We’ll head down and meet up with you.” He looked toward her. “Kimberly, are you able to hike down the mountain with me?”
“Yeah. What happened?”
“The team split because the group of insurgents was large. They’ve diverted them away from us, but Raptor’s worried they’ll loop back around near here. Let’s move farther away from this spot before I get you some food. We need to clear out. Now.”
“More men might be coming.”
“What do you know?”
She shrugged. “Not much. But I was held in a large camp for most of the time. There had to be at least a hundred men. I don’t know where the others went. Yesterday and today, I’ve been with a small group. I just mean there are others that are probably somewhere nearby.”
“And we want to avoid running into them,” Ethan said. “Let’s move out. The rest of the team might be able to catch up with us when you stop to eat.”
“Okay,” she said shakily. Suddenly, she felt utterly exhausted. She’d been woken up in the middle of the night. She was tired, and her muscles were sore from the long walk yesterday. She’d do anything to get off this mountain though. She’d walk however long it took to get away from her kidnappers.
Ethan rose to his feet, and he steadied her as she stood up and wobbled slightly. “I don’t like how weak you are,” he commented.
“I’ll be okay. Let’s go somewhere safer.”
The voices in the distance were growing farther away, and she wondered where his teammates had led them. But Ethan had just said they were worried the men would circle back. It didn’t matter. She had no doubt that a SEAL team could handle themselves. She just needed to get away from here.
She and Ethan began walking carefully down the mountain, with him gripping her arm. She didn’t protest. She couldn’t see in the dark, and she was exhausted. And even though she was a trained soldier, she didn’t have any weapons. Ethan was decked out and prepared for anything. It was safer to stay right at his side.
After ten minutes, they came to a small boulder near some bushes. “Let’s stop here for a bit,” Ethan said. “I’ll get some food in you before we move again.”
She sank to the ground, leaning against the large rock. Ethan rustled around in his rucksack, pulling out a protein bar and a canteen of water. “Here you go,” he said, handing them both over. “I’ve got MREs, too, but we should probably start with something small.”
She gratefully took the protein bar, tearing the plastic wrapper. She ate slowly, not wanting to upset her stomach. She’d barely eaten recently and knew that consuming too much too soon wouldn’t end well. She’d throw it right back up.
“Sorry I can’t turn on a flashlight,” he said. “I don’t want them to spot us.”
“It’s fine. I don’t want them to find us either.”
Kim took another bite of her protein bar and then stifled a yawn.
“You’re tired,” he said quietly. Somehow the low rumble of his voice soothed her. She didn’t even know the guy, but she’d be forever grateful that he was the one to whisk her to safety. Maybe he’d scared her at first, but right now, she felt a calm she hadn’t in months. She hadn’t been eating or sleeping well, so it was no wonder her body was exhausted. But most of the relief she felt was simply because she wasn’t alone anymore. She’d been by herself for so damn long, she couldn’t begin to say how happy she was to talk to another person. To trust someone for a change. Ethan would help her get off this mountain. Those crazy men who’d kidnapped her wouldn’t ever hurt her again.
“I can keep up,” she assured him. “I might not be a Navy SEAL, but I have been trained by the Army.”
“No doubt. But I don’t want to push you too hard. You’ve been in captivity for two months. We’re safe to rest here for a bit. Eat the protein bar and close your eyes. I’ll keep watch and wait for my team to update us. We’ll move when I get word they’re heading our way.”
She looked over at him in the darkness. She couldn’t see Ethan but knew he was watching her. “Is that safe?”
“I’ll keep you safe, Kimberly.”
She wanted to argue. She wanted to insist they keep moving, but she was even more tired now that she’d eaten. It was as if the adrenaline