Page 49 of Risky Passion

He yanked me to my feet, his strength the only thing keeping meupright as my knees buckled. My hand clutched his like a lifeline, my fingers trembling as he pulled me forward. Onyx barked in short, sharp bursts, and growled low in her throat with a bone-deep, terrifying sound.

The heat from the fire was unbearable, licking at my back as we scrambled around the wreckage. My skin prickled and sweat slicked my palms as we staggered toward the track. If you could even call it that. The track was barely a pair of twin divots, carved into the coarse sand and cutting through the wild, untouched terrain.

The bushes ahead of us glowed orange, flickering with fire from the blast. Flames licked the branches of the low, twisted shrubs, jumping from one wiry tuft of grass to the next. A gust of wind swept through, fanning the fire higher, and panic rose sharp and fast in my chest.

“Jaxson!” I gasped, choking on smoke as we fought our way through the undergrowth. “The fire?—”

“We’ll make it!” he shouted back.

The sand beneath my feet was coarse and uneven, littered with broken shells and jagged rocks I couldn’t see until I stepped on them. I only had one shoe, and Jaxson was barefoot. And poor Onyx. I winced at the thought of her pads burning on any hot pieces of metal, but she didn’t falter. She kept her nose low to the ground, guiding us like she knew exactly where to go.

Did she? Didhe?

I could barely see. The faint glow of moonlight only just broke through the shifting smoke. The Milky Way stretched overhead like a pale ribbon across the sky, but it wasn’t enough to light our way. The bushes clawed at my face and arms, their spindly branches scratching at my skin as we crashed through.

Every breath burned. Every step was a gamble, dodging around the glowing embers scattered across the ground. My feet slipped on patches of damp earth hidden beneath the sand, and my legs shook so badly I wasn’t sure they would hold me much longer.

Jaxson’s grip on my hand was like iron, steadying me every time I faltered.

“We’ve got to keep moving!” he yelled, his voice slicing through my panic.

Behind us, the fire roared louder, consuming everything in its path. I dared a glance back. The flames had spread to the low-hanging branches, the dry leaves igniting one by one in a chain reaction. The heat seemed alive, chasing us, snapping at our heels.

And what about those men on that rubber boat who’d fired the RPG? Were they on the shore yet? How close were they?

“Jaxson,” I gasped, struggling to breathe. “Do you think they’re chasing us?”

“Just keep moving,” he yelled.

I wanted to argue, to stop, to turn around and look, to figure out how much time we had. But he kept me moving, my legs stumbling forward only because of Jaxson’s firm grip on my hand.

Onyx growled again, deep and guttural, sending a chill down my spine. She twisted her head, her nostrils flaring as she sniffed the air, her body taut, ready to attack.

My mind raced as panic threatened to take over. What if the men from the boat had already reached the shore? What if they were watching us right now, lining up their next shot?

“Jaxson,” I choked out, tears stinging my eyes.

“Shh. Keep going!” His voice was low and rough, yet unwavering.

Keep going? My legs were about to collapse, my lungs screaming for air that didn’t seem to come fast enough. Every muscle in my body felt like it was on fire, and each step was a battle I was losing. My body begged me to stop, to rest, to give in.

I yanked my hand free from his grip, stumbling to a halt as my knees buckled.

“I can’t . . .” The words tore out of me, broken and gasping. “I have to stop.”

Doubling over, I braced my hands on my knees, dragging in sharp, ragged breaths that burned all the way down.

“Tory.”

The softness in his voice startled me, cutting through the roar of blood pounding in my ears. I blinked up at him, barely able to see through the tears that blurred my vision.

He leaned in close and gripped my shoulder, not rough or demanding, but firm and grounding. His face was bathed in the flickeringfire glow behind us, his expression tight with urgency. Yet his eyes softened as they met mine, steady and calm despite the chaos around us.

“You’ve done so well,” he said, his voice low and even, like he was trying to pull me back from the edge. “But we have to keep moving.”

“I can’t,” I choked out, my voice cracking as the tears spilled over. “I just . . . I can’t.”

He brushed his thumb against my shoulder in a fleeting gesture of reassurance that softened the terror clawing at my chest.

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