Page 15 of Protected By the SEAL

“Good morning, I’m good.” I nod slowly. “Yeah, alright. I was just checking around. Seeing what’s going on.”

“Anything to worry about?” Her hands rest on her hips, drawing my attention to her waist. “Anything going on?”

“Not so much. I mean, I can’t say that there definitely isn’t something to worry about because I don’t know for sure, but for the moment, I think everything is fine. I definitely think that we should get a move on soon, though.”

“Well, I’m ready. I just need to get packed up. I’ll help you take the tent down and everything. You don’t need to do it alone.”

“I was actually thinking that I might leave the tent up,” I inform her. “To make it seem like we might be here. Once we’re gone, it could be a good decoy if any of the gang members do spot it, and also because it takes forever to pack away. I don’t think that we need to waste the time trying to put it away. It’ll just be a whole lot easier that way, I think…”

Cassie nods silently. I can almost see the cogs ticking around in her brain, but I don’t know what she’s thinking. I need to ask. This seems like the right time to start the dreaded conversation, but the words aren’t coming. They are stuck in the back of my throat. I’m starting to think that if I start talking about us, we’re going to end up pushing apart from one another.

Bang!I glance around wildly. What the hell was that? I mean, I know what that was, I recognize the noise, but it’s hard to accept that it’s happening now. It’s too early in the morning for that.Bang, bang, bang!

“They are here.” Cassie begins trembling instantly. “Oh, God, they’ve come back for me already. This is a nightmare.”

It is a nightmare, it’s hell, it’s the middle of a fucking drama that no one wants. It puts our issues to the back of my mind. There’s no conversation needed to be had right now. We need to get away from here, and quickly.

“Okay, let’s not panic,” I command, hoping that she will listen to me. “Let’s continue on with our plan. We need to pack up quickly, move a little faster. But don’t worry because they aren’t close enough just yet. We have time.”

“Are you sure about that?” she asks, her voice shaking with nerves. “Are you sure we have the time?”

I nod confidently, showing her that I know we can do this. Even if there are any nerves deep within me, I’m not going to let Cassie see that. The sounds are mixed up in the jungle. It isn’t always easy to tell where noises are coming from, but my determination to make sure that we get out of here alive will overshadow everything. Ihaveto do this for her. For us.

I start moving quickly, packing everything up as fast as I can, and Cassie takes my lead. She might be in shock and a little glazed-eyed like she was yesterday, but she’s doing what needs to be done, for which I’m grateful. It makes everything a whole lot easier. Neither of us is letting things go, neither of us is giving up. We are working together.

“Are we going to the motel now?” Cassie demands, anger flooding her tone in place of fear. “Are we getting out of here?”

“Yes, I don’t think that we need to spend any more time in the jungle. Neither of us needs that.”

Also, we’re leaving the tent behind so another night in the jungle isn’t really possible. We will be stuck with the elements. But again, that isn’t something we need to discuss. I’m just going togetus out of here no matter what. There’s no Plan B. I really don’t see Cassie being able to handle a Plan B, anyway. She needs to be back with her family, in reality, at long last.

“Okay.” I reach out my hand to hers, and Cassie takes it willingly. Thank God, at least last night hasn’t made it awkward. I would hate that. Especially in this situation. “Come on, then, I think it’s time for us to get out of here.”

We move quickly, almost running a lot of the way, clinging to one another a lot of the time. I hold on to a whole lot of fear that we will end up making the same mistake as last time and run into one of the guys. I have my gun with me, within reach at all times, but I would much rather not be put in a position where I have to kill again. I don’t want to be forced to go into hiding once more. I get the feeling that Cassie isn’t keen on the killing either, and she’s on edge enough as it is.

“Are you okay?” It looks like the heat is getting to her, like she’s getting weary already. “I just need to check the map.”

I give her water, and as she gulps it down, I check the map and the compass to make sure we’re headed in the right direction. I don’t like stopping. It makes me very anxious, but if it allows us to keep on going, then so be it. I don’t want to push her too far over the edge until she faints. I don’t know if carrying her out of the jungle will work out well.

“Are we going in the right direction?” She wipes the sweat from her forehead. “You aren’t worried, are you?”

She might be trying to say this in a lighthearted manner, but I can hear the strain in her words. I don’t need to because thankfully, my tracking skills have been on point all morning, but if I told her that we weren’t, I have a feeling that she might fall.

“We’re good, you don’t need to worry. We’re going to be back soon. We’ll be sorted.”

She can relax then, but not me. I need to get on the phone to Max right away. I need to get him on the case to get me and Cassie away. I’ll need a plane to take me as far away from Puerto Rico aspossible, preferably with Cassie by my side so I can keep an eye on her as much as I can, but I suppose she will want to be back with her family at last.

“You can speak to your family. You will be talking to them soon,” I reassure her. “I know you’re worried about that.”

Cassie’s face darkens. I don’t know how much she even wants to speak to her family now, but I suppose that’s something we can deal with later. She can decide what she wants to do with regard to her family when we’re safe. But for now, we need to keep on moving. We need to get our asses out of here as soon as possible…

14

CASSIE

“We’re here?” I stammer as I see a strange-looking building looming in front of us. “Is this it? Is this the motel?”

I don’t want to get my hopes up. I’m too scared of being disappointed, because if this isn’t the motel, I fear I might die. Benji has done everything that he can to look after me, but I’ve been in a state the entire time. Emotional, exhausted, drained… I might have ploughed on through the journey with no complaints, but that’s only because I knew it wouldn’t help things. I didn’t want to drag down Benji’s positivity because that was the only thing keeping us going… but if we’re still not there, I might die.

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