Jemma caressed the side of his face. “Trust me, I have plenty of regrets, too. There’s a lot we need to talk about. And we will. I promise.” She couldn’t let him say anything more as if this would be their last moments together. They’d come too far. She’d done too much to lose him now. He needed to fight to stay alive from underneath the crushing weight until she could get help. “But all of our focus has to be on getting you free. The longer you’re pinned under here, the higher the risk that you suffer nerve or muscle damage.”
“I thought I was the doctor,” Rocco said.
“I’ve been in more situations like this than I care to remember. I know the risks and the urgency. I need to get help.”
“Yeah, okay. You’re right.” Rocco nodded his head slowly. “I have to say one more thing.”
“What’s that?”
“Thank you.”
Jemma leaned down and kissed him. He tasted of dirt and metallic blood, but it was the most intimate kiss they’d ever shared.
She pulled away after several seconds, swiping his sweat-drenched locks from his forehead. She could tell he was exhaustedfrom bearing the weight. He wouldn’t last under there much longer. Rocco’s eyes fluttered closed.
“I will be back soon.” Jemma kissed his eyelids, then stood. The quickest way back to town and a working call service was to trek back through the rain forest and get Rocco’s discarded motorbike.
“No, you won’t.”
Nomar’s voice cut through the still, stagnant night air.
Jemma reached for her gun, but Nomar was too quick. His fist landed with a hard punch against her jaw. She screamed and stumbled backward, losing her grip on the weapon.
“Don’t touch her!” Rocco screamed, trying like hell to move from under the door but it was no use.
Nomar ignored him as he grabbed her gun from the ground, then stalked over to where she’d fallen.
“You’re coming with me,” Nomar declared. He landed three vicious blows to her abdomen. She doubled over with excruciating pain. “And this time, your lover won’t be able to stop me.”
Nomar yanked her from the ground. She tried to fight back but she could barely stand from the pain in her side. He didn’t care, gripping a fistful of her hair and jerking her toward him.
“Let go of me!” Jemma screamed.
It was no use.
Nomar was too strong. His arm snaked around her neck, squeezing so tight that she couldn’t breathe. She clawed and scratched at his arm, struggling to get oxygen into her lungs. Jemma writhed and struggled but couldn’t free herself. She knew what was coming but she’d never been on the receiving end of this hold. The one that rendered a threat unconscious.
As her world faded to black, the only comfort she had was that Nomar didn’t want to kill her.
At least not yet.
Chapter 48
The squeal of tires roared as an SUV barreled across the jungle road. The headlights shone brightly, nearly blinding Rocco. The vehicle came to a stop. The shadows of two goons lifted Jemma’s limp body into the back of the vehicle.
His throat was raw from screaming her name. The words tumbled from his lips over and over as he scratched and clawed at the dirt, trying to free himself. His muscles shook with fatigue as struggled underneath the metal lid. He knew he could be doing more damage to his body but he didn’t care. Jemma had to know he would do anything to stop the bastard from kidnapping her.
“Jemma!” Rocco screamed again.
A man approached him slowly, blocking the bright lights of the SUV. He stopped outside of Rocco’s reach, staring down at him with a curious glare.
It was the man who’d tried to drug and rape Jemma at the club in La Placita. The man kissing her in the photos at the beachside restaurant in Dajabon.
The man from her past.
Rocco shifted his focus to the bastard, matching his steely stare. “You won’t get away with this. I will get out of here and I will hunt you down. I will find Jemma and make you regret the day you ever tried to take her from me.”
In a calm tone laced with pity, the man said, “Your loyalty is misplaced. You don’t know the woman you’ve been sharing a bed with but I do. I know her all too well.”
