then.”
“A backup, meaning if your mission goes wrong?”
He nodded. “We prepare for multiple scenarios—part of the job description.”
“I’m sure I wasn’t part of your job description,” she said lightly, moving toward the tarp. Blake had put his blanket and sweatshirt on the ground, and he reached out a hand, helping her to step over some branches and vines. He was still wearing his gloves, but she swore his touch sent shivers racing down her spine.
Blake was masculine and attractive. Different than the types of men that she was usually around. She appreciated the confident way he carried himself. Maybe his job was as different from hers as night and day, but he was clearly knowledgeable about what he did. He was comfortable outdoors.
She loved to camp back home, avoiding the hot Texas summers of course.
Blake seemed like the type of man who appreciated some of the same things she did, unlikely as though it may seem. She’d been in academia her entire career. He was in the military. There was some overlap in their interests she wouldn’t have expected.
And the fact that he was both gruff and gorgeous didn’t hurt matters.
“Let me know if you need something else—food, water, bug repellant. Try to get some rest, and in a few hours, we’ll move out.”
“Okay. Thanks. Should I call you Blake or Raptor?”
He laughed, the sound low, sexy, and entirely too appealing. “Blake is fine,” he assured her.
“Okay. Well…goodnight.”
“Goodnight. I’ll be right out here,” he said, meeting her gaze.
She nodded, then ducked under the tarp. It was thoughtful of him to put it up—here they were on the run, and he wanted her to feel safe. He was a nice guy, she thought, her eyelids growing heavy as soon as she laid down.
Her wrist throbbed, her stomach rumbled, and her entire body was sore. But she was safe for the moment—safer than she had felt in days, even in her own tent back at her camp.
She heard a quiet rustling outside that she knew was him, and then the flashlight went off. It was dark in the forest, quiet. But Blake was watching over her, and for the first time in the past few days, she felt like she could let her guard down. She was safe with him. And she knew she could trust him with her life.
Chapter 12
Blake shifted from where he sat leaning against a tree, running a hand across his forehead. Hell. This op had gone from fucked up to worse. No one had expected to find a woman being held captive at the terrorists’ camp. For them to be shot at as he hustled her the hell out of there. He didn’t know if Abboud had been captured. He hadn’t planned on being separated from his SEAL team. And losing all communications with them sure didn’t help matters.
Blowing out a sigh, he took a swig of his water. Fiddling with the sat phone had done absolutely nothing. He wanted to keep moving, to make it to a clearing so they could establish communications. It wasn’t safe dragging a civilian around in the vicinity of the camp. At least out here they were concealed from any danger.
But the poor woman he’d rescued had looked like she was ready to collapse. Even in the dark, he could see her face was pale, and she’d held her wrist without realizing it.
He could’ve pushed onward—she’d been willing to. Hell, she was so small, he could’ve carried her himself. She only came up to his shoulder.
But the exhausted look on her face and tears filling her eyes had clinched it. She hadn’t trained for missions like he had. She’d barely eaten or slept in days.
It was his job to make sure they safely escaped, and driving her to the point of exhaustion wouldn’t help matters much. They could call in for retrieval in a few hours just as easily as they could now. She needed her rest, and something about the woman made his protective instincts soar.
He wanted to beat to a pulp the men who had harmed her. Who’d dared tie her up to a damn metal pole. Thank fuck they hadn’t done anything worse than what had already happened. He didn’t even want to imagine what would’ve happened to her if he hadn’t searched the center tents. If they’d found Abboud right away, Blake and his men would’ve left.
Blake didn’t know Clarissa was there. No one had reported her missing yet. And she’d have been left with those monsters.
She