Page 16 of Damned
Chapter Eight
A man knew when he’d done something wrong. What Kruze didn’t know was what that something was, or why sadness glimmered in Bree’s pretty eyes now—a light-blue that, for some reason, looked hauntingly familiar—eyes that just moments ago glittered with lust.
They’d both been caught up in the heat of the moment. But then she’d shut him down, and that just wasn’t done. Not to Kruze. It wasn’t right. He was the one who walked away. He was the player, not her.
His indignation had barely lifted its ugly head, when the fickle hand of déjà vu reached out of nowhere, like a bolt of lightning, and slapped the back of his head. The hard-packed floor beneath his boots shifted, as if it were made of sand. That old familiar urge to hit rewind and start over with this woman, slithered across his shoulders, like a reminder, a memory of—something, damn it. Of somewhere. Somewhere else.
He planted his feet just to stay upright. What the hell?
Bree turned her back on him and faced the narrow exit, which was now the last place Kruze wanted to go. Damn it. He couldn’t catch his balance around this woman. Everything was backward. The hormones storming his brain didn’t seem to know how to stand down. His entire body wanted this perplexing, familiar-yet-strange woman. Damned if he knew why.
For an awful moment, dizziness swarmed at his peripheral, pushing more darkness into the already dark cave. He pushed it back and away like a man. “Fine,” popped out of his mouth.
Bree sighed, and what was he to do with an answer like that? Was that a sign of feminine disappointment or desire? Did she want him or not?
Kruze took a step toward her, wanting another taste and another chance. But she must’ve expected that. Bree stuck her chin out, her nose up, and walked out of the cave into daybreak. Shit, that put her in danger of being seen and shot on sight. Why couldn’t she let him leave first?
Leave first…
Leave first…
Leave first…
His words echoed back like a pack of spoiled brats. Not like they meant anything or were important, and yet…
He shook off the sensation that he’d done this exact same thing before, yet he knew he hadn’t. No way. He’d never bedded a woman in NYC, and he could count the times he’d been in Turkey on one hand. Bree hadn’t been with him, not in any sense of the word, until yesterday. He was sure, positive even. A man doesn’t forget a woman like her. And yet… he had forgotten that other Bree’s last name.
Aggravated at how quickly the morning had turned to shit, Kruze stalked afterthis Bree, intent on giving her a piece of his mind. But when he ducked and exited the cave, she was nowhere to be seen. He turned and faced uphill. Ah, there she was, climbing but not knowing where she was going.Crazy woman.
Grumbling at the female gender in general, Kruze hurried to catch up with her. Still swathed in misty morning darkness, the sun would soon blast out of the East, and light them up like targets. They needed to be out of sight by then, and hopefully, at the coordinated landing zone. A brisk breeze watered his eyes as he climbed. By the time Kruze reached her, he was pissed at how far she’d gotten, and how far they were from the LZ.
“Stop running away from me,” he ordered.
She stopped and turned to look down at him. “I’m not running away from you, Kruze Sinclair. That’s your play, not mine. Which way are we going then?”
Kee-rist, what the hell did that mean? His play? Bree was sure being a pain in the ass today. He pointed his chin uphill and to her right. “Might be smart to let someone who knows something lead.”
“For your information, I know a lot of things,” she snapped, her tone heavy with unsaid words Kruze wished to Hell she’d just spit out and get into the open. Maybe then, he’d understand why she seemed to hate him so much today that she couldn’t stand to look at him.
“You just think you know, smartass,” he threw back at her. “Where’s the landing zone, huh?” Now he sounded like an idiot teenager. Yet he couldn’t quit. “Where are we supposed to get picked up? Where’s our predesignated LZ?” he asked with attitude, “and who’s picking us up? Besides your buddies with the yurts back there?”
“What yurts?” she asked haughtily, her hands on her hips and those pale-blue eyes full of contempt.
The first light of dawn had barely breached the dark edge of the mountains. Without looking back, Kruze stabbed a finger downhill. “Those gawddamned yurts,” he hissed, striving to keep his voice low, so it didn’t travel to the bastards camped below. “Kee-rist, a yurt’s abig, bigtent. Kinda hard to miss them.”
Bree’s upper lip curled. “And you’re an ass. I’ll ask again, what yurts? I don’t see any tents, much less anybig, big tents.”
Kruze jerked around, pitching his sharp gaze downhill to—absolutely nothing. “Shit! They were right there. I was just looking at them. Two yurts.” He pointed at where the rebel camp had been just moments ago. The true danger of their predicament stampeded over him like a herd of yaks. While he’d been kissing Bree, Josephus had broken camp. Where the hell was he?
“Get down,” he ordered, pointing to the rocky ground as if he could force Bree to obey.
Oddly, she ducked low and crouched to her knees. “Is he here? Do you see him? Where are they?”
Kruze hadn’t a clue, but he could guess. “He’s moved his vehicles and his women forward. See? That portion of the road is clear now. But his men…” Kruze let Bree figure out where they were. Snapping his rifle off his shoulder, he lifted the scope to his eye and searched the area between the road and here. He didn’t need trouble now. It was nearly time to rendezvous, damn it. Go time. Also known as that window where a man had everything to lose. Where his ass was not yet completely out of the fire, and where Hell could still break loose. Where any one of Josephus’ men could hit his mark and end Bree’s life.
He heard it then, the far-off thwack, thwack, thwack of USAF chopper blades beating the high thin air of this ungodly altitude. Kruze grabbed Bree by her elbow, holding her tight, while he set a quicker pace to the granite outcropping at their right. “See those rocks up there? We need to be on top of them in ten minutes. These guys won’t wait if we don’t show, especially when they start taking fire. Run.”
Kruze had to give it to her, even with nothing but socks, Bree could run.
