Page 36 of Savage Escape

Nathan Savage.

Nathan Savage and getting his ass out safely was her sole purpose. He was her mission and she sure as fuck was going to see that through. Thoughts of him and his big, dumb grin galvanized her into action. She forced herself to take a deep, calming breath and keep moving. To ignore the long-dead screams. To shove back the portraits of blood and gore and loss her brain was trying to paint all around her. Caden stomped the familiar screams and the horrible gut-wrenching death back into their dark corners and shoved the memories to the back of her mind.

Savage.

She had to get him out.

The SUV was locked. Caden knew how to jimmy a lock and she was capable of being all kinds of subtle when breaking into a vehicle. She figured that there was a time and place for subtlety. But now, in the midst of a firefight with a chopper hovering overhead and explosions rocking the ground, was not the time. Which was why she located a big hunk of rock and then proceeded to smash in the driver’s side window with about as much subtly as Savage’s choice of socks and ties.

It was at that point Caden turned to see just where in the hell he was. Her blood congealed when she located his muscle-bound frame in the fray. For a long terrifying moment, all she could do was stare in shocked horror. A gun was pointed at his chest.

The first bullet hit him, and his whole body jerked at the impact. Rage colored her vision and took control. Cold and methodical was how Caden fought. It was how she kept alive. Itgot the job done. But a red haze had settled over her vision and raw rage had the reins now.

She closed the distance in seconds flat, but not before the fucker got another shot off. Caden reached him just as Savage disarmed him.

Disarmed or not, the fucker was dead.

She used an already downed body as a step up and got a grip on the man’s shoulders. With quick, ruthless grace, she made footholds in the fuckwad’s back by kicking and digging into his flesh. She gripped his chin, jerked his head up and to the left, and pulled with all her might. He crumpled and tumbled to the ground, with Caden straddling his back.

“See,” Nathan stumbled around, trying to stay upright, “you love me.” He was holding his arm; red was seeping through his fingers. He hit the ground on his knees, still grinning.

Caden was in no mood to debate with him. She launched her body at the stupid man; knocked his legs out from under him with her weight and fell with him as his back met the ground with an “Ooph!”

“God damn, Caden,” he wheezed and sputtered. “Can’t wait to get in my pants, huh?”

“You stay here. Play dead. I’ll be right fucking back.” After a moment of hesitation, the mercenary glanced back down at him and leaned over to get right in his face. “Don’t die, Nathan.” She took a breath and tried not to sound too pathetic. “...please.”

He was bleeding. Caden couldn’t make herself look at his bullet holes. Not yet. Not when they weren’t even out of the goddamn compound. What if they were fatal? What if he died? What if she never woke up in his human blanket again? What if he stopped grinning that silly grin? What if he became another headstone she had to visit?

“I won’t.” He flashed his pearly whites and Caden about let loose with the waterworks. "We’ve still got some smooching to do."

She could do nothing for a whole thirty seconds but smile down at the ridiculous man. She had to blink to clear the blur of tears in her eyes and forced herself to concentrate on the small signs of life. The way his chest heaved up and down, the pulse that beat on his neck, all the tiny lines creased in pain around his mouth and eyes.

It took her too long to refocus. What the fuck was she supposed to be doing?

Out.

They were getting out.

With all the single-minded intensity of a shark on the hunt, she charged through the firefight, intent on only getting to the SUV and getting back to Nathan.

It took too long. Every step forward felt as if she was taking two backwards. When she’d finally reached the SUV, she had to refocus on popping off the cover on the steering wheel column and then focus on not locking up the starter. On finding the right wires, on stripping the plastic coverings, and breaking the steering lock. In all, it had only taken three minutes, but to Caden, it felt like an hour.

“Nathan.” She stepped out of the driver’s side and peered down at the man. “You’re alive.” It wasn’t a question, it was a command.

He was white and still holding his arm. A puddle of red had gathered under him and he was blinking drunkenly up at her. When he caught sight of her, his pain-stricken face cracked into an all-out smile, like she was the only thing he’d wanted to see.

“I’m alive.” He was slightly slur-y. “I told ya—I ain’t dying ‘til later. Much later.”

She had to stop the blood flow. He was losing too much. His shoulder was spurting blood. His leg had a bullet hole too, but it wasn’t spitting out blood like the other one. The bullet must have hit an artery.

“Fuck.” She stripped the downed men strewn around them of their belts and shirts. “Are you hit anywhere else, Nathan?” She hadn’t seen any other holes in him, but that didn’t mean shit. “Here—keep pressure on that.”

“Not ‘til I’ve had ya for a good long while, at least.” He was grinning still. “You’ll love livin’ in Texas. Maybe we should get a dog.”

Ignoring his gabbing, the mercenary made her tourniquets with the belts and shirts she took off the bodies. She’d done it enough before to do it quickly and well. She cut his sleeve off at the neck and made sure that the bullet had gone straight through before she put the first tourniquet a good three inches above the seeping bullet hole and wrapped it around until she had just enough to knot. He moaned in pain but kept on jabbering when she moved to do the same to his leg.

“You’ll love my mama too. Bobby’ll take to ya.”

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