Page 24 of Provoking Bryan

He didn’t believe her but didn’t press. There wasn’t time.

More movement in the grass caught his attention. Without hesitation, Bryan raised his weapon and fired, taking down the final attacker before he could get close.

The silence that followed was deafening, broken only by the crash of the waves below.

Bryan knelt beside Sara, his hands gentle as he inspected the wound on her thigh. Blood trickled from the graze, but it didn’t seem deep. “You’re hit,” he said, his tone calm but firm.

“It’s nothing,” she replied, brushing him off.

His jaw tightened, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he pulled a bandage from his bag, wrapping it securely around her thigh.

As he worked, he spoke, his voice low but steady. “They know we’re here. We can’t stay.”

Sara nodded, her expression grim. “We’ll keep moving. Head for the cliffs. If we’re lucky, we can lose them in the terrain.”

Bryan stood, pulling her to her feet. “We’ll figure it out. Let’s go.”

Her eyes met his, and for a moment, something unspoken passed between them—a connection forged in the fire of survival.

But the danger wasn’t over. As they disappeared into the shadows of the tall grass, Bryan’s mind was already calculating their next move.

One thing was certain: the cartel wasn’t done with them. And he wasn’t about to let them win.

Bryan’s pulse thundered as he adjusted Sara’s arm around his shoulders, the weight of her body leaning heavily against him. The attack had rattled them both, but it was her injury that set his teeth on edge. Blood soaked the makeshift bandage he’d wrapped hastily around her thigh, the crimson stain growing with each step they took deeper into the rocky cliffs.

“I’m fine,” Sara muttered, her voice strained but defiant.

“You’re bleeding all over the place, Sara,” Bryan snapped, his tone sharper than he intended. “That’s not fine.”

She winced as he shifted her weight to get a better grip, her stubbornness faltering under the pain. “We need to keep moving. If they track us?—”

“I’ll deal with it,” he cut her off, his voice low but firm. “Right now, you focus on staying upright.”

The terrain was unforgiving, the uneven rocks and dense brush making every step a challenge. Bryan’s mind raced as he scanned their surroundings, calculating their next move. The cliffside ahead offered a narrow ledge that dipped into a small cove. It wasn’t ideal, but it was defensible.

“There,” he said, nodding toward the ledge. “We’ll stop there.”

Sara tensed against him. “We can’t stop. They’ll catch up.”

Bryan ignored her protest, guiding her toward the ledge. “You won’t be any good to either of us if you bleed out.”

She didn’t respond, but the way her head dipped slightly against his shoulder told him she knew he was right.

By the time they reached the cove, Bryan was sweating, his muscles burning from the effort of supporting her. He easedher down onto a flat patch of rock, his hands moving quickly to check her wound.

“You didn’t tell me it was this deep,” he said, his voice tight as he peeled back the blood-soaked fabric. The gash along her thigh was jagged, the result of a near-miss from a bullet.

“It’s not that bad,” Sara replied weakly, though her pale complexion betrayed her.

Bryan shot her a look, his frustration barely contained. “Stop downplaying it. Let me work.”

She fell silent, her eyes closing as he cleaned the wound with water from his canteen. Bryan’s hands were steady, his focus absolute as he worked. He wasn’t just treating her injury—he was anchoring himself, channeling the chaos of the day into a singular purpose.

“This is going to hurt,” he warned, pressing a piece of gauze against the wound to staunch the bleeding.

Sara hissed, her fingers curling into fists, but she didn’t complain.

Bryan’s jaw tightened as he secured the bandage with strips of medical tape. “You’re lucky. Another inch, and that bullet would’ve torn through an artery.”

---