Page 43 of A SEAL's Protection
The man grins, showing bloody teeth. “Got to earn a living somehow. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”
My fingers curl over his collar. “I’m nothing like you.”
He chuckles. “Keep telling yourself that. We’re both hired muscle. Paid to kill.”
I let him go, and he slumps forward. “Your brother’s injured. The blood trail leads into the woods. Tomorrow we’ll send someone to find you and him.”
The man’s laughter dies on his lips. “You can’t leave me here.”
He looks panicked as I straighten up.
I reach for my pouch and pull out the medical kit. The man was lucky; the bullet went into the lower fleshy bit and exited through the thigh.
I patch him up as best I can without being too gentle. After he’s patched up, I haul him to a sitting position and loosen the ties so he can use his hands but not get out.
I pull out my rain jacket and cover him with it, then leave my last protein bar and my canteen within arm’s reach.
“You’re wrong. I’m not paid to kill; I’m paid to protect. And I always know who I work for.”
I turn my back on the man. He’s taken enough of my time and resources.
Allegra sits with her back against a boulder and her backpack clutched to her chest.
She’s pale, and she stares at a point in the distance. The adrenaline has worn off. The confident woman who fired theshot and popped my shoulder back into place is gone, replaced by a vulnerability that makes my chest ache. I’d rather have her stubborn confidence than this pale silence. This silence isn’t relief. It’s shock.
Something twists in my chest. I’ve seen soldiers cut down like this before after their first kill. Allegra didn’t kill the perp, but it’s not an easy thing to fire a weapon and harm someone. Not if you’re not trained for it.
I wish I could crack a joke, anything to ease the tension, but jokes won’t work now. What she needs is steady reassurance. I need to get her away from here and find a place to camp.
“Come on.” I put my arm around her shoulders and help her to her feet. Allegra leans on me as we stand up.
She looks up at me with wide eyes, and I see the little girl she once was, lost and vulnerable.
“Here, put this on.” I lift up her pack and hold the straps while she shrugs into it.
I shoulder my own pack, made lighter by leaving my warmest coat behind. But as much as I was prepared to kill the mercenary when he attacked me, I won’t leave a man to die in the cold. What his brother does is not my concern. By the blood trail, my guess is we’ve eliminated the threat. He’s not going to get far.
I lead Allegra deep into the woods, cutting north, then east so we’re not treading a clear path.
I lock my hand with hers and we walk side by side, not speaking, but her fingers get warmer and her breathing steadies as we go. I push her onwards, wanting to put a good distance between us and the men we left behind.
I find a small clearing that will make a good camp, and we slide our packs off. Allegra moves automatically to set up camp. Our tasks have become routine. I secure the perimeter and set up the shelter while she gathers kindling and gets a fire going. She drags a log over to make a seat, and she sits staring into the fire with a glassy look.
I wrap the sleeping bag around her shoulders and hand her my last food pack.
“You need to eat,” I say gently.
She takes it, and there’s gratitude in her eyes. After she’s eaten, I make her a coffee and dig out the last apple.
She takes both, and the color slowly returns to her cheeks as the light fades.
She’s carrying more than she’ll admit, but if she shares the burden, I’ll gladly shoulder it for her.
“Come on.”
I lace my fingers in hers and guide her to the shelter. Her body tucks into the sleeping bag next to mine, and I wrap my arms around her. A faint glow from the dying embers of the fire lights up her expression, and it’s raw, stripped of her usual defiance.
I brush her forehead with my lips, wanting to take the ache away. I want to return her to her passionate and hopeful and stubborn self, where she believed her experiments could change the world. They still can.
