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He shakes his head in anger and snarls at me, “Go now. Run to the bunker and don’t stop.”
“Not without you,” I argue back.
“Sonofabitch, you hard-headed…” his voice trails off, and I watch as his left hand reflexively brushes at the back of his neck at lightning speed as his head recoils off to the side. He acts as if he just got stung by a swarm of bees.
“Fuck!” he shouts out. I’m confused as to what’s going on until he brings his hand back around from his neck and it’s painted in blood. I gasp, horrified to see him bleeding. He doesn’t give me time to process what just happened, because in that very second, he slams his body over mine, protecting me from a spray of bullets, which whiz by overhead. His arms wrap tightly around my body as he traps me underneath his heavy weight, pinning my arms to my sides.
His lips rest against my ear, his breathing heavy as he tells me in a gruff voice, “I’m so going to have your ass when this is over.” I don’t know how he can be so confident in a time like this. I feel as if my ass has already been hung out to dry. I’ve already said my prayers.
“Travis, are you okay?” I’m so rattled my voice shakes, and my words rush out in a string of panic. “Please, tell me you’ll be fine.”
“Never been better, sweetheart,” he states brusquely. “Just a graze.”
My God. Just a graze, he says. I’m not trained for this high intensity shit. I’ve only been trained to shoot and run. They could’ve killed him.
Could’ve? They still can. I begin to hyperventilate, and I realize I’m so scared; I literally could pee my pants.
The firing overhead ceases just as quickly as it started, and I’m thankful for the weight of Travis’ body on top of mine to keep my heart from exploding out of my chest. His faint breathing against my ear gives me some comfort, knowing we are both still alive. I’m thinking with the cease-fire, this would be the most opportune time to get up and run, but Travis doesn’t move as he continues to hold me tighter in his arms, which worries me.
“Travis,” I start off. I’m about to tell him we should get up and make a break for it.
“Shh, baby,” he interrupts, whispering into my ear. “Trust me. We need to stay down now.”
My ears perk up over Travis’ heavy breathing, and I think I hear a set of heavy footsteps approaching. Maybe it’s all in my head. Ah hell, who am I kidding? Shit’s about to get real ugly again; I can feel it.
I squeeze my eyes tight as panic grips at my heart, seizing my last breath. When I do finally inhale, I draw in a breath that is all Travis. I take comfort in his familiarity, his touch, and his strength. His body weight provides me with a consolation that is hard to describe, despite the circumstances at hand.
A set of quick footsteps sound out to my right. Leaves crunch and pine straw snaps under the weight of those feet, and a sickening feeling begins to wash over me. As the footsteps come to a halt, a deafening silence fills the air.
“Well, well, well…what do we have here?” a male’s deep voice laced with evil rings out against the thickness of the forest. “Looks like we’ve got a little love nest going on. Thought you were a little more high-class than this, Travis,” the man taunts. Travis holds stock-still over my body, and I can’t see over him to tell who this man is.
I find it odd, however, that his muscles don’t tense like they did back at the cabin. It’s like he’s actually keeping himself loose and limber on purpose, trying to ready himself for a fight. His lips brush behind my ear as he gives me a chaste kiss before he rolls off me and faces the dark voice head on.
I watch Travis as his eyes narrow on the man, who’s standing before us. “Mitchell.” Travis says his name as if he’s spitting out vile vomit. I shift my eyes between Travis and Mitchell, their heated exchange making my blood run cold.
It’s quite evident these two men have shared a past, and judging by the animosity radiating off both of them, it isn’t a good one.
Mitchell stands tall and strong, arrogance evident in every cell of his body as he speaks. “What were you thinking, Travis? Did you think we couldn’t find out about this place?”
“One can only hope, can’t they, Mitchell?” Travis asks through clenched teeth. Something about this man seems familiar to me, but I can’t place him.
“Hope is all you’ll ever do, Jackson, especially once Nick gets his hands on you.”
