“Shhh,” he said against her hair. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“What now?” she asked, infusing strength into her voice. She didn’t want to come across as a whiny twit. She wanted to sound positive and as confident as he did. The least she could do was offer whatever support she could.
“They’ll probably leave us here. No food or water. Try to wear me down. Then they’ll probably take another shot at me. If that doesn’t work, they’ll use you.”
Despite her resolve not to show weakness, she couldn’t control the shiver that racked her body.
“They’re not going to get that far. My team will come for us, Sarah. I just have to buy us enough time for them to get here. That’s why I want you to keep your head down. They will come for us. You can help me by doing as I ask you.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
He squeezed her a little and then tensed in pain. She raised her head and found his lips there in the dark. She didn’t care about the blood. All she cared about was finding him, showing him her love. And maybe give him something of herself when he’d already given so much to her.
Love.
It was nothing like the movies or books. No big lightning bolt from the sky where she instantaneously discovered she’d fallen in love. As if it were something random, like winning the lottery or a momentary high caused by hormones.
Maybe she’d started falling the day he saved her on the island. Or when he left her books with wine and chocolate on her porch. Or maybe it was his unwavering devotion to keeping her safe.
What she knew was that he was a good man, the kind she’d always dreamed of having. Loyal and protective. Willing to sacrifice for her. But love also meant sacrificing for him, and no matter her promise, she could not and would not go down without a fight. She wouldn’t allow him to suffer endlessly while they waited for rescue.
And what she knew was that she had fallen and was still falling for the badass with the big heart and gentle soul.
She whispered the words in her mind, savoring them as she rested in his arms. Now wasn’t the time for emotional outbursts, but when they were safe—and they would be because she believed him without reservation—then she’d tell him what she thought about the man he was. The man she wanted.
And if he walked away, she’d never have any regrets. Love was a gift, but it was up to the recipient to accept and cherish or to reject the offering. All she could do was give unreservedly. And for the first time since her assault, she realized that she could give something she’d never thought to give again. Her trust and her love.
CHAPTER 25
“SON of a bitch. Son of a bitch!” Donovan exclaimed.
He got up from the desk and hit the floor at a dead run. He left the war room and sprinted over to the house. He burst into the living room, where Sophie was feeding Charlotte. Sam was sprawled on the couch beside her and looked up in alarm when he saw Donovan.
Donovan didn’t waste time trying to preserve Sophie’s modesty. Nor did he bother trying to hold back so as not to frighten her. “We’ve got a situation.”
Sam was on his feet in an instant. Sophie’s eyes widened in alarm and the baby let out a mewl of protest.
“Garrett?” she asked fearfully.
“His locater was activated several hours ago,” Donovan said to Sam.
“Why the hell didn’t we know until now?” Sam demanded.
“Fuck if I know,” Donovan bit out. “Signal may have been interrupted. Maybe it was the damn satellite. But the time stamp was during the night.”
“What does that mean?” Sophie asked. “Is he in trouble?”
Sam gave a short nod. Then his expression softened as he looked at his wife and child. “He wouldn’t have activated unless he was in trouble and needed help. It’s our SOS system. It means he’s down or in deep shit.”
“Go,” she said. “He needs you. I’ll be fine. I have Marlene and Rachel.”
Sam only hesitated a brief moment before leaning down to kiss Sophie and then Charlotte.
“Bring him home, Sam,” she said in an urgent voice.
“I will, baby. I promise.”
Donovan had already turned and ran back toward the war room with Sam on his heels.
“Rio will be closest. I’ll reroute Steele and his team from Alaska, but we’ll get there first after Rio,” Donovan said. “I don’t know what we’re dealing with but I’m going to assume the worst and pull every available man to get the hell down there.”
While Donovan hailed Steele and gave him the order to pull out, Sam picked up the phone and punched in a number. A few moments later, he said, “Ethan, Garrett’s in trouble. We need you.”
Donovan was already opening the gun locker. He pulled out an array of weapons and tossed two rifles in Sam’s direction. When they had their gear packed, they hustled out to the truck.
“I’ll drive. We’ll swing by to get Ethan and then head to the jet. You raise Rio and give him the coordinates,” Sam said.
The drive was silent, but Donovan knew Sam was as worried as he was. And Donovan blamed himself. He should have put a team with Garrett from day one. When he smelled a rat, he put Rio and Steele in place but it was too little, too late. He should have hog-tied Garrett to a chair if necessary to make sure he didn’t go to Mexico alone.
It was always the cake jobs that went all to shit.
GARRETT lay with Sarah in his arms listening to the quiet rhythm of her sleep. He’d shamelessly lied to her about the condition he was in. Not that he was ready for a pine box, but his ribs hurt like a bitch, and he hadn’t been able to sleep for the discomfort.
But he hadn’t wanted to scare her any more than she already was. He was damn proud of her for not losing it completely. She was scared witless, but she was also one pissed-off woman. It was the pissed-off part that worried him.
Pissed-off women were unpredictable.
He’d lost sense of time but he figured it ought to be daylight soon. Sarah had slipped into an uneasy sleep during the night and when she stirred, he’d soothed and quieted her as much for her peace of mind as to prevent her from moving too much against his ribs.
He hoped to hell he’d told her the truth about what their captors would do. Again there was that whole predictability factor at work. And while it made sense that they’d leave them to worry and wonder over their fate, wear them down, they’d already proved what stupid sons of bitches they were. He didn’t have a whole lot of faith in their intelligence.
He hadn’t fought them, which rankled. He’d meekly gone along, like some lamb to a slaughter, because he hadn’t wanted to risk anything happening to Sarah. If it had been him alone, he would have kicked some serious ass and enjoyed every minute of it. But Sarah was with him, and he’d die before allowing any harm to come to her.
His growing discomfort signaled a need to shift positions, but he didn’t want to wake Sarah. She’d finally settled into a more peaceful rhythm and he liked the sensation of her warm breath on his neck.
She’d kissed him the night before. The first time she’d initiated any intimacy between them. It was soft and so damn sweet he’d been able to forget the pain for that barest moment when her mouth had met his.
When he could stand the position no longer, he tried to edge to the side so he could turn more fully onto his back. She came awake instantly, her head shooting off his shoulder. She leaned over him, her hair falling onto his chest as she stared down at him, concern blazing in her eyes.