And he’s sitting there telling a medic he’s fine. My brows pull together and Ryker catches it.
“Just scratches,” he says, tone just shy of husky.
Thane chuckles through the headset. “Oh boy. She got you good.”
Ryker doesn’t look away from me. “Yeah. She did. She does. Have me, that is.”
Heat floods my face, surprising me. I look away, but the words are already in, settling in deep in a raw place.
“You’re a fucking machine,” Thane says, changing the subject thankfully, punching Ryker in the shoulder. “Don’t know all the details, but I know with all those people on the mountain looking for you...”
His voice fades in and out. Or maybe it’s my brain fading.
“Those fuckers put tracking collars on us. Told me they were explosive.”
The weight of the collar seems to still sit on my neck. I reach for the place, but the medic pulls my hand down and treats another scrape.
“Damn,” Thane whistles. “Guess they weren’t rigged?”
“No.” Ryker’s voice seems to roughen. “But there for a minute, I wasn’t sure.”
The scene plays over in my head, complete with the smell of the bunker, the feeling of the pliers in my hands. “He made me cut a wire.”
Thane turns toward me, gaze sharper now. “No shit. Really?”
It takes effort not to shudder. “Yes, I was terrified.”
“We had one chance of getting clear of the tracking system,” Ryker says, matter-of-fact, like I couldn’t have killed us both. “She did great.”
“Looks that way. She was handling that shotgun like a pro as she ran to the chopper.”
Heat creeps up my neck and I focus again on the treatment of the hundreds of scrapes on my arms, face, and neck.
“We’re heading to Safe House Four.” Thane changes topics and I’m glad to have the focus off of me. “We’ll get you caught up when we’re there.”
“Copy,” Ryker replies, gaze still on me. In the way he does. Assessing, reading between all of my lines, even when I’m not sure I want anyone inside my head.
“Bet you two could use some of this.”
I’m surprised when Thane hands out bags of chips.
Chips?Like this is just a commercial airline flight.
When I tear the bag open and the first chip touches my tongue I almost lose it in a completely different way.
Oh my god.
Salt and oil and that toasty flavor is so stupidly normal that my eyes sting. I shove another chip in my mouth because if I slow down I’m going to cry. Truthfully I might cry anyway.
Ryker kicks Thane’s shin when he snickers at my moan. It’s such a guy thing to do that a weak laugh slips out of me before I can stop it.
“Good, huh?” Ryker asks, a hint of a smile on his exhausted face.
“So good. I’ve never fallen in love with a bag of chips before, but consider it done.”
For a moment the storm inside me calms. I’m enjoying the beginning of a carb buzz when Colt breaks the silence. “What’s in the backpack, Ryker?”
“Took this off a body,” Ryker replies, grabbing it. “Thought it might help lead us to the organizers. With luck, this will give some intel, plus the two phones I got off the same guy. He was trying to pay me off with his crypto wallet.”
