It had been cold throughout the night, and as I panted, I could see faint wisps of my breath roll into the faintly lit morning air.
As far as I could tell, that was the only indication that it was cold. Everything else was hot. Chloe’s breath washed across my face as she panted in my ear. Her warm, naked body was pressed against mine as she moved on top of me, riding with practiced rhythm. Her strong arms wrapped around my neck, pillowing my head, while my hands roamed the smooth planes of her back. My fingertips traced her rippling muscles, working in tandem with every motion of her hips.
Chloe was a woman of few words, and that extended into the bedroom. Her cool demeanor often gave the impression she was distant, maybe even uncaring, but I’d learned this morning that she could shed that facade just as the clothes she’d abandoned.
Last night had been amazing—hot, passionate, wild, all-consuming monkey sex. This morning was something else.
I’d woken to the feeling of Chloe’s hand wrapped around my cock, slowly stroking, making sure I was more than ready for her. Then she climbed on top of me, slid my hardness into her warm, buttery softness, and began to make love. That’s what it was. Not just sex—something deeper… richer. I could feel her need and hunger radiating through every square inch of her body as she moved against me, like she wanted to become part of me. In another setting, it could have been called romantic. And I was eating it up.
Chloe’s lips brushed my ear, and she took my earlobe between her teeth, gently chewing before releasing a soft, breathy moan. Her arms tightened around my neck—not uncomfortably. I turned into her neck, burying my face there and inhaling deeply as I rolled my hips to match her pace.
Her scent hit me hard.
We’d been running around the woods for most of the day—building shelter, tending wounds, getting drenched, and screwing each other’s brains out. Unsurprisingly, we weren’t exactly Alpine fresh. Her musk was heady, and her morning breath could’ve rivaled her fists in pure brutality. Honestly? I didn’t mind.
I’d lusted after Chloe for weeks, and it took a helicopter crash to finally have her in my arms, her body wrapped around me on a freezing Norwegian night. I’d take her any way I could get her.
Somehow, this sort of setting suited us for our first time. Chloe was never a high-maintenance woman. I’d only seen her in more than minimal makeup once—during our trip to Vegas. She took care of herself, sure, but there was something raw and earthy about her compared to the other women in my life, who wouldn’t leave the house without perfectly applied makeup. Her unshaven mound, the smudge of dirt across the bridge of her freckled nose, and the scent of sex and sweat after camping... it all felt weirdly right.
“Ungh,” Chloe whispered in my ear, nuzzling it with her nose. “I’m getting close.”
It was the first thing she’d said since we woke up.
I slid my hands down and gripped her toned ass, pulling her tighter against me. Each thrust made our bodies grind together with more friction, more urgency.
“Almost,” I whispered.
“Gah…” she gasped, pressing her face into the side of mine. “Thank you. It’s been too long.”
I let one hand leave her ass and slipped my fingers into her hair, gently coaxing her face away from my neck. Her arms loosened from my neck as she pulled back just enough for our eyes to meet. Her parted lips hovered above mine, and our breath mingled in the cold air as we stared at each other, still moving, still locked together. Her brows were drawn up in the middle, a look I’d come to recognize—raw need, the kind that only showed up in the seconds before release.
“I should be thanking you,” I said softly, letting my fingers slip from her hair. I slid my palm down her cheek, cupping it gently. “I’ve wanted this for a long time.”
Chloe gave me a small, crooked smile—barely there, but for someone like her, it might as well have been a full-on grin. It was perfect.
She was perfect.
Chloe turned her face to press her lips into my palm as she let out a small mewling sound, shoving her hips down onto mine and keeping my length buried in her as she came. Her fluids washed over my cock, and I could literally feel them leak around my groin. The amount of lubricant this woman produced made it very evident when she came, and the feeling of my cock getting showered by her pussy pushed me over the edge.
I shoved my face into the side of her neck and groaned as I felt my balls contract, signaling the impending release of my fluids to mingle with hers. My fingertips buried themselves into her ass so hard that I had a passing concern that I might leave her with bruises on her ass, but I found it hard to care all that much. I simply couldn’t get enough of this powerful woman in my arms. I wanted to hang onto that moment just as firmly as I clung to her.
______
“Auuuggghhh!”
“Stop!” I shouted. “Stop! This isn’t working!”
The sudden death of Astrid’s screams was indication enough to let me know that Chloe had stopped whatever she was doing to try to release the Norwegian woman from the wreckage of the helicopter. Or perhaps not. There was every chance that Astrid had simply passed out from the pain; her eyes had rolled into the back of her head, and she’d gone limp in my arms. Fresh tears stained her pale, porcelain cheeks, and despite being unconscious, lines of stress were still present at the corners of her eyes. Her mouth remained tight, almost as if she were having some kind of nightmare while in a deep sleep.
She was already fair, so it was startling to see the little color she had drained from her. Astrid looked so frail, and it awoke some deep, primitive desire inside me to protect her. I had to actively remind myself that she wasn’t as fragile as she appeared… that underneath that gentle exterior beat the heart of an incredibly tough and cruel woman—at least, according to the marks on Bobbi’s body.
Chloe rounded the wreckage and stopped next to me, wiping the moisture from her forehead. It was no longer drizzling, but the humidity was so high that it might as well have been. A light fog was rolling softly through the forest, making it impossible to see further than twenty-five feet in any direction, which made both of us uneasy.
My bodyguard leaned against the remains, watched the surrounding forest with her intense brown eyes, and then huffed. “We’re not going to be able to move her.”
I felt my heart drop in my chest. Although Astrid and I had our differences, she was still an ally, and something told me she might still be useful when dealing with Tanaka.
“Is it because she might bleed out?”
Chloe shook her head. “Her leg has a piece of metal wrapped around it. Pretty sure it’s crushing part of the bone.”
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“I’m surprised her foot’s still getting blood. Her bleeding’s stopped, so as long as the status quo doesn’t change, she’s not in any immediate danger. We should be more worried about the gash on her head. I’m not sure if she just got her cage rattled or has a serious concussion. Keeping her still is better than moving her around, so…” She hiked a thumb over her shoulder at Astrid, and I got the gist. We didn’t have a choice—Astrid couldn’t be moved, and even if she could, keeping her still was probably best.
“What about infection?” I asked.
Chloe shoved off the wreckage and strode toward our shelter. I gently laid Astrid’s head back on the seat where it had been resting and withdrew from the opening of the helicopter to follow her.
“There’s antibiotics among the equipment we found in the parachutes. That’ll help,” Chloe said as she approached our shelter. She pushed the flap aside and dropped to her knees as she moved inside, with me following. She rummaged through the small collection of supplies we had stacked on one side. “But even if we stretch it out, we don’t have enough to last more than a few days.” She picked up a power bar, waved it in the air, tossed it back on top of the heap, and added, “Just like everything else.”
“Exactly how many days can we last on everything?”
She looked over her shoulder at me; her compressed lips were enough to tip me off that she was concerned.
“Four days.”
Relief flooded me. I thought she was about to give me a much smaller number.
“Four days? That should be fine, right? They should find us by then.”
Chloe inhaled deeply before letting it out as a sigh. She spun around and dropped from her crouch into a sitting position, resting her arms on her knees as she gazed up at me.
“This is a big forest. We don’t have phones, and the helicopter’s transponder is shot. If there was some other way to track it or detect some kind of malfunction, I’m positive someone would have been out here by now.”
“Like I said yesterday,” she continued, “there’s the tracker I put in you, but Psalter’s the only one with access to it besides me, and I’m concerned Erin will call Hannon before him. None of them might even think to call Henry.”
I grabbed my bag and opened it, digging through it again in vain hope of finding something helpful.
“What about Bobbi’s collar?” Chloe asked thoughtfully.
“What about it?” I asked without looking up from my bag. Unfortunately, the only things in it were a few articles of clothing, a toothbrush, an electric trimmer, the vibrator remote, toothpaste, hair products… nothing that could aid in communicating with the outside world.
“Don’t you have some kind of way of sending signals to it?” Chloe asked.
“Nah,” I said, wondering if Chloe had any experience building radios and could somehow combine the vibrator remote with the electric trimmer to make some kind of makeshift communicator. “It’s just an app on my phone that only reads her vitals. It’s trashed anyway.”
Chloe grunted but didn’t say anything. She sat there in silence as I started repacking my bag. Once done, and placed back against the wall, I dropped beside her, and we both sat in silence for the next few minutes.
“I need to track down the cabin,” she finally said.
“The cabin?” I asked.
“The location for the talk with Tanaka.”
I snorted. “You can’t be serious.”
“Afraid I am,” she replied.
“Chloe, no.”
“Hear me out,” she said, touching my arm. It wasn’t a strong-arm tactic so much as a gesture of reassurance. While our interactions had mainly been the same since we left the shelter this morning, there had been a subtle shift. Chloe still had that no-nonsense, terse quality, but there was a tinge of warmth to it that I hadn’t noticed before. I dunno… maybe I was imagining it, but for the first time, it felt like she was more than just a bodyguard. Lover might be too strong a word, but at the very least, she felt like a friend.
And I didn’t want to lose my friend.
Or my bodyguard.
“No,” I said before she could continue. “We talked about this. You can’t just go off on your own with God knows how many of Tanaka’s men out there.”
“Would you just listen?” she said with a slight edge to her voice. When I didn’t respond, she continued, “We have about four days of supplies, including today. There’s a good chance someone could show up before then, but there’s also a good chance they won’t. I’m happy to wait it out while we have supplies and hope the cavalry shows up, but what happens in four days if they don’t and we’re out of food?”
“I…” I said, considering our options, but quickly realized there was only one. “Damn,” I muttered, already having an idea where she was going with this.
“Right,” she said, sensing I was putting it together. “If we run out of supplies, we have to get in that cabin and let them know where we are. That cabin has a phone and supplies. We stay hidden till we can’t hide anymore. Then we do what we have to.”
“So stay hidden,” I protested.
“I will, but we should at least get an idea of where the place is and what we’re dealing with. That means tracking it down and assessing the situation. Better to do it while we have a few days to prepare.”
As usual, Chloe was right. Of course she was right—this was her area of expertise. It didn’t mean I had to like it, though.
“I’m going with you,” I said.
Chloe shook her head. “I work better on my own. You’re better off staying here. Someone needs to keep an eye on the little we have and make sure Astrid is okay.” She leaned back and stretched out so she could slip one hand under our stash. It gave me a lovely view of her body—the sleeveless shirt was a little damp and clung to her in all the right ways, displaying every curve of her beautifully sculpted form. It rode up just enough to reveal about three inches of taut stomach and reminded me of our moments of intimacy last night and this morning. I could still feel her smooth skin on my tongue, and I had the sudden urge to reach out and wrap my arm around her narrow waist as if we hadn’t just made love a few hours ago.
The moment passed as Chloe pulled one of the handguns from under the stash and sat up straight. She checked the chamber, clip, and safety before handing it to me, appearing none the wiser that I’d been checking her out.
“Here. In case you run into any danger while I’m gone. You have a full clip, and there’s one in the chamber. There’s another clip if you need it, but don’t take any unnecessary shots. We’re limited on ammo.”
“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” I asked, eyeing her as I took the gun.
“Tanaka’s men weren’t exactly being careful to hide their tracks. I’m not the best, but I’m good enough to follow their trail despite the weather. It could be a while, though. I think we were getting close before we were shot down, but that was by helicopter, and the pilot lost his course after we were hit, so I’m not sure how long it’ll take. I wouldn’t worry, though. I’m just going to find it and observe from a safe distance. I’ll be fine.”
Even though I wasn’t crazy about her leaving, that at least put my mind at ease, and I didn’t feel as bad about leaving her to find the cabin alone.
“Is there anything I should do besides keep watch?” I asked.
“Conserve your energy,” Chloe said. “You can eat one of the power bars for lunch, but you shouldn’t have more than that. Maybe see if Astrid can eat one too.”
“Conserve my energy,” I said wryly. “What? Like last night and this morning?”
“No,” she said, pulling a power bar out of the stash for herself as she rolled to her knees. She reached behind her and slid the ration into her back pocket, arching her back as she did so, giving me another lovely view of her curves. “Conserve by doing as little as possible.”
Then she swung a leg over me, placed her hands on my shoulders, and dropped into my lap as she smirked down at me.
“If we’re going to keep up what we did last night, then you’re going to need every little bit of energy possible.” Without waiting for a response, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to mine for a kiss. It was soft, smooth, and closed-mouth—more sweet and sensual than heated and passionate. It was perfect.
Finally, she pulled away just enough to fix her brown eyes on mine.
“You get to be on top tonight.”
I grinned up at her, still worried, but looking forward to a repeat performance of our antics last night.
“Deal.”
______
Without the sound of gunshots or Astrid’s screams, the forest was quiet, almost oppressively so. Chloe was a woman of few words who never took up much space, but even her absence was palpable as I sat against the side of the wreckage.
I was left with an unconscious Astrid and my thoughts as my only company, and that was when I realized just how little time I’d had to myself since I came into my money. Before I got that fateful call, it was just me, Jack, and occasionally Jessica. I had a relatively healthy social life, but living alone had left a lot of time for myself, and I’d never been one to just have the TV idling in the background. Unlike many of my friends, I didn’t mind being alone in silence.
After the night Helen visited me, though, rarely had a day gone by that I didn’t have company. Erin, Helen, Chloe, Bobbi, Danni… someone was always around.
Now that I was alone in the forest, it was starting to hit me how much I missed having the company of at least one beautiful woman at all times. Maybe it was something I needed to worry about. After all, silence and solitude in proper doses could be healthy. Perhaps the ladies were becoming a little too much of a distraction, leaving me to forget to practice mindfulness, meditation, or some of those other things the internet keeps screaming at everyone to do..
I tried to still my thoughts and take in the woods around me, but it was so quiet that if I concentrated, I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears. Not only was it unsettling—it also gave the place a kind of sacred stillness, like being here was disturbing something ancient that was meant to remain asleep. I almost felt I would offend some forest spirit by making too much noise and interrupting the long, reverent silences broken only by the occasional rustle of brush from some wild animal I couldn’t see.
Eventually, though, boredom won out over sanctity, and I decided to familiarize myself with the pistol I’d taken from the man I killed yesterday. I located the mechanism to release the clip and slid it free to check the bullets, pushing a couple into my palm for a closer look: shiny brass casings and dark gray tips with hollow-point divots.
My mind drifted to its previous owner as I finally had time to dwell on the fact that I’d taken another man’s life. I remembered how he’d dropped like a sack of potatoes the moment I fired. There was no time for him to react. One moment, he was just standing there with a gun in one hand and a radio in the other—completely unaware that I had him in my sights. Next, his life was gone.
Such a precious thing, life. So fragile. So fleeting.
My mother believed in God and an afterlife, but I wasn’t so sure. As far as I was concerned, you only got one. And I had taken away a man’s chance to live it out. I’d stolen years from him.
Granted, he’d been part of a team that tried to kill Chloe and me, and if faced with the same situation, I was pretty sure I’d do it again. But that didn’t mean it sat well with me. It wasn’t something I was comfortable with.
Did killing ever bother Chloe?
A sharp sound to my left tore through my thoughts. I slammed the clip back into the gun and jumped into a crouch before realizing what it was—the wet cough of the woman in the wreckage.
Feeling a little foolish, I stood and pocketed the bullets I’d removed. Stowing the gun, I rounded the opening of the helicopter and leaned against the twisted frame, looking down to see Astrid’s pale but still lovely face staring up at me.
She blinked, coughed again, then swallowed visibly. “Marcus?”
“Hey,” I said, unable to stop the small smile creeping across my lips. Regardless of our argument in the sauna before we left, I was glad to see her alive. She’d been good to me so far, and with Chloe gone, having another human face to look at was more than a little comforting.
“What day is it?” she asked, blinking again as some of the confusion faded.
“Sunday,” I said. “Don’t ask me the time, though. I was never great at guessing it before, and your country doesn’t do direct sunlight, so I’ve got nothing.”
She didn’t even crack a smile. I couldn’t blame her, considering the shape she was in.
“What happened? Where are we? Are we near the cabin?”
“What do you remember?” I asked.
She closed her eyes and thought for a while. “An explosion,” she finally said. “Chloe… she shoved you out of the helicopter. Then tried to do the same for me. I remember telling her to go ahead, that I’d be right behind her. Then… nothing.”
“Tanaka had men shoot us down,” I said.
Her eyes shot open. She gasped, suddenly more lucid than I’d seen her since the crash. “What!?”
I recounted the experience, from waking up hanging in a tree to Chloe leaving to scout the area. I left out the intimate parts. Chloe would appreciate that. She was a private person anyway, but I had the impression that she would especially hate it if Astrid knew. My instinct said she didn’t care much for Astrid.
Astrid muttered something I assumed was a curse in Norwegian. “Poor Robert. He was only with us for a month.”
That surprised me. After seeing how she treated Bobbi, I half-expected her to shrug off the death of one of her underlings.
I must not have hidden my reaction well. Astrid smirked. “What? Just because I roughed up your pet, you think I’m heartless?”
“Honestly? Yeah.”
“Well, you’re wrong,” Astrid said. “Despite whatever she told you, or what you think, I’m not a monster. I don't want to see people hurt.”
I gave her a skeptical look, and she quickly amended, “Well, not seriously hurt, at any rate.” A moment passed. “Your pet was never in any real danger, you know.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I said, retrieving a ration pouch of water nearby. “Thirsty?”
“Please,” she said, struggling to lift her arm. I helped her drink deeply before she handed it back. I took a small sip and set it aside.
“Why’d you do it?” I asked.
“Your pet?” she echoed, then shrugged. “Why did you take possession of her to begin with?”
“That’s a long story,” I said. “Not really important.”
“It is,” she replied with an amused smile. “She’s beautiful. Full of attitude. You wanted her for your pleasure, and taming a woman is more satisfying than simply taking one who’s already submissive.”
I started to protest. “It wasn’t… it was just…”
Damn. She had me pegged. I didn’t want to admit it, but I’d considered how much I enjoyed breaking Bobbi many times over the past month. Some of those moments—when she was at my mercy, on the edge of tears—were some of the hottest of my life.
“See? It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
I glanced down. Astrid was staring at my crotch, and I realized my pants were already growing tight.
“I’ve never been all that into women,” she continued. “But something about that girl really brings it out in me. That look of pride and defiance… and she could’ve been in fashion with that face and body.”
“I think it’s her personality,” I said. “She doesn’t have the best people skills.”
“There you go,” Astrid said. “A girl that beautiful and with that much spunk was made for what we do to her. She was put on this earth for one purpose.”
“She asked me to keep her,” I snapped, angry that her words were turning me on. I couldn’t deny I had dark urges. My trysts with Bobbi and Helen had proven that, but I had to believe I had limits. “I conquered her already.”
“She still seems defiant to me.”
“Well, I’m not beating the spirit out of her. I’m not interested in fucking a catatonic woman. Might as well get a blow-up doll.”
Astrid yelped, her face twisting in pain.
“You okay?” I asked, taking a step forward and getting a closer look at her.
She nodded through gritted teeth. “Just… my leg. Moved it. Hurts more than I thought it would.” She opened one squinting eye at me. “No way of getting me out?”
“Afraid not,” I said. “Chloe says one of the seat frames is wrapped around it. We tried earlier—you screamed and passed out. You’re lucky you still have your foot.”
“Hmm. I remember you waking me earlier, but not the screaming. So, the plan is just to wait for Chloe?”
“Yep.” I handed her the water again. She drained it completely, and I didn’t stop her. Water was the one thing we had plenty of, thanks to Chloe’s collection setup.
A few drops slipped from the corner of her mouth. Without thinking, I reached out and cupped her cheek to wipe it away. Her skin was smooth as porcelain. My thumb lingered, brushing gently up her cheek. Her eyes met mine, and she leaned into my hand.
When my thumb neared her mouth, she turned her head and kissed it, then slid it into her mouth. Her tongue brushed against the tip, suckling softly.
I knew what she was doing.
We’d fought the day before, and now she was completely vulnerable—trapped, helpless, and relying on me. She was trying to manipulate me the only way she still could. Seduction.
It might’ve worked a month ago.
Hell… it might’ve worked yesterday.
She pulled back slowly, her lips releasing my thumb with a soft pop. Then she smiled sweetly, the same expression she wore the first time we met in the boardroom.
She nuzzled into my hand, and I had the urge to retrace those lips.
“Once we get out of this, I’ll need to show you my gratitude for everything you’ve done,” she murmured into my palm.
Yeah… definitely buttering me up.
And she was good. Not Helen or Ashlee-good. Not Carla-good.
Okay—maybe better than Ashlee.
I slid my hand into her platinum hair and pulled tight, forcing her head back. “What makes you think we should wait?”
Her eyes widened, the momentary spell broken. “Marcus?”
“Why wait?” I continued. “I have you right here.”
She licked her lips, starting to process what I meant.
I leaned closer. My voice came low and gravelly. “You abused my property and didn’t apologize. You’re helpless now. I’m making sure you survive, and you’re trying to play me. So why shouldn’t I enjoy some of that gratitude now?”
“It would be much better at my home,” Astrid said calmly, keeping an eerie composure. “I’ve lived in luxury my whole life. I’d blow your mind.”
“Please,” I scoffed. “I’ve fucked Carla Tanaka. Hiro didn’t give her shares for her sparkling conversation.”
“You can’t possibly—”
“I don’t know,” I interrupted, running my fingers down her throat. My cock throbbed. “You’re not in a position to fight back. Maybe I’ll give you the same treatment you gave Bobbi. I think I could find a stick.”
That got her attention.
I placed my palm under her chin, gripping her jaw tightly.
“I’ll get you out alive, Astrid. But remember two things: One—you owe me your life. Two—don’t try to manipulate me again. Nod if you understand.”
She held my gaze. Then, finally, her chin dipped slightly.
“Good. Glad we understand each other.”
I thought about kissing her. Decided against it. That would’ve felt like giving her a win.
Instead, I let her go, stood, and walked away.
As I returned to the shelter, I reloaded the pistol and slid the clip back in, trying to get more familiar with the weapon.
“I’ve got shit to do. I’ll check on you in a couple of hours,” I called back.
Part of me felt bad for bullying a woman in her condition.
But then I remembered what she did to Bobbi. And how she tried to manipulate me.
Yeah. I was getting tired of that bullshit.
I slammed the clip into the gun.
I couldn’t wait for Chloe to get back.
I needed to fuck.
______
Chloe had been gone for hours, and waiting for her had become nerve-wracking. I didn’t know how far away the cabin was, so I had no way of knowing whether her absence was unreasonable. All I knew was that the darker it got, the more I worried something had happened to her.
After my talk with Astrid, I only went back to check on her twice—once to give her water and again to offer a protein bar, which she gratefully accepted and devoured. She asked if I had any more, but I told her we were rationing and walked away. Later, after dark, when I had built the fire, I heard her call my name. I found her struggling with the parachute-blanket we’d fashioned for her and helped tuck her in. As I secured the fabric in the near-total darkness, I could feel her staring up at me, but I couldn’t make out her expression.
“Thank you,” she said sheepishly.
“No problem,” I responded, then left her to rest. I returned to the fire and heated one of the packets of soup in a small metal bowl Chloe had pulled from the wreckage earlier when we were trying to free Astrid. I sat in silence, eating slowly and hoping Chloe was okay.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gone this long without a screen or some kind of connection to the outside world. My imagination was running wild—not just about what might have happened to Chloe, but about everything else, too. Without any sense of how long we’d be stranded, I couldn’t help but wonder what might happen back home. How long before I was declared dead? If Hiro caught wind of my situation, would he make a move? Would he try to seize his estranged wife back from me? Would he bribe Erin and Charity out from under me?
What if it worked?
A vivid image flashed through my mind—Erin, her slender frame and unbuttoned blouse, bending over Hiro’s desk to lay down a file. My stomach turned at the thought, and I stomped it out as quickly as it came. Erin was loyal. Even if I went missing, she wouldn’t just jump ship. We’d been through too much. She meant the world to me. There was no way she could be bought. Could she?
Eventually, she’ll have to find someone to settle down with. She told you that when you first hired her.
My stomach twisted again. The frustration of being unable to reach her—unable to touch her and reassure myself she was still mine—was unbearable. What about Helen? Bobbi? Shea? Were they all being courted by vultures waiting for the right moment to pick apart what I’d built?
Unlike the last time I’d been cut off from the outside world, I was conscious this time—conscious enough to dwell on all the gruesome possibilities my imagination painted.
Fortunately, movement at the edge of my vision snapped me out of it. I turned to find Chloe stepping into the soft glow of the firelight.
“Oh, thank God!” I said, jumping to my feet and rushing toward her.
I crashed into her, wrapping my arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a tight embrace. It took nearly five seconds before I felt her arms tentatively wrap around my back, loosely resting there until the hug was over. It's not exactly the kind of enthusiastic return I might’ve gotten from Erin or Danni, but this was Chloe, after all.
Finally, I pulled away to get a better look at her. Her freckled face was smudged with dirt, and there were a few leaves and twigs tangled in her hair, but she looked healthy. Whole. No visible bullet wounds.
“You okay?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she said, her expression unreadable as her eyes met mine. “I’m good. Just hungry and a little tired.”
I spent the next few minutes heating up some soup for her while she settled onto one of the logs arranged around the fire.
“You made a fire?” she asked after a moment.
“Yeah,” I said, glancing up from the bowl. “Used one of the Sterno cans to get it started. Found some semi-dry wood buried under a pile of wet stuff. I assumed it wouldn’t be a big deal if I kept it small.”
“It’s foolish,” Chloe said, casting a wary glance around the clearing. “Someone could’ve taken you out pretty easily.”
“Should I put it out?” I asked, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice. It was getting harder to suppress my pride and defer to her experience. After all, she worked for me. Still, I managed.
Chloe shook her head. “No. The area’s clear—for now. Shouldn’t be a problem for about an hour.”
“What happens in an hour?” I asked, handing her the steaming bowl.
“Just can’t guarantee no one will spot it after that,” she said. “For now, no one’s close.”
“What did you see?”
She took a sip of the soup and swallowed before answering. “I found the guy you tangled with yesterday.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, already suspecting where this was going.
“Yeah. I was hoping he’d have something useful to say.”
“Did he?”
Chloe shook her head. “He was dead when I found him. Still tied to the tree. Looks like an animal got to him. Maybe wolves.”
“Jesus,” I muttered, suddenly no longer hungry. My body count had just doubled. Unlike the first man, who’d died instantly, this one had likely suffered a more gruesome fate. All because I hadn’t known what to do with him.
“Don’t beat yourself up,” Chloe said. “Wolves don’t play around. He didn’t suffer long.”
“You can’t know that.”
“No, but it’s likely. Anyway, it was going to be either you or him. You did what you had to do, Marcus.”
She kept going before I could argue.
“Since I couldn’t get anything from him, I moved on to the cabin. It’s about a three-hour walk from here—maybe a little less. I got a bit turned around on the way back, so it could be closer to two and a half.”
She paused for another sip of soup, then continued.
“Tanaka’s still out there. He’s not leaving without you—alive or dead. He was fine with you being killed before, but now that there’s a chance you’re alive, he wants to bring you back breathing. Thinks his father will reward him for the extra effort.”
“I couldn’t get an exact headcount, but there are at least twelve mercs at the cabin. I never saw the staff, which means they’re either tied up somewhere or dead.”
“They’re sending out patrols—two at a time—to try and find us. One team reported finding the wreckage, but said no one was alive. That team never made it back, and no one else has located it, which is surprising, because the trail they left was easy to follow. That tells me Tanaka Junior values muscle over skill. Good for us.”
“How do you know all this?” I asked as she took another sip.
“I ran into a pair of scouts. Killed one. Interrogated the other. Killed him when I was done.”
She caught the look on my face and cut me off before I could speak.
“They’re trying to kill you—or deliver you to Tanaka, which is the same thing, just slower. It’s us or them. If I’d left him tied up, he might’ve ended up like your other guy. If I’d brought him here, he could’ve escaped and endangered us. Killing him was the only real option.”
I didn’t respond.
Chloe seemed all too comfortable with killing, which unnerved me—but it wasn’t like I could judge. She’d probably seen worse than I could imagine. And she was right. These men were getting paid to make sure I didn’t walk out of here alive.
I accepted it. Hell, I even appreciated Chloe’s ability to make those calls. She was filthy, bloodstained, and exhausted, but I owed her. That didn’t mean I had to like it.
Chloe fell into silence, staring into the fire. The flames flickered in her golden-brown eyes, revealing both the life in them and the thoughts racing behind them. She wasn’t checked out—she was planning.
“What is it?” I asked warily. Given what she’d done today, and the blood under her fingernails, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know.
“I think…” Chloe said, her tone unusually hesitant. She finally looked up at me, and I saw a mix of uncertainty—and to my surprise, a little amusement—on her dirt-smudged face. “I think I know a way to call for help.”
That got my attention. I sat straighter, every muscle suddenly alert.
“You do?”
“Yeah. But it’s weird.”
Her eyes returned to the fire as she raised the bowl to her lips. She took a sip, swallowed, and licked the residue from her upper lip with a flick of her tongue. Then she pursed her lips and continued staring into the flames.
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