Run to Me (5 page)

She tugged at her bindings, testing their strength: no give. This would be an excellent chance to run. Unfortunately, until he at least untied her feet, she would remain his hostage.

Several minutes later, having bandaged his wound, he came to stand in front of her. Muscled, tree-trunk legs before her revealed a large, well-built man in excellent shape. Another reason she’d been unable to best him. His strength was much greater than hers. She would have to rely on tactics other than strength to outwit him.

“Get up. I don’t have time to play the silent game with you.”

Bound hands pressed against the tree behind her, she stood and waited, prepared to be hauled up onto his shoulder again. When he untied the bindings on her ankles, she almost looked at him. Why had he done this? Was his injury so great that he could no longer carry her? Or was this perhaps a trick to throw her off? Did he want to see her run and then shoot her in the back?

“Just because I’m letting you walk doesn’t mean I trust you.” As he said this, he used the material he’d had on her legs to tie her belt loop to his. “Let’s go.”

Without waiting to see if she would comply, he took off. She had no choice but to follow. When he stopped abruptly, she slammed into his back.

“Turn around.”

She turned as far as she could, once again surprised when the binding at her wrists loosened. Before she could react, he twisted her around and immediately tied her hands in front of her.

“You can’t keep your balance with your hands behind you.” He stood quiet for a second, as if waiting for a response. Finally, he growled in a voice heavy with weariness, “Let’s go.”

Following him was easy. Her eyes stayed on the heels of his boots. When he slowed, she slowed. When he stopped, she did the same. She was in excellent shape, so the miles they traveled were not difficult. The sun was almost obliterated by giant trees; dense vegetation surrounded them. Air thick with the scent of dark earth and heavy with humidity cloaked them but had no effect on her. She often trained in the heat for hours and was accustomed to its intensity.

Limbs and branches fell away as the man cleared a path with a large knife. Wild creatures squealed around them, and large birds cried as they found their prey.

When he stopped, she raised her head to see why. He looked around for a brief moment and then started again. She told herself to lower her eyes but couldn’t make herself do it. This was the first time she’d seen him without the need for survival blurring her thoughts. He was, indeed, a big man. Broad-shouldered, lean-hipped, very tall. She believed herself to be around five feet five; he stood almost a foot taller. An olive green T-shirt, dark with perspiration, covered his torso; underneath it, his muscles rippled and flexed as he moved. His hair was a conglomeration of blond colors. Gold, almost white, wheat, and light brown blended together. Shaggy and unkempt, hanging down to his shoulders. She was accustomed to clean-cut, well-groomed men at the compound. It was apparent that the man in front of her did not have the same degree of care for his appearance.

A face flashed into her mind. Craggy. Handsome. Arresting. Rough-hewn and suntanned, the face had a long scar down the side of a broad cheekbone, disappearing under the chin. The eyes were a brilliant shade of light green that darkened and lightened with fascinating shadows. She’d seen the face from time to time when she’d been forced to go without her vitamin shot. Though she hadn’t seen this man clearly, she instinctively knew that this face belonged to him.

Her mind scrambled for an explanation. Since she saw the man only when she had to go without her shot and the demons chased her, she had to assume he was evil.

Her vitamin shot.
What would she do if she didn’t make it back to the compound before her shot was due? She would become weak, unable to function. That couldn’t happen. She needed to escape as soon as possible, since it could take her hours to return home. If she was going to escape, she had to do it now.

She jerked to a halt, causing him to toss a glare behind him and growl, “What?”

“Water.”

“So you can talk. I was beginning to think they’d cut your tongue out.”

His mocking voice disturbed her for some reason. She ignored that as he pulled the canteen from a hook on his waist and handed it to her. She accepted it and took a long swallow, then rammed the canteen into his face.

Blood spurted. A vile curse erupted from his mouth as he grabbed his nose. Squatting, she snatched the knife he dropped. The sharp blade sliced the tie that bound her hands and the one that bound her to him. She took off. With blood pouring from his nose, he’d have difficultly following her for a few seconds. She had to make the most of his distraction.

Speed more important than stealth, she didn’t bother to soften her footsteps. For an instant, she wished she hadn’t left the knife with him but knew it was too cumbersome to carry. Branches cut and clawed at her skin as she forged through the thick green wildness. Gasping sobs raked over her lungs. A part of her felt surprise at that noise. It didn’t sound normal coming from her. She felt no emotion other than the need to escape her captor; why, then, did it feel as though she might lose control?

A slight breeze of warning—then a hard, powerful body slammed into her, tumbling her to the ground.

Gut-wrenching fury almost overwhelmed Ethan. His nose pounded and his side throbbed, alerting him he’d started bleeding again. White-hot anger burned in his brain. Betrayal beat a heavy, agonizing tune against his heart. Shea had turned. There was no other explanation. Earlier today, she had tried to kill him. He had searched for an answer but hadn’t come up with one. Now, without a doubt, he had the answer, though it clawed his gut to admit it. The one woman he had believed in, trusted above all others, had turned bad.

His body covered her as she lay facedown on the ground. Slender arms stretched in front of her; her shapely, firm ass jerked up, trying to knock him off. Despite the hurt and fury roaring through him, his body recognized the unique scent and soft femininity of his former lover. Ethan cursed his physical reaction, though he knew it was pointless. This beautiful woman was the only one who’d ever caused his libido to overrule his good sense. Just because Shea had turned into a killer made no difference to his hardening erection as it pressed against her, searching for her familiar soft, sweet heat.

With no small amount of regret, Ethan did the only thing he could do to save them both. Clipping the edge of her jaw to stun her, he pressed his thumb against her neck with the right amount of pressure, forcing unconsciousness. As her struggles ceased and her body relaxed, a part of him wanted to gather her in his arms and howl with hurt fury at her betrayal, while another part was furious for even caring.

Breath wheezing from his overtaxed lungs, he rolled off her body and allowed himself a few seconds of rest. Dim light filtered through the trees and indicated that in an hour, perhaps two, the jungle would be in total darkness. There was little time to spare. He sat up, pulled a wet towelette from a plastic container in his pack, and wiped at his sore nose. Damn thing had thankfully stopped bleeding. He knew from experience it wasn’t broken, but it throbbed like a toothache and would most likely result in some colorful bruises.

The bloody towelette tucked away, he pulled out more ties from the pack and bound Shea’s hands and legs again. Teeth clenched against the slash of pain in his side, he hauled her unconscious form up and then over his shoulder. He needed to find civilization before nightfall. His cellphone had no signal, so calling for help was out until they were closer to a town. How he would explain the tied-up, unconscious woman on his shoulder, he’d worry about later.

As he trudged down hills, around tree stumps, and over vines the size of elephant trunks, Ethan tried not to think about the consequences of Shea’s betrayal. He knew there had been a few times when LCR operatives had gone bad and had been dealt with. Noah McCall was perhaps the most compassionate man in the world, but when it came to one of their own betraying others, there wasn’t a lot of latitude. Few people asked what happened to these traitors, but it was assumed that whatever it was, the punishment was harsh and just.

What had happened to the warmhearted woman who, though skilled enough to handle herself against the strongest of men, could never bring herself to truly harm anyone? Oh, she could disarm the meanest of bastards, had no problem clocking someone to knock some sense into them. But her tender heart had never allowed her to cause true injury. Killing wasn’t in Shea’s nature. How many times had he chided her for those useless emotions? Her reaction was always the same … a gentle, breathtaking smile he’d felt to his soul.

Though he’d always thought her beautiful beyond description, the sheer joy of living Shea exuded, along with her warmth and compassion, were the things he’d loved the most about her. His years in prison had eaten away any tenderness he’d possessed. Shea’s pure heart had filled that emptiness. God, what had happened to her?

The body draped over his shoulder woke and started squirming. “I don’t feel well … let me down.” The words were a demand, but the tone sounded weary and drained.

“Tough shit, babe. Should’ve thought about that before you tried to knock my nose through my skull.”

“I won’t run.”

He didn’t bother to respond to an obvious lie.

“I’m sorry I hit you.”

Her apology sounded even more insincere than her promise not to run. He squinted up at the sky. “It’ll be dark in about half an hour. Looks like we’re going to have to sleep in the jungle tonight. I’ll put you down then. If, however, you try to attract attention, I’ll knock you out again. And believe me, baby, this time it’ll hurt.” He smacked her butt. “Understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now that you’re awake and in a talkative mood, you want to tell me why the hell you went from a warm, courageous woman who saves people to someone who kidnaps and terrorizes innocent women?”

She didn’t answer for so long, Ethan began to think she’d gone back to her silent treatment.

“I … do … what I am told.” The words were said haltingly, as if she wasn’t quite sure what she was supposed to say.

“Oh, well. That explains everything. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

His sarcasm couldn’t have been more evident, but she’d answered as if he’d really thanked her. Something was so off with her, and for the life of him he couldn’t figure it out.

“I’m going to vomit if you don’t put me down.” This time, the distress in her voice sounded authentic.

Stifling a weary curse, Ethan stopped and slid Shea to the ground. A bite of conscience hit him when he heard the thud. He’d never treated a woman so roughly before, and for it to be Shea, of all people, tore at his gut.

She rolled over and tried to sit up, but her hands were tied behind her back. After watching for a few seconds, Ethan gave in and pulled her up so she could sit.

Blowing out deep breaths, she kept her face straight ahead, still not looking at him.

“Shea, dammit, look at me. Do you feel guilty for what you’ve done or do you just hate me that much?”

She was motionless for several seconds and then raised her head. “Why do you keep calling me Shea?”

The question almost knocked him on his ass. “What the hell else am I suppose to call you?”

A tiny frown appeared on her forehead, confusion flickered in her eyes, and then her expression smoothed into blankness. “You don’t need to call me anything.”

Ethan looked up to the sky for inspiration … for patience. “Look, you’re tired. I’m tired. It’s getting dark, and we’re probably still about an hour or so away from a village. I’m going to tie you to this tree, go find someplace we can stay the night, and then come back for you.”

For the first time, real emotion flared in her eyes … pure panic. “But I have to go back to the compound.”

Since he didn’t have an answer for such an asinine statement, he ignored it. Squatting, he untied her hands. Resisting the urge to caress the reddened skin around her wrists, he retied them in front, then pulled rope from his pack and wrapped it around the tree, then around her waist. After a strong tug on the knot to ensure that she couldn’t somehow wiggle out of it, he stood. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

Her heart thudded against her chest as she watched her abductor disappear into the jungle. What was she going to do? She was due for her shot … she cast her eyes up at the darkening sky. It was past time for her injection. Soon, when it became dark, the demons would attack. She had sworn she would never go without her shot again. That she would do anything and everything to ensure that she never went through the agony. Now not only was she miles from the compound, she would be sleeping in the jungle beside a man who wanted to kill her. A wave of despair swept through her, and despite all her training, she couldn’t seem to fight it. What was she going to do?

She pressed back against the hard surface of the tree, her eyes darting left and right. Animal sounds that had seemed normal earlier now sounded ominous. Fear dehydrated her mouth; desperate breaths wheezed through dry lips. The heavy pounding of her heart increased in speed, racing toward a foreign rhythm.

Darkness slid with easy familiarity over the jungle floor. A rustling in the bushes behind her had her panting and twisting, trying to see. He had her tied so tight, her body wouldn’t swivel. What if something attacked from behind? What if he attacked her from behind? She still didn’t know what he wanted from her. Why hadn’t he killed her?

Sweat popped out all over her body. Breath rasped through her lungs as her pants increased, faster … faster. Ink-black nothingness obliterated everything in sight. Tiny little sobbing noises pierced the night. Where were they coming from? She squinted, her eyes struggling to drill holes into the darkness. Holding her breath to listen, she was surprised when the sobs stopped. She resumed breathing, and they grew louder. Shock roared through her … they came from her.

Panic soared, overwhelmed all logic. Would he leave her here? Had he planned this all along? Abandon her and let wild animals devour her body?