“How was your swim?” Corey asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Goddamn, annoying SEAL. Xander could’ve kissed him. Fucking French-kissed them all for saving his ass. “Awful,” Xander croaked. “Anyone who enjoys that shit is nuts.”
They laughed then immediately turned serious. “You said you got shot,” Brand said, back to business.
“On it.” Wes unzipped his med kit. Before his injury, he’d been his team’s medical guy. And Xander had never been happier to see him. “Lean back, Hawke. I need to take a look and see what kind of trouble you got yourself into this time.”
“A helluva lot.” Xander grimaced as Wes lifted his wet shirt and inspected the damage. Gritting his teeth while Wes prodded the wound, Xander looked up at the others. “We need to track Essie. Manuel took her, and I think he’s going to confront José. She’s in trouble.”
Brand frowned. “The tracker stopped moving. We found her necklace in the sunroom.”
Xander cursed, his stomach sinking. “Head back to the island,” he gritted between clenched teeth.
“Cor, take us back,” Brand called. At the wheel, Corey tossed him a salute and turned the motorboat back to the island.
“Looks like the bullet went through and through,” Wes reported. “Cold water and that fabric clinging to you probably saved your ass. You’re a lucky sonofabitch, Hawke.”
“Did you find Tomás?” Xander flinched as Wes cleaned the wound then sealed it up with some surgical glue.
“Yeah, we got him,” Chaz said. “Jayson took him back to the plane.”
Good.That would make Essie happy. Now they just needed to find her and they could get the hell outta there.
They quickly discussed possible options concerning Essie’s location and how best to extract her. Wes placed a large bandage over Xander’s wound and handed him a couple of painkillers. “Too much exertion, and it’s going to tear open,” Wes warned. “You need stitches.”
“It’s gonna tear open,” Xander predicted with a wince, then popped the pills into his mouth and swallowed. There was no way he wasn’t jumping off that boat, guns blazing as he took down anyone who got in his way. He would turn the island upside down searching for Essie. Injured or not, he was giving it all he had, and then some. Because the woman he’d decided he couldn’t live without was in danger, and he was leading her out of it no matter how much blood he had to spill.
They pulled up to the dock, hopped out and nearly tripped over Manuel’s body lying on the planks. It was fairly easy to determine he was dead, and they kept moving.
The air seemed strangely and uncomfortably quiet. “Where the hell is everyone?” Chaz grumbled.
A shadow stepped from the foliage and all guns turned on the intruder. “It’s just me,” Lex whisper-hissed, glancing down at the corpse. “Jayson’s with Tomás on the plane and I figured you guys could use some help.”
“Did you kill him?” Xander asked.
Lex shook his head. “It wasn’t me. But, hey, one less asshole to worry about.” His gaze raked down Xander. “You look like a drowned rat, Hawke.”
“Thanks, Battle.”
“No problem.”
“Okay, let’s go,” Brand said, cutting the reunion short, and they split off into pairs, each duo heading to the designated areas they’d already discussed while on the boat ride back. Lex joined Xander, while Brand and Chaz hurried toward their search zone, and Wes and Corey went toward theirs.
“Heard you got shot and tossed into the ocean,” Lex murmured as they started down a jungle path. “Glad a shark didn’t get you.”
“Me, too.” Xander stalked forward, completely focused on the mission. He ignored the dull throb in his side, pushing forward, operating on sheer grit, relentless determination and, the biggest surprise of all, his love for a woman.
Love.Suddenly, the word didn’t sound so foreign anymore. Instead, it sounded comforting. Warm and welcoming, just like Essie.
“Shit,” Xander murmured under his breath, warming up to the realization. Lex looked over at him as they continued to march forward. “I’m in love with her.”
Lex smirked. “You’re just realizing that now?”
“I knew I was falling, but… Ah, fuck. I really love her.”
“Well, I hope so since we’re all putting our asses on the line to rescue her.”
“Thanks for that.” Xander stepped over a fallen tree, then glanced toward the beach on his right. “I know I haven’t always been easy to deal with.”
