Page 18
But collectively…maybe they tell us something. The uncertainty irritates me.
“Why’d all those birds suddenly fly up?” Sunny says, looking back toward the water.
Ridge puts a finger over his lips to silence me from responding. Then, he steps a little farther back onto the main trail. When he looks back to Sunny, he offers a hand signal.
“Della,” Sunny says quietly, “come here.”
His voice has changed. All the warmth and humor have bled from it. There’s no smile. And every muscle in my body obeys before my brain has a chance to catch up.
I cross the few steps between us, and he grips my biceps. “What is it?”
His gaze never leaves Ridge. “We’ve got company.”
Following the direction of his stare, I see three men. They’re getting out of a black vehicle.
“They could be hikers,” I say optimistically, even though I know men don’t all dress alike in black uniforms.
Sunny finally looks at me; his expression is impossibly calm while my stomach flips like there are cartwheeling dolphins in it. “You and I both know they aren’t. So, I’m going to need you to do exactly what I ask. No questions.”
My pulse hammers fast, but I trust Sunny implicitly. “Okay. What should I do?”
“Cut back through the undergrowth, here, quiet as you can.” He slips his truck keys into my palm. In spite of the panic, he takes a moment to close my fingers over them. “Head to the truck and hide in there. I didn’t lock the doors, seeing as it’s so deserted and quiet out here. As soon as Ridge and I create a distraction, pop the rear door open, climb in, and pull the door close but don’t shut it so they don’t hear it slam. No matter what happens or what you see, don’t get out. Close your door when I get in the truck and shut mine. Stay low, on the floor, if you can. If they are connected to the people who chased you last night, I don’t want them knowing you are back out here.”
“But, Sunny, I don’t want you to get hurt for me. I—”
He brushes his thumb over my cheek. “Just get ready to move, Della.”
Everything in me rebels at the idea of abandoning them to face the three men. They’re outnumbered. And while I don’t know how much use I would be, I could at least try to keep one of them distracted until—
An image of one of those men with a knife to my throat flashes into my mind. I’d be caught in three seconds, then used to gain leverage over Sunny and Ridge. Emotion is clouding my judgment. Objectively, I have no combat training, and what few samples we’ve collected today matter and need saving. Logic reaches the conclusion my emotions were unable to.
“Okay,” I say as I see Ridge firing off a text message to someone. I hope he’s asking for help. The kind that can come quickly and shift the odds.
Ridge flashes me a smile. “We like this shit, Della. We’ll catch up with you.”
It sounds absurdly ordinary…like this is something they do every day.
“Be safe,” I whisper.
I force myself to turn, but Sunny reaches for me. Strong fingers wrap around my wrist, and he spins me into his arms. My body crashes into his solid chest and I’m enveloped by his warmth and the scent of leather and soap. Once there, he suddenly kisses me dramatically.
It’s brief, both his hands cupping my cheeks, but long enough that I feel a rush of heat through my body at his touch. His mouth is soft against mine before he licks the seam of my lips for entry. And despite the impending danger, and the fact I barely know the man, I open them and welcome him.
His tongue meets mine, and, for a second, I struggle to remember how to respond as my brain tries to reconcile the fact that I’m in danger with the reality that this is also the most exciting moment of my life.
And then it’s over, and my brain is in a tailspin, and I’ve forgotten what I was supposed to be doing.
It ends with a huge grin on Sunny’s part. “Always wanted to do that in a moment of high drama, like the movies,” he says. “Now, go.”
Something about the move makes me smile too, even though he never asked if I consented. I suppose if he had, I would have wanted to say yes but would have said no to save myself any embarrassment or heartache.
Even though every instinct in my body is urging me to stay and help them, I respect their assistance and tentatively step toward Sunny’s truck. One foot in front of the other as I try not to romanticize the kiss, which is ridiculous given the way my heartbeat escalates.
As I claw my way through the undergrowth, it strikes me how utterly ridiculous it is to be thinking about the kiss instead of the danger to my life.
“Who’s that asshole?” the only man wearing sunglasses says as they draw close on the path.
I’m grateful my clothes are more camo aligned. Khakis and brown. Even my hair blends.
