“What the hell is that?” she asked, pointing at the hypodermic needle.
“It’s a syringe.”
She gave him an impatient look. “Really? I never would have guessed. I meant, what was a hybrid doing with it?”
“They were trying to stick me with it.”
She kneeled down and yanked the syringe out of the hybrid’s neck, then depressed the plunger the last few millimeters until glistening, yellow goo squirted from the tip. She seemed so fascinated Declan almost asked if she was going to taste it like they did on TV shows.
“What do you think is in it?” she asked.
“I’m pretty sure it’s not vitamin B. I wasn’t going to let him stick me so I could find out.”
When she leaned close and sniffed the needle, Declan decided he’d had enough. He pulled the syringe out of her hand and tossed it to the ground, then reached down and pulled her to her feet. “We have to go.”
“Hope the stuff I added to your pack didn’t add too much weight,” she said as he slung it onto his shoulder.
He chuckled. “I think I can handle a few spare magazines and some shredded undies.”
That last part prompted yet another unwanted image, this time of Kendra prowling around the jungle wearing nothing but a sexy smile and some strategically ripped underwear. He shoved that thought aside and focused his attention outward as he started to run through the trees.
“I should have had you carry my stuff all along,” she said as she pulled even with him. “We probably would have moved faster that way.”
He only grunted and picked up the pace. But a part of his mind rebelled and painted a nice picture of him digging through his rucksack looking for ammo and finding her cute little panties instead.
Damn, he had issues.
Chapter 6
“You sure she’s leading us the right way?” Carter asked softly. “How the hell does she know where the crash site is without a GPS or compass?”
Angelo chuckled as he stepped over a downed tree. “She knows where she’s going, trust me. And she doesn’t need toys to tell her.”
“I don’t know.” Carter gave him a sidelong glance. “I’m not being sexist or anything, but I’m not sure I’m too comfortable with her leading the group.”
Behind Angelo, Derek snorted. “I wouldn’t let her hear you say that. She might decide to come back here and gut you like a fish.”
Carter threw Ivy a quick look. She was fifty yards ahead of them on point. “It’s not like she can hear me. Besides, all I’m saying is that I’ve never met a single woman who was any good at land nav.”
“Good thing I’m not single then,” Ivy called out from up front, her eyes never leaving the jungle ahead of them. “Or I might get us lost out here.”
The sergeant first class stumbled, almost losing his footing. He gave Angelo a chagrined look. “Oh, shit. She’s one of those things, isn’t she?”
Angelo laughed. “Yeah, she’s a shifter. And when things get bad, you’ll be glad she’s with us.”
Carter frowned and glanced at his lieutenant.
“Don’t look at me,” Butler said. “You opened your piehole and put your foot in. Deal with it.”
Carter swore again and moved faster to catch up to the group ahead. Angelo chuckled again. No doubt it was so he could talk to Ivy and make sure they were good. Smart guy. You didn’t want to go into a firefight with things left unsaid.
Up front, Ivy and Landon were breaking trail and making sure they didn’t walk into an ambush. Tate, Brent, and Gavin followed in a loose cluster behind them, doing their best to try and push the pace as hard as they could. That explained why Landon hadn’t let Tate take the lead. The guy was so worried about Declan and Kendra, he wasn’t exactly thinking straight. Angelo couldn’t fault the guy. If he were in Tate’s place, he probably wouldn’t be firing on all cylinders right now either.
Angelo glanced over his shoulder, checking on Derek and Butler off to either side, then back at Tanner and Clayne, pulling trail position about twenty yards behind them. Even as he watched, Tanner disappeared into the jungle, moving so quickly it was hard to track him. He and Clayne had been disappearing on and off like that for the last hour, constantly checking along their flanks to make sure they didn’t get caught by surprise from that direction.
Angelo swore as the gathering gloom started to darken the jungle. The light would be completely gone in thirty minutes. It had taken them a hell of a lot longer than expected to get to the original landing zone that Tate and the others had been evacuated from.
Last night, Landon had fought to get them military air support, but even with John and the DCO’s considerable pull, they hadn’t been able to swing it. The political powers that be—both in Costa Rica and the United States—had every military and federal asset in the country on full lockdown until somebody could figure out exactly what had happened in the jungle. The fact that there was a good chance there were still more than half a dozen Americans and Costa Ricans out there somewhere in need of rescue didn’t appear to be on anyone’s list of concerns. Angelo ground his jaw. Typical politicians.
