Jax shrugged. “He said he had to give up some things to keep us safe. Long sleeves are necessary to protect your arms, and to stay undetected. It can’t be any worse than military issue.”
I shook my head. “It’s not. It’s a lot lighter and less confining, I guess I just feel like bitching.”
Jax grinned. “Then bitch away. It was a long damn hike.”
We’d nixed the black masks once we’d gotten away from the camp, and had just kept our high-tech night googles on, but it wasn’t cool in Lania in the summer, even at night.
I was pretty sure every one of us in the small cabin right now was responsible for stinking it up.
“Since it’s my jet, I’m getting the shower first,” I informed my brother. “Taylor needs to get cleaned up, too.”
“I’ll wrap up her IV, but otherwise, that task is all yours. You better make it short; I’ll be right behind you,” Jax grumbled. “I’m not going to sleep until I wash this stench off me.”
“I’ll be as quick as possible, but she comes first right now,” I reminded him shortly.
My eyes drifted to Taylor’s face, and I felt my temper rise all over again.
I’d been infuriated from the moment I’d found her, weak and close to death.
Son of a bitch!
Nick had better deal with the rebels, or I’d come back and kill the bastards myself.
Taylor’s bruises weren’t as bad as they’d been in the proof of life video, but they were still there, and the big lacerations on her cheek and the one over her brow looked infected. The doc had done some hasty sutures, but they were probably going to leave a mark.
I let out a long, pissed off breath. Everything that had happened to Taylor, Harlow and Mark was just so damn wrong on so many levels.
They’d gone to Lania to do their job, and all three of them had gotten shafted.
They were geologists, not warriors. They were in Lania to check out a possible new site for Montgomery Mining.
I leaned closer, and took Taylor’s hand in mine. “You’re going home, Taylor. We’re out of Lania,” I said next to her ear, hoping she could hear me, even if she didn’t respond. “And I’ll make damn sure that you’re okay after we get home, too.”
For some reason, this whole mission had been different for me, and I wasn’t able to distance myself from the victim like I usually did.
It felt personal.
It was personal.
Fuck! I knew I was throwing the rulebook out the window, and taking a mission way too personally.
Taylor Delaney was going to make everything complicated because she was my intern, but for once in my life, I didn’t give a damn if I didn’t follow the rules.
Taylor
When I came out of the darkness, I came out swinging.
Well, at least I tried to throw punches, but they were pretty ineffective.
It was pitch black, and I fought against whatever was wrapped around me, which, as it turned out, was simply a blanket.
But I didn’t know that at first, so I tried to fight my way out of the cocoon I was in.
“Hey, Taylor,” a deep voice said in the darkness, right before strong hands pinned my wrists gently to the bed. “Stop. You’ll pull out your IV. You’re okay. You’re safe. You aren’t in Lania anymore. You’re on your way home.”
Just that short burst of energy caused me to totally deflate, and I stopped trying to fight…because it was him. The same voice that had given me hope when I’d had none left. “Hudson?”
My voice was hoarse, and my throat was dry, but at least I could talk.
“Yeah, it’s me. Everything is okay, Taylor. I’m glad you’re awake, even if you did try to deck me,” he said as he released me.
I panted for a moment, exhausted just from trying to move my arms. “Why is it so dark? Where am I? And who are you?”
“Hold on,” he told me. “Don’t get crazy. You have an IV in your arm.”
I blinked as the room became bathed with a soft glow from a bedside lamp.
Logically, I knew it wasn’t a bright light, but it was way more than I was used to, so I squinted as I tried to get my bearings.
“Right now,” Hudson drawled. “You’re on my private jet and on your way back to the U.S. We’re only a few hours into the flight, so we have a long ways to go. And it was dark because we were sleeping.