Page 16 of Point of Contact

Someone who was supposed to protect her.

"Perk up, Princess." Reed's no-nonsense tone almost snapped her out of the cycle of self-pity. "We've got a long day ahead of us."

She sucked in a breath, this one not smelling nearly as bad as the ones before it. "Fine." She smoothed her hair back from her face and readjusted the messy ponytail hanging on by a thread. "What do we do now?"

A slow smile spread across Reed's lips, making it impossible to ignore how handsome he was in spite of his asshole-ish nature. "Now we get back in that water."

CHAPTER SIX

REED

HE EXPECTED HER to argue. To throw a fit just like she had every other time he asked her to do something she didn't want to do. And, based on the look on her face, it was clear Courtney did not want to get in that water.

Her eyes drifted back the way they came, lingering over the shadowy swamp. "Is it because if we go through the water they can't track our footsteps?"

He might have been impressed with her conclusion if the woman hadn't done everything in her power to drive him absolutely insane for as long as he'd known her. "Bingo."

Courtney pressed her lower lip between her teeth, dark brows pinching together in the moonlight. "You know there are alligators in every body of water in Florida, right?"

The thought actually hadn't occurred to him. He knew Alaska inside out and upside down, but Florida was a different beast entirely. One he wasn't quite as equipped to wrestle.

But he wasn't going to tell her that.

"We've got two options, Princess." He pointed down the muddy shoreline. "We can stay out of the water and leave them a trail to follow us," his eyes swung pointedly to the murky depths, "or, we can take our chances with the alligators."

Courtney sucked in a breath, digging the heels of her hands against closed eyes. "Okay. Fine." She turned and took a tentative step into the soggy wetland, visibly cringing as her foot sunk into the muck. "I hope you don't want these boots back."

He hid his surprise at her willingness to slosh their way through an escape. "Let's just call them yours."

Reed followed Courtney into the water, his own socked feet splashing through the mess as she carefully picked her way along. She barely made it ten feet before wobbling, forcing him to grab her by the hand to keep her steady.

Her eyes came his way before dropping back to the water. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I just don't feel like arm wrestling an alligator over you." He put himself on the deeper end, giving her the shallower water since she seemed to be struggling. It actually wasn't that much different from trudging through the snow. Snow might be a little more forgiving, and not infested with anything that might murder you, but at least this was warm. Especially since he'd offered up his boots in the hopes it would keep her moving.

And it had.

Courtney continued making faces as they walked. She cringed at every sucking sound made as her feet pulled free from the bottom of the mucky mass, but she didn't stop. And she didn’t slow down or complain.

They continued along what might have been considered a river by some people’s standards, sticking to the shallower water as they put more and more distance between themselves, the hotel, and the men who forced their way into his room. He hadn't decided if or when he would tell Courtney about that part. He'd seen how she acted when she was pretending her life was in danger, so he could only imagine the fuckery she would unleash when she was actually in danger.

Which he still hadn't been entirely convinced she was, right up until he saw the masked men standing outside of his room.

They clearly weren't trained the way he, or anyone else at Alaskan Security, was. Which led him to believe they were likely tied to Courtney's father's dealings. Dealings which seemed to have placed a target right on her back.

A back that was now slightly more slumped than normal.

She was getting tired. Her breathing was a little heavy and bits of hair had fallen from her ponytail and now clung to her sweaty skin. Each step seemed to take more effort than the last, even if the pace was the same. Courtney wasn't cut out for this.

Not like he was.

He slowed, directing her to the shoreline. Guilt wasn't something he was used to feeling when this woman was involved, but there was a first time for everything. "We can move up to dryer land now."

Courtney's shoulders lifted the tiniest bit. "Really?"

He nodded. "Really. I think we've come far enough." He sloshed up onto the bank, fighting the last of the muck before finally landing on something stable. They'd probably come half a mile. Far enough to hide the path they’d taken away from the hotel, but still not out of danger. The overgrowth of the shoreline had thinned to the point there was little keeping anyone driving down the road from seeing them, so they still needed to move carefully.

"Thank God." Courtney trudged up the bank, swiping one forearm across her brow as she let out a long breath. "I really didn't want to get eaten today." Her eyes slid his way and her lips twitched. "At least not by an alligator."

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