He nods. “We will, but not tonight.”
“Why?”
“Because they will expect it. Also, we have no weapons and no plan and that is dangerous.”
“And we’ll be caught in the storm.”
He nods. “As much as I hate to say it, it might be our only advantage.”
CHAPTER7
Reed
I feellike shit despite the rest, food, and water. With every passing hour, my survival odds decrease. I know the stats. But I’m not in shock, and I’m not bleeding dramatically. So I’ve categorized the wound as messy, but not too damaging.
The next thing I can look forward to is infection, which is why I don’t think waiting for the storm to pass in a few days is an option. If I’m unlucky, in three days’ time I won’t be running, and fighting, anything but a fever.
As tempting as it is to escape tonight. I wasn’t lying when I told her they’d be expecting it. People who’ve been captured want to escape. The guys with the guns will be watchful and patrolling. Tomorrow night, in the peak of the storm, they’ll be hunkering down, confident that we’re broken.
“Why don’t I cut the cable tie?” Ashley says as she brings the bucket.
I would love to get my hands free. I keep flexing my fingers to make sure I’m not losing circulation. If I was, I’d be out of them already.
“They checked on me every couple of hours.” That included a couple of kicks to make me move. I groaned and fluttered my eyelids as though I was on the edge of consciousness, but never fully roused. “If my hands are free, the game will be up.”
“Is that what this is to you? A game?” There’s a snap in her voice that she needs to hold on to. She needs to be brave. Be hopeful.
I give a low laugh that hurts a bit too much. “War is always a game. Winner lives, loser dies.”
“This isn’t war.”
“What is it, then? We were shot at and abducted by armed men. We’re being held in a guarded compound and they are forcing you to work for them. They could’ve hired a geologist, or a local with more knowledge of mining, but they didn’t. I’m guessing the miners are also here unwillingly because they owe money or their family is being threatened. Which means that while the guys with guns appear to be local, they are working for someone else. This isn’t about emeralds.”
“I have to find the vein, of course it is.”
She’s not looking past the rocks and guns.
“People are abducted for money, for politics, and revenge. We’re not the first. This isn’t about ransom though.” My voice is grating from trying to keep it low enough that the guards don’t hear me talking. If someone is sitting on the other side of the wall, it’s already too late. But from the noise and the smell, it’s dinnertime, and they will be talking. Gun in one hand and food in the other. “They want emeralds for a reason.”
“Everyone here wants them. Find one and get rich.” She’s silent for a few heartbeats. “This isn’t a small family mine.”
“While it doesn’t matter to us right now. It would be nice to discover who’s pulling the strings. Ask a few questions…like who is buying the emeralds? What quality is produced? Something. Get a conversation happening. Beg for some painkillers. Be desperate to please, but don’t be threatening. If you have the chance to take something that might be a weapon, like screwdriver or crowbar, take it.”
“You’re making a plan?”
“I am. And it depends on when the storm hits.” Running through the jungle at night in a storm, what could go wrong?
My brain helpfully gives me about a hundred worst-case scenarios, because that’s what it does. I’d much rather by lying in the dirt for a day or two, waiting for a clear kill shot, than fighting. The only thing I am grateful for is that I know how to wait.
Colton will be so proud of me for finding something to be thankful for. Unlike Ash, he wouldn’t be hesitating to put his hands on my dick.
If I don’t make it out of here, he’s the last person I fucked…although he did the fucking that time. Not that I regret it, but it’s been months since I slept with a woman. Some of the guys take their leave in the nearest city and spend their money on booze and whores.
I like a cold beer, but I liked the idea of buying a few emeralds to stash away for later. That was bold of me to plan for the future.
“What are you thinking?”
I realize I’ve been staring at my legs, so I lift my gaze. I need to keep her feeling positive. “Just that I have a few days off coming up. Got to figure out which bars to hit.”
