Page 19 of Saved By the Marines (Soldiers Of Misfortune)

It was enough that I was able to slip out from under him. My bare feet hit the slippery hardwood floor and I started to run for the door.

I whirled as I heard the man chasing me down. I wasn’t going to make it to the door and I’d rather face him. If he thought I was giving in without a fight, he was mistaken. I’d hit, scratch, bite, claw, whatever it took. I’d never been in a fight before, but I’d promised myself that I wouldn’t cower anymore. I was so scared I worried I might pee in the cute little pajama shorts I had on.

His hands grabbed me and I slapped at him, trying to land a hit that would make him let me go. Realizing I was too far out of element to be effective, I opened my mouth to scream bloody murder. I knew the guys would be here within seconds flat.

Stars exploded in the darkness as something connected with my face. I staggered, holding my cheek and gaped at him when I realized he’d hit me with the fucking lamp.

“Asshole,” I gasped at him. He’d only grazed me the first time, misjudging the distance in the darkness.

He was close enough I could see his smug grin. That was right before he brought the lamp down again. I was too stunned and disoriented to dodge the heavy crystal the second time and it collided with the top of my head.

* * *

The abrupt jarringmotion woke me up for a second time that night. It took me a moment to realize that I wasn’t in my warm bed in the embassy. My head throbbed, reminding me of the attack that had taken place. I didn’t move an inch as I listened to the men in the front seat. They were speaking Spanish, not at all concerned with whether I was listening in.

I wasn’t tied up. They probably assumed I’d stay unconscious for the ride, or they just didn’t care if I heard what they said. That sent a chill of fear running down my spine. If they didn’t care it didn’t look too good for me making it out of this alive.

The old me—the one I’d kicked to the curb only hours ago—wanted to curl up in a terrified ball and wait to see what happened. I refused to give in to her. The only way to be courageous was to fake it ‘til I made it. If I pretended to be the strong, kick butt heroines I read about in my romance novels, then maybe one day I would be.

We were in a little Jeep and they had me dumped in the back where the seats had been taken out. There was a door that allowed the back end to open up. Casting them a look, I took a deep breath and lunged for the door.

It opened easily under my hand and pride and excitement flashed through me until gravity caught up and I tumbled out of the speeding vehicle. Slamming into the hard gravel and rolling across it was another wake up call to how serious this was. It happened so quickly I couldn’t even scream and after I hit the ground I had no breath to make a sound. My mouth opened to let the agony pour out, but I was voiceless. I’d landed on my shoulder and hip and bright lights were flashing across my vision.

Red tail lights joined the white hot sparks of pain and I knew I had to get up or they were going to capture me again. Shoving to my feet—which were still bare—I limped my way to the side of the road. We were far outside of the city and I knew we must have been traveling for hours. Dense jungle surrounded the dirt road we’d been on. I was in my silk pajama shorts and a matching silk blouse top. Not exactly the ideal clothing for a stroll through the rainforest, let alone a mad dash.

Stopping in front of the greenery that would swallow me up with only a few more steps, I hesitated. Wandering into this jungle with bare feet and matching pink silk pajamas with red lipstick kisses on them was going to be a death sentence.

I looked over my shoulder where the Jeep was beginning to reverse. That was also going to be a death sentence, or worse. Steeling my resolve, I rushed forward and let the brush cover me.

* * *

“Ow, ow, ow,”I whispered as I hot footed it over sticks and rocks and brush. I was trying to be as quiet as possible because those men were hot on my heels. I was so proud of myself because I’d managed to stay out of their grasp so far. It was pitch black out here and I’d run into more than one tree as I went, but I was holding my own.

My feet were on fire from all the scratches that now decorated the bottoms of them. I couldn’t afford to worry about something like dying from an infection—something that was easy to get out here in the humid jungle air—not when I was more likely to be killed by the men chasing me, or a predator. I was ornery enough that I’d rather be eaten by a jaguar, or bitten by a pit viper, than let those guys chasing me catch me. Though, if I was being given a choice, I’d rather not be killed in any form.

The crashing sounds from behind me were slowly fading away. My heart was hammering in my chest, and my head throbbed in rhythm with it, but all I could hope was to keep ahead of those men. I could hear them calling back and forth to each other in Spanish.

I swallowed, my tongue feeling thick and swollen from my mad dash and the lack of water. It was all I could do to navigate in this oppressive darkness. Holding my hand out, I brought it closer to my face. It was nearly touching the tip of my nose before I saw it.

My harsh panting broke the silence of the forest. The men had fallen quiet, but all the animals and insects weren’t making a sound either, which meant they were still close. Or maybe it was because I was here.

Hide. That’s my best option. Find a spot to hide until morning.

I’d been standing still as a statue, listening, catching my breath, internally freaking out about being out here. A branch cracked to my left and my head whipped in that direction. Golden eyes blinked at me from the brush.

Oh God. I take it back! I don’t want to be eaten by something out here!

I clamped my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming in terror. That wouldn’t help me at all and would only alert the men chasing me of my location. My body was shaking so hard it was difficult for me to force my wobbly legs to move.

Standing in one spot, in what I assumed was a small open area, wasn’t the best plan. I put one foot in front of the other as carefully as I could. There were snakes, spiders, and scorpions all over this rainforest. Not to mention jaguars, puma, and crocodiles.

And anacondas,my inner voice supplied helpfully. As if a snake that was big enough to devour a person wasn’t terrifying enough to make me pee myself.

The leaves rustled as I made my way forward. I had no way of knowing whether I was going north or south, away from civilization or toward it. I wasn’t even sure which direction the road was. I wouldn’t know until morning, and even then, in the dense jungle, I probably wouldn’t know until I came across some kind of landmark or, if I was lucky, the main road.

My foot came down and a branch cracked loudly underneath it. I froze, holding my breath. I’d only been moving for probably fifteen minutes and wading my way through thick brush and darkness meant I hadn’t gone very far.

The point was proven by a shout to my right and the sound of something moving toward me through the brush. I spun and started to run away from the men. It seemed like I might be lucky and catch another break when I slammed into something hard. The impact knocked me back on my ass with a grunt.

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