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All she knew was he’d almost died, and the very thought made her body shudder.
“Brylee?” Shawn’s voice penetrated her scattered thoughts. “Are you and Cash unharmed?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good.” Shawn pushed out a breath. “I’ll stay on the line with you until the Coast Guard gets there.”
“Thank you.” Brylee clung to the phone and edged closer to where she could easily watch Cash and the two men.
He was strong and brave. Her hero.
She was so scared she barely hung on to the phone with her sweat-slick fingers.
Chapter
Twelve
Cash wishedDanny hadn’t pulled a gun on him. If only the man had provoked him and threatened Brylee and then stupidly pulled a knife or tried to take him in hand to hand combat. He would’ve loved to fight both of these men in hand to hand combat and best them both at the same time. He’d shot too many people over the years. It was one of the few things he didn’t miss from his service. He hadn’t enjoyed shooting Danny twice, but at least he’d been able to put the shots in effective spots and allow the man to live.
Danny was obviously in charge and a tough criminal. The only stupid thing he’d done was bring Adam along. Even though he was bleeding from two gunshot wounds, he didn’t complain and maintained a steady glare directed at Cash. Cash wasn’t afraid of him, but he wanted him gone. He wanted to be alone with Brylee and make certain she was all right emotionally.
A St. Lucia Coast Guard helicopter arrived about half an hour after Cash shot Danny. Cash examined the helo and watched the coasties closely. Their uniforms were sharp, they followed command structure well, and went straight to work afterlanding. You never knew with smaller countries, but Cash was confident this unit could handle the prisoners.
He conferred with the lieutenant in charge while his men cuffed Adam and Danny, then treated Danny’s wounds. Cash kept cutting his eyes to where Brylee waited near the tent. She’d eased into sight when the Coast Guard appeared, clinging to the satellite phone.
Danny hadn’t been able to keep his eyes off of Brylee before he was taken away. Cash didn’t like it.
“I’ll be seeing you soon, beautiful,” Danny called to Brylee as a coastie led him away.
Cash growled and started toward him. He couldn’t threaten Brylee. The lieutenant put his hand on his arm. Cash stopped, folding his arms across his chest and glaring at Danny.
“All you’ll be seeing is the walls of your cell,” the pilot said to him, and then the other men escorted him into the helicopter.
“You might consider packing up and shipping out,” Lieutenant Gehring said to Cash with a mild St. Lucian accent. He glanced over at Brylee. “Reality television show or not.”
“I appreciate the advice. I’ll be speaking to the host. If somebody’s leaking what we’re doing here and creeps like that are going to show up to threaten Brylee, I might call it.” He wasn’t worried about himself, but he did not want Brylee in danger. He’d tell Mercedes to give Brylee a million from his five. They had plenty of footage for an intriguing show, especially with the attack, Brylee almost falling down the waterfall the first day, and what the cameras had caught of their kissing sessions.
“Good luck. Nice work here, Captain.”
Cash hadn’t told the man who he was, but either Shawn had given them that information, or Shawn had told them his name when he’d called in the attack and they’d looked Cash up. They had all treated him with respect.
Cash shook Lieutenant Gehring’s hand and hurried over to Brylee. He took the satellite phone from her slightly trembling hand and slid it into his pocket. Then he wrapped his arm around her waist and she leaned into his side. The helicopter lifted off. They watched it go. Neither of them said anything.
As soon as the rotors faded, Cash looked down at Brylee. “How are you holding up?”
She shrugged, then she quivered, then she turned into him and started sobbing.
Cash held her tightly, rubbing her back and trying to think of how to soothe her. “It’s all right,” he murmured against her hair. “It’s over.”
“It’s not all right. You could have died. Cash, you could have died.” She cried harder and then she looked up at him, her blue eyes bright and beautiful. “I can’t live in a world where you’re dead.”
He startled and almost released her, but she clung to him.
“I’d have to die too. Like Romeo and Juliet. ‘Oh, happy dagger. This is thy sheath’,” she quoted.
Usually she’d smile as she quoted something. Usually she was teasing. This was no tease.
What had he done? Letting down his guard and kissing her repeatedly … she’d been too perfect and alluring to resist, but now it was exactly what he’d feared. She was going to be devastated when he died, and she’d only known him a matter of days. It was a dagger to his heart. He had no way to fix this.
