Page 18 of Escaped
“I’m fine.”He enunciated the words softly.“I can’t believe I let you walk this far without boots, though.I just didn’t think.”
Him and me both.“I guess we had other things on our minds, sir.”
“Yeah.”His brow rose.“It’s no excuse, though.I said I’d look after you, and you’ll probably end up with frostbite.”
His tone was wry, but I wriggled my toes regardless, keen to reassure myself on that point.
“I’ll be okay if we can find that car.”Reaching into my pocket, I tugged out the key fob and tucked it into my palm.For someone who’d never so much as stolen a pen before, I was remarkably thankful for my foresight.
“I hear that.”Kissing me on the cheek, he lowered to take my weight.“Ready for me to carry you?”
I had no idea what I was ready for anymore.Up until that day, I’d have sworn that I was incapable of taking another life, yet with enough pressure applied to the appropriate points, I’d folded.
“Erin?”His deeper octave garnered my attention.“We don’t know how many of them are left, but when they discover what we’ve done, they’re going to be angry.It’s better that we move now.”
I was sure he was right about the impending threat.It seemed likely that Hawkins had more men working for him than only the ones we’d encountered, although the notion of yet more raging henchmen charging after us did nothing to quell my unease.We had to find a way out of the impending nightmare before anyone else got hurt.
We have to find his car.
“Are you sure I won’t hurt your shoulder too much?”Reaching around his neck, I leaned into his body heat as he swept me from my frozen feet.
“What was that?”His impossibly alluring eyebrow arched again as he pressed me closer to his body.He masked whatever pain he experienced well, but the tell-tale signs were there in his expressive eyes.“Just because you saved my life, don’t think I won’t tan your pretty little backside if you don’t refer to me properly.”
Smirking at his dry tone, I buried my face gently against his uninjured collarbone.There was something soothing about being so close to him.Even though I was a murderer with soaking socks, even though we had no idea where we were and our fate was far from certain, he was able to console me in a way no one else could ever have achieved.
“Sorry, sir.”I mumbled the words against him with a smile.Despite everything he’d been through, he smelt so bloody good.
“You’re forgiven.”He started to move, holding me close to his body as his long strides cut through the terrain.“You’re always forgiven, little girl.”
Always forgiven?
After the things I’d done, that sounded like a tempting concept I was hardly worthy of, but nestling against him, I let the idea pacify me, mollified by the man who’d saved me more times than I could remember.
Savior, captor, hero—Eli was all of those to me and more.
Chapter Eight
Hellfire
Baron
Sliding down the wall, I clutched at my hemorrhaging thigh.Blood was flowing from the two sites where bullets had punctured my flesh and the wounds hurt like hell, but at least no major organs had been injured.If I could just make it back to my feet, I might still get out of there.
Gritting my teeth, I leaned on the wall for support as I heaved myself upright, unintentionally smearing the place in my bloodstains.Around me lay the bodies of four of Hawkins’ men—the aftermath of my latest brawl.I was older than every single one of the men scattered at my feet, but yet again, I’d been able to out-maneuver each one of them.Age, it seemed, was a less important metric than intelligence.
Assessing my handiwork, it seemed at least one of the guys was dead, but another had lost an awful lot of blood and was on his way to join his comrade if help didn’t arrive soon.
“And I don’t want to be here when that happens.”
Sucking in air, I staggered forward to see who of the fallen had a weapon I could borrow.My latest acquisition had run out of ammo, and I knew Hawkins well enough to know I’d need another gun to have any chance of making it out to where Rosen and Erin would be waiting.I felt nothing for my foes as I stumbled to the center of the strewn bodies, checking three of their weapons before choosing the one with the most bullets.I supposed years of taking lives with no regard for humanity had achieved the desired effect.I was little more than a tactical weapon myself at that point, but I did still have a heart, and whatever blood was still pulsing around, it hoped my old friend had made it out of Hawkins’ clutches.
Making it to my feet, I lurched on, following the same path Rosen and Erin had taken.Dragging my injured leg behind me made each step unreasonably painful, but thinking about the unexpected alliance the three of us had formed offered me a mental reprieve from the agony.
It was true I didn’t know Erin, but she’d made quite the impression.Inevitably, she was scared, but she was also clearly competent, managing to get herself away from Hawkins; a feat that had aided our ability to find her.It was also evident by the way Rosen behaved just how besotted he was with her, and I could see why.Her beauty and capability were enticing, but her appeal was also grounded in the rarity of the coupling.Guys like us didn’t generally have a shot at real happiness with anyone.At best, we went off-grid the way Rosen had done and lived solitary lives until death met us as equals.At worst, one of our old acquaintances came calling to accelerate the process.
Shuffling along the hallway, I hoped he and Erin gave their feelings a chance.It seemed as though their coupling had been born in a blaze of twisted ordeals, but if they could get past the trauma, perhaps there was a possibility of a happy life for the best commander I ever had.He deserved that.Despite the prickly exterior, Rosen was a good guy, and I knew deep down that being pushed out of the only career he’d ever known had badly affected him.
Another thing we have to thank Hawkins for…
