Page 36 of Trapped

My swollen eyes fell closed with relief.I had no idea what those jerks had put her through during the hike, but at least she was still with me.She’d survived that far.

“And the others, sir?”

I couldn’t recall precisely how many of the morons I’d seen back at the cabin, but Hawkins had brought at least half a dozen men with him.The goon was right.Not all of them were going to be able to ride in the chopper.Briefly, I wondered how they’d all arrived at the cabin in the first place, but frankly, I had bigger problems to worry about.

“Will have to fucking wait.”Hawkins’ cutting tone was louder that time, conveying that perhaps he’d moved closer since they’d been talking.Likely, he was getting ready to board, but the disorientating ache in my head made it impossible to be sure.“Let’s go!”

If I hadn’t been so sore, I’d have rolled my eyes at his selfishness.Trust him to leave his so-called troops in the snow while he flew off into the proverbial sunset.That was Hawkins’ character in a fucking nutshell.

“In you get, darling,” another male voice hissed ahead of me as the scuffles of someone else entering the tiny cabin filled the air.I sensed the structure around me rock as another person climbed on board.“Don’t worry, we’ll get to know each other better later.”

“Fuck you!”

There was no denying who the retort belonged to as someone nudged against the front of my boot.

Erin!

Her voice was small, but she’d spoken, answering back in the way only she could.Despite my bloodied lip, I smiled.There was my feisty little girl, still full of sass, even when she was in imminent danger.

“Erin,” I called out, unsure which of the other morons were still around but not caring.I needed to clarify what I thought I’d heard.“Are you okay?”

“Eli?”Her attention was on me immediately, her body seeming to edge closer on the floor of the helicopter, and if I wasn’t mistaken, I sensed one of her hands at my ankles, clasping at my wet clothes.

“Aww, ain’t that sweet?”one of the goons chortled as he climbed in beside us, his boots kicking the side of me as he settled onto his comfortable seat.I didn’t give him the satisfaction of a reaction, but I felt the reverberations each time his boot collided with my body.“They recognize each other.”

“I’m surprised Rosen can still talk!”another answered as he, too, presumably took his seat.“After the pounding he took.”

The asshole wasn’t wrong, but evidently, he’d underestimated my fortitude.It had been a while, but once upon a time, those kinds of hidings had been par for the course.I was an old hand at being stricken and still making it out alive.

“Lucky me.”A third voice penetrated the hood.“I get to sit next to Snow White here.”

Anger stirred inside me as I imagined what the scumbag was contemplating.“Don’t youfuckingtouch her!”

I made sure my growl was loud enough to be heard through the face covering, not caring that I was beaten half to death and still cuffed.While there was still breath in my body, I’d fight for her.Not only because I was the reason she was stuck in the dicey predicament in the first place, but because she was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and sitting on the floor, I couldn’t even remember whether I’d told her.

Sure, I’d fucked her, worshipping and reproaching her amazing body as often as I could, but in all the times we’d talked, I couldn’t recall if I’d conveyed how special she really was.

Why didn’t I tell her?

I’d wanted to, and I’d been warming to the idea of telling her more about how I felt.Maybe I’d been waiting until I’d got her back to so-called safety before I opened up, but that had been short-sighted at best.There was never going to be a better moment than the present one, and watching and waiting had meant I’d allowed those moments to slide past us.The words had never been said, or, if I’d mumbled something akin to my feelings, they had been sorely inadequate, and by then, it was too late.

Trapped together in the chopper’s hull, I couldn’t let her know how I truly felt, and the weight of that failure was suffocating.

“Hasn’t someone shut this asshole up yet?”

I didn’t know which one of the three offered the witty comeback, or who it was that struck me in the side of the face, laughing when my head bounced off the seat beside me, but I definitely felt the pain.Fresh hurt ricocheted at the impact, and through the haze, one thought seeped to the fore of my consciousness.

If I never get the chance to tell her, I’ll kill every one of these miserable fuckers.

***

Erin

Eli!

Huddled on the hard floor, all I could think about was him, that he was there with me, and that he was well enough to retaliate on my behalf.

‘Don’t you fucking touch her!’

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