Morgan's Hunter (21 page)

Hunter walked over, ripped the bottle from her hand, threw it. The bright blue plastic cracked against a tree, spewing liquid everywhere.

“Oh, well that was brilliant. Now we’re down a water bottle. You’re lucky that wasn’t one of our filters.”

Hunter’s face loomed an inch above hers. “You’ll want to shut up right about now.”

“Stop talking to me like that! What gives you the right? Who do you think you are?” She put all her weight into giving him a good shove. He didn’t move.

He grabbed her arms and she struggled. “What the hell were you thinking? Do you know how close you came to getting us killed? Did you not notice the fucking machine gun the guy had trained out his window?”

Morgan stopped moving. “I-I didn’t see the gun. Honestly, I never thought of it. I don’t know why, but I didn’t.”

“Well, start thinking, damn it.” He gave her a small shake. “Wake the hell up and use that brain you’re so fond of. You almost got us killed.” He let her go.

Morgan pivoted away. “I went for it because you would’ve stopped me. We’re close. I can feel it. I don’t know what we’re close to, but I’m about to. Can’t you understand that I have to know what happened to my team?”

She whipped back around. “I owe them. I owe their families. I can’t get those pictures out of my mind. When I close my eyes, it’s all I see. I want to know what was worth their lives.” She sat down on the ground against a fallen pine, wrapped her hands around her knees, pressing her face against them. Another explosion shook the ground. She jumped, hugged herself tighter.

The blast was louder, but Hunter was prepared this time. He stared down at Morgan. She looked so small, so defeated. Guilt wormed its way through his conscience. He’d yelled at her for putting them in danger, but he hadn’t shared the details of why he brought her here. That wasn’t exactly fair.

He took a deep breath, sat next to her. His leg brushed hers as he got comfortable and rested against the rough bark of the fallen tree. His voice gentled as he spoke. “Morgan, I know you’re looking for answers, but it’s time to go back. This isn’t safe. We’re in way over our heads here.”

Morgan’s head whipped up. “No, I can’t. I won’t,” she said with a hint of desperation. “I thought you were supposed to be some big bad Marine. I thought you were supposed to be a trained killing machine. It sounds to me like you’re just a washed up bully. You don’t mind bossing me around and manhandling me, but when things get tough, you’re ready to give up and go home. My dad told me you were in Afghanistan for a year, that you knew how to rough it. I think that’s bullshit. You were probably—”

Hunter clamped a hand over her mouth when he heard footsteps. Morgan struggled until he knew she heard them too.

“Get down on your stomach, tuck yourself against the tree and stay there. Don’t move,” he whispered. He lay on the ground next to her, took the pistol from its holster, slid the rack, aimed toward the sound. He saw the water bottle they hadn’t picked up close to the tree as the footsteps moved closer. There wasn’t time to crawl forward and get it.

A man in army fatigues walked toward them carrying a machine gun. He scanned the area, turned to leave, stopped suddenly. Hunter’s finger moved to rest on the trigger of his Glock. His heart pounded, but his hand stayed steady, ready to land his kill shot if the man glanced their way.

The guard reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a cigarette. He put the cigarette between his lips, reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a lighter. Smoke tinged the air as he blew out his first exhale and continued on his way.

For several seconds, Hunter and Morgan lay silent and motionless. The plane flew over as they heard another explosion. Hunter studied the thick cover of trees beyond, the open valley to the left, right and behind them. They were trapped.

There was no way Morgan would be able to make the run back to the trees they left behind before nightfall, and they couldn’t risk being discovered. Their only option was finding a way into the deep forest patrolled by the guard. Hunter holstered his gun again.

“What are we going to do?” Morgan whispered.

“I don’t know yet. I’m going to have to go check things out. I don’t know the layout of the security perimeter. I need to know how many guards I’m dealing with. I have to find us a way around them so we can get the hell out of here. You have to stay here.”

“No, I want to come with you.” Morgan gripped Hunter’s arm as her eyes pleaded with him. “I’ll be quiet.”

He shook his head, trying to ignore the fear shining bright in her green eyes. “You have to stay put, and you have to stay down. It’s too risky to bring you. It’s broad daylight. I don’t know what kind of cover I’ll have.”

“What if they find you and shoot you? What should I do? How will I be able to find you and help?”

His eyebrow shot up. “They aren’t going to shoot me. I’ve been in a hell of a lot messier situations than this.” He grabbed the cracked water bottle, gave it to her. “Stay right there, Morgan. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Remember what happened to your friends.”

He hated himself for making her flinch, for making her think of the grisly images, but he needed to be sure she would do what he said. If he had to fire his gun, they were both dead.

Covering their packs with a pair of pants, pine needles and sticks, Hunter left silently.

Panic washed through Morgan in a violent flood as she watched Hunter disappear into the trees. Her stomach clenched as she fought the urge to get up and run after him. Only the fear of not being able to find him kept her still.

A quick flash of gleaming white brushed the treetops as the plane flew overhead. Her mind raced as she desperately tried to stay calm. Her imagination ran double-time thinking of all of the terrible things that could happen to Hunter. Very much in need of a distraction, inspiration struck as the sound of the engine disappeared.

The plane would fly over again in eight minutes. Eight minutes was four-hundred-eighty seconds. She would count the seconds until Hunter came back. Giddy with the thought of something to do, no matter how trivial, she began.

“Eleven-thousand four-hundred and twenty-one,” she whispered. A smile spread over her face when footsteps finally rustled the pine needles and broken twigs close by. She turned her head and relief quickly turned to dread.

The man in the army fatigues walked toward her, scanning the area. “Shit, shit, shit.” Was she saying that out loud? Had he heard her? She glanced around for a stick or a rock but didn’t dare move toward any possible weapon she saw.

He walked closer until she heard the fabric of his pants rub together, made out the threads attaching the sole of his boot to black leather. If he kept up his pace, he would step on her if he didn’t shoot her first. She closed her eyes, held her breath, waiting for the bullet that was seconds away.

Morgan opened her eyes when the commotion began. The crack of a large branch breaking in the distance stopped the man with the ugly machine gun in his tracks just feet from her. Irritated birds squawked and flew off in a massive flock. The racket was insane. The guard put his finger on the trigger of his weapon and scurried off toward the noisy disorder.

The drumbeat of Morgan’s heart echoed in her stomach, throbbed in her skull. She began to tremble.
Come on
,
pull yourself together. You’re made of tougher stuff than this.
She closed her eyes again, took a deep breath, trying to believe what she told herself, trying to stay calm. Becoming hysterical wasn’t going to help the situation.

She opened her eyes, turned her head, gasped. Hunter sat next to her.

“Oh, oh my God, Hunter.” She sat up and all but crawled into his lap, gripping him hard in a hug. “Oh my God, he almost found me. He almost found me,” she repeated.

Hunter moved her so she sat more truly in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her as her legs twined around his waist. She tightened her arms, burrowing in deep, trying to control her shaking.

He nestled her head more truly against him, pulled the tie from her hair, running his hand through it. “It’s okay. You’re okay. You’re safe. I’m right here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

His heart beat strong and steady as she rested her head against his chest. It calmed her as his arms around her did. She took another deep breath, loosened her grip, stared into his eyes. “Did you find us a way out?”

He continued to run his hand through her hair, occasionally picking out a stray pine needle. “Yeah, it shouldn’t be too bad. We’ll get a little closer than I’d like, but we should be able to make camp where we did last night. Let’s have something to eat, wait for the guard to come back by again, and leave after he does.”

“I’m not very hungry.”

“You have to eat to keep up your strength. We’ll have to haul ass through the little compound they have going on here. I want you resting until we leave.”

Feeling steadier, Morgan scooted out of Hunter’s lap, grabbed his pack, took out the makings for an energizing lunch. She heaped crackers with Goober peanut butter and jelly. She handed several to Hunter and ate plenty herself.

Hunter poured pouches of Gatorade into their water. “Of all the days for it to be hotter than a bitch in heat, it had to be this one.”

“Weren’t you telling me just a couple of days ago that you couldn’t wait to get back to your California weather?”

“I also mentioned sandals. I forgot the shorts, though, and the cold beer. Mm, ice cold beer. See, now I’m getting homesick.”

She smiled. “Get us out of this mess and I’ll buy you that beer myself. How
are
we going to get out of here? What’s the plan?”

“For you to eat more food and relax.” Hunter downed Gatorade.

“I’m good. That scared me, but I’m fine now.” A thought struck her. “You said this was a compound. They must traffic drugs through here. It makes sense. The team must’ve found it. My friends died for drugs. I thought knowing what happened would help somehow, but it doesn’t, it just doesn’t. It makes everything worse.”

Hunter opened his mouth to speak but shook his head.

“What? What were you going to say?”

“Nothing.” He glanced down at his watch. “I think we have about fifteen minutes before the guard comes back. I’ve been able to time him twice, so it’s a rough guess, but it’s all we’ve got. We can’t afford to sit here again. That was a close call.”

“You’re telling me. You made that racket so he wouldn’t find me, didn’t you?”

He shrugged. “I created a little diversion, that’s all.”

“But he could’ve seen you.”

“I was careful, and he was all but on top of you.” Hunter shrugged again. “Now, back to Operation Get the Hell Out of Here. We’ll move out right after the guard takes off. It should take us about half an hour to get to the front of the compound. We’ll have to book it from there. I don’t know where the plane flies and what they can see. We’re going back a different way. I can’t be sure of our cover.” He looked down at the map again, tracing a line with his finger while he spoke.

He sat against the tree, calm and steady despite the danger they were in, took a mammoth-sized bite of the protein bar he opened. It gave Morgan a start to realize he saved her life by risking his—again. She hadn’t really appreciated the meaning or sacrifice that went along with his profession until now.

She thought of how quickly he reacted when the guard passed them initially. He’d pulled and readied his gun before she even blinked. His eyes had turned cold and deadly while his finger flirted with the trigger. He’d been ready to shoot and kill because she’d put them in danger.

She cringed, thinking of the despicable things she’d said not even an hour before. The man sitting next to her was certainly not the coward she had accused him of being. He was good and honorable, and she’d been way out of line.

“Hunter, I want to apologize for the things I said to you earlier.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He continued looking down at the map, chewed.

“No, I can’t.” She put her hand on his arm, causing him to glance up. “I was wrong, and I was unkind. I didn’t mean a word I said. I’m very sorry.”

He stared at her for several seconds. She fought the urge to nibble her lip.

“It’s okay. We’re both under a lot of pressure right now.”

“That’s no excuse. There’s no excuse for the way I behaved. I—”

“Morgan, I accept your apology.” He gave her hand a gentle squeeze before moving away. “Eat up; we’re running out of time.”

Chapter 19

H
UNTER PILED PINE NEEDLES IN the center of his map and walked back to where Morgan sat, stuffing the leftover contents of their hasty lunch into his pack. She glanced up, brows knitting when he stopped in front of her. “What are you doing with that?”

“I’m going to cover our tracks. I don’t want to take any chances.” He twisted his wrist, peeked at his watch. Time was running out. “We need to hurry.”

She stood, shouldered her pack, grabbed his.

“Why don’t you wait over by those trees while I finish this up?” He dropped clumps of dried needles, scattering them with his hand, careful not to leave any footprints behind. When he dumped the remainder on the ground and folded the map, he stepped back, examined the area with a critical eye.

Satisfied the spot appeared untouched, Hunter brushed his hands off and grimaced when sap clung in patches. His index and middle finger stuck together as if they had been glued. “Well, shit.” He spread his palm wide, pulling them apart.

Morgan snorted out a laugh, glanced down when his narrowed gaze met hers.

“Can I get some sanitizer?”

Biting the inside of her cheek, Morgan dug into the mesh pocket of the pack, handed him the small bottle. She cleared her throat. “Sticky, huh? I hate when that happens.”