“Yep.”
Sloan shook her head.“It won’t be much longer.”
Thank Christ for that.He eyed her.“How are you holding up?”
“As well as can be expected.”She tucked her legs beneath the sweatshirt, her eyes on the island they approached.“I’m angry and hungry and cold, but I’m not the one who was shot.There will be a doctor in the extraction party.”
Extraction party?“Who did you call?”He remembered her getting the phone, but he must have passed out after that.He’d told her that he trusted her—and he did—but he didn’t trust anyone else.“It could be a trap.”
“It could be.”She guided them to a small dock and worked to loop the lead over one of the tie-offs.It took her a couple tries, but she managed, and she tied a passably good knot while she was at it.“But we don’t have many options, and I’m not willing to gamble your life on hoping you did a good enough first-aid job.This is the only choice we have.”
We.
He managed to climb out of the boat, though he had to lean on her to do it.His weakness disgusted him.If he’d just taken Teague out when he first had the chance, the bastard wouldn’t have gotten a shot off.And I would have killed Sloan’s brother.The same brother who got her out, which is the only reason Jude met her in the first place.
Fuck, if it weren’t for Teague, Sorcha would be dead and he’d be gunning for Callista.
Strange how things play out.
Jude thought he’d accounted for every possible outcome.He hadn’t planned on Sloan.
“I’m sorry.We’re going to have to climb.”She hoisted the backpack firmly onto her shoulders and tucked herself beneath Jude’s arm.“There’s a flat space at the top of this hill—or so I’m told.The helicopter will meet us there.”
Whosechopper?She still hadn’t said.
But he didn’t have the breath to demand answers as they started up the incline.It wasn’t as heavily treed as Orcas Island, but they still had to weave back and forth to avoid trunks.By the time they reached the promised flat area, Jude was lightheaded and doing his damnedest not to pass out again.He slumped against a tree as Sloan peered at the sky.“We’re right on time.They should be here shortly.”
They waited, the minutes stretching into damn near an hour.Every instinct he had demanded that he get her back on the boat and the hell away from here, but she was right—he needed a doctor.He’d survive the gunshot wound—he’d survived worse—but if he had stitches and a professional wrap job, it’d keep him from having to slow down more than strictly necessary.
The familiar sound of a chopper’s blades cut through the relative quiet of the night.She touched his shoulder and they both looked up as a sleek black machine landed in the middle of the clearing.Sloan didn’t move from the treeline until a woman hopped to the ground, her dark hair whipping around her face.She turned unerringly to face them.
Only when she was a few feet away did Sloan step forward, putting herself between the woman and Jude.By then, she was close enough for him to peg her as one of the other O’Malley daughters.She had the same dark hair as Sloan, though she carried herself like a queen despite her surroundings.It didn’t take the blond monster at her back to place her identity.Carrigan O’Malley.
She didn’t hesitate, ignoring Sloan’s tense posture and pulling her into a hug.Jude was close enough to hear her say, “God, I missed you.”
He watched Sloan relax, little by little.He’d known her relationship with Carrigan was complicated—there was no way to avoid that, considering her sister had chosen James Halloran over her own family—but he hadn’t quite understood how deeply the issue had run until now.Sloan had obviously been the one to put the distance between them, but it had hurt her to do it.
She does a lot of things that hurt her when it comes to her siblings.
Carrigan caught sight of him over her sister’s shoulder and her eyebrows shot up.“Holy shit, you weren’t kidding.That’s no puppy you’re bringing home.”
“I’m not going home.”Sloan pulled away.“We can’t, for a variety of reasons.”
“Which we’ll discuss.”Carrigan glanced back at James Halloran.“I’m not going to throw you in a trunk the waysomepeople handle issues, but if you believe I’m going to let you just flit off somewhere, you have another thing coming.We’ll talk somewhere safe, get your man patched up, and then we’ll see what we can do about this mess.”
Sloan hesitated, but finally nodded.“You brought a doctor?”
“Yes.”Carrigan motioned imperiously to James.“Doc Jones is in the helicopter.”
“How did you managethat?”
Her sister laughed.“Come on.You know she’s always had a soft spot for me.All I had to do is tell her we were headed to Washington.”James cleared his throat, and Carrigan rolled her eyes.“And offer to pay her double.”
“You’re right.That does sound like Doc Jones.”
It still smelled like a trap to Jude, but then, Sloan had asked him to trust her, so that was what he’d do.
And if these two crossed them, he’d get his woman out and he’d ensure they didn’t have a chance to do it again.
