Page 47 of All The Way Under
I narrow my eyes and tilt my head to the side.
“I am the slow military government that’s been taking too long to get you out of here.”
I widen my eyes, though it’s not shock. It’s something akin to puzzling the pieces together.
“Almost everything I’ve told you is true. I’m a Navy SEAL, and not only am I to bring you back alive and well, but I also needed to gather intel and take this faction down.” He shakes his head. “I can’t kill Zafy, so that complicates this. My Team—Actually,” he says, pausing to look at the sky, craning his neck to the side. “More than my Team are heading to the east base and far fields right now to take over this compound. We need to do this my way, Sweet Pea.”
He fiddles with his wrist again.
“I have an implant under my skin that called them here.”
I stutter, but try to compose myself. He’s a Navy SEAL, and he’s kept me here for over a month. He has inside information. That name could have only come from my dad. What is going on here?
“You could have pressed your little button and gotten us out of here the day you arrived and didn’t?” The anger simmers, right at the surface, waiting to lash, but as my dad would say, the past is past. Focus on the future.
He looks away, ashamed. “This is why I couldn’t tell you. I needed to make sure I had all the information before we left, and then, well…” he whispers.
“Well, what?” I retort.
He looks at me. “Then I figured out who you were to me and what that meant.”
“Stop dancing around it. What did you figure out about me, and what did it mean?”
“Admittedly, I just found out the last connection I needed to ensure we’re able to close this kidnapping-for-ransom ring down for good. It’s only been a few days of stalling because I enjoy spending time with you.”
I press my lips together and plant my hands on my hips. The helicopters are in the distance. They’re chopping the air at a breakneck pace that echoes in the humid jungle air. The animals chirp and scream as the foreign noise breaks their usual stillness.
“Spending time with me is really vague, Brody.”
He looks away and up, clenching his jaw, then turns back to me. The time for talking is dwindling. Neither of us knows what comes next.
“What do you want me to say? That I fell for you? My target? Someone I’m meant to protect at all costs? Am I supposed to just put it all out there so you can destroy me the second you realize I’m a military employee who doesn’t have an endless bank account and connections all over the world?”
“That is not me, and you know it,” I snarl, aiming a finger at his chest. “I don’t care what you do or how much money you have. I care about your heart and the truth.” I tear my gaze from his. “And right now, it sounds like I only have your heart, seeing as we don’t have time for the truth. Where should we go?”
Brody picks me up with one arm, and he slams me against the tree forcefully. Then he lifts me. My cap falls off from the force, but he catches it with his free hand smoothly and slips it backward on his head.
Shit.My stomach flips and flutters.
“Now that that’s out of my way,” he growls against my ear. Without any care for the fact that we’re in danger, Collin andTurner are watching, or the helicopters chopping the air, he presses his lips against mine.
Brody’s lips feel like a drug. Even though I have nothing to compare it to because I don’t partake in party drugs like most of my friends, I know addiction when I taste it. His tongue slips into mine, and I swear I feel his pulse, his desire, the chemistry buzzing from his body into mine.
Opening my eyes to watch him turns me on even more.
“If we weren’t in grave danger with an audience, I would take you right here and now.” He grins, leaning in to kiss my collarbone, then my neck.
I exhale loudly. Brody kisses me once more, pulling back to look me in the eyes. They’re blue and pure, and for maybe the first time, I don’t see a shield. Nothing separates us.
Maybe I don’t know the whole story about his past, but in his eyes, I can see forever. As corny as it sounds, and as insane as we must look right now, given the circumstances.
“If this were a movie, we’d be about to die.”
Turner yells. “We are about to die,” he says, panting loudly.
Brody swivels his gaze.
“Aren’t we?” Turner asks now that he has Brody’s attention. “Answer her first question and stop thinking with your dick. Where do we go?”
