Page 58 of Poison Evidence

She didn’t want to think about what would happen then. Much as she wanted out of this situation, the actual ending of it scared the hell out of her.

Dimitri believed he would die. He was certainly facing prison in the US. But what would Russia do to him if he went back there?

He’d killed a Russian to protect Ivy. Sure, the man had been actively shooting at him at the time, but still. What if they were ostensibly on the same side?

She glanced around the clearing. Covered by trees on all sides, only aircraft could find her here, and it would be impossible for Dimitri to approach without her hearing.

She pulled out the satellite phone she’d managed to grab and tuck in the holster with the gun. Her fingers hovered over the keypad. Should she call Curt and give him a full update?

Dimitri had told her everything he knew about finding the AUUV. She no longer needed him. Except for protection.

They’d be here for a few days at least. All she had to do was call Curt, give him their GPS coordinates, and a team of SEALs would come to her rescue.

But what would happen to Dimitri?

She knew in her gut he’d never survive the confrontation. Not that the SEALs would gun for him, but because he might have a death wish.

She needed to know more about his situation, more about who he was protecting and why. Without that information, it was too soon to call Curt.

Later, maybe she could call Alec. He could send a team of Raptor operatives who could help her bring Dimitri in alive.

He’d known she’d take the phone. Hell, it was what any sane person would do. He could have stopped her, but she wasn’t his prisoner anymore, and he wanted her to know that.

So here he was, stuck in the cave, giving Ivy the freedom to destroy him and trying to decide if he should be packing up CAM to flee to another island.

He should have asked her to track down Luke’s phone number. It was time for a direct conversation.

He paced in the lower part of the cave, antsy. He was usually so good at reading people, but he was at a loss for what to expect from Ivy. But then, she’d surprised him at every turn.

He’d expected her to be smart but also cold. Calculating. Potentially in league with her ex. But she’d been charming and engaging and innocent.

Then he’d expected her to collapse in the mangrove swamp in hysterics. Instead, she’d gone after CAM with a coolheaded understanding of her dangerous situation.

Then she blew his mind by begging him to take her in the shower.

The twists of the funhouse ride kept coming at her, but each time, Ivy MacLeod met it and demonstrated a different kind of strength than he expected from her in that moment, whether she was pulling a gun on him or taking charge and shutting down the transmitter.

She was resilient. Smart. Strong. He wanted to support her strength with his own, be her reinforcement as new challenges were tossed her way.

He was falling hard for her. How fucked up was it that she was the only woman he’d ever abducted? That he was all in on his final mission, and he’d finally met someone who made him want to defy his rules of detachment?

She was probably calling in a SEAL team right now to come and fry his ass. Because he was a dumbshit and refused to follow abductor/abductee conventions.

She had all the power. All he had was muscle he’d never use against her.

He stared at the pool of water and, without thinking, began to strip. He was hot, wound up. A swim would do him good. Nude, he dove in. At its deepest point, the pool was fifteen feet deep. He swam down, clearing his ears, the water a cool brine on his hot skin.

He groped in the darkness until he found the lip of the rock that edged the tunnel. Did he have enough breath to swim out? Yes. It was the return trip that would be the problem. He could swim around the island and climb the hillside, but there was risk there. Kayakers could be paddling in the channels between islands. They might not bat an eye at seeing a nude man circling the beach, but if they were questioned later, they’d almost certainly remember him.

As tempting as the vigorous swim was, he needed to keep a cool head. Like Ivy. Logic dictated he stay in the cave. No unnecessary risks.

If he screwed up, he’d be putting Ivy at risk as well. He had to be fair to her and live up to his promise to protect her.

He kicked for the surface and took a gasping breath when he reached it.

“Jesus! You scared the shit out of me!”

He smiled. Ivy was back. “Join me?”

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