She shivered again. How did you outrun someone who had a network of satellites and who controlled communication networks around the world?

One step and one second at a time.

“Water?” Kurt stopped and pulled out their last remaining full bottle. Held it out to her.

She took a sip and passed it back.

“You need more than that.”

“What happens when we run out,” she argued.

“We’ll be able to refill as soon as it rains.”

She stared at the crystalline blue sky. “Not looking like that’s going to happen anytime soon.”

He looked around. Pointed. “There’s a stream ahead. Drink. You have to stay hydrated.”

She took a long swallow. The refreshing liquid cooled her throat. She passed it back to him, and he followed suit.

“Do you still have the burner phone?”

He nodded. Wiped his mouth. “Yeah. Once we’re back in civilization I’ll fire it up and call for assistance. Then we lie low until someone comes up with an exfil plan.”

She felt like she was in a movie and this wasn’t her life anymore. At least she got to be in it with a handsome leading man who was capable, considerate, and sexy as hell.

He pointed to a line of trees in the distance. “Let’s go that way to fill up the bottles.”

The canopy was getting thinner and thinner.

They headed down to a clear, bubbling stream, and he filled the bottles while she relieved herself downstream.

As she rejoined him the sound of a dog barking in the distance had them both going motionless. He tilted his head to listen. “Probably a farm dog. Doesn’t sound like a bloodhound.”

She released a tense breath when the barking stopped. What did a bloodhound sound like? She hoped she never found out.

They followed the stream for a time, stripping off their footwear and rolling up their trousers.

Wading or stepping from rock to rock, careful not to slip.

The last thing they needed was a twisted ankle.

They were able to do that for almost a mile before the stream turned into a fast-flowing river.

They drank again and topped up the bottles, headed east.

She rubbed her neck, wished she could wash her hair because her scalp felt dry and itchy after her swim in the muddy river.

The fact that she was worried about her hair rather than her life told her she was an idiot. She rolled her eyes at herself. “Tell me about your daughter.”

He looked at her then, the way someone assessed a threat, which startled the shit out of her.

Then he grimaced. “Sorry. I tend not to talk about her much. Not even with the people I work with. I guess I see it as protecting her, but maybe it’s just habit.

Like I said yesterday”—it felt like a decade ago now—“she’s twenty-three.

Graduated valedictorian from her degree at Virginia Tech last summer.

Started her post-graduate program in the Fall. Smart as a whip.”

“You sound proud.” She wrapped her arms around herself, unaccountably cold despite the beautiful day.

“I am proud, but I can’t take the credit.

” He clenched his jaw. “I wasn’t there much for her as a child.

Her mother left me after I joined the FBI.

Said she’d thought I’d do something where I was home more after leaving the Army.

Decided she hated the FBI without really giving it a chance.

” His expression twisted. “And that’s not fair to Jenn either.

I was an adrenaline junkie.” He laughed softly and looked around.

“Probably still am. I loved my wife, and I adored my child, but I was also happy to let Jenn do all the heavy lifting when it came to parenting while I went off and played soldier—at the expense of her career aspirations.”

“Sounds like you have regrets.”

“I do. Lots. Jenn’s an amazing woman, but I would suck at most 9-to-5 jobs, so the marriage was probably always going to fail. Just a shame Daisy was caught in the middle. ”

“Do you still love her? Jenn that is? I mean, obviously you love your daughter.”

He stared at her for a long moment, those dark eyes examining her face and seeing things she hadn’t meant to reveal. She didn’t know why it mattered if he was in love with someone else. It was no business of hers just because they’d had sex.

He shook his head. “I did love her. For a very long time, I did even though I didn’t admit it to myself.” A soft smile touched his lips. “I don’t love her anymore.”

A knot formed in her throat, and she couldn’t speak. Thankfully he didn’t seem to notice.

“With Daisy being in Virginia rather than Colorado, I was able to see her much more regularly the last few years. When she was little, Jenn wasn’t great at following the visitation rules, and as my job was so demanding, I always felt like she had final say given she was doing most of the work.

I should have pushed harder though sometimes.

I guess I was terrified it was Daisy who didn’t want to see me, rather than Jenn laying down the law, which she is exceptionally good at.

” He checked his watch and pressed his lips together into a grim line.

“Daisy was supposed to come to Quantico and visit me this weekend after I got back. I hate to think what she’s going through.

And my team...” He cleared his throat. “We already lost one man this year. On New Year’s Day. A bomb.”

“Oh my God, I saw that on the news. It was horrible. I’m so sorry.” A serial killer had set a trap for the FBI and blown up members of the Hostage Rescue Team. Her mouth went dry at the realization of how dangerous his job was.

“We were lucky we didn’t lose more. I was in Africa, obviously.

” He sent her a sideways look in reference to seeing her at the Falls over New Year.

“I spoke with my commander and to the widow of the man who died. I wasn’t allowed to contact anyone else, which pissed me off but also made sense.

We are trying to keep this investigation on the down low.

But I know the team was hit hard, and I wasn’t there for them.

Now they probably believe I’m dead too…” His jaw clenched as he looked away.

It sucked that all those people would suffer until the truth came out, but at least Kurt hadn’t been on that plane. More than two hundred other souls had been.

All those families devastated.

She knew what that felt like and wished she could change what had happened. But wishes were useless. They had to figure out how to get to safety.

Kurt took another deep drink and offered her the bottle. She took a quick sip. Kurt rubbed his head, and she noticed twin red patches rode his cheekbones. She reached out and touched his forehead. “You’re burning up.”

“I’m fine.” His eyes were a little glassy.

He wasn’t fine.

“Stop.” She tugged the pack from his back and started peeling his shirt up.

“I’m not sure this is the time, darlin’, but I’m game if you are.”

“Funny.” She helped him shrug off the right sleeve and bunched the material up onto his shoulder so she could examine his wound.

The gash was ragged, and blood had crusted into a thick black scab. The edges were red and inflamed, and there was yellow pus gathering at one edge.

“We need to get this cleaned out.”

He took a look at the wound. Pulled a face. “I’m pissed with myself that I don’t have a better first-aid kit with us.”

“You have any painkillers?”

He shook his head. “My colleague left the day before I did. He had everything in his luggage. I had malaria pills left over from last time in the backpack and told him I was good.”

She’d seen him with another man at the restaurant at the Falls. A tall guy with a Michael Fassbender vibe. “You have any money left? Perhaps we can buy some topical antibiotics.”

He wiped the sweat from his brow though the day wasn’t that hot. “I have about a hundred US and about fifty dollars’ worth of meticais .”

Not a lot, but the cost of living here was a lot lower than back home.

“I also have credit cards, but that false identity is burned now they found us at the hotel. We can use one as a last resort but only if we are prepared to move.”

She slid the pack onto her back.

“I can carry that.” He tried to take it, but she shied away from him.

“I can take my turn. You need to conserve your energy until we can find you some treatment.”

He rolled his eyes, but the fact he didn’t fight her told her he was in worse shape than she’d realized. He pulled his shirt back on, carefully rolling it over the wound.

“Come on.” She tried to keep her tone upbeat, but his hand was hot in hers.

They walked for another hour until the sun began to descend in the sky.

Kurt stumbled, and she gripped his arm and helped him stay upright.

He clutched his forehead. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Row.”

Emotions clogged her throat. Fear chief amongst them. “None of this is your fault. Don’t you dare be sorry.”

“I’m supposed to be the professional. I’m supposed to be looking after you.”

“Unless you can magically wish away germs, none of this is your fault. And you were shot protecting me.”

“Felled by microbes.” He caught her waistband. Held her for a moment in a hug that was pure comfort.

She squeezed him back, worry seeping into the edges of her mind. If she couldn’t get him to safety or at least find some sort of medical treatment soon, he was going to be in serious trouble. She couldn’t carry him.

She wasn’t strong enough .

She’d have to go for help.

They stumbled onwards, him using her to help steady himself, signaling exactly how poorly he was feeling. They both spotted the buildings at the same time and froze at the edge of the tree line.

He moved them back into the shadows. Crouched. She copied him.

He stared at the place for ten minutes without speaking. Eventually he said, “Looks like some sort of citrus farm.”

They’d seen one man get into a truck and drive off.

“It’s not harvest season right now, and they all look done for the day.”

“We could search for a first-aid kit.”

Lines cut between his brows. “They might have security on the buildings, or they might employ guard dogs.”

“We need help.”

He nodded. Conceded. “Let’s wait for dusk, and I’ll head across the field. See if I can access soap and hot water or a vehicle. I’ll signal you when it’s safe.”

“Nope. Not on your Nelly.”

He laughed quietly. “What?”

“It’s an expression.”

“I figured. What’s it mean?”

“It means we’re both going. Together. I’m not sitting here like some delicate flower while you keel over halfway across that field.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. His cheeks were flushed, but the skin around his eyes was pale and drawn. “If the danger is there, then they’ll take me and forget about you.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“You’re right. I don’t. But I can sure as hell hope.” He looked away and then back. “If we both walk across that field, I do know we are both needlessly exposed and the people who are after me can pick us off one at a time.”

“If they’re there.” Her breath shuddered on an exhale.

“Look, I know you want to protect me, but the bottom line is we’re both in trouble here.

We need one another. Now you have an infection, it’s even more important we stick together.

” She gripped his shirt. “And I’d rather be with you facing that danger than here safe alone.

Whatever happens. I’d rather be with you. ”