Page 21 of Harbor (The Wanderers 3)

Chapter 12

“Stu…”

“I’m right here.” His hand landed gently on her shoulder, one of the only parts of her body that didn’t hurt too badly to touch.

“Please…” she pleaded with him, rolling her head to one side even though the act hurt badly. “Let me go.”

She could barely see him out of the slit in one eye. The other was swollen entirely shut. He was squatting next to her where she lay on the same filthy mattress the militants had used to rape her. Stu had at least flipped it over, but it still made her shudder.

She reached out with her better hand and grabbed his arm. “Give me your gun. If you won’t put me out of my misery, at least let me do it,” she mumbled.

“Not a chance, Maya. You’re going to live. You’re strong. Fight.”

“It’s not safe to stay here, Stu. What if they come back?”

“They won’t. If they do, I’ll kill them all.”

Maya winced as she rolled her head back to center. “Everything hurts. I probably have internal damage. Let me die,” she pleaded.

“No. I’m going to help you heal, and then you’re going to live a full life.”

She didn’t want to live. Not any life. She wanted to die. She didn’t want to face her injuries, not the external or the internal ones. She couldn’t imagine what she looked like. Every inch of her body was beaten, bloody, and bruised.

She had been marginally aware of Stu finding her and then patching her up. He’d cleaned her wounds, stitched the worst of the cuts, and done his best to make her comfortable.

It was by sheer coincidence he’d found her, and only because this particular cabin was one she’d occasionally used as an outpost. When she hadn’t returned to the compound or checked in, he’d come looking for her at every possible location he’d known she could be. Too bad he hadn’t found her before the militants had done their damage and left her for dead.

“I’m going to get you out of this cabin as soon as it’s possible to move you,” he informed her.

She shook her head, wincing when it hurt. “No. Stu. Listen to me. Leave me. Give me your gun and leave me.”

“Not gonna happen, babe. We need you. You have more work to do. People to save. It’s your life. Don’t let those motherfuckers win. Fight.”

“Stu…”

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