back a thing from him now that we’ve got everything on the table.
Well, almost everything, my heart whispers.
But he held back, and for that, I’m going to put my foot up his ass when I see him. I’m just not sure if I’m going to do it before or after I kiss him.
He knew he was bailing on me and didn’t say a word, just set me up like he knew what was best for me and went on his merry way.
Fuck that. I’m a lot of things, and I’m not perfect, but I’m a big girl and can make my own decisions.
Oh, maybe he has some grand illusion that he was going to jet off and handle this whole thing with his dad’s legacy down here in the caves and then come back and pick up right where we left off like I’m some puppy he could kennel while he went to work.
But despite Nikolai’s commentary, I’m not a dog and I don’t do the whole woof-woof thing.
I catch Caleb’s eye and trigger my microphone. “How much longer? I have a bad feeling he’s gonna need backup.”
There’s a part of me that wants desperately for Caleb to roll his eyes at my dramatics and tell me that Nathan’s fine, a soldier in his own right who can handle whatever’s going down on this trip. And I want to believe that so much.
But when Caleb’s eyes flicker, I see the slight flash of fear in their depths and realize that he’s scared for Nathan too. Caleb had fought to come with him, argued to come in his place, and he got left behind too.
“Nearest place the pilot can drop us off is still another half-hour or more,” Caleb says. “Be ready. It’ll be a real old-school, Vietnam-style battlefield drop off. I’ll . . . I’ll help you.”
It’s a tentative one, but a truce. For now, we’re on the same side. Team Nathan.
After what seems like forever, bouncing up and down to stay off the grid, the pilot comes over our headsets and tells up to prepare for landing. We swoop down, and once again, my gut goes into my eyeballs, so I just sit back and watch out the open door as the ground gets closer.
We come to a hover at what amounts to an empty clearing surrounded by miles of lush trees. It’s dense here, and I know how deep in the rainforest we truly are. I can only trust that Caleb has a plan to get us the fuck out of here when it’s time.
I follow Caleb’s lead and pull my headset off, jamming my boonie cap on my head while jumping down from the open door of the chopper, following Caleb while the co-pilot chucks our bags out onto the ground. We run a few yards away as the helicopter takes back off, the wind whipping my hair around and almost making me lose my footing on the soft grass.
In the quiet, I look around. It’s beautiful in a wild, untamed sort of way, and part of me thinks that this would make a great fantasy getaway.
The last vestiges of the helicopter’s engine fade away, and I look to Caleb, who’s been checking on our gear. “Now what?”
He points to the tree line, where a small, weathered old man is striding confidently toward us. “Caleb Stone?”
Caleb nods, picking up his bag along with the AK-47 that was part of our helicopter’s ‘equipment.’ “Miguel?”
“Sim,” the man says, and he must feel that’s introduction enough because he turns and begins those same sure and certain steps back toward the jungle.
Caleb takes a few paces behind him and then turns back, gesturing for me to follow. I’m frozen in place for a moment, not believing that I’m actually doing this and honestly not even sure if I can.
I’m not Claire, a trained agent, and this is not a movie where the director is going to yell ‘cut’ if things get sketchy.
I’m just a girl from New York, with dreams that are maybe a bit too big and hopes that are dangerously verging on hopeless.
But then I picture Nathan’s face. I’m fucking furious at him for leaving me, but I have to hope it was in some misguided attempt to protect me. He’s been doing that since the beginning when I’d stumbled into his first meeting with Nikolai. Even when I’d lied, repeatedly, he’s protected me.
And used you, a voice whispers. It’s the voice of self-doubt, and now that I don’t