Page 5

CHAPTER 5

March 2 nd

3:32 A.M.

“Ava, wake up.”

The insistent voice burrowed its way into her dreams, nudging her out of the little cocoon of sleep she’d carved for herself.

“Now, Aves. I need you to wake up.”

Panic in the voice gave her a sense of déjà vu.

Hadn't she been woken by a panicked voice earlier?

Only this time it seemed different.

More controlled.

But she still felt the fear behind it.

Groggily, she blinked open her eyes. It took a moment for everything to sink back in, the reality of her situation to catch up with her, but once it did, she looked around for who she knew was the source of the worried voice.

It was dark now, it had been light when she’d fallen asleep, but now it was pitch black. So dark she could hardly distinguish between the back of the cave and the front. The front was ever so slightly lighter, about the darkest gray you could find, but she still couldn’t see where Nathaniel was.

If she didn't have a former SEAL and a former Delta Force operator on her Cyber Team at Prey, and she didn't spend half her time around other former special forces operatives, she would have been shocked and unnerved by Nathaniel’s ability to blend so thoroughly into his surroundings that she couldn’t spot him even though she knew he was close by.

“You awake, Aves?”

The voice was closer than she realized, and when she turned in the direction it had come from, she could just make out a shadowy form pressed up against the rocky wall of the cave.

“Yeah.” Barely, but it was going to have to do. “What's wrong?”

“Company.” Not only did these guys have an ability to blend in like they were designed for camouflage, but also to talk without their voices making much of a sound. And not in a whispering kind of way. It was like you could hear the sound, but it didn't carry. How did they learn to do that?

And why did she care right now?

Company didn't mean the same thing it had when she was a kid. Back then, it had meant that she had to be dressed up and be on her best behavior because they were having a dinner party with rich, influential people, and her parents wanted it to go well. It didn't mean the same thing as it would if she was back home right now either. At home, company meant she and her friends were having a few other friends over for a casual meal filled with chatter and laughter.

But here and now company meant danger.

It meant that Nathaniel was right and someone from the boat had alerted the rest of the ring that she had escaped. They had to know she’d taken the life raft because they’d been searching the ocean for her, so they’d also be searching all the beaches in the area where she might have washed up.

If she hadn't been so weak and sick, Nathaniel wouldn't have needed to waste time allowing her to recuperate. He would have just run through the jungle until he found a way out.

Now they were both in danger because of her.

“Sorry,” she croaked out as she fought back tears. Crying right now was only going to make things worse, and it wouldn't make her feel any better.

“First the endless thank yous, now the apologies. Stop with the manners, Aves.”

Since she knew Nathaniel’s words were meant to help put her at ease, she pretended they did even as they didn't. Ignoring the burning pain in her stomach, Ava rolled over onto her side, barely managing to contain her cry of agony.

It was only knowing it wasn't just her life on the line if they were found but Nathaniel’s too that had her keeping it in.

Biting her top teeth into her bottom lip, she forced herself to keep moving. Up onto her hands and knees, then she crawled toward Nathaniel, needing to be close to him right now. He was safe in a world that had become anything else.

Knowing about the atrocities people committed against one another through her work at Prey and living it firsthand were very different things. When she got back home—and she wasn't ready to accept that wasn't a certainty—she was going to have a whole new perspective regarding her job. A whole new respect for what Tobias and Josiah, the other two members of the five-member cyber team, had been through in Delta and the SEALs.

“How did you know they were there?” she whispered, trying to stop her voice from carrying like Nathaniel did.

“Saw the lights.”

When he nodded toward the cave entrance she could see moving lights in the distance. They bobbed about like flashlights being carried, coming from down the beach, not the ocean.

Someone was walking around out there looking for them.

Looking for her.

To take her back.

If that happened, there would be no second chances.

This was it. The only chance she was going to get. If she wanted to live, she had to do whatever Nathaniel told her to do. Without hesitation and without question.

“What do we do?” she asked, proud when her voice only trembled a little bit.

“We need to get into the trees and then make our way back the way they’ve come.”

“Are there going to be more of them in the jungle?” That was a question she was pretty sure she already knew the answer to, but still, she asked and waited for his answer.

“Yes.”

Nathaniel’s simple answer had fine tremors rolling through her body. How were the two of them supposed to evade what she was guessing would be at least half a dozen men, when she was injured?

“I have my weapon, but I don’t want to use it unless I have to since it will give away our position too easily,” Nathaniel continued.

“We could stay here. Maybe they won't see the caves, or if they do maybe they won't come and check them out.” Her excuses sounded flimsy because Ava knew that if she was looking for someone and she saw these caves, she would absolutely assume that was where they were.

“You know we’ll be found if we stay,” Nathaniel told her. “We have to go. Now. I need an honest answer, Ava. Can you walk or do I need to carry you?”

Even in the dark, she could feel his gaze on her, assessing the truth in not just whatever words she would speak but in her body language as well.

The problem was, she wasn't sure what the truth was.

She believed she could walk if she kept her focus on the stakes and just how high they were. But there was a chance that her body wasn't as strong as her mind, and she’d wind up collapsing and drawing attention to them.

If she was uncertain then that gave her her answer.

“I don’t think I can walk in the dark.” Ava hated saying the words, but she wasn't going to allow her pride to put Nathaniel’s life in greater danger.

Without saying anything, he moved. She felt it more than saw it even though she was right beside him.

Pain exploded through her body when he flung her over his shoulders. It was so intense she had to fight back a wave of nausea. If there was anything more in her stomach than the berries they’d eaten yesterday it would have come right back up.

It was probably a blessing that darkness danced at the edges of her vision as Nathaniel took off into the night. Hovering on the brink of consciousness meant that the pain receded a little, as did her fear.

Nathaniel moved like he wasn't carrying her added weight, and while Ava would love to beg him to hold her in his arms so his shoulder didn't dig into her wound, she knew he had to carry her this way so he had one hand free to hold his weapon.

Since he was only in danger because of her, she wasn't going to draw attention to them.

So she clamped her teeth and dug her fingers into the wetsuit, which didn't really allow her to hold on as tightly as she wanted, but was better than nothing.

They moved fast but smoothly, and she was sure Nathaniel was doing his best to cause her as little pain as possible while still getting them away from the oncoming threat. As much as she would have loved to just head off in the direction the men were heading so they didn't have to make the risky move of getting around them, she also knew that wasn't sustainable. She was pretty much useless, so they needed to get behind the men to the area they thought they’d already checked if they wanted to increase their odds.

After what felt like forever even though she knew it couldn’t be, Nathaniel abruptly stopped. He dropped low, taking her with him, and shifted her so she was held against his chest, her back to his front.

While she was breathing raggedly like she’d just run a marathon even though she’d done nothing more than hang off Nathaniel’s shoulder, his breathing was smooth and steady, like what he’d done was nothing. The reminder of his strength and skill was enough to calm her racing heart a little.

“Sorry,” his voice whispered against her ear, and the warm puff of air that accompanied it was comforting in a way she hadn't been expecting.

“Now who’s the one apologizing,” she teased, because honestly, if she didn't she was just going to burst into tears.

“Guess you're rubbing off on me,” Nathaniel said in a tone she couldn’t quite figure out if it was serious or joking.

“Why did we stop?”

“Shh,” he murmured back, and then she heard it.

Voices.

Faint but getting louder.

Closer.

The men searching for her were coming.

Nathaniel had hidden them under a leafy plant, and since it was dark and he was dressed all in black with her between him and the tree trunk, they would be hard to spot.

Hard but not impossible.

A beam of light danced about as the voices grew in volume until it seemed like they were right beside their hiding spot.

That’s when she smelled it.

The heavy scent of stale cigarette smoke mixed with mothballs.

She knew that fragrance.

It was what the man who had abducted her smelled like.

Things had come full circle, he’d snatched her off the streets, and now after she’d managed to escape, he was going to be the one to find her.

* * *

March 2 nd

4:06 A.M.

Something was wrong.

Ava had just gone completely still in his arms.

It was like she wasn't even breathing, even though he could feel the slight rise and fall of her chest because he was holding her as tightly as he dared against his chest.

The men hunting them—well, hunting her since they were unaware of his presence at least for now—were almost right on top of them, so he couldn’t just ask her what was going on, as badly as he wanted to.

But he also needed to know.

Had he hurt her too badly carrying her as he had? There had been no way to avoid it. If he had her cradled in his arms so his shoulder wasn't digging into her wound, he left them vulnerable to an attack if they came face to face with the men after her. Still, she was injured and in a lot of pain, that had to have been hell for her, and he was worried that she was suffering some kind of physical reaction to the pressure against her injured stomach.

Close beside them the men—two of them if the number of distinct voices he’d heard and the number of sets of footsteps he could ascertain was correct—were chattering, discussing some movie he’d never heard of. They didn't seem to be taking their hunt very seriously, but then again, they thought they were searching only for one injured woman.

If they knew there was a Navy SEAL by her side, Nathaniel thought they’d be a lot more on guard.

As the men passed right by the hiding spot he’d chosen, he found himself almost holding his breath.

There was every chance they’d be spotted.

Every chance he was going to have to use his weapon to kill them, drawing in the attention of the men on the beach and any others in the area.

Then he’d have to snatch up Ava and hope to hell he could outrun them.

Luck still appeared to be on their side because the men passed by without incident, and as their voices receded as they continued on, he leaned in close and whispered in Ava’s ear.

“What’s wrong, Aves?”

In answer, her body shook violently. Enough that it rustled the leaves around them, and if the men had still been close, they would have noticed it for sure.

Shifting her so that she was facing him and sitting on his lap, he lifted his hands to frame her face. Her eyes appeared too big for her face, and he could see the stark fear in her expression clearly. Something about those men had upset her, but was it because she knew them or just because they had come so close to being spotted?

“Tell me,” he insisted, the command soft but an order nonetheless.

“I … he … the smell … it’s …” she stammered, her shaking increased to the point where he was once again concerned about her body temperature.

Drawing her into his chest, he tucked her face into the curve of his neck and rubbed circles on her back. Apparently, that was supposed to help soothe someone who was upset, although he’d never had anyone do it to him or done it to another person before Ava.

He knew the smell she was talking about. Cigarette smoke and mothballs were an unpleasant combination at the best of times, but something specific about it had triggered her.

“Was he one of the men on the boat?” he asked. He’d planted the tracker, so regardless of whether the ship had gone down when the helicopter crashed into it, his team would be monitoring it. No one would be getting off it without his team knowing. But that didn't mean people hadn't been coming and going from it before he got there.

“N-no.” Against his neck, Ava shook her head, and he could feel moisture dotting his skin as she cried. “He was … he was the one who … who took me.”

They hadn't talked much yet, so he didn't know any details about her abduction, or what she’d seen and heard while being kept captive, but knowing that man was the one who had taken her made him want to track him down and kill him.

Kill all of them.

Every single one who had been complicit in Ava’s pain and suffering.

As though sensing that roaring need inside him, Ava lifted her head, her fingers curling into his dive suit. “I’m scared,” she whispered, a small flicker of shame in her eyes as though she feared he might think less of her for admitting her fears out loud.

He didn't.

If anything, he admired her even more. It wasn't easy to tell someone when you were scared. But fear was part of life. Nathaniel couldn’t remember a time when he hadn't lived in constant fear for his life, first around his violent father and then in the SEALs.

The fear he felt right now was different though.

Because it wasn't fear for himself, it was fear for the trembling woman in his arms.

Leaning in, he rested his forehead against hers for a moment before straightening. “I'm scared too,” he whispered back, making her startle in surprise.

Once again emotions were thrumming between them, and once again, coward that he was, it was too overwhelming for Nathaniel, so he bailed.

Sliding Ava off his lap he stood. “I’m going to scout around, make sure there are no more of them coming, then we need to get moving,” he informed her, his tone brisk, not because he didn't care but because he was starting to fear he cared too much.

He was getting too attached.

Something he could not allow to happen.

Bringing a partner into his life was the last thing he was interested in, especially someone like Ava. She was too good for the likes of him.

“O-okay,” Ava murmured, curling in on herself.

Nathaniel feared he was being a little jerky, but he really did need to make sure they were clear to keep moving, and it was only self-preservation that made him cut down any connection between him and Ava when he felt it building.

But he didn't like the fear on her face, so he added, “I’ll be right back.”

“You shouldn’t say that, you know. It’s bad luck. If they say it in a horror movie it means they're the next one to be killed,” Ava told him, making him chuckle.

“This is no horror movie, Aves, and I have no intention of dying.”

“Feels like a horror movie,” she muttered as he headed off into the trees.

That was something he couldn’t argue with. More often than not, his life had felt like a horror movie. Bathed in blood, pain, and destruction. At first, that hadn't been his choice, he hadn't asked to be born into a family with a raging alcoholic as a father and a mother who was too afraid to take her kids and run. But it had been his choice to immerse himself in the darkness of the world as a SEAL. A decision he’d never once regretted, and right now, with Ava to look after, he was more grateful than ever for the skills and training, backed up by years of experience, that were the only things keeping her alive.

Confident no more men were coming, he headed back for Ava. He’d carry her for a while, put some distance between themselves and the men after her, and then they needed to talk. He needed to figure out if the trafficking ring had any bases in this area and he had to be careful of who they made contact with, and while Ava wouldn't know that, anything she did know would help him to make the right decisions.

As he approached her, he felt it before he saw it.

She wasn't alone.

Standing about a dozen feet away from Ava’s hiding spot was the man who smelled like cigarettes and mothballs.

While he might not know where Ava was exactly, the man scanned the area like he was aware of her presence.

Rage like Nathaniel had never felt before clouded his vision.

No one was hurting Ava.

No one was taking her back.

This man was responsible for everything she’d been through. He’d spotted her, chosen her to be the next victim of the ring, and then stolen her away from her life and the people who loved her.

Without thinking through the consequences, Nathaniel pounced.

The man lay dead at his feet from a broken neck before he even processed what he was doing.

It would have been smarter for Nathaniel to wait it out, hope the man didn't see Ava, and then headed back to join his team. But waiting could have given the man time to spot Ava’s hiding place and he couldn’t let that happen. Better to have him dead and no longer able to tell anyone anything than risk a whole bunch of those men converging on this area.

Still, he had to get moving quickly now. Soon the man’s friends would realize he was missing and come looking for him. What had drawn the man back, he had no idea, but he knew Ava hadn't made a noise, if she had, he would have heard her.

Reaching into the leaves, he scooped Ava up. Her pretty blue eyes were wide with fear as she looked up at him.

“You killed him.”

The way she said it made it difficult to tell if she was afraid of him for killing, although he couldn’t imagine why she would be, she knew who the man was and what was at stake for them, but still his heart clenched at the thought that she might see him for the monster he’d always been afraid lurked beneath his surface. The monster that grew from his DNA, the monster he couldn’t help but fear his harsh upbringing had nurtured. The monster that on his bad days he worried he might one day turn into.

“Thank you.”

When Ava’s lips brushed across his cheek, that monster retreated, washed away by a soothing balm.

Ava wasn't afraid of him.

She didn't see him as a monster.

Although maybe that was worse. If she didn't see the real him, she wouldn't know what a danger he could be to her.

Clutching her against his chest, Nathaniel ran, wishing with all his heart that it was as easy to outrun the monster who lived inside him as it was to run from the one he’d left dead on the jungle floor.