Page 74 of Evening Shadows

On their journey, Franks updated him, but he didn’t have much new intel. Cell signals were spotty inside the rainforest due to the thickness of the cover and he didn’t have the sat phone. Damn, Bev and her goons. He wanted his gear. Devon will be apoplectic about needing to replace it along with everything else.

He stumbled over a tree root and faster than he could imagine, Doc grabbed his arm to steady him. He nodded his thanks. There was a time when he would have been mortified to need the support, and no doubt looking to see if anyone had seen his near miss. His ego was well past concern about such things. Survival was all that mattered.

The pulling of muscles when he’d tripped amped up the pain in his thigh. He bit through it until it settled again—something he could easily work through. They hadn’t gone far so he couldn’t allow it to affect him this early in their trek.

With his weapon in his hand, he ignored the tug on his chest. He searched the area—as they all did—but he’d been limited in turning. Doc whispered to him to keep forward so he could watch his step better and not injure himself worse.

Ken nodded his understanding and trekked on.

But when he looked forward, his heart swelled with love and pride. While he’d still prefer she not put herself in danger, he knew this was what she was made for. His little warrioress sent a thrill of excitement through him when she slipped into that mode. Focused and fierce, she looked so damn hot in her BDU pants and long-sleeve T-shirt.

Sweat trickled down his spine and his temples. Tossing a glance over his shoulder to confirm Doc remained behind him—as he’d done to Cowboy—didn’t settle his nerves. His team had outstanding skills, but with them on an open—albeit narrow—path, they’d passed too easily. Preferably they’d continue unscathed, but unease clenched his gut.

Less than five minutes after those thoughts—as if he’d summoned trouble—noticeable movement in the jungle with trees and brush moving, spurred them into action. Franks leaned back to Sam and said something Ken didn’t hear. As Doc and Cowboy split off to intercept the potential threat, Sam dropped to the rear.

Damn, his earpiece was dead. He wanted to yank it free and stomp on it but left it, just in case the comm piece came to life. But, oh how he hated not being the first in the know.

Franks picked up his pace and Ken had no option but to follow him if he wanted to remain with the man. Sam had rescued him, helped him dress and stand, and now she had his back—again. Pride filled his chest. She was so fucking amazing.

“Dammit,” Franks said. “Doesn’t that bitch ever give up?” He halted them, looked down at his GPS unit, said something in the comm piece that Ken didn’t catch and turned back to them.

“Wait right there,” Franks ordered.

Before Ken could question it, Franks slipped off in the direction of the other two agents, blending into the jungle.

At least they didn’t leave them unprotected. He and Sam did have their weapons. If they had to make a dash for it, he’d keep upright to prevent Sam from being held back.

Sam crouched, her chest heaving as she caught her breath. While both trained for endurance, a little rest wasn’t unwelcome. A short one though.

Waiting and not participating lanced his every nerve. With his weapons, he could hold his own, but only if the fight remained stationary. Which was unlikely.

With weapons at the ready, they surveyed their area and kept a watch in all directions for potential threats. Gunfire erupted in the direction the team had headed and snapped their attention in that direction. As a rule, HIS avoided gunfire if at all possible.

Sam surged to her feet, and he pushed back to look around them to ensure their bubble of security remained intact. A barely perceptible unnatural jungle noise behind him carried in the stilted breeze that slithered up his spine with a bead of threat. Although he tried to steady it, his pulse quickened and adrenaline pushed him into his fight-or-flight mode. He made to spin around and protect them.

Before he could, behind them, arms reached out of the jungle and out of the corner of his eye, horror biting down on him for Sam’s safety. His heart pounded and the reflex to fight raged in him. Those arms wrapped around each of them to prevent him and Sam from using their weapons. He couldn’t hear but felt Sam’s strangled cry as hands clamped over their mouths, and a roar came from him into his captor’s hand. Within seconds, the jungle swallowed the two of them.

His stomach clenched and revolted as his heart churned within. Once again, Sam had been captured, and he’d not been able to prevent it.

30

Frantically twisting and turning to free herself or grab a weapon, Sam’s heartbeat went into overdrive racing so fast she thought it would explode from her chest. While that racked her system, her mind remained cold, cool, and focused, yet a little off-balanced.

There’d been one man on each of them. She had no idea if more existed. Judging by where she hit his body, her threat stood at least six feet tall and had been strong enough to lift her from the ground. She didn’t weigh overly much, but it still required a strong man to do so with one arm.

Since she couldn’t wrestle herself free with her current tactics, she went on the attack—one of the only ways she could in her position. Her combat boots made a nice sound when one connected with a knee.

“Oomph.”

While it sounded more like surprise than pain, a short dose of satisfaction lifted her confidence. She’d go for the other knee before she got dirty. If she had to move to that tactic, it’d have to be with a fist instead of her knee since she faced away from him. Somehow predicting her movement toward his uninjured knee, her captor shifted out of her strike range.

“Easy, Sugar.” The whispered name and command set her relief on a whirlwind. Bravo team had arrived. Then her ire rose. Why hadn’t anyone told them? Ken’s comm must be completely down. No wonder her team hadn’t worried about leaving them where they had. They would receive her boot up their asses for keeping them in the dark.

“Package is secure,” Grits said low, presumably to all on their comms.

The thrill of anticipation crept up her spine. They could get Ken to safety even though he thought he could make it by himself. She knew they needed help and not just because of his wounds. Alejandro had more men than they did. No sense playing the odds when you didn’t have to do so.

She spun around and shot a look at Grits, ready to give him a piece of her mind for that stunt, for making her fear for her life, but he placed a finger over his lips. Hoping to hear over the loud pulsing beat of her heart in her ears, she closed her eyes, swallowed, and focused.

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