He released a long breath. “Anytime.”
She snuffled and shifted, as if getting comfortable—not exactly easy on the hard ground. Though he couldn’t see, he pictured her snuggling deeper into the bag. He listened to the short, shallow sound of her breathing, layered with Bo’s slower cadence.
When maybe ten minutes later it deepened into a more restful rhythm, he considered waking her to check her eyes again. Or had they decided you didn’t have to do that for concussions anymore?
Waking her up wouldn’t help at this point. What could he do out here if there was brain swelling? If they were going to survive this at all, it would be by taking their time and being smart. Not acting stupid. If she didn’t sleep, she wouldn’t make it.Theywouldn’t make it.
They.Nothim.
And that, right there, freaked him out more than any of the day’s events.
A part of him—the feral loner that had kept him alive all these years—shouted at him to get up and get the hell out of there. Company, he’d learned, wasn’t an asset when running for his life. It was a ball and chain.
But leaving her right now would likely sign her death warrant, and that wasn’t something he was willing to be responsible for. One more life.
She shivered and he shifted closer, sharing his warmth and whatever comfort he could provide in this bare-bones setting.
They’d be safe here, he hoped, for now. But there was always the slight chance their pursuers would find these caves, in which case they were screwed.
He clicked tongue to teeth and nudged Bo to the woman’s other side. Unlike the humans, his canine companion had no trouble giving in to slumber. As usual, it took about three point two seconds for her to pass out, happily unaware of the danger surrounding them. Bo was probably enjoying this.
Hell,hewas almost enjoying this woman’s presence. With a happy sleepy sound, he let himself fall deeper into slumber, let his body heat mingle with hers, let himself come as close as he ever did to relaxing.
He was warm, floating somewhere in that place between sleep and consciousness, when he awakened to the ball-shriveling sensation of a blade piercing his neck.
***
“Leo,” an unfamiliar voice rasped as the speaker’s chest rose and fell, moving her with it.
Leo shook her head, trying to clear it, trying to see or understand something—anything—in this absolute pitch-black, dark so thick it coated her tongue. Or was that blood?
“You okay?”
She pressed the blade deeper. “’s going on?” Her slurred whisper sounded frantic to her own ears. She couldn’t calm her breathing, couldn’t manage the wild beating of her heart.
The man between her legs barely moved, his only reaction the slow expansion and contraction of his rib cage. She tightened her thighs around him and dug her toes into the ground, wondering for a handful of seconds if her brain had somehow shorted out and turned a one-night stand into a nightmare.
Not that she did one-night affairs, but she couldn’t remember. Not who this was or how she’d gotten here or even whereherewas.
“You forgot.” A statement said in a gruff, strained voice.
Her head hurt like hell. Had she been drugged?
She took a second to get her bearings. The place gave her nothing at all. Just dank darkness and quiet. She cocked her head. Not absolute quiet, though. Something dripped not too far off. “Where’re we?”
“Cave.”
A cave. Definitely not a one-night stand. Unless it had gone very, very badly. Or unless this guy had some interesting kinks. Her tongue was thick and dry and took up too much of her mouth. She screwed up her face in concentration. A deep sniff gave her the smell of earth, along with the unmistakable scent of blood. Fuel too. But that made no sense.
Think! Figure this out!
Where was shesupposedto be right now? Which deployment? Had she been captured outside the wire? He sounded American, so if this was a prisoner situation, he was probably in the same position. Confusion swamped her, turned even the dark hazy, unsteady as a wave of seasickness, which she’d never had in her life.
“Trying to kill me, Leo?”
Her name in that low, hoarse voice gave her pause.
“I know you,” she whispered. Not a question.
