Tempt (Take It Off #3)(40)
Author: Cambria Hebert

“I haven’t seen anyone, have you?”

“No.” He took my hand. “Let’s go.”

We moved through the island with a little more speed than a casual stroll. The heavy rain made the ground slippery, but I managed to stay sort of dry. The large leaves overhead acted like a makeshift umbrella, keeping the worst of the water at bay. If we weren’t on the run from people with nefarious and still unknown plans, the sound of the raindrops hitting the leaves would be lovely. It was the kind of sound, the kind of day, that normally would make me want to curl up with a book and a blanket.

But there would be no reading today.

Just running for our lives.

We walked for several hours, stopping every so often to duck into dense foliage, to drink a little bit of rainwater that gathered around the plants.

I began to wonder how much longer we had when voices carried through the rain. Nash tensed and pulled me into a bush where we had to lie on our bellies to be properly hidden.

“You find them yet?” someone yelled.

“No.”

“Can’t believe he let her get away.”

“He’ll pay for it.”

Were they talking about Duke? What did he have to do with any of this? I really hadn’t wanted to believe that he was involved at all. He had been so nice… so lonely… cute even. Was all that just an act?

I sucked in a breath when a pair of bare feet came close. So close that I could have reached out and touched them.

I couldn’t help but notice that he desperately needed a pedicure. I mean, really, just because he’s some thief and killer didn’t mean he couldn’t worry about good hygiene.

Right in front of us the feet stopped, turned in our direction.

Everything fell silent.

The world stopped turning.

My heart stopped beating.

Then gnarly-toed pirate grunted. He turned and walked away. “They ain’t over here. They’d be stupid to come to our side.”

“She don’t have to be smart to give me what I’m after,” replied a voice from farther away.

The men laughed.

I gagged.

Nash put his hand over my mouth and gave me a stern look.

Eventually, their footsteps died away. Their voices grew too faint to hear. All that was left was the continuous sound of the rain and Nash’s and my erratic breathing.

“That was way too fucking close,” he breathed out.

“Did you see his toenails?” I shuddered. “Gross.”

“They practically called you their new plaything and you’re worried about his toes?” He gaped at me.

I shrugged. I would rather worry about the fungus growing beneath his raggedy nails (trust me, there had to be fungus) than think about being raped and tortured.

“Come on,” he said, belly crawling out from under the bush and reaching in to help me.

When he started to walk, I pulled him back. “I don’t think I’ve told you thank you.”

His eyes met mine.

“For everything you’ve done for me. For being strong, for never acting like we wouldn’t make it home. For keeping me warm, for protecting me, for being you.”

He brushed the side of my face with his knuckles. “You didn’t thank me for the best sex of your life.”

I giggled. “Thanks for that too.”

Gently, he drew me closer, bringing my body right up against his. I loved the feel of his skin beneath my cheek. I hugged him tight, trying to tell him everything that no words could ever express.

“I can’t imagine being stranded with anyone but you,” he whispered.

A few minutes later, he pulled away. I wanted to pull him back, but I knew I couldn’t. “Come on,” he said quietly. “We need to keep moving.”

We trudged on, the sound of the beach drawing closer. I breathed a sigh of relief. The other side of the island was near. For the first time all night and all day, I felt hope… Surely there was some sort of boat we could make work.

Hell, at this point, I’d sail away in one with a hole in it. I’d take my chances at sinking before I took my chances with the people on this island.

The foliage began to thin slightly and through it, I caught the sight of the distant sand and beach. I was just about to thank God for helping us get this far when something happened.

Something that stole away all my hope.

Nash, who was a few yards ahead of me, stepped unknowingly on some sort of booby trap. The minute his foot hit the ground, a net came up off the ground, palms and leaves raining off of it. It swung him up high, dangling from a tree, swaying just above me, sorely out of reach.

“Nash!” I whisper-yelled.

Our eyes connected. His mouth was set in a hard line. His green eyes were grim.

“Run.”

“What?” I said, not really comprehending.

“You need to run.”

“I can’t leave you!” I started searching around for a way to free him, desperately looking for something sharp.

“Ava!” he snapped. “Get the hell out of here. Hide.”

I stopped and looked up. I felt my lower lip wobble. I couldn’t leave him.

Behind us, men were crashing through the woods, yelling and whooping about their catch.

Fear unparalleled to anything else trampled me.

Nash pulled the flare gun out of his shorts and worked it through the net, dropping it from the sky and into my hands. “Get to the beach, shoot this straight up into the sky. Hide. And don’t you come out until you hear a plane.”

“But…”

“Do it,” he growled.

I hesitated again.

“I’ll find you, Ava. I promise.”

The men were much closer now. My heart started to pound. I looked over my shoulder and caught the first sight of them. I took off running, tearing through the woods and ripping out into the sand.

One of the men yelled. I heard someone cheer. My steps faltered. How could I just leave him there? Literally dangling in the sky with no defense.

He has a gun. Get help.

The thought spurred me on. I took off running again, ignoring how hard it was to push through the sand. I had to get help. I couldn’t let him die.

I ended up near the center of the pirate’s camp. I stopped. I lifted the gun straight up to the sky, pointing the muzzle toward the dark, churning storm clouds.

I pulled the trigger.

The flare shot out with alarming speed. My arm recoiled a bit and I dropped the gun, watching as a trail of red blasted through the open sky. It lit up the dark clouds, everything glowing a bright burning red.