Page 97 of Death Wish

She veered to the left, then to the right a few yards later, keeping to the thicker foliage and bushes even if it slowed her down. She and Jesse needed the jungle coverage to prevent Boudreax from having a clear shot at them.

One of the Gruesome Twosome fired multiple shots into the jungle. Boudreax cursed viciously. Sophie screamed.

Simone heard the foliage rustle behind her.

“It’s me,” Jesse said. “Go to the thick stand of trees on the right.”

She dodged to the right as another barrage of bullets tore off leaves and tree bark to her left. When she reached the trees, Simone darted behind them.

Jesse was right behind her. He bent, slapped his wrists hard against lower back. The zip tie broke, and Jesse was free. He spun Simone around, slipped his fingers into her zip tie, broke it, then clasped her hand and led her through the jungle.

How long they ran Simone didn’t know. Long enough for her to develop a stitch in her side.

Jesse tugged her toward a thick bank of bushes. They pushed their way through to the other side where a fallen tree lay on the jungle floor. “Perfect. Get on the ground as close to the log as you can.”

She crawled over the tree and dropped to the ground.

“Flat, sweetheart,” he murmured.

Eww. Simone wrinkled her nose as she obeyed. “What will you do?”

“Take care of Boudreax and Sophie.”

“They have guns.”

“Not for long. Stay here. Arm yourself with whatever you can find in case they slip past me. Above all, no matter what you hear, do not move from this tree.”

“Be careful.”

“Always. I love you.” And he was gone.

CHAPTER TWENTY

ALTHOUGH JESSE HATED to leave Simone alone, he had no choice. If he didn’t take care of Boudreax and Sophie, the couple would track them down. Even though Jesse hadn’t left signs for Boudreax to follow, Simone didn’t have the same skill. She’d left a trail obvious enough for even the worst tracker to follow.

Time to protect his woman and get out of this jungle. Once they were safe, Simone could delete the program in Sophie Westlake’s email.

He circled to the right and followed a parallel path to the location where he heard Boudreax cursing. At the moment, the security chief was the bigger threat to Simone’s safety. He’d go after Sophie after he dealt with Boudreax.

Minutes later, Jesse spotted Boudreax tracking Simone’s prints on the ground and the signs of her passage through the foliage. His mouth curved. Yeah, he’d have to teach Simone how to walk or run over the terrain without leaving signs of your passage. He hoped they’d never be in a situation like this again.

Boudreax swore as he batted aside thick jungle foliage that seemed to cling to him like a second skin. He paused and crouched beside a scuff in the jungle floor where Simone had slipped in her haste to flee from Boudreax and Sophie.

The other man chuckled. “Gotcha. I always said women were more trouble than they’re worth.” He stood and resumed his tracking.

Jesse waited for the other man to pass before he made his move. He tackled Boudreax from behind, taking the security chief down hard.

Boudreax cursed as he threw Jesse off and shoved to his feet. He spun to face Jesse in a crouch. “You should have kept running, Porterfield. I’m going to kill you and your woman, too.”

Jesse said nothing as Boudreax spouted more threats. He simply kept moving, waiting for an opening to take down his opponent.

“You got nothing to say?” Boudreax snorted. “Figures. You really are a coward, aren’t you? Some military cop you are. Bet the Army was glad to be rid of you. Where’s your woman? Hiding in the jungle?” He laughed. “Doesn’t matter, Porterfield. I’ll find her. Might spend some time with her before I kill her.”

The security chief gave a come on gesture. “Let’s see what you’re made of, Porterfield. I don’t have all day. I want some time with your woman before I escort mine from the jungle. Then we’ll really celebrate, thinking about you two being dead and gone.” He lunged forward.

Jesse sidestepped. When Boudreax stumbled past him, Jesse slammed the side of his fist into the back of the other man’s neck.

Boudreax fell to his knees but scrambled back up to his feet before Jesse could finish the job. Shaking his head as though to clear it, Boudreax glowered at Jesse. “Think you’re so clever, don’t you?” He grabbed a knife from his boot sheath and brandished the weapon. The metal gleamed in the waning daylight as the blade caught light from a ray of sunshine. Boudreax charged and took Jesse to the ground.

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