Page 35 of Booker's Mission

“Okay,Columbus, what’s our best way home?”

He pursed his mouth, squinting a bit before shrugging. “Honestly, no idea.”

“I thought you were some ace navigator?”

“I said I could find out where we were. I have no idea where any trails are or if the roads around here are flooded. My best guess is we backtrack a bit. See if that shit track we came up on is still walkable. If not, then, we might have no other choice than to hike back to the chopper. With it being higher and on an old dirt road, we should be able to reach it. Because there’re a few large ass rivers in every other direction and with how much rain has fallen…”

He met her gaze. “I’m not sure I want to chance the water, again. The current’s going to be ten times as strong as it was last night.”

“You just don’t want to go swimming. I’m on to you.”

“Busted. But…”

She silenced him with a lingering kiss. “I agree. I’d rather we take our chances on land, even if we have to hike back up. The only wildcard will be if Keith’s discovered the helicopter, yet.”

“Do you really think he sent his guys out searching for it in the middle of the typhoon?”

“Probably not. But if the weather’s clearing by the time we get up there, I don’t see him leaving anything to chance. And there’re only so many places you could have landed, though, we did have to hike for hours to reach the shack. Not the likeliest of hiding spots.”

She tapped her chin, then shrugged. “Worst case… He found the helicopter, and he’ll have men guarding it. Or he’ll hide a tracker on it, just in case we sneak past his sentries.”

“Bad guys and trackers I can handle. Besides, I’ve got a secret weapon.”

“What’s that?”

He kissed her back. “You. And with how pissed off you’re gonna be if we have to drag our butts all the way up there, you’ll take out his entire force by yourself.”

“Ass.”

“Hell yeah. We’ll pack up. The rain was getting pretty light when I darted outside, so… We should head out. Hope we get lucky, and we can find a useable road that will take use toward the city. But if we can’t, we’re going to need all the gray daylight we can get just to reach the chopper. And I really don’t want to spend another night in this jungle.”

“Are you saying last night wasn’t pleasurable?”

“I’m saying that I doubt we’ll get lucky, twice, and not have any visitors. Besides, I’d really like to have some kind of cushion between us and the floor because… last night was just a taste. Round two is going to blow you away.”

“I’ll hold you to that.” She eased back, grabbing a few items off the floor then stuffing them in the pack. “Booker?”

He arched a brow as he folded the map. “Yeah?”

“Thanks. For everything. I promise, I’ll find a way to make it up to you.”

“You already did, last night. Though, you still owe me some bacon.”

CHAPTER11

“Well, shit.”

Callie sighed as Booker crouched behind a couple of trees, eyes narrowed. His gaze focused on the helicopter parked in the small clearing off to their right. What looked like a dozen armed assholes patrolling the area.

They’d been hiking all day, trying to find a more direct path back to civilization. But between the roads and the weather and what was likely some kind of voodoo curse, they hadn’t found a single, useable route. Booker had made the executive decision to retreat back to the chopper before they ran out of time and daylight. And while they’d been able to navigate their way along the old dirt roads without running into a squad of mercenaries, it appeared their luck had finally run out.

Booker huffed, clenching his jaw until the muscle in his temple jumped from the strain. “This definitely puts a wrench in our plans, especially with the sun already setting.”

She studied the men, mentally mapping out their patterns. “How long do you need to get your baby airborne?”

“I made sure she was ready for takeoff before we left. But even with everything in place, I’ll need a minute.” Booker glanced at her. “And since I can’t crank on the engine without making any noise, that’s probably fifty-five seconds more than we’ll get before they fill us full of holes.”

Callie nodded, running through various options in her head. But no matter how she looked at it, there was really only one solution that might give Booker that minute he needed. “So, what you’re saying is… You need a distraction. Something for those good old boys to focus on, instead of you.”

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