“Here.” I dug into my pants pocket and pulled out a protein bar and a bottle of water. “Get some food and water in you, while I check on him.”
Theo took the offered bar and tore open the packet with his teeth. “Pretty sure he’s dead, Shep.”
No shit.That fucker had gone down like a sack of potatoes. I hadn’t aimed to miss.“For weapons, phones, maybe a wallet?”
“Oh, right.” Theo tapped the side of his head. “Brain’s still a little slow. That happens when it makes contact with a solid object.”
I winced, knowing his head must be throbbing like a son of a bitch. But the fact he wasn’t passed out or unable to talk made me feel somewhat better.
I took a quick walk around the body, checking his pockets for anything that might be useful, but the only thing the asshole had on him was his gun. Not all that shocking, considering the line of work he was in. It wasn’t like he was going to carry ID. But I had been hoping for a phone.
As it was, it looked like he’d been in too much of a rush taking off after Theo to grab it, if he’d had one on him.
“You mentioned something about a subpar cave,” I said. “You wouldn’t by chance remember where it is, would you?”
Theo snorted. “Sure, about two miles on the left there’s a little sign that says:You have to be fucking kidding.It’s pitch black out here, I have a head wound, and was running for my life. I wasn’t thinking about anything other than getting back toyou.”
My heart skipped several beats as Theo looked down at me, the words he’d just said highlighted by the emotion swirling in his eyes. I got to my feet and moved over to where he stood, and as I approached, Theo swallowed.
“You were trying to get back to me?”
“With every single breath I took.”
I cradled his cheeks and lowered my forehead to his, then shut my eyes and confessed, “I felt the exact same way. I knew you were out here, knew you were alive, and I wasn’t going to stop until I had you back in my arms.”
Theo took in a deep breath and let it out. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”
I nodded and laced my fingers with his. “You got it.”
We headed off toward the path I’d carved out, but then Theo drew me to a stop, and I turned back to see a frown creasing his smeared brow.
“What is it? Are you hurting? Do you need a crutch after all? Should I carry you?”
“Non,non, nothing like that…” I could see the consternation etched into his weary features as he said, “King?”
Oh yeah, in the midst of all my anger, fear, and worry, I’d forgotten to mention him. Of course Theo would be wondering where our leader had disappeared to and what we might be walking back into when we got back home.
“He’s gone back to New York.”
“He… Wait, he fuckingleftme here?”
“Well…” I grimaced. “We kind of got into a fight and I told him to fuck off.”
Theo’s eyes widened, but I merely shrugged.
“I didn’t need his judgment, okay? This was his fault, so I told him to go.”
Theo took a step closer to me and angled his face up to mine, and every nightmarish thought I’d had of never seeing him again vanished in the face of the pride and admiration I saw staring back at me. “Shep?”
“Yes?”
“Take me home.”
6
THEO
“DAMN. I SHOULD get kidnapped more often,” I said, admiring the eyeful I got when Shep bent over the soaking tub off the primary bathroom.The man really did have a spectacular ass.
