“Promise me.” She digs her fingers into my sides, and I wrap my free arm around her and pull her close.
“I promise.” Kissing the furrow between her brows, I let her go, shoulder my pack—and hers—and tie the other end of the rope around my waist.
The water’s warmer than I expect, but after being soaked through last night and caught up in the middle of a windstorm, it’s still a shock. The river bed is slippery as fuck, and I almost go down twice on my way across, but the water doesn’t rise higher than my chest. Good. I’ll be able to get Mikayla across and keep her mostly dry.
When I reach the other side, I roll onto the bank and stare up at the clouds gathering on the horizon. There’s another storm coming. I drop my pack, tie the rope off around the second tree and wade back into the water.
The look on Mikayla’s face when I return to her side makes my heart beat a little too fast. Her brown eyes blaze with emotion, and she shakes her head. “I don’t know if I can do that,” she says, gesturing to the river.
“You don’t have to. Hold the crutch in your right hand. Lift your left arm and spread your legs a little. You’re going on my shoulders.”
“What?” Her voice rises half an octave, and she shakes her head. “No. You’re not…you can’t.”
“It’s the only way I can keep you mostly dry. It’s going to feel weird, but you’ll be completely safe. I carried you the same way last night for most of the hike. Please, Mik. Those clouds on the horizon look pretty angry. If we get caught in another storm…”
“Okay.” She raises her arm, and I duck my shoulder between her legs as I grab her wrist. She yelps when I straighten and hook my right arm under her left thigh. Bringing her torso across my shoulders, I hold her wrist tightly.
“Keep hold of the crutch, and don’t wriggle too much if you can help it. I’ll try to keep you as dry as I can.” Carrying her in this position leaves me with one hand free, and I grab the rope as I splash into the water.
To Mikayla’s credit, she stays almost perfectly still, even when I stumble and have to catch myself. “Almost there,” I grunt as I start to pull myself up onto the river bank.
Once she’s leaning against the tree on the other side, I wade across once more to untie the rope. We may only be a little over two kilometers from the lab, but I’m not taking any chances. Five separate trips across the water isn’t my idea of a good time, nor is hiking the rest of the way in soggy boots. But I’ve been in too many situations where I wished for rope and had none to leave any part of it behind.
“Ready?” I ask when I’m back across and have the rope safely stowed in my ruck.
“Not really. I don’t want to go back to the lab. Or anywhere close. But we don’t have a choice.”
I rub my hands together to warm them as best I can, then cup the back of her neck and pull her in for a kiss. “You’re not alone, Mik. And there’s nothing I won’t do to keep you safe.” Unclipping the small folding knife from its sheath on my belt, I press it into her palm. “It’s not much, but take this.”
Her eyes widen, and her fingers aren’t steady as she examines the blade. “I don’t know how…”
“Press here.” She does, and the knife snaps open. The speed of it startles her, but she doesn’t drop it. “And then to close it, hold here and fold it carefully. Good. It’s not a great weapon. But it’s better than nothing.”
After she opens and closes the knife two more times, she nods and slides it into her pocket. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Chapter Fourteen
Mikayla
It takes us the better part of an hour to reach the trailer, and before we round the last bend, Austin pulls me down into a crouch and holds his finger to his lips. I don’t hear anything but the birds and the rustling leaves, until I turn my head slightly and pick out a low rumble underneath the ambient noise.
Whatever it is stops, but then a vehicle door slams, and I start to shake. It could just be my students. Right?
Austin’s posture says he doesn’t think so, and he presses closer to the trees hiding us, angling his head slightly. I can’t move as well as he does, so I wait, my heart pounding against my ribs, and try to keep taking slow, deep breaths.
After a few seconds, Austin’s fingers curl around the handle of the large knife he has sheathed on his right leg, and the look on his face? It’s deadly serious. He motions for me to get behind him, and as I maneuver myself on hands and knees, I hear one of them—Arturo, I think.
“Get in the truck. And hurry. When this thing goes up, it’s going to be big. We need to be back to the main road by then.”
“How long do we have?” Martín’s voice sends ice flooding my veins.
“Five minutes. Seven tops until the accelerant catches.”
Gas? Crap. All our work…
“These fuckers aren’t getting away,” Austin hisses in my ear. “Here are the keys. As soon as I distract them, take my ruck, go to the Land Rover, and get the hell out of here.”
They’ll kill him. I can’t lose Austin. I won’t. “They have guns. Please don’t do this. Let’s just wait until they leave. Maybe we could even save the lab…”
