Charlie’s heart thundered as Jack vanished from view.Dylan!Terror spurred her faster, but when the ground lurched beneath her, knocking her off her feet, she knew she wouldn’t escape this.
Jack plunged into the cloud of debris and spotted Charlie struggling to her feet again. Running toward her, he slipped his arms around her and lifted her against his chest. Turning, Jack raced toward the ocean as he fled the cave-in. Dirt and rocks pelted his heels and shoulders while he ran. Grasping the back of Charlie’s head, he pushed it into his shoulder and cradled it there to keep her protected.
Charlie hated how secure she felt in his embrace while their world was crumbling around them. They could be buried alive here, yet she couldn’t help thinking Jack would never let that happen.
Over his shoulder, she watched as Mal’s tunnel collapsed on top of the Savage, burying him beneath the rubble. Another thunderous crash shook the shaft before an explosion of dirt and rocks burst toward them. Charlie closed her eyes and ducked behind Jack as the cloud encompassed them. She braced herself as she waited for tons of rocks and dirt to bury them, but Jack’s muscles continued to flow against her as he sprinted through the tunnel.
She hoped he remembered where the traps were, but at the speed he was traveling, she doubted any of the stakes would be able to hit him. Peeking her head up again, she blinked to get rid of the dirt covering her eyelashes and making it difficult to see, but eventually, her vision cleared as the cloud receded.
The ground stopped rumbling, and she didn’t hear any more debris falling. She opened her mouth to tell Jack he could put her down, but the words froze in her throat. She shouldn’t enjoy being held by him, but she did. And she shouldn’t do it, but for a second, she allowed herself to relax against him. The flex of his muscles against hers and the security of the arms holding her warmed her.
Miss Dodd was the only other person who had ever gone out of her way for Charlie. And now Jack had runintoa cave-in to carry her out. She wouldn’t have made it out on her own, yet he’d risked himself to make sure she did. She contemplated curling up in his arms and staying there forever, but she also wanted to punch him.
She’d been doing fine on her own with Dylan—before the whole kidnapping thing—why did Jack have to walk into her life and make her yearn for things she’d given up on years ago? Desire wasn’t something she’d ever really experienced before, not even with Chad. With Chad, she believed sex was a sign of his love for her, and she’d been desperate for love.
But with Jack, she understood what it was to truly desire another. She could easily recall the taste of Jack and the intensity of his kiss, and she wanted to experience it again.
Charlie allowed herself only a moment to nuzzle closer before pulling away. It didn’t matter what she wanted; Dylan was all that mattered.
Jack almost pressed Charlie close again when she leaned away in his arms. He swore she was enjoying being held by him, but now she was rigid as a corpse on Antarctica. Hoping to defrost her again, he stroked her slender back while he ran.
“It’s over,” Charlie said as she tried not to relax against him. “You can put me down.”
Jack hesitated; he didn’t want to set her down, but he couldn’t keep her against her will. Not only was he not an asshole, but she’d probably rearrange his nose again. He eased into a walk to hold her for a few more seconds before coming to a stop.
“How’s your back?” he asked as he set her down.
Charlie winced when her feet touched the ground. Her hand went to her spine as she set the rifle down and tried to stretch her back, but the pain slicing up and down her spine made that difficult. She healed far faster as a vampire than as a human, but every step still felt like someone was twisting a knife in her spine.
“It will be fine,” she muttered.
It would be fine, but she was obviously hurting as she limped down the tunnel while hunched over like an old man. “Why don’t you rest?” Jack suggested.
“That cave-in could draw the attention of more hunters. They might search for another way in; it’s doubtful they’ll find one, or survive to make it to the cavern, but Dylan is back there. Mal will keep him safe, but no one will protect him like I will, and he’ll be worried about me.”
No, he’d beterrifiedfor her. The thought of his distress brought tears to her eyes, but she couldn’t dwell on it. If she did, she might start sobbing. She would get back to him. She knew he was safe; she could feel that in her bones. She may not be able to see things that affected her and Dylan’s lives, or be able to explain how her unusual gift worked, but she would know if he was hurt or dead.
He’d been sleeping in the main cavern when they left, and even if he had woken, which was unlikely as he slept like the dead once he was out, Mal wouldn’t have let him come after them. The ocean tunnel was so long, she doubted the cave-in reached the main cavern. The others would know about the collapse, but they were okay, and they would remain that way.
Dylan will be fine.She kept telling herself this because, if she believed anything else, she would get reckless in her desperation to get back to him, and reckless would get her killed.Stay calm, and you’ll get back to him soon.
“We’ll have to go out through one of the side tunnels and make our way back to one of the other main entrances,” Jack said.
“We can’t. There are no side tunnels between here and the cliffs. The cave-in blocked us off from them.”
“Shit,” Jack muttered as he recalled the cliffs. The only way out from the beach was to go up. He’d never liked tree houses, never mind mountain climbing.
Chapter Nineteen
“Let’s go,”Charlie said.
She started to limp out of the cave, but Jack clasped her elbow before she could hobble onto the beach as if she were the only person in the world. “Wait.”
“For what?” she demanded.
“Until you can walk without looking like a decrepit old man for starters.”
Charlie scowled at him as she tugged at her arm. “I have to get back to Dylan.”
