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“Yes, but every time, the situation didn’t develop fully enough for us to get him.” He reached out, touching the back of the hand of hers that rested on her thigh. “That’s why our CIA handler called you in.”
Turning her hand over, she tangled her long fingers between his scarred, calloused ones. “And Belov is gone, now.”
“You’ve only been out here two weeks, Sierra, and you’ve taken him down.” He tightened his fingers around hers, his voice dropping with concern. “And with this concussion? I’m worried for you. We need to get you to a hospital for examination.”
Alarmed, she stared at him. “Just give me a good night’s sleep! I’ll be fine, Mace.” Her heart beat harder when she realized what he was saying. Now that she’d completed her mission, it was time to leave. But she didn’t want to, despite her injury. No! Mace would be left in this hellish jungle to play a cat-and-mouse game; trying to hunt down the Russian team before they found his first.
Lifting her hand to his mouth, he brushed a kiss against the back of it. Then, he released it for her to reclaim. “It’s a wait-and-see, Sierra. You got hit hard on the head. It wasn’t your fault. Things happen in firefights. No one’s blaming you.”
Giving him a frustrated look, the flesh of her hand tingling in the wake of his mouth pressing a kiss to the back of it, Sierra fought the ache to pull Mace to her and explore his mouth. “I’ll be fine,” she said defiantly. But she also knew that, right now, she was a liability. Her dizziness was getting better, but she remembered how intense it had been as they’d ran down the trail, fleeing from the Russians. She saw Mace give her a nod.
“Nate’s our medic. I’ve been in touch with him. He says you’re either a level two or three concussion and he’s not sure which. If your dizziness recedes by tomorrow morning, then it’s probably a two.”
“And I can stay a bit longer?” Sierra held her breath, not wanting to leave for so many reasons. She saw him become concerned, his chiseled mouth thinning.
“I don’t know yet. We’re not out of the woods until we can get out of this area and to a safer one. Then I can call command and find out about your status with us.”
“Dammit!” she muttered. “A stupid rock!”
“We were lucky we didn’t suffer more casualties from that RPG they threw at us. Lucky that it wasn’t the concussion waves that got you. It was just a rock.” Shrugging, he said, “Don’t fret about it right now, Sierra. I want to get some food in you if you’re up to it. We’ll spend the night here unless Kushnir starts snooping around.”
“If he does? Is there an alternative exit point to this cave? Or is there only one way in and out?”
“No, there’s another exit that way,” and he pointed behind her. “And I’m taking walk-arounds every thirty minutes, keeping guard.”
She gave him an apologetic look. “You’re exhausted, Mace.”
“Yeah, nothing new, Sweetheart.” He unwound and walked over to his ruck and brought out another bottle of water, opening it and placing it in her outstretched hand. “Drink it. Do you feel like eating?”
“My stomach is rolling. Water sounds good but the idea of food,” and she wrinkled her nose, “not so much. At least… not right now.”
Mace nodded. “Okay. We’ll try again later because if we have to make a run for it, if Kushnir gets too close, we have to make tracks.”
Sierra felt like a complete liability. She remembered weaving around like a drunk when the dizziness had assailed her. “Maybe if I get up, go pee, and then get cleaned up, I’ll feel better.”
Mace smiled a little and leaned down, picking up his rifle. “Good idea. There’s a washcloth and some unscented soap in my ruck. Plus, a dry towel. Why don’t you do that while I make another circuit around the area?”
Sierra nodded. “Be careful…” She saw his eyes change, an emotion in them, but she couldn’t decipher it. Mace left quietly, moving down through the cave toward its second exit point. He disappeared into shadows, swallowed up by the darkness. Feeling frustrated, she got to her hands and knees. The dizziness didn’t assail her, and she was relieved. And then she pushed to her feet, scraping them wide apart just in case the dizziness hit her. It didn’t. More relief poured through Sierra.
Slowly turning, she took small, concerted steps across the smooth rock surface toward Mace’s opened ruck. Sierra didn’t want to leave the team yet even though she’d completed her mission that she’d come here in the first place. Her status within the team would change dramatically, and she knew it.
Sighing, she thought that maybe if she washed her hair, cleaned up, and got into some fresh clothes, it might help.
Mace returned about an hour later. He made sure Sierra knew he was coming so his arrival wouldn’t startle her. He tried to stifle his reaction to her, sitting as she was on the blanket, combing her damp hair, all the mud removed, and in a clean set of cammos and an olive-green sleeveless t-shirt. But his gaze moved to her breasts anyway, out of his control. She wasn’t wearing a bra under her t-shirt, and damned if he didn’t feel an instant reaction through his lower body. Worse, as he approached her, he saw her nipples were thrust up against the tautness of its hanging folds, the lush curves of her breasts outlined by the fabric. She was barefoot, legs crossed, looking so much better than before. Swallowing hard, he came over and sat down opposite her, leaving more room than he wanted between them.
“You look a helluva lot better.”
Sierra smiled a little, gathering her combed hair behind her shoulders. “I feel better. A shower does wonders,” and she gestured toward the falls. “It was great. The water is warm.”
Mace found himself wishing he could have been the one to soap her body down. “Your eyes look clearer. How are you feeling?”
“A little dizziness, but nothing like earlier. I managed to walk a straight line,” and she grinned a little, “from here to the falls and back, instead of weaving around like I did before.”
Mace hungered to curve his mouth across her smiling lips. There was life back in her eyes, no question. “The headache?”
“Still there but reduced.”
“You should take some Ibuprofen.”
