Page 28 of The Hero Within
"I know."
"I'm just... having a moment."
His thumb traced the line of muscle that curved beneath the base of her skull. Tension pulled there and Eden bowed her head as he squeezed gently. Oh, God. That felt incredibly good. She gave into the sensation, trying to still her racing heart.
"We'll cross the Great Divide, angel."
"I know. I willnotfail," Eden said, lifting her head to stare out over the divide as the reivers above cranked them slowly down the cliff. She couldn't afford to. The shivery cold feeling running through her proved stark counterpoint to her words. "Whatever it takes."
"I believe you." Colton's voice sounded like a rough-edged purr, his knee close enough for her to rest her hand on.
If she wanted to.
Eden looked up beneath the brim of his black Stetson.
His expression tightened, but not before she'd seen something else in his eyes. Something she hadn't expected to see. She couldn't quite decipher the expression, but the softness of it, the emotion....
"You'd kick Satan in the teeth if you had to," he muttered. "You're going to drag me across this hellforsaken wasteland, then kick down the doors of the Confederacy and fuck up those arrogant smirks who sent this devastation west. You're going to bring that cure back to your people. I know you are."
"Language," she chided. The iron band around her lungs finally faded.
"Pardon." He sounded slightly amused.
Eden bowed her head, his hand softening on her nape as one thumb stroked the smooth skin there. Suddenly it wasn't a shiver of cold chilling her spine, but a lashing of pure heat.
"You've got this," Colton told her.
"I've got this."
Because failure wasn't an option.
She was Eden McClain, and she'd fought through blood and hell to bring babies into this world when they'd never had a chance, and to pull men back from death's door through pure willpower alone. She'd been born into a world that kicked the feet out from beneath those who faltered, and if she weakened now, then she might as well give up on all hope.
Eden pushed to her feet, taking in a slow, determined breath. "How long is it going to take to get down?"
"Two hours. Maybe. Then we've got another nine until nightfall." Colton brushed his jeans off, straightening to his full height beside her, but he was staring down at her strangely.
"What?"
"Nothing," Colton said, grabbing the rope beside CJ and staring down as if didn't have a care in the world.
The second theymade camp and ate a quick meal of canned beans and salted beef, Eden crashed.
Johnny heard her breathing soften as the firelight flickered over her face and tangle of chestnut curls. He'd pushed them hard that day, trying to put some distance between them and the base of Rimside, where the predators would be lurking, and she'd started flagging a couple of hours before sunset.
Not that she was going to let him know that.
Stubborn bloody woman. He'd seen her examining the back of her heel when she poured sand out of her boots. Blisters, no doubt. But she hadn't complained once, and she'd insisted on carrying her own pack all day.
It helped, since he needed his hands free just in case anything came at them, but he couldn't help shaking his head. He'd have to keep an eye on her. He appreciated the lack of bitching, but he didn't want her dropping of heatstroke or dehydration because she didn't want to mention it.
Whatever it takes, she'd said earlier, and he knew Eden McClain was going to keep to that oath, come hell or high water.
Sometimes, when he looked at her, he got this rush of blood through his veins, as if her determination spurred him to new heights. He'd been drinking his life away in a rat hole, while she was battling to save lives. Made a man pause and rethink his situation.
"I'll take the watch," he said, nodding toward the kid. "Get some sleep. We break camp at dawn."
Night. A bloated moon rose in the sky above, barely days away from showing its entire face to the world.
