Page 19 of Rescuing Nathaniel

“Yes.”

Nathaniel’s simple answer had fine tremors rolling through her body. How were the two of them supposed to evade what she was guessing would be at least half a dozen men, when she was injured?

“I have my weapon, but I don’t want to use it unless I have to since it will give away our position too easily,” Nathaniel continued.

“We could stay here. Maybe they won't see the caves, or if they do maybe they won't come and check them out.” Her excuses sounded flimsy because Ava knew that if she was looking for someone and she saw these caves, she would absolutely assume that was where they were.

“You know we’ll be found if we stay,” Nathaniel told her. “We have to go. Now. I need an honest answer, Ava. Can you walk or do I need to carry you?”

Even in the dark, she could feel his gaze on her, assessing the truth in not just whatever words she would speak but in her body language as well.

The problem was, she wasn't sure what the truth was.

She believed she could walk if she kept her focus on the stakes and just how high they were. But there was a chance that her body wasn't as strong as her mind, and she’d wind up collapsing and drawing attention to them.

If she was uncertain then that gave her her answer.

“I don’t think I can walk in the dark.” Ava hated saying the words, but she wasn't going to allow her pride to put Nathaniel’s life in greater danger.

Without saying anything, he moved. She felt it more than saw it even though she was right beside him.

Pain exploded through her body when he flung her over his shoulders. It was so intense she had to fight back a wave of nausea. If there was anything more in her stomach than the berries they’d eaten yesterday it would have come right back up.

It was probably a blessing that darkness danced at the edges of her vision as Nathaniel took off into the night. Hovering on the brink of consciousness meant that the pain receded a little, as did her fear.

Nathaniel moved like he wasn't carrying her added weight, and while Ava would love to beg him to hold her in his arms so his shoulder didn't dig into her wound, she knew he had to carry her this way so he had one hand free to hold his weapon.

Since he was only in danger because of her, she wasn't going to draw attention to them.

So she clamped her teeth and dug her fingers into the wetsuit, which didn't really allow her to hold on as tightly as she wanted, but was better than nothing.

They moved fast but smoothly, and she was sure Nathaniel was doing his best to cause her as little pain as possible while still getting them away from the oncoming threat. As much as she would have loved to just head off in the direction the men were heading so they didn't have to make the risky move of getting around them, she also knew that wasn't sustainable. She was pretty much useless, so they needed to get behind the men to the area they thought they’d already checked if they wanted to increase their odds.

After what felt like forever even though she knew it couldn’t be, Nathaniel abruptly stopped. He dropped low, taking her with him, and shifted her so she was held against his chest, her back to his front.

While she was breathing raggedly like she’d just run a marathon even though she’d done nothing more than hang off Nathaniel’s shoulder, his breathing was smooth and steady, like what he’d done was nothing. The reminder of his strength and skill was enough to calm her racing heart a little.

“Sorry,” his voice whispered against her ear, and the warm puff of air that accompanied it was comforting in a way she hadn't been expecting.

“Now who’s the one apologizing,” she teased, because honestly, if she didn't she was just going to burst into tears.

“Guess you're rubbing off on me,” Nathaniel said in a tone she couldn’t quite figure out if it was serious or joking.

“Why did we stop?”

“Shh,” he murmured back, and then she heard it.

Voices.

Faint but getting louder.

Closer.

The men searching for her were coming.

Nathaniel had hidden them under a leafy plant, and since it was dark and he was dressed all in black with her between him and the tree trunk, they would be hard to spot.

Hard but not impossible.

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