Caroline placed her hand on his side and Reaper gave her a reassuring nod before unhooking the radio from its dock and speaking into it. “Alpha, Zulu, Charlie.”
He let go of the button and static filled the tiny cab of the copter as it roared over the treetops.
Reaper tried again, “Alpha, Zulu, Charlie.”
Once more static met his call. His hand tightened on the radio. Was he too late? He’d told his team to wait at their hidden bunker outside of Sudan. Had he miscalculated the time? Were they already dead?
He shoved the button down with this thumb and repeated, “Alpha, Zulu, Charlie. This is Trojan horse, over.”
“Trojan horse, this is Troy. Go ahead.”
Relief hit him so hard he stopped breathing for a second. “Troy, we have the hot sauce, I’ll need a carryout as soon as we get there.”
There was static and then Hawk’s strong reassuring voice, “Roger that. Got some hungry folks here, we’ll be ready and waiting.”
Reaper docked the radio, his hand trembling. With his foot lower than the rest of his body, not elevated, his blood pounded in agonizing waves down to that broken extremity. Melissa had already blacked out, which was for the best. When he lifted her into the helicopter, she quickly lost consciousness.
“Care to interpret all that military speak?” Caroline said.
“My men are waiting, they need the serum soon, or they all die. I got the last pack stashed in the cargo hold.”
Caroline’s nails dug into his body. “And what about the next time? What about when they need another dose?”
He threaded his fingers through hers, lifted her hand to his lips, and kissed it. “We’ll figure something out. But not by using you.”
“How then? You and that asshole Ranier both said I was the only source.” Caroline trembled in his grip and he tightened his hand around hers reassuringly as he steered the helicopter to the east.
“I’ll find a way, but I’ll never, ever take anything unwillingly from you again.” His chest weighed heavy like someone had poured a dump truck full of concrete on it. He meant every word he said, but it still tortured him to think of his men suffering.
But even so, he knew they would suffer willingly if it meant saving even one innocent life.
Caroline’s broken whisper filled the cab, “doesn’t that mean your men will die? And you?”
Unable to speak, he simply nodded and stared at the pink and gold horizon stretching out in front of them.
The thought of locking Caroline up again and taking her blood twisted his insides like a rusted corkscrew. He would much rather be dead than live with that kind of guilt, knowing he purposefully destroyed the only person he ever loved.
“So, you swear on your team that you will never take anything from me that I am unwilling to give?”
Reaper couldn’t help but grip the steering stick harder in his free hand. What did she want from him? A signed contract? Didn’t she trust him at his word?
Of course, she didn’t, how could she after what he did to her back in the hut?
“I swear it on my team’s life.”
Caroline’s soft breath fanned down his neck as she leaned in closer; light as a gentle breeze she pressed a soft kiss just beneath his ear. “And what about willingly?”
Tingles were racing across his flesh where she touched his hand; despite his crushed foot, he was hard and ready. He’d never wanted anyone this much.
Wait—had she said willingly? “Caroline?”
“You never asked me if I would willingly donate my blood to help your team.” She continued just softly kissing and nipping her way down his shoulder as she spoke.
Reaper fought the shudder of desire threatening to take hold of his body and concentrated on her words. A light sparked inside him, tiny but there. Would she really subjugate herself after the nightmare she’d suffered these past months?
No. He wouldn’t let her. She’d be forced to revisit her trauma every time a needle pierced her flesh and he wouldn’t allow any kind of suffering to touch her precious body ever again. “No, Caroline. I won’t ask you. You don’t realize what you’re saying, you’d be reliving the nightmare over and over, and believe me that kind of mental anguish is enough to drive anyone insane.”
He felt more than saw her glare at him, but she could glare all she wanted. No one was hurting his baby, not even herself.
