Page 10 of Delta: Retribution

CHAPTER FIVE

Marlena’s heart slammed in her chest. The Trace in front of her was the same Trace that she’d been in bed with for a first-name-only good time. Her one-night stand was coming back to haunt her, and it did so in the shape of a jungle-slaying white knight. One-night stands happened, butthisdidn’t. How could they find each other on two different continents, neither of which she was sure they both lived on full-time?

Nervous energy pulsed through her while she tried to focus on the killers who lurked somewhere in the jungle, not the distraction-worthy, gun-wielding savior pulling her quickly through a wall of vegetation.

Trace raised his fist, and they stopped short, making her slam into his back. It was a solid wall of cut muscle covered by a bulletproof vest and a small arsenal strapped to his body. The way he acted, he clearly was in communication with someone, though who it was, she had no idea.

An animal screeched near her. She jumped, clinging to Trace, arms wrapping around his thick torso. He turned his head, glancing at her in the dark. She couldn’t see his face, even that close up, but could feel the stare.

“This is going to be awkward, huh?” His low voice was muffled by the thick jungle that surrounded them. Birds squawked. Something that sounded much larger and…hungrygrowled in the near distance.

She tried to replace cold fear with fake strength. That was what had allowed her to survive her abduction. Hell, it was probably the cause of her one-night stand. She took a deep breath and lied. “I don’t do awkward, don’t worry about it.”

He laughed. “I don’t recall there wasn’t a lot you wouldn’t do.”

Instant heat flooded her neck and cheeks, but she tried to channel über-confidence. “You’ve got jokes.” She gave him a quick jab with her elbow. It made him chuckle until his hand cupped her shoulders and shoved her down into the warm dirt.

In the distance, bullets rang out. Her body jumped with each crack of fire. The jungle acoustics screwed with her. Which way were they coming from? Who did Trace work for, anyway? This was way too much trust to be levied in a guy just because she’d slept with him. Bark peeled off the trees around them, splinters floating down from bullets.

Trace kneeled over her, tugging her close and blocking her body. The familiar scent of him reminded her of their night together. He watched the black abyss, gun pointed toward attackers she couldn’t see. He wasn’t gentle with her. Then again, they hadn’t been gentle with each other last time they’d been together, and she’d enjoyed the hell out of it.

More gunfire. Why on earth was she thinking about that right then?God.

Despite the oppressive heat, shivers ran down her back. Her memory betrayed rational thought and replayed flashes of his broad chest over her and him driving into her, hands gripping her tight, teeth raking her skin, and her nipples, and much lower. She pulled a quick breath.

“You okay down there?”

As her eyes became more accustomed to the dark, she saw his chin tilt toward her. He had absolutely no idea what had gone through her head. Good—that’d be embarrassing. But he’d been fun, and the night she’d had with him had been her one wild reprieve in an otherwise obsessively private last year.Stop! Thinking!About him in bed. Though, at least Brian wasn’t commentating in her head, at the moment.

“Hey, whatever your name is, you doing okay?”

It would’ve sounded mean if there hadn’t been a smile in his voice. And amusement right then would’ve been crazy, given that they were surrounded by people trying to kill each other—trying to killthem—but she felt safe with him, and he didn’t seem that bothered by the whole situation.

Leave it to her to run into her meaningless sex partner when he was saving her life. Of course. “Yup. Doing great.”

“Good, ’cause we’re on the move again.” When he stood them up, he towered over her. “Let’s go, Cinderella.”

He pulled her through thickets and under branches. Bugs tickled her skin. Sweat dampened her clothes, making them stick to her. He was soaking wet, but she had no idea why. It wasn’t from their effort.

They came to a stop, and he lowered himself into a squat, pulling her with him. “Why Mallory if you’re Marlena?”

Surprised it took that long for him to ask, she tried to think of the best answer and not to gasp from her run. Panting like that wasn’t sexy—not that it mattered—and moving through the jungle wasn’t as easy as it looked in the movies.

“Not explaining the name?” he asked.

She closed her eyes.Oh, just trying not to sound like an out-of-shape oaf. “Mallory, Marlena. I did that for all the reasons you were sent to find me.” And in all her out-of-breath glory, her foot caught on a root, and she hit the ground. “Shit. Sorry.”

In a second, he had her up and in his arms. She was close enough to feel his even breath. His camo-painted face stared down at her, and she was locked in their crazy moment until he broke the stare. “I’m not trying to manhandle you. But this’ll be faster.”

What—?Oh. He took off quickly, with Marlena cradled in his arms. In theory, his running through the jungle while holding her didn’t seem the faster route. But in reality, they covered significantly more ground when she wasn’t trying to walk.

“Ten-four, soldier.”God, where did that come from? Maybe not enough oxygen had reached her brain after chasing him in the humid rain forest.

“Soldier, huh?” He laughed and jumped down an embankment that didn’t slow him at all but made her stomach flip into her throat.

“Aren’t you?” That was the only logical conclusion. She’d met him right off of Ramstein, and now he was dressed like a military badass in a jungle somewhere. An American soldier was the only answer she could come up with.

“Something like that.” He ducked them under brush then came to a stop, looking around in the darkness and checking something in his hand. “So I’m a soldier, and you’re a high-value target. What’s the deal on the name?”

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