Page 18 of Gray

Gray shoved the curtains aside, scanned the rear of the property then quietly opened the window. Aubrey watched him, heart in her throat.

“What’re you doing?” she demanded, wringing her hands. “It’s too high to jump.”

“Not jumping.” He slid a long leg over the windowsill. “But we are gonna do some climbing.”

Once Gray was out, he offered her a hand and she carefully climbed out next to him. Looking down through the iron grating beneath her feet, she placed a hand against the building’s wall to steady herself. Holy hell, she was shaking like a leaf.

Gray must’ve felt it, too, because he turned to her and grasped her face in his huge, callused hands, and forced her to look at him. Into those mesmerizing amber eyes. “I’ve got you, Aubrey,” he said in a low voice. A self-assured voice that instantly helped settle her jittery nerves. Confidence rolled off him and Aubrey nodded as he grabbed her hand again then turned and led her forward.

They skirted around pots and ducked past windows, doing their best to stay low and out of sight. Thank God her room faced the courtyard and not the street. Otherwise, she had no idea how they would’ve escaped without being noticed. She still wasn’t exactly sure what Gray was planning, but she put her full faith in him. After all, he probably used to do this kind of dangerous stuff all the time when he was a SEAL.

When they reached the end of the ornate balcony, Gray pointed to a trellis of bougainvillea and Aubrey shook her head. Was he insane? That would never hold them. And even if it did, bougainvillea had sharp thorns.

Gray sent her a hard stare that communicated one thing very clearly—go!

“Shit,” she mouthed silently. Without any other option, Aubrey stepped closer.

Gray leaned down, gripping her hips, and pressed his warm lips against her ear. “Slowly,” he whispered. “And watch for thorns.”

Releasing a shaky breath, Aubrey reached out and wrapped her fingers around the trellis. It was made of iron, not wood like she originally thought. Okay, that made her feel a little better. Gray lifted her up and over, and she found her footholds.

Very carefully, she stepped down, lowering one foot then one hand. She repeated the process until she reached the ground and stepped off the trellis with only a couple of scratches. Gray was right behind her and he dropped down with a few feet left. Feeling a bit shell-shocked, Aubrey took an unsteady step back and looked around. Now what?

She could hear the angry soldiers and they were yelling at someone out front. Several more gunshots echoed through the air and she gasped, quickly covering her mouth. Beside her, Gray reached over and grabbed her elbow, startling her as he tugged her down a corridor then through a gate and toward the jungle ahead.

If she were alone right now, Aubrey had no idea how she would’ve handled the situation. But, with Gray at her side and leading her away from the chaos, she felt infinitely safer.

Well, this was definitely not how Aubrey planned on spending her last evening in Colombia. She had gathered up her courage to walk down to the cantina to celebrate alone with a drink and appetizer. That was the only adventure she’d expected to have. But now, she was running headlong toward the jungle with a huge, gruff, former SEAL, with no idea where they were going.

Since there was no time to start asking questions, she picked up her pace and tried to keep up with his long-legged stride.

???

Gray’d had no intention of bringing Aubrey back to the safehouse, but with gunshots fired a few doors down from her room, what the hell was he supposed to do? Leave her there to get shot…or worse? The Policía and rebels weren’t exactly known for their kindness toward foreign women traveling alone. They could’ve beaten, raped and murdered her, and no one would’ve been the wiser.

Yeah, no fucking way. No one was going to snuff out that sparkle of hers.

Once they reached the cover of the jungle without incident, Gray shifted her small, soft hand into his opposite one and pulled his gun out. It was a strange sensation, having that delicate hand in his. He knew he shouldn’t like it, but he did. The desire to protect her pumped through his body and he would go down fighting for her. No doubt about it. Gray would make sure Aubrey got back to Indiana safely, sparkle and all.

After trekking about a kilometer, Gray glanced down at her and finally dared to speak. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

“I couldn’t leave you there.”

“Thank you.”

When she looked up at him, blue-violet eyes full of gratitude, something in his cold, empty chest squeezed. The foreign feeling caught him by surprise. Clearing his throat, Gray ignored it and they continued along the edge of the jungle, staying parallel with the road he’d walked down earlier. It was starting to get dark, and going deeper into the treacherous, tropical forest would be asking for trouble. Too many deadly animals dwelled in there. One wrong step or unlucky encounter with a poisonous critter could mean certain death.

But walking up along the road wasn’t an option either. Too many soldiers and rebels out, and Gray didn’t look like a typical tourist. They’d stop him in a heartbeat and probably throw him into some third world prison to rot. Aubrey, on the other hand, would most likely be raped, murdered and tossed in a shallow grave.

Not on his watch. It was up to him to get her to safety and then back home. But, Gray was feeling the heat and he didn’t like it. Staying down here any longer was a bad idea. And even though he was chomping at the bit to finish the job, get his revenge and take outEl Escorpión, it would be too dangerous. Everyone was on high alert. Most likely, Mesa had already been whisked into hiding or was holed up in his compound, which was a veritable fortress.

They’d missed their chance, but at least they’d neutralized his son. César Mesa had possessed a reputation nearly as deadly as his father’s. But not anymore. Gray may have put the right bullets in the wrong man, but no one would mourn the loss of that scum.

Well, except his father. And, as much as he hated Colombia, Gray would return if it meant finally neutralizing Alvaro Mesa.

Yeah, the heat was on and Gray wouldn’t feel safe until they got the fuck out of there. Luckily, his team was on the exact same page.

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