Page 25 of Knox's Mission

She started to wave him off, but he captured her by the wrist instead. He brought it to his lips and pressed a kiss to her skin that sent bolts of fire racing through her, warming her better than a campfire and reaching places she didn’t know existed in her body.

“You’d make one helluva soldier,” he said with a smile that tugged at her heart and made her wish for things, impossible things, like for him to want her.

“I’ll take that as the ultimate compliment coming from you,” she responded, pushing up to sitting. The swim had drained what little energy she had left.

“What happened?” Donnie asked as he came jogging up with a stick tucked under one arm. He dropped to his knees in front of Lorna.

“Where were you?” she asked.

“I’m here now,” he said, impatience edged in his tone. Did the man think he was God’s gift to humanity? His self-obsession was getting old. Even Lorna seemed to be cluing in that her boyfriend was an asshole.

He went in for a hug, but Lorna skillfully maneuvered away from him in time.

“I need air,” she said as she pushed up to her knees, found a tree trunk, and then stood on her own, refusing any help from Wonder Boy.

“At least we all made it across,” he said before adding, “but to what end? We’re moving farther away from base camp and could end up sleeping another night in here.”

“You seem to have managed alright so far,” Knox said.

“It’s only a matter of time before luck runs out,” Donnie countered.

“How is it that you seem to come out of every situation unscathed?” Amy finally asked. “Seriously? How do you manage? Because the rest of us are struggling but you seem to come out smelling like a rose every time.”

Donnie shot a go-to-hell look at Amy before turning his gaze to Knox. “Are we there yet?”

Spoken like a true child,Amy thought.

“Almost,” Knox responded, not giving Donnie the satisfaction of wasting his time coming up with an insult.Well played, Knox. “We need to circle back a bit.”

The group followed him into the jungle, away from the river. Amy couldn’t be sure how long they walked or how far. Her thoughts were spinning about Donnie. At least Lorna seemed to be wising up that her boyfriend wasn’t the amazing human beingshe’d believed. Maybe she could snap her brain out of the Donnie-fog and think clearly again. Amy was one hundred percent certain her friend would leave Donnie if she could see him for what he was, a self-serving jerk who wasn’t worth Lorna’s time.

Lorna scooted up next to Amy, who had hold of Knox’s pack. How he’d managed to keep it on his back was still a mystery, except that his time in the service most likely was responsible. She remembered her brother talking about what it was like to carry a hundred-pound ruck, as he’d called it, on his back, not to mention the weight of his vest and weapons while on training drills. Garrett never divulged information about his missions but training, he’d said, could be searched accurately on the internet. He considered it fair game to discuss openly with family.

Of course, that had only meant Amy and their mother since they didn’t associate with extended family. Their mom said everyone was better off that way. Over the years, Amy had had someone who shared her last name request to friend her or follow her on social media. It was impossible to completely disappear.

Except for Knox. He didn’t have a social media account. He didn’t come home once he left. And Amy shouldn’t still carry the same torch, flame just as bright, as she had when they were kids.Correction, she was young,according to Knox. Remembering theindignation in his voice when she’d referred to them both as kids made her smile. It probably shouldn’t make her want to laugh but he’d been so serious. Now that she’d seen sparks of attraction reflected in his eyes, his defensiveness took on a whole new meaning.

Was he fighting the attraction they both felt? Or was she seeing what she wanted? Finding evidence to prove a theory that may or may not be correct? Confirmation bias? Tunnel vision?

Whatever the name, Amy reminded herself to proceed with caution when it came to an attraction with Knox. He still wasn’t opening up to her. He had many secrets. And it would be foolish to build up a possible relationship in her head with a man who kept his guard up so high.

Out of nowhere, the trees opened up into a large, circular clearing. There were huts with thatched roofs sprinkled in a circle around a bonfire. This area looked like something she’d seen on film or in photographs. The simplicity of it amazed her.

Black-haired children ran around wearing shorts and tribal necklaces, playing, laughing, carefree. Bare-breasted and unashamed women huddled, talking, glancing over at the children. It was something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, Amazon style. There were colorful feathers and face painting as part of their wardrobe.

But the minute the foursome stepped out of the trees, make no mistake, the tribe was ready to defend itself against unwelcomed and unexpected guests. A half dozen young men descended on them with arrows at the ready.

Knox spoke in a language she’d never heard before. Whatever he said worked because the young men summoned an older gentleman who walked right up to Knox and embraced him.

Amy exhaled the breath she’d been holding, figuring she might just live to see another day. Out here, she took nothing for granted, not the least of which was that living was a guarantee.

Reduced to focusing only on the present, she found a surprising amount of comfort. Back in the States, she was constantly assaulted with noise. Traffic. Airplanes. Voices. Cell phone conversations. Real peace had escaped her. Out here, she felt alive and like she was part of something bigger instead of life happening all around her without her participation.

She was probably delirious.

Knox put a hand on the older man’s shoulder, which caused him to bow his head and listen.

She had no idea what was being said but the older man nodded and occasionally grunted. And then the man pointed to Donnie. His tone changed. He sounded hostile.

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