Text (Take It Off #4)(20)
Author: Cambria Hebert

Running wasn’t my style.

Outsmarting idiots was.

We sat there for a while. The waiting game was long and arduous, but I knew eventually I would win.

It was probably an hour when I caught the first sign of movement near the Jeep.

Lex was creeping up to the back. I raised my gun to take a shot, but he quickly moved, rushing to the opposite side of the Jeep, hiding him from view.

I watched as he walked slowly, his head appearing over the hood. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” he called.

Did he really think we would listen? Idiot.

I realized then that he was enjoying this. It was like a sport to him. It was likely the reason he dumped Honor in a hole and left her there. He liked the anticipation. Knowing she was down there, knowing he could have her whenever he wanted.

And now he anticipated a hunt.

I watched him move. One side of his body was a little lower than the other. He seemed to favor the right side over the left.

I knew then I’d managed to shoot him. It couldn’t have been that bad of a wound if he was still up and walking around.

But at least he was injured. He would get tired faster. He wouldn’t move as quickly as us.

He stopped at the hood of the Jeep and stared off into the woods just ahead. He seemed to listen for some kind of sound, but the heavy rain drowned out whatever he hoped to hear. Finally, he began walking again. I thought about taking the shot, about trying to drop him right there.

But what if I missed?

What if he managed one last shot after I hit him? What if that shot hit Honor??

Any mistakes I made could cost Honor her life. I couldn’t live with another death on my conscience. Maybe it wasn’t very Marine-like, but our best bet was to run, to get away. Outsmarting him was one thing, but engaging in enemy fire with some desperate crazy man wasn’t a good idea.

When Lex disappeared from sight, heading the way he thought we went, I made my move. I took Honor’s hand and stealthily led her in the direction from which Lex had just come. I didn’t think he would double back the way he just came.

Of course, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure… but it was a chance I was willing to take.

17

Honor

Nathan walked behind me. I knew it was because he intended to block any bullets that might fly our way.

I thought he was crazy when he suggested we leave the protection of the Jeep and set off on foot, but once the shooting started, I realized maybe he was right. He said he was a Marine. That was a good thing, right? I mean, any time anything bad happened in the news or a new war broke out; it was the Marines that were called in.

I found myself wondering what he looked like in uniform.

Yes, they were inappropriate thoughts for a time like this. But my brain needed a break from all the killing and the people wanting me dead stuff. Imagining Nathan in a uniform was a good distraction.

The rain still hadn’t let up. My Nikes were soaked through and caked with mud. My pants were drenched and my hair was plastered to my head in what I knew was probably most unflattering.

At least it was dark.

Every step I took caused pain to radiate through my middle, and the scrapes on my face burned when the rainwater dripped into them (which was pretty much every single second). We didn’t talk; we just walked. Nathan set a pace that was at times punishing. I didn’t complain because I knew he was just trying to get us out of there.

Hell, the faster we got out of these godforsaken woods, the faster we would be safe.

I wondered about Lex and where he was. Every odd sound I heard, every snapping of a branch, would send me into a panic as my body readied to leap out of the path of a barreling bullet.

My foot plopped down in a slick puddle of mud and my arms shot out from my sides, trying to balance, trying to prevent me from falling. But then my other foot started to slide around and I knew I was going down.

Just before I landed in a heap of mud, Nathan caught me around the waist and pulled me close.

“Careful,” he whispered, helping me back onto my feet. He held onto my arm as I stepped out of the mud and onto sturdier land. “Come on,” he said, leading me off to the side, beneath a very large tree.

The branches overhead still contained enough leaves to shelter us from the worst of the rain. I don’t know if it was my imagination, but it seemed warmer under here.

Or maybe it was because Nathan was inches away from me and his body heat was sinful.

He leaned up against the rough bark of the tree, planting his feet wide. I was close enough to see the outline of his hard chest and torso through the wet shirt that was plastered against his frame.

Clearly, he worked out. A lot.

“Come here,” he said quietly, holding out one of his arms and inviting me close.

I hesitated a fraction of a second and then stepped between his legs as he pulled me in so I was leaning right up against him. Even though he was soaking wet, he still radiated heat. My icy cold fingers curled closer to him from within the sleeves of his fleece jacket.

“Why don’t you rest for a minute?” he suggested right into my ear. “We’ve been walking a long time.”

My legs were shaking. From the effort of walking? From the fear of being hunted? From being so close to him? I didn’t know. But no matter how stiffly I held myself, they refused to stop.

Nathan slid down the trunk of the tree until his butt hit the pile of fall-colored leaves. He tugged me into his lap and used his hand to tuck my cheek against his chest.

It was an awfully intimate position. But he was so warm and his presence was so reassuring. I didn’t want to move. So I stayed.

He used his fingers to pull the wet strands of my dark hair off my face and tuck them behind my ear. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat caused my eyes to droop closed. I was so incredibly tired. My body felt like a bowl of Jell-O, all wobbly and loose.

“Do you think he’s following us?” I whispered.

“Maybe.”

“How much longer until we hit the road?”

“We should have hit it a while ago, but I had to double back because I thought I heard him heading in our direction.”

I glanced up. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

I felt him shrug as he pushed my head back against his chest. “It wouldn’t have changed anything,” he replied, running his fingers through my wet hair. “Besides, you’re scared enough.”

“I’m not scared enough for you to keep the truth from me,” I snapped.

His fingers paused. “I wasn’t trying to lie.”

I sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”