Chapter Four
WHAT are we going to do?” she asked. “Tell me how I can help.”
Axel pulled the desert camo blanket over their heads and tightened his hold around her waist. “Right now, we’re just laying low and hoping they go away. It’s about noon, maybe a little after. We might be hanging here for a while. It depends on how determined they are.”
That wasn’t good news. She wasn’t sure she could lie in this same position for the next five hours and wait for night to fall. For starters, her bladder was full. Worse, fear spiked her bloodstream. She wasn’t ready to face danger again. She certainly didn’t want to die.
And somehow, above all that, being pressed up against Axel aroused her.
Beside him, she breathed hard, trying to steady herself.
“You’re shaking,” he murmured. “Slow your breathing down. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep you safe.”
Mystery didn’t doubt that for a minute. She gave him a little nod. “What if they land? What if they come looking for us? What if—”
He shifted slightly, cupping her cheek. “I’ll handle it. I’m armed. I’m trained.”
But these ruthless people chasing her had already eliminated two of his comrades. How did Axel expect to take out whoever was in the helicopter by himself?
He pried open one of the Velcro pockets in his fatigue pants and thrust a gun in her hands. Mystery shrank back as if it was an enormous hairy spider come to eat her.
“Take it,” he demanded. “The safety is on. To turn it off, you flip this switch down.” He demonstrated, then quickly flipped the lever back in place. “Once the safety is off, squeeze the trigger hard. The gun will kick you back good, so be ready or it will knock you on your ass.”
He was preparing her to defend herself in case he couldn’t. And she could only think of one reason he’d be unable to keep her safe.
Panic surged. She rolled closer and lunged, throwing herself against his chest. “No.”
He grabbed her chin. “You have to be ready. If that chopper lands, there are anywhere between two and four men on board. They will split up and search for us. If your abductor sent them, I’m extraneous. They’ll simply kill me. What happens to you depends on their orders.”
“Meaning?” Her voice shook.
“Either they’ll take you to a new location to finish what your captor started or they’ll end you. In either event, you need to be prepared to defend yourself.”
“I don’t know how to use this.” She didn’t even want to touch the gun but it was sandwiched between them, sitting on her chest, seeming to weigh a thousand pounds.
“I’m telling you,” he bit out.
The helicopter drew closer, hovered not far from their location. She risked a peek over the top of the blanket and saw the vehicle make a slow sweep over the landscape.
Then it drew closer to the ground, kicking up sand and spewing it everywhere. Mystery gasped, tensed. They were coming for her.
Beside her, Axel clenched his jaw. When he turned to her, his expression looked bleak. “Listen to me. We’re going to get off this rock. You’re going to run ahead of me. I’ll stay and fend them off.”
“No!” Splitting from him terrified her.
She could get lost. She could die. Funny that her biggest fear was never seeing him again.
He went on as if he hadn’t heard her objection at all. “Go west southwest.” He pointed that direction. “Keep walking. I’ve told you about some of the dangers around the landscape. Take your pack. I’m going to give you the water. Keep walking as long and as fast as you can. You should come to a town named Keeler. Not many people there, but find someone who has a phone. Call 911.”
“I’m staying with you.”
The helicopter went vertical, setting down beyond the next ridge, just out of sight. As soon as the sound of the blades slowed, Axel took that as his cue to stand. “You’re going. That’s final.”
He grabbed her pack, took the water bottles from his and shoved them into hers. Then he wadded up the blanket and jammed it into one of the pack’s side pockets. It wouldn’t zip but he deemed that good enough because he dragged her to her feet, thrust the gun on top of the pack, shoved it into her hands, then gave her a jerk of his head. “Go.”
Mystery froze for a moment. “What will you do?”
He reached for his rifle, then withdrew a scope from his pack, along with extra ammunition. He slithered to his belly along the top of the flat rock. “I also went to sniper school.”
As he started assembling his weapon and lining up shots, he completely tuned her out. His breathing evened. He looked utterly focused on the ridge ahead.
She couldn’t fall apart. It wouldn’t help either of them.
Dragging the overstuffed pack onto her back, she sucked back a groan at the additional weight. Already, her feet hurt from yesterday’s trek and were protesting now. But she heard the helicopter’s engine cut off. Adrenaline shot through her, and she welcomed the chemical. It staved off pain, made her sharp, gave her courage.
She slid off the rock just as Axel began wrapping his finger around the trigger.
On her trek down the first tier of rocks, she scraped her leg. Damn dress. The silvery sequin fabric had looked awesome catching the light in the club she’d gone to. It hadn’t held up at all in a survival situation. It certainly hadn’t protected her skin as she’d slid down the stone facing.
As Mystery brushed the debris from her thigh, her hand came back slightly wet. Blood. She winced, remembering what Axel had said about injury, but infection wasn’t her biggest threat now.
She moved on and clawed her way down the next face of the rocks, holding on by her fingernails. As she dangled, she looked down—and gulped. The ground seemed too far away, like she might hurt her leg or break an ankle if she simply let go. Shaking, scared, she forced herself to study the stone in front of her for any foot or handholds. Nothing.
If she remained hanging here, she was easy bait. Dead meat. Closing her eyes and saying a prayer, she released her hold. The ground rushed up to meet her with a thud. Thankfully, the soil just around the rock seemed a bit more sandy than the hard-baked soil of the dried-up riverbed. Though the landing still jarred every bone in her body, the loamy quality of the dirt immediately below cushioned her fall enough. Juggling her pack on her back again, she darted away from the outcropping, hugging the sides of the hill, clinging to what was left of the shadows.
She’d barely taken five steps before Axel’s first shot rang out above her.
Mystery tensed. That would certainly give away their position and send whoever was in that chopper running after them. What if they were another search-and-rescue sent by her father? Then again, if Axel was shooting, he must have reason to believe they weren’t.
A second shot rang out less than twenty seconds later. She swallowed, paused. He’d told her to go, run to the nearest town.
But she couldn’t leave him.
Mystery took the gun from her pack and headed back to Axel. This weapon would be far more useful in his hands.
Just as she reached the outcropping again, she saw him sliding down the facing of the rock as if his ass was on fire. The second he landed, he turned to find her. He barely had time for a glower before he rushed over and grabbed her arm, staying her.
“I picked two of them off. There were two others. The first headed back to the chopper before I even fired a shot. The second scrambled down the hill. I expect him to try to hunt us down.”
She put her hand in his and tugged in the direction he’d told her to trek. “Let’s go.”
Axel yanked on her hand and shook his head. “This way.”
Mystery frowned. She hadn’t misunderstood what he told her previously. When he turned and pulled on her hand, she got the picture immediately. “Toward the helicopter?”
And the bad guys? Was he crazy?
“With one guy searching the valley for us, we might be able to sneak our way past the other and either radio for help or get the hell to civilization. Walking through this valley without anywhere to hide or adequate camouflage isn’t my first choice. But if we run toward civilization, they head back to the chopper and find us in five minutes. We don’t have better options.”
The idea filled her with fear. Dashing across the valley was risky, probably close to insane. But Axel knew far more about staying alive in a combat situation than she did. He’d gotten her this far. She trusted him with her life.
“All right.”
Nodding, he pulled her along as he hugged the outcropping of rock. Before he rounded the corner, he grabbed his rifle, at the ready, and peeked at the vast expanse beyond.
Her heart thrummed as she waited for him to say something—anything. The interminable seconds slid by in silence.
“We’re going to make a dash across the long stretch of nothing between us and that hill. They’ll probably see us and give chase. Or shoot. Keep running, no matter what. Got it?”
She nodded frantically.
“Answer me,” he demanded.
“Yes, Axel.”
He let out a sound that was a cross between a sigh and a curse. “Follow me.”
They stepped out from behind the stone facing. Instantly, sun beat directly on them. Intense heat shimmered up from the hard-baked ground. Mystery didn’t bother wishing she had sunglasses or a hat, but she blessed Axel for insisting they cover as much ground as possible at night.
“Any idea where they are now?” she murmured.
“Nope. One will probably head in our direction but climb that northern ridge to get above us for a better shot.” He pointed. “The other will probably stay by the helicopter. He’s likely the pilot. They’ll have some comm device going between them to keep tabs on us. We have to stay alert for surprises. Ready?”
No. “Yes, Axel.”
He grabbed her hand. “Go!”
They set off across the dusty, brush-dotted landscape at a full run. Mystery gazed frantically between the rocks littering the ground beneath her feet and the endless desert in front of her, shielding the men likely trying to kill them. Her breath rushed out of her chest. Terror crowded every part of her body. And she clung to Axel, knowing he was the only way she’d possibly survive this.
As they ran, time had no meaning. A few seconds? A few minutes? Then a shot rang out, skipping the dirt directly in front of Axel. She yelped.
He jerked on her arm and sent them running in a random zigzag pattern. Not a single hill, tree, bush, or rock to shield them in this low, brush-scrubbed valley. A few hundred yards in any direction would take them to some sort of shelter, but that might as well have been a million miles. As another shot rang out and kicked up the soil less than a foot from her, she wondered if there was any chance they’d make it to safety alive.
“Keep running!” he called over his shoulder.
It was either that or die. “I’m with you.”
More shots echoed through the canyon, sounding as if they came from above and to their left. Mystery tried not to scream. Axel didn’t let up, just kept charging toward the ridge in the distance. He dragged her to an angle slightly right but still toward the rise in the distance—their only chance at freedom.
As another bullet dive-bombed the ground just behind them, she kept chugging, one foot in front of the other, the impact of each step booming through her body. The watery mirage of the landscape in front of her began to come into sharper focus. A stitch ticced in her side. Her lungs felt ready to burst. But she didn’t stop, wouldn’t drag Axel down.
They sprinted closer to the ridge, still taking a slight angle to the right. The shots behind them sounded farther away, missed them by a wider margin.
“Almost there,” he shouted.
Mystery hoped she made it that long. And that no violent gunmen awaited her.
Finally, they reached the base of the hills flanking the valley on the right, and he dragged her into shadow. He slowed their pace to a jog. She had a thousand questions, but now wasn’t the time. Besides, she was panting too hard to talk.
He took a path between two hills, rounded behind one, then began ascending, staying out of sight of anyone in the valley.
“We’re going to use the cover of these ridges to creep closer to the chopper. Stay right behind me.”
Compared to her, he didn’t sound winded at all, but like he’d simply been taking a leisurely stroll. If she made it out of this, she would get in better shape and learn to use a freaking gun. And she’d thank Axel profusely.
The ascent up the hill wasn’t necessarily easier than the sprint across the valley. Her thighs ached and her lungs burned by the time they reached the last hill. The pilot sat in the chopper, walkie-talkie in hand, looking around nervously.
Axel knelt on the uneven ground and tried to get a steady stance as he lifted his rifle and aimed, but not toward the pilot. Mystery looked in the direction Axel pointed his barrel—and caught sight of the man who’d been shooting at them earlier. Or rather, she saw the business end of his rifle. He’d set up behind a rock, his weapon peeking over the top as he waited for them to come into view so he could pick them off.
“Stay here,” he demanded. “I’m going up.”
He’d be visible and vulnerable on top of the next rise. Mystery hated that she had no idea how to help him. “Be careful.”
“If something happens to me, you know what to do and where to go.” Then he grabbed his weapon, shirked his pack, checked the ammo in his pockets. Then he was gone.
In less than a minute, she heard multiple shots ring out. The reverberation of some were really close. Axel’s rifle, she supposed. Others echoed around the valley.
The two exchanged gunfire for tense minutes. Worry gripped her. What was going on?
Mystery crept up the hill just a bit, enough to see the bottom of Axel’s boots, toes down.
“I hear you.” He didn’t sound pleased.
“I’m worried about you.”
“I do my job better when I’m not worried about you. Get back down.”
Mystery crouched, staying where she could just see the heels of his boots. The air around them went still. As far as she could tell, Axel didn’t move. She tensed. The waiting was killing her.
Suddenly, more gunfire erupted, a rapid tat-tat-tat of bullets. The sound came from a different angle, one higher up.
Axel scrambled off the hill and came barreling down, wrapping an arm around her. “Let’s go.”
She didn’t have the chance to ask where, just picked up their packs and did her best to run beside him as he shuttled her down the hill and around the back, still closer to the helicopter.
Once it came into view, she saw the pilot sitting inside, still on the walkie-talkie as he scanned his surroundings. They were a bit behind him and to his left. He hadn’t seen them yet, but it wouldn’t be long.
Axel grabbed her arm and brought her up short. “We’re going to make a run for it. When we get close to the chopper, hurry around the back, to the other side. Dive in. Keep your head down. Wait for me. Got it?”
“Yes, Axel.” She wouldn’t let him down.
“Go!” he urged in her ear.
Together, they ran, his big body on her left, blocking her from the last known position of the gunman, his arm around her protectively, keeping her crouched low.
Mystery saw the moment the pilot spotted them. His eyes widened. Thankfully, he didn’t appear to have a gun. But he spoke animatedly into the little handheld communication device.
When he noticed the rifle in Axel’s hand, he scrambled from the vehicle, shaking hands held in the air. He looked close to fifty, dark hair slicked back, showing off his clearly Italian genes. “I’m just a hired pilot. I don’t want anyone else hurt.”
Axel gave her a little nudge toward the back of the helicopter. She took that as her cue to dart to the far side of the flying contraption, like he’d instructed.
She glanced inside the cockpit for anything that obviously resembled a radio, but saw so many buttons, dials, levers, and switches. She had no idea if any of them would allow her to communicate with the outside world.
Quickly, she flung herself and the packs inside, then leaned forward and stared out the window. Axel was bearing down on the pilot, who backed away. That wasn’t happening. Axel grabbed the pilot by his arm and—
Another round of shots ricocheted around them. Axel slammed the pilot to the dirt. A bullet struck the helicopter. Mystery heard the metallic ping of the impact. Feeling like a sitting duck, she scrambled out and onto the hard ground.
Another shot struck the vehicle. Then another. She heard a thump, a grunt, then . . .
“You okay?” Axel called.
“I don’t know,” she called back.
Tears stabbed her eyes. Damn it, now wasn’t the time to fall apart. Later, when she was safe—or dead—she could freak out. Right now, she had to pull her shit together.
“Are you hit?” he asked.
“No. Just scared. I’ll be fine.”
Axel darted around the back of the chopper’s tail and clapped eyes on her. The hard warrior stamped all over his face softened for a moment. “I know. I’m going to get you out of here.”
He squeezed her arm, then scooted past her, toward the front of the aircraft, and raised his rifle.
Seconds ticked by in silence. She watched Axel, his wide shoulders set, barely rising and falling, though his heart rate had to be sky-high and adrenaline shooting through his system. His seeming calm set her at ease. Maybe he knew where the shooter was. Maybe he had a plan. No, probably. She hadn’t known Axel long, but he’d do everything to keep them safe. No one would be better in a life-or-death situation.
Finally, he gave an almost imperceptible movement in his right arm. She leaned around to get a better view. He pulled the trigger.
The shot arrowed across the valley.
Seconds slipped past, punctuated by a silence that made her want to crawl out of her skin, her pulse race. She didn’t hear any return fire from the other gunman.
When nearly a full, still minute had passed, Axel glanced at her over his shoulder. “Get in.”
Before she could comply, he disappeared around the front of the aircraft again. Mystery wrenched open the door—and found a bullet hole in her seat where she’d been sitting only minutes ago.
On the other side, Axel opened the chopper door and zeroed in on her. He must have seen her frozen because he followed the direction of her gaze. And cursed. “It’s okay, princess. He’s gone. He’s not coming back. Get in so we can get you home.”
Mystery started trembling. His words pinged around her brain before she finally nodded. “Okay.”
Closing her eyes, she hoisted herself into the seat. No way would she look at the hole in the leather and think about the fact that if she hadn’t followed her instinct and gotten out, she’d be dead now.
Pushing the packs into the back of the vehicle, she tried to bring her shaking under control as Axel got in after her and started the helicopter. It started up, the whirring of the blades a jarring sound that ultimately soothed her. She could go home.
“You shot the guy trying to kill us?”
Axel hesitated and looked her over. Getting a read on her mental state?
Finally, he nodded. “He got impatient. When he couldn’t find me to get a good shot from his previous location, he poked his head up to look. I was waiting.”
Mystery swallowed hard. “And the pilot?”
“He wasn’t armed. I hit him over the head. He’ll be conscious in a few minutes.”
Small comfort. Six people dead in the last twenty-four hours just to keep her alive. All but his two buddies had been criminals, but she still felt oddly guilty for being the one to survive. “I’m sorry.”
Axel shook his head, his blue eyes completely reassuring. “You didn’t ask for this.”
But if she’d followed her father’s rules, none of this would have happened. She and Axel had already had this argument, so she wasn’t going to waste her breath or his time having it again.
Then she noticed him fiddling with something in the aircraft’s complicated console. “I looked for the radio, but I couldn’t figure it out.”
He pointed to a few wires sticking out. “I’m betting the pilot disabled it on the gunman’s instructions when it didn’t look like they’d end up on the winning side.”
Crap. “So we can’t alert the police or tell anyone we’re coming?”
“I’m afraid not.” He flipped a few more switches and turned some knobs.
“Then what are you doing?”
Was this the helicopter equivalent of hot-wiring a car?
“Disabling the IFF transponder.” He focused on the buttons in front of him, studying.
“What’s that? Some sort of GPS?”
“It stands for ‘Identify Friend or Foe.’ It transmits a four-digit octal identification code with the aircraft’s tail numbers. If I don’t disable this, local air traffic control might be able to identify me. Until we know whose side they’re on . . .” He yanked it free. “Better to be safe than sorry.”
Mystery was so grateful he’d thought of all that. Without him, no doubt she’d already be dead.
He grabbed the controller, and the helicopter began to rise off the ground. Now probably wasn’t a good time to mention that she’d always been deathly afraid of them. She tensed and clenched her eyes shut. Better not to look.
Then it hit her. She really was going home—to her father, to everything familiar.
To life without Axel.
He lifted the chopper off the ground. It surged back, then he pulled on the controller. They gained altitude before they lunged forward. The brown of the brush-scrubbed hills rose up in front of them, the obstacles she hadn’t been sure how they’d cross to get out of this blasted valley. But suddenly they were flying above them. A sense of euphoria gripped her.
They were going to live. They were saved.
Suddenly, Axel cursed and gave a mighty yank on the controller. Despite that, as soon as they crested the rise of the hill, the nose of the aircraft leaned down. Mystery braced her hands and feet anywhere in the cabin she could find so she didn’t splat face first into the windshield.
“Put on your seatbelt,” he demanded. Beads of sweat popped out along his forehead, at his temples.
A terrible thought occurred to her. “You don’t know how to fly this thing?”
That would be bad. So, so bad . . . She scrambled to buckle her restraint. It wouldn’t save her if they crashed and went up in flames, but she’d hope for a better outcome. She hadn’t come this far to die in some mechanical contraption designed to get her the hell out of danger.
“I do,” he assured as the aircraft started spinning in circles. “But I think we’ve lost the manifold pressure in the engine. It probably got damaged by gunfire. I can’t control the chopper anymore.”
That made Mystery’s heart stop. She did her best not to panic or scream, especially when they seemed to be losing altitude fast. The nose of the craft tilted down even more. She tried to reach across the space and grab the steering contraption and give a mighty tug.
The fact that he didn’t object told her they might be in serious trouble.
“I don’t think I can recover.” He swallowed.
And the ground raced up toward them as the aircraft itself started spinning faster and faster.
“Oh, God . . .”
“Now might be a good time to say your prayers.”
Mystery’s heart stopped. “Can we do anything?”
He hesitated only a split second to look at the complicated dash of dials and indicators. “On my count, pull on the yoke as hard as you can. We’ll see if we can even this up. We’re still going to autorotate down. Get ready for a bumpy landing. One . . . two . . .” He gritted his teeth. “Pull!”
Bracing her feet on the floor, she wrapped her fists around the yoke and used every ounce of her strength to bring it back up. Axel did the same, the tendons in his neck standing out, his biceps bulging.
Mystery tugged with all her might, but it was like pulling a pole through concrete. The thing just wasn’t budging. They began to spin around faster and faster, the landscape coming at her in dizzying speeds, disorienting her. She wanted to close her eyes to cut down on the nausea. She didn’t dare.
The one bright spot was that it appeared they’d made it over the hill and stood a decent chance of putting this thing down on level ground. She only hoped that they didn’t burst into a ball of flame the moment they did.
“Get ready for impact,” he barked.
How was she supposed to do that? But they didn’t have time for questions. “Got it.”
Axel took in deep breaths and kept trying to steady the yoke. The blades stirred up the dust around them. She choked as it invaded her nostrils and clogged her throat. The tail of the craft kept whirling around, adding to the dizzying spin. God, she hoped they made it out of this alive. If she did, Mystery swore she’d do so many things differently.
The back of the aircraft hit the ground below, pushing them forward and destabilizing the entire aircraft. The legs at the front hit with a jarring thud. Her head snapped back as her body slammed to the seat. Like a teeter-totter, the little craft ambled back and forth, rocking in place, before finally settling on the ground.
Axel killed the engine, then panted a few deep breaths, obviously trying to bring his adrenaline under control. “You all right?”
Other than her heart racing like a mad thing and being scared half to death? “Yeah.”
And, damn it, she still had to pee.
He turned to her, stared, said nothing for long moments. He curled his fingers into fists. Sweat poured down his face. He looked taut, as if holding himself back.
Mystery frowned. “You?”
Her question seemed to jolt him. “Fine.”
She wasn’t sure she believed him.
He reached behind them and grabbed the packs from the back. “Can you carry yours?”
Testing her fingers, wrists, arms, and legs, she was relieved to find that nothing felt broken or even hurt. “I should be able to.”
“Let’s go. We’ll have to walk again. Getting over that range of hills was a big help. It saved us hours of hiking. We might find some shelter ahead before nightfall.”
But their water supply was running low. He didn’t have to tell her that, even if they made it through today, they’d likely be empty by tomorrow. Then what? She didn’t need an expert like him to tell her that they wouldn’t last long in the desert without hydration.
That was tomorrow, though. Today they’d dodged another bullet. She was lucky to be alive.
Axel bailed out of the side of the helicopter and slung his pack on his shoulder, then jogged around the front of the vehicle to her side. She spilled out into his waiting arms. Axel scooped her up and held her tightly against his body. She felt his racing heart against her own. He smelled like man and sweat and life.
Mystery blinked up, looking into his eyes. His expression, so sharp and aware, made her catch her breath. She dropped her gaze to his lips, aching to know what they felt like.
He grabbed a fistful of her hair and tugged, his stare sliding over her, fused to her. Then his lips crashed down onto her own. She gave a cry at the impact.
Axel took her mouth, possessed it. God, she’d been kissed before but not by anyone who could make her feel his touch through her entire body. The drugging relief she’d been feeling just after the crash mixed with a pure sexual thrill to give her a zing that soon had her climbing his big body, wrapping her legs around his waist, desperate for more.
Axel lifted his head, panted harshly in her face, then swooped in for another blistering kiss. This time, he drilled his tongue into her mouth and tangled it with his own, sweeping deep, scorching her all the way to her soul. His addictive flavor filled her. It wasn’t like artificial breath spray or toothpaste. It wasn’t whatever he’d been eating or drinking. It was just him. She tightened her legs around him and struggled for her next breath, not really caring if she found it.
He pulled at her scalp as he slanted his mouth across her lips at another angle, then dived deep into her a third time. Aching for him everywhere, Mystery wriggled on him and . . . Oh, did she find him hard and ready and so big. Yes. She wanted that. She wanted him. She yearned for more of his fingers tangled in her hair, his kiss taking absolute command of her body. She yearned to find out what it felt like to be filled by a guy who wasn’t simply trying to score.
She whimpered and tightened her arms around his neck. He gave a groan as he filled his hands with her ass and ground her against his raging erection.
He hit her right against the most sensitive spot. Mystery couldn’t stop herself from breaking the kiss and tossing her head back in pleasure. “Axel . . .”
Drawing in deep draughts of air, he set her back on her feet and jerked his hands from her as if he’d been burned. “Jesus, I didn’t mean to do that. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I’m fine. I—”
“Grab your pack.” Axel gritted his teeth, then gave a jerk of his head toward the expansive distance in front of them. “Let’s go.”
She frowned but did as he asked. Once she had it on her back, she fell into step beside him as he headed west, into the sun beginning its fall from its midday zenith. “What’s wrong?”
He refused to look at her. “I feel like an asshole. That was totally inappropriate.”
Mystery frowned up at him. “I liked it. A lot.”
That admission only seemed to turn his expression grimmer. “We’ll walk away from the crash site. With the transponder disabled, it should take whoever sent those guys a while to find their chopper.”
“So you don’t think my dad sent them?”
Axel shook his head. “If he had, they shouldn’t have been shooting at us. I waited to see if they’d fire first. When they started lining up their first shot, I acted accordingly.”
So whoever had paid for her abduction already knew she’d been rescued and was coming after her. “How long do we have?”
“Before they come after us again?” He shrugged, looking like he didn’t want to answer.
“Sheltering me doesn’t do us any good.”
“I know.” Axel squinted against the sun. “You’ve already been through a lot and . . .”
He didn’t want to put her through more. She appreciated that, but that didn’t help them. “It’s not over, so I can’t be a spoiled little rich girl and sit around waiting for someone else to solve my problems if I’d like to live. And the last thing I want to do is drag you down with me.”
“If he’s got another team on standby, an hour. Maybe two. If not, we might have a few hours more.”
The temperature sweltered. In order to reach the nearest town, they had to walk in the direct, blazing sun. They’d probably leave tracks in the sand that a blind man could follow.
“So we either find a place to hide nearby or make a run for it?”
“Yeah. And neither option is particularly good.”
Mystery understood that, but she hadn’t come this far for nothing. If she’d survived an abduction, a bullet-ridden rescue, a trek across unforgiving landscape, and busted out of her comfort zone so she wouldn’t be a burden, all of that couldn’t be for nothing. She wouldn’t let herself, her father, or Axel down.
“It seems to me that the closer we get to civilization, the better off we’ll be. Once we can tell someone I’m still alive and where to find me, they’ll have to give up. Or at least regroup.”
He nodded, then sent her a look filled with pride. “Hanging here makes us sitting ducks.”
“Then let’s keep going. If it doesn’t work out . . . we’ll know we did our best.”
“Good call.” He tilted his head at her. “Now drink water.”
“You’re bossy.”
Despite the gravity of the situation, a smile tugged at his lips. “That’s never going to change.”
Probably not, but she liked that about him. In fact, she liked everything about him. And if they survived this ordeal, Mystery didn’t think she could go back to her life without telling him exactly how she felt.