Page 25 of Rescuing Nathaniel

“We gotta go, Aves,” he whispered as he snatched her up and threw her over his shoulder.

Ava cried out, but the sound was muffled, either because her survival instincts had immediately kicked in or because she was too weak to make much of a noise he wasn't sure, but he hoped it was the former rather than the latter.

“Someone’s coming,” he added as he ran, hoping he could calm her, although nothing was calming about that news. Still, he didn't want her to panic, make more noise, and draw attention to them.

While he was definitely outnumbered, he wasn't out-skilled. His training was impeccable, and he had years of experience backing it up. He’d trained and operated in many different environments, including the jungle. The terrain was familiar to him, Ava’s slight weight was nothing that would slow him down, at least not in the short term, and he was armed. As far as Nathaniel was concerned, he was in a reasonable position, even if things could be better.

Up ahead was a river. He’d been sticking close to it the whole time because he knew sooner or later it would lead to a village or a town. Assuming the men searching for Ava would think she would find it and follow it, he hadn't kept them too close, but now he headed right for it. If he could get to it, they could hide in its depths, and hopefully, whoever was trying to track them would move on by.

Because he was carrying Ava, and because he had to move fast, Nathaniel was leaving behind a trail that if he had more time, he would have been able to do a better job of concealing. Still, he did what he could. Jumping over fallen logs and tree roots when he could, making slight changes to his direction often, and avoiding anything, like trees with branches that would be easily snapped, and wet parts of the ground that would leave footprints, whenever possible.

When he reached the edge of the tree line, he paused.

Only after scanning the river and spotting no people did he carefully make his way out.

Again, luck was on their side, and he spotted the scraggly remains of a fallen tree trunk that jutted out into the river. That was perfect, they’d get in the water, hold onto it so the current wouldn't draw them further downstream, and the branches would help to provide a little cover making them even more difficult to spot.

“I’m not as good a swimmer as you,” Ava said nervously as he walked along the tree trunk.

“That’s okay, you don’t have to be. Can you hold your breath and confidently stay under water?” He wasn't sure what he was going to do if she said no. Maybe attempt to swim them to the other side. Hopefully, she wouldn't need to stay under for long, if the men were following his trail, they’d likely assume he’d come out of the trees to make running easier, then when they didn't spot him, assume he had veered back into cover and continue on.

“Yeah, I can go under without panicking, not sure how long I can hold my breath for, though,” Ava replied. Already her breathing was labored, and he knew she had to be in excruciating pain from having her wound bounce around against his hard shoulder.

“We’re going to do this together, yeah?” Shifting her around so she was in his arms, he tried not to worry at the sight of her pasty pallor, the dark circles under her eyes, the lines of strain around her face, or the exhaustion that seemed to waft off her in waves.

“Together,” she echoed and gave him one of those determined little nods of hers.

Easing them both into the water, Nathaniel was pleased to find it wasn't as cold as he’d been expecting, in fact, after running it was pleasantly cool against the exposed skin on his hands, neck, and face. Ava also didn't seem to mind the temperature of the water, and he shifted them both to what he thought would be the best position with the most cover.

Almost as soon as he got them both situated, he heard the shout of voices.

Three figures appeared coming out of the trees.

“We’re going to go under. If you have to come up for air, try to tilt your head so just your nose and mouth come up, take in another breath, and then go under again. Keep your movements slow and controlled, and the rest of your body still,” he rattled off commands and then watched to make sure Ava took a breath and went under before doing the same.

Between his love of water from childhood and his SEAL training, he could hold his breath underwater for a solid three minutes at least, his longest was closer to four. He doubted Ava was going to last a minute, though, so he kept himself attuned to her and when he felt her begin to panic, her body’s instincts pushing her to find oxygen, he came up with her.

The three men were still there, but thankfully, they had their backs to the river.

Down he and Ava went again.

This time she didn't last half as long before she was pushing back to the surface to take another breath.

She was doing everything he asked of her, keeping her head tilted back, not allowing much of herself to breach the surface, but this time, their luck had run out.

One of the men happened to be looking right in their direction, and from the shout, Nathaniel knew they’d been spotted.

“Breath, Ava, big as you can take,” he ordered, right before he grabbed her and yanked her under along with him.

Hoping the men assumed he would head for the shore on the other side since the river wasn't all that wide, instead, Nathaniel allowed the current to help and swam along with it down the river.

Bullets flew through the water around them, and he prayed like he’d never prayed before that neither he nor Ava got hit. While he’d gladly take a bullet to spare her, if he got shot, he wouldn’t be able to protect her like he was now, and they’d both be sitting ducks.

When he felt Ava begin to panic, he swam for the surface, popping up only long enough to let her take another breath while he ascertained the position of the men shooting at them. The current had dragged them a good distance away, and the men were still looking at the river as though they expected him to cross it rather than travel down it.

Pulling Ava back under, Nathaniel swam with everything he had, desperate to get Ava away from the danger circling around her, and for the first time in his life, he was grateful for his abusive father. Because if he hadn't been constantly looking for excuses to get out of the house and found the ocean as his escape, he might not have had the skills to get them both somewhere safe.

CHAPTER7

---