I wanted to be her rock. The person she turned to for comfort. The one who made her feel safe. And the man who kept her out of harm’s way. If that meant waiting to kill those motherfuckers, then so be it. But one day Hadley’s vengeance would be mine.
4
HADLEY
The look on Brecken’s face was fierce, and for some reason I took comfort in it. Deep down inside, I knew his anger wasn’t directed at me. No, it was on my behalf. I felt horribly guilty for flinching away from his touch. He’d rescued, clothed and fed me. At no point had he done anything to harm me. I knew this, and yet I couldn’t stop myself from tensing up the second I realized he was going to touch me. But once I felt the warmth of his hand on my leg, I wanted more. The contradictory feelings were enough to make my head spin—my heart and mind at war with each other. Swallowing down my fear, my voice croaked a bit when I spoke.
“I can make it as far as you need me to go.”
I was surprised to find it was true. I was beyond exhausted and ached all over, but with Brecken by my side and some food and water in me much of my self-doubt had disappeared. I’d survived my kidnapping. Brecken had rescued me. The least I could do for him was find whatever strength I needed to make our escape go as smoothly as possible. I could do this. No, Iwoulddo this, come hell or high-water as my mom always said.
“You sure? Because I can carry you if need be.”
I shivered at the thought of Brecken having a better reason to carry me, other than our tromp through the jungle—like on our way to a bed. If we’d met any other way, I didn’t think he’d look at me twice. In the light of the morning, I’d gotten a much better look at Brecken and couldn’t help but believe he was way out of my league. Tall, dark, ruggedly handsome, muscular and confident. Really, the list of his attributes could go on and on. And on some more.
I was cute, in a nerdy kind of way. I was a late bloomer and still saw myself as I’d been in high school, flat chested with braces and no sense of my personal style. Enough guys had asked me out once I was in college and away from home for me to know I was attractive, but I hadn’t fared well in the dating scene. Socially awkward didn’t go far enough to explain my personality. Put me anywhere near a hot guy, and you’d be guaranteed to find me blushing and stammering. Maybe even tripping over the ground or pouring something all over myself. Or on the nearby hottie, which had happened more times than I liked to admit.
Who knew my kidnapping would rid me of my awkwardness? At least around Brecken. He’d already seen me at my worst, literally. It was oddly freeing to know there wasn’t anything else I could do to make me look worse in his eyes. The very same ones which flashed with heat and approval when he looked at me. I refused to let him down and lose the fluttering in my belly when he glanced at me.
“I’m positive. Lead on, Macduff.”
He helped me to my feet, chuckling deeply. “Hopefully we won’t need to fight to the death. But if we do, you can be damn sure I’ll stand between you and anything which intends you harm.”
Holy crap!He’d gotten my nerdy Macbeth reference. With that, he’d managed to be even hotter. Add in his determinationto keep me safe, and those butterflies took flight again right along with my heart which melted. Brecken didn’t realize the impact of his words on me. He went about the business of getting us out of here, leading the way through the jungle once again, while the foundation of my world seemed to shift with him at the center.
I trudged behind him for the seemingly endless march. We’d walked for what felt like forever, until the sun was high in the sky and my clothes were drenched with sweat. I heard the sound of running water in the distance, making my mouth water with thirst. Brecken held up a hand, signaling me to stop, and pulled a set of binoculars out of a pants pocket. He scanned the distance ahead of us before swiveling in a full circle to search the jungle. The foliage was so thick, I wasn’t sure if he could even see anything in some locations, but he took his time and did a thorough check before dropping the binoculars back in his pocket.
“There’s a waterfall ahead.”
Except for the moment when I’d heard him say “Fluffy” and realized he was there to rescue me, I’d never heard sweeter words. A waterfall meant water. Hopefully clean water I could drink. And if lady luck was on my side, maybe even use to clean off a little bit. I hadn’t bathed for more than two weeks, and I’d practically kill to get clean. My hope must have shone from my eyes because Brecken grinned at me.
“Yeah, I thought you’d like the sound of that.”
Heck yes, I did!
“We need to stop and rest soon anyway.”
I liked the sound of that even better.
“It’s getting too hot for us to keep going without running the risk of overheating and dehydrating. There hasn’t been any sign of us being followed. If we’re lucky, there will be a cave behindthe waterfall where we can rest for the day, wait out the hottest hours of the day before we go further.”
I felt like sobbing with gratitude. Brecken wasn’t showing any signs of needing to slow down. He was as sure-footed as he’d been when we first started out. While I gasped for breath, he didn’t seem winded at all. If we were stopping to rest, it was because he was concerned for me. A part of me wanted to tell him I didn’t need to stop, that we could keep going, but I couldn’t bring myself to say the words. I was too busy nodding my agreement and trying not to cry. If I could even manage tears, I wasn’t sure I was hydrated enough for my body to manufacture any.
When we reached the waterfall, I almost fell to my knees in gratitude. It spilled into a small lake, filled with crystal clear water. “Please tell me we can drink it.”
Brecken pulled a couple white tablets out of a pocket. He seemed to have everything in those darn things. He dropped them into his canteen and filled it with water. “In thirty minutes it will be.” Then he pulled another tablet out of a different pocket and dropped it into the water. “And this will help with the iodine flavor so we’ll be able to choke it down more easily.”
A nervous giggle crept up my throat as I thought about something else I’d like to choke down. It was even something he was packing in his pants, just not in one of the endless pockets he seemed to have. My laughter earned me a strange look from Brecken, and I was glad he couldn’t read my mind. How embarrassing would it be for him to discover the clueless virgin he’d rescued was picturing herself on her knees in front of him with his cock shoved down her throat? Talk about taking awkward to a whole new level. Or maybe not, considering I was almost sure I’d spotted a half-chub in those pants a time or two when I’d glanced his way.
Taking a deep breath and getting a good whiff of myself, I wasn’t sure how it was possible for him to be attracted to me like this. I glanced at the pool of water longingly and Brecken caught my look.
“Go ahead and get cleaned up, but make sure to keep your clothes dry. You’ll need to get dressed as soon as you’re out, and I don’t have a spare set for you to use. I don’t want us to be caught at a major disadvantage out in the open like this.”
There was only one way I could think to keep my clothes dry. “Can you turn around please?”
His dark eyes scanned my body, flaring with heat before he swiveled on a heel and gave me his back. I quickly stripped out of my boots and clothes, leaving them on a rock near the edge of the water. Once I’d moved far enough that my body was covered, I called out to Brecken. “The coast is clear.”
He was quick to face me again, his eyes locking on me right away. “So is the water.”
