SEAL's Desire (Alpha SEALs Coronado #1) - Makenna Jameison Page 0,24
“Maybe not, but I need it to get back in the States, right? My car keys, house keys, identification—it’s all gone.”
“We’ll land at a military airport. No customs agents or TSA to deal with. I promise, that’s the least of your concerns at the moment. As for the rest of your stuff? Well, I can’t say if you’ll see that again.”
“I doubt it,” she muttered.
“You said you were doing research?”
She nodded. “My samples are ruined of course. My notebooks would be okay if we found them. The guys that grabbed me took my backpack though. And I don’t even know where exactly we are now to get back to my camp—not that I’d want to,” she hastily added. “I’m ready to get the heck out of here.”
“Your gear is all there?”
“Most of it—tent, sleeping bag, clothes. That’s all replaceable of course. I would’ve loved to get my backpack though.”
“Let me check for a signal again,” Blake said as they stopped. He pulled out the satellite phone, frowning. She took another sip of her water. “Nothing,” he said. “And according to my map, we’re also not that close to the river. It’s slow going through this terrain. I don’t think I’ll get a signal until we’re there.”
His eyes fell on where she was absentmindedly rubbing her arm. “Do you want to rest for a while?” he asked.
She nodded, almost wanting to cry in relief. “Yes. But I can keep going if we have to. I don’t want to stop if it’s not safe here or if we need to move on to get rescued.”
His eyes softened. “You’re safe with me, Clarissa. Why don’t I get you situated, and we’ll rest up for a few hours. You’re weak from dehydration and possibly even in shock. I’ve been dragging you off through the rainforest like it’s no big deal when I’m in good shape. You’re still recovering from your ordeal.”
“I could rest,” she said softly.
Blake dug through his stuff again, pulling out a tarp. “It’s not quite a tent, but I wasn’t expecting to be out here overnight. I’ll hang it up for some shelter. I’ve got a thermal blanket in here as well.”
She nodded, tears smarting her eyes. Goodness. Blake was being perfectly nice, sharing his supplies with her, and she was ready to burst into tears. The past few days had been overwhelming, and she wanted nothing more than to surrender to sleep for a few hours.
“Hey, don’t cry,” he said gruffly, pausing in his work.
She met his gaze, feeling silly. “I’m fine,” she assured him. “It’s just—a lot to take in,” she conceded.
“You’ve been through a lot. I wish like hell I could get a signal and get us out of here. We could move back toward the camp after you rest for a few hours, but I just don’t think it’s the safest option, and we’re closer to the river at this point.”
“And they’ll send in a helicopter?”
“Yep. There might not be a landing spot, so they’ll drop a line down, but the opening in the trees should work where it widens. They’ll extract us, we’ll fly back to the airstrip, and then hop on the cargo plane back home to San Diego.”
She swiped a stray tear running down her cheek. “I live in Texas though.”
Blake chuckled. “We’ll figure it out. We can possibly divert there or get a flight for you when we return home. You need to get checked out by a doctor though—I’m worried your wrist might be broken with all that swelling.”
She nodded, shivering slightly. It must be because she was exhausted. It wasn’t exactly chilly here.
“Are you cold?”
“I’ll be okay.”
Blake stepped over some vines and walked over to a tree, rigging the tarp up. It’s wasn’t ideal, but it would work for the moment. “Are you going to sleep at all?” she asked.
“No. I’ll keep an eye out for trouble. I’ve got a sweatshirt in here you can use for a pillow if you want.”
“Okay.”
He looked around the dark forest, his flashlight still the only source of light. “I’ll probably just shut this off. We could start a campfire, but I’m worried we’re not far enough away that we won’t draw attention to ourselves.”
“I’m fine with the dark. Do you think your friends are coming in here after us?”
He shook his head. “That’s not protocol. They know I was getting you to safety, not injured myself. We always have a backup rendezvous point, but we should be able to call in for retrieval before