Page 4 of Last Destination

My heart juddered painfully against my ribs. This woman had been through so much, but her stare refused to take on the numbness that had plagued her lover. She was resilient and brave, and I felt compelled to protect her at all costs.

As if sensing my need to keep her safe, Charlie’s form flitted around Tessa and settled at her back, looping their arms as if they were old friends. My sister wasn’t here, wasn’t real, but it still gave me a small sense of comfort she was choosing to watch over her.

“She is fine,” Madman called to our new audience, rewrapping his arms around my shoulders. “We are getting clean.”

Nikki eyed the water with trepidation. Ambrose gave it a disgusted sneer. Their opposite reactions brought on an aggressive hiccup when I half laughed, half choked into Madman’s chest.

Drawing in a shallow gasp of air, then another, I finally pushed against my protector’s body to gain some space. Spinning to face the other men, though my body was still completely submerged below my shoulders, I offered some words to ease their minds.

“I’m... fine.” The words came out more stilted than intended, but stronger than I anticipated. “I’m just... processing.”

My gaze flitted to the top of the hill where Jamie’s shadow lingered. He sat at the base of a tree more battered than the rest of us. His familiar face was scrunched into an expression I hadn’t seen on him before.

He looked lost. My confident friend — could I even call him a friend anymore? — had never looked so out of place and insecure. And skittish, like he could bolt any moment.

More tears flowed, blending with the water droplets on my skin and burying the evidence of my anguish. I’d held onto hope and faced my worst fears all over again while Jamie hid in the shadows, cowardly pretending his choices hadn’t ruined so many lives.

Relief I had nothing to do with the crash evaporated into the muggy air almost as soon as it had come, replaced instead with the oily sensation of being taken advantage of. My cheeks burned bright and I clenched my fists as I willed the shame-filled film off my soul.

The man I knew, the person I’d admired more than any other mentor, was gone. In his place was a man I barely recognized.

Nikki turned to see where my attention had landed and his full lips formed a thin line. Tessa followed his gaze and her normally neutral face molded into a fierce scowl.

“We should kill him,” she whispered, though her voice carried over the water. “He’s a liability.”

“Hold on there, tiger.” Ambrose's incredulous tone brought a small blush to her cheeks, but the hate in her bright blue eyes remained. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently spun her to face him. “We’ve had enough death for one day, okay?”

Sniffling softly, I dipped my head in silent agreement. I’d had enough death to last a lifetime, unless that funeral was my own. Swallowing the despair that threatened to choke me, I buried the thought deep within my stomach.

Nikki rubbed a calming hand on Tessa’s back. “Would you like to get clean, Tessa? Marley can help you, right, Marley?” He cocked an eyebrow at me in question, but before I could respond, Tessa abruptly shook her head “no” and stepped back from the water’s edge.

“I’m going to pee,” she announced and quickly scrambled up the slope in the opposite direction from Jamie.

“Nikki …” I murmured, gaze following Tessa’s retreat.

“On it,” my British — lover? — confirmed, spinning on his heel to follow.

Ambrose sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face before plopping down on a sharp tree root with a muted wince. His caramel-brown eyes stared darkly back at us, but they were void of all emotion but exhaustion.

It was officially the best and worst day of my life. I’d lost two passengers in a devastating flood, only to be kissed by one man and fucked by the other, both of whom were starting to mean a great deal to me. The person I had been so desperate to find was alive and had somehow brought Madman back to us. I’d finally gotten my answers, only to find rescue wasn’t coming. Our biggest threat was now dead, but another person had sacrificed their life to do it.

I had never experienced such head-snapping whiplash.

Tessa’s declaration had surprised me, but she had no attachment to the man I once called my mentor.

I was furious with his decisions. My heart mourned the man he used to be. I wanted him to disappear, never to think about him again. And I wanted to get him home safely to his husband, Justin, and his boys. I had never felt so conflicted.

Out of everything we’d endured, the thought of having to go up against the cartel made me nauseous. I was possibly the worst actor in all the Americas, yet I was supposed to lead a team through a cartel passage like we belonged there?

Madman shifted behind me, pulling his clothes back into the water and kneading each piece with care. He even turned his garments inside out to remove whatever residue remained. I didn’t want to wash mine. Sand and silt still saturated the river, about as clean as bathwater after washing a muddy dog. My stained white T-shirt smelled of sweat and terror, but I wasn’t convinced a dunk in the river would make it any better.

And after this hellhole of a day, the last thing I wanted to do was put on wet clothes.

Madman abruptly surged forward, his clothing in one arm, my body enclosed in his other arm, pushing us forward to shore with a paradoxical sense of calm urgency. My spine tingled with dread. Ambrose shot to his feet, scanning the water beyond us with confusion, but he didn’t hesitate to pull me out of the river when our resident convict thrust me toward him.

Madman was on my heels. He leaped onto the tree root that had served as Ambrose’s chair in one smooth motion, as if he too had the grace of a jaguar.

“What the fuck, Madman?” I breathed out in a whisper, sensing we needed to be as quiet as possible. All around us, birdsong had hushed and the chitter of the insect symphony had stopped.