She had no idea what she’d done.
A touch of sympathy tried to edge into his mind, but he squashed it like a fly. It couldn’t matter that she didn’t know – the effect was the same.
Death to his men.
He grabbed her wrists and she didn’t fight him as he quickly tied a knot, binding them together, and then he yanked them roughly over her head and bound her to the cot. He could make it home, administer the serum to his team, and then return within two days. She could survive that long. No one knew where they were as far as he could tell, no one was even aware of the hut in the middle of the jungle.
“Please! Don’t do this! If you just get me to a sat phone, I can call my dad. He’ll have a plane waiting for us and we can go back together. I don’t understand.”
Her desperate voice finally broke the haze clouding his mind. Of course, she’d call her daddy for help; he’d probably been there to bail her out her entire life. It was time he told her the truth. “Your daddy won’t be helping anyone, Princess. He’s dead. He’s been dead for over three months.”
The horror that slashed across her face ripped what remaining soul he had left into shreds, but something violent and dark drove him onward. The need to lash out overrode his common sense. “And I didn’t rescue you because he sent me on some mission. I took you for the same reason that Jack Mankel and General Rainier did. Your blood is the key to my teams’ survival. You are the source of our serum.”
Reaper pulled out the package of serum and waved it in her face, forcing himself to ignore the broken feeling inside him. “This is the only reason I need you. I need your blood to make more serum for my team. It’s the only thing keeping us alive.”
“My father is dead?”
“Yes, he was killed by the same man who took you—Jack Mankel. I was there. I saw it happen.” And he hadn’t felt one ounce of pity for the senator. “Your father was the one who started the very same project you were kidnapped to keep going. The same project responsible for what happened to me and my men. Project Mayhem. He just got cold feet and backed out, taking you with him.”
The vile words wouldn’t quit coming. It was like he’d ripped a cork out of the bottle and there was no stopping the flow of pain.
“I don’t believe you,” Caroline said.
“Your father and Jack Mankel are the ones who did this to both of us, Caroline. And I’m not sorry that they are dead.”
“Liar!” Caroline screamed and tried to break her bonds.
“And now because you wasted an entire vial of the only remaining serum on this planet, one of my men is going to die.”
Reaper headed for the door to the sound of Caroline ripping furiously against her bonds. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find that uncaring hollowness he’d been living with his entire life. It was gone, and a great sucking black hole had replaced it. Sweat broke out across his brow as he strained against the almost overwhelming instinct to turn back and take her into his arms. But that was exactly how he’d ended up in this situation in the first place—his weakness for her.
“You can’t leave me here. You can’t ignore what we shared. We connected; you care about me.”
Reaper grabbed the doorframe for support, keeping his back to her as he answered in a deadened voice. “I have to.”
The words tasted like garbage laced with acid, and they burned up his throat and incinerated his heart.
Caroline’s sobs filled his senses and the weight of the entire world seemed to weigh down on his shoulders. His words and actions were completely unfair.
But he should’ve known better.
He should have known not to get so close.
The only way for him to get some sanity and logic was to get some distance from her.
