Bree started humming some quiet lullaby while she worked.
Kruze closed his eyes and let the dark night take him.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bree finished applying a fresh, thick layer of surgical gauze over Kruze’s wound, then strips of white medical tape over that. The night had grown quiet as she’d worked. So had Kruze. By the time she finished, he was snoring, and listening to him made her happy. She had no doubt he’d spring to attention if she asked, but for now, he needed rest. Quickly, she braided her hair. Then, just as he’d done for her in that far-off cave in Turkey, Bree lifted to her feet and walked the perimeter. Only she did it with a can of bear spray in one hand, and a good-sized tree branch in her other.
The campfire was reduced to nothing but orange glowing embers. What was left of the plane was pretty much down to smoking debris. Dutifully, she filled a couple empty bottles from the river, being careful to keep her feet dry, and drowned what was left of the campfire. It needed to be cold, and they needed to be prepared to run at the slightest sign of trouble. A warm firepit would be telling, but cold embers meant they were long gone.
Quietly, she scouted for other signs that would give them away. The tent would have to come down in a hurry, but Kruze had tied the rope with slipknots, making that job easy. The tarps were simple to fold and pack. She had extra room in her backpack for them. The only thing she couldn’t carry was the bottled water. Hoping to make it look as if that case of twenty-four had simply washed ashore after they’d crashed, she dragged it to the edge of the river and planted it between several round river rocks. There. That ought to work.
Bree stowed any loose garbage in the empty plastic bag the tarps came in, then tiptoed back to the lean-to, and, as quietly as she could, extracted Kruze’s leather jacket from behind him. The poor guy was still out cold. Because he’d been alert their entire time together in Turkey, she worried he might have a concussion now. His falling asleep so quickly wasn’t like him. She dragged one blanket over Kruze, then smoothed the thin mylar blanket she’d found in his gear bag, over that. Finally, Bree covered those blankets with the last one. Those three, combined with his body heat, would keep him nice and warm until sunup.
Snuggling into his jacket, Bree zipped it up to her chin, then ate a protein bar as she took her place beside Kruze. The bear spray was close, but she was alone, and she took her self-assigned duty seriously. There were predators in the world, but if any approached this safe zone tonight, she’d let them have it. In the face. She wouldn’t hesitate to take down jerks the likes of Josephus, Berfende, or Lantz. Not that Bree expected Lantz would ever do his own dirty work.
Her poor, battered heart turned to the man lying beside her and his impetuous proposal. She hadn’t answered. How could she? Yes, they were physically drawn to each other, and the sex was phenomenally hot. She did love him. But marriage? To a former SEAL, one of those lone, hard men standing in the dark between innocence and evil? To a man who had no trouble dashing off to the other side of the world at the first hint of danger? That didn’t sound like much of a life for the people he’d leave behind. As charming as Kruze was, Bree wasn’t sure she wanted that for herself or Robin.
And yet… He had come to her aid in Turkey, the last person she’d expected to see. But there he’d been, brash and daring, courting danger and spitting in its face, while he’d spirited her out from under Josephus’s bulbous nose. At first, Kruze hadn’t been the least bit friendly. But Bree now knew his attitude came from past run-ins with the ugly side of journalism. She couldn’t blame him for his opinion of people who’d spread falsehoods against his brothers. She had a problem with liars, too.
Her cheeks warmed remembering the look on his handsome face when she’d gotten up the nerve to ask him for help plucking those bits of glass out of her derriere. Even with a full beard, the man had still blushed like an adorable little boy. It was during those rare moments Bree saw the real Kruze behind the gruff, capable operator she’d fallen in love with. He’d turned shy when faced with her as a patient, the unlikeliest trait for a fierce warrior who killed for a living. Yes, Bree knew precisely what his job sometimes entailed.
She’d researched Navy SEALs in general, had even read a few SEAL autobiographies. Everything she’d found had confirmed what she’d already known. SEALs saved lives. They didn’t kill for sport or revenge. They served their country honorably, with uncommon valor. Kruze could’ve very well gone back down the mountain and killed Josephus in his sleep, but he hadn’t. Instead, he’d held her on his lap and off the cold floor all night. He’d chosen her over high adventure and mayhem.
And for that, she’d picked his pocket. There hadn’t been anything in his wallet except five hundred-dollar bills and a strange, black metal credit card. She hadn’t spent a penny of his, and someday, she’d give that wallet back. Wouldn’t he be surprised?
Bree took a deep breath, then exhaled it slowly through her pursed lips to ease her jittery nerves. Kruze was her kryptonite. She hadn’t been able to resist him in Paris, and certainly hadn’t tonight. It might’ve been their crazy first time together when her heart trouble had really started. That was, after all, when she’d given it away. Since then, it had merely been leading her back to the man who already owned it. The man she truly loved.
But marriage was a significant step for a single mother. There were many things to consider, number one being the ramifications of living with a man who was married to his job. Could Kruze ever settle for an ordinary home life with one, maybe two children? Was it fair to expect him to? Bree didn’t know.
A gentle breeze kicked up off the river, just enough that the branches overhead swayed and made Bree wary. When no other sounds intruded, like bears snuffling or men grunting, she stretched her legs and tipped back into the tree beside the lean-to. Of all people, Bree never dreamed she’d be the one doing the guarding tonight. She could just see the river through the low-hanging pine boughs from where she sat. Up close, it was a noisy thing, tumbling over rocks, pounding them smooth, as it crashed on its way to wherever it was going. But from where she sat, with so many trees between her and the river, it was mostly white noise. Its waves and eddies sparkled from the light of the barest crescent moon rising in the east.
Drawing in a deep breath of cool air, Bree resolved to discuss his proposal more fully with Kruze tomorrow, when he was rested. They needed to talk. Lord, she’d never expected to be faced with such an overwhelmingly frightening decision. The last four years had left a scar on her heart. Kruze had hurt her before. Could she risk letting him hurt her again, or Robin? Could Bree take that great of a chance?
There wasn’t much else to do, so Bree planned Robin’s next cookie party. The cookie cutting. The baking. The frosting. There wasn’t one part of party day Robin didn’t love.
Bree missed that little girl and wondered what she was doing now. Was she sound asleep with her blanket tucked over her ear? Or driving Nana and Grampa crazy with questions? Bree decided this next cookie party would be different. Not only would she teach Robin how to make molasses sugar cookies, but Kruze would be there helping. Oh, how Robin would boss him.
An owl overhead hooted. Bree watched it glide, the moon on its wings more silver than white when it faded into the forest across the river. Next, a deer appeared out of nowhere, as soundless as a ghost as it sniffed the smoke coming off the still glowing wreck. It didn’t have antlers, but Bree wasn’t sure antlers defined a deer’s gender. Probably not. Dairy cows had horns, and they were all female. The deer stood on the edge of the rocky shore for a long time, then, suddenly, it was gone. Just poof, there one second, out of sight the next.
For the rest of the night, Bree planned a thousand other things to keep herself awake and alert. It wasn’t until the first rays of sunlight breached the tops of the pines on the other side of the river, that she heard a man’s voice.
Lifting quietly to her feet, Bree decided to investigate instead of waking Kruze. This guy could
be his brother. That’d be nice, and it was about time Chance showed up. She crept from tree to tree until she was close enough to see the man she’d heard. Damon Vick, her editor? Why was he there in the middle of nowhere, and why was he carrying a rifle? Bree very nearly marched into the open to challenge him when—
“Yeah, boss, got it. I understand,” he growled into the radio clipped high on his hunting vest. “Pretty sure this is where they went down. Haven’t seen the wreck yet, but that pinger you slipped into Banks’ cell phone’s still active, so I’m guessing she’s still alive. Yeah, just like in Turkey. Won’t be long now.”
Won’t be long for what? Pinger? In Turkey? Bree stayed in the shadows, furious at what she was hearing.
A terse male voice crackled over Vick’s radio. “No one but Banks can come out of this alive. Kill anyone who’s with her. I don’t care if it’s her damned kid!”
Oh, Lord in heaven, Harvey Lantz? No wonder Josephus had found her and Mehmet so easily. Lantz told him where she was. He’d been tracking her. Damn him!
Bree sank back behind the tree, her mouth dry and her heart racing to an entirely different beat now, half fear, half anger. Mostly anger. My child? My Robin!? You guys are going to kill my little girl? Like hell!
She melted into the dark vertical shadows between the trees, backtracking swiftly and silently to where she’d left Kruze. Once there, she went straight to her backpack and jerked her cell phone from the outer pocket. She’d been so busy before, she hadn’t thought of it. Then, when she had, it’d been too late to video chat with Robin.
Righteous rage roared over Bree now. Her fingers shook. How dare Harvey and Damon do this to her! To Robin! Harvey, she’d already suspected, but she’d trusted Damon with her writing, her confidences.
Betrayed, Bree cocked her arm, intent on slamming her phone into the nearest tree. But that wouldn’t have been smart, would it? What would Kruze do? She intended to find out. Pissed, she went to the lean-to and dropped beside him. Gently, she ran a hand under the blanket and over his shoulder. “Wake up, honey,” she whispered. “We have a problem.”
He sprang to his feet, his fists up, instantly ready to fight. “Where are they?” he hissed, his green eyes wild and fierce as he scanned the forest around them. “What’s going on? Status report! Now!”
“Kruze. It’s just me, honey,” Bree said evenly while she lifted to her feet to face him. “We’re being hunted.”
He settled down enough to glare at her, but was still breathing hard. “By who?”
“Damon Vick. He works for Lantz. He’s less than a mile downstream from here. But that asshat Harvey Lantz put a pinger in my phone! That’s why Josephus found me and Mehmet in Turkey. He told him where we’d be!” Bree handed her cell to Kruze. “He’s been tracking me all this time.” Hot tears spilled over. “That’s how they knew where your plane was. Want to bet he sabotaged the engines somehow? Lantz sent Damon Vick to kill whoever’s with me, even if it’s… Robin.”
Kruze’s knuckles turned white as his fingers tightened like vise grips around her cell. Bree had never seen anyone so angry. He almost seemed to be in a trance, but he snapped out of it. “You got any plastic bags?”
“Yes, I always keep a couple in my backpack. I’ll get them.” Bree hurried.
Kruze took both bags, put her phone inside one, sealed it, then put that bag inside the other and sealed that one also. He strode straight to the river’s edge, cocked his arm, and fast-balled the package into the middle of the churning water.
Bree hoped that would keep Vick off their trail. “Hurry. Once Vick sees the wreckage, he’ll know where we went.”
“I doubt it. He won’t know for sure we’re even alive.” But Kruze was already jerking the rope from the tree. He turned on Bree, his eyes dark and deadly. “I’ll kill him before he lays a finger on you or Robin. Then I’ll kill Lantz.”
Something inside Bree cracked. She didn’t condone violence, but she knew to her soul that, like Kruze, she’d destroy anyone or anything that threatened Robin. But she could also see where his wound had bled through his shirt during the night. “You’re bleeding. You need a fresh bandage before we go,” she told him in case he didn’t know.
“I’m fine,” he snapped, hurriedly wrapping the tarp hand over hand, then stuffing the bundle into his bag.
Okay then. Not going to argue. Bree folded the three blankets into a single roll. That went into her backpack, also the first-aid supplies, flare gun and flares. She’d already packed any other evidence they’d been there. The firepit was cold. She slouched out of Kruze’s jacket and handed it to him. She was so angry that her sweatshirt would keep her plenty warm.
“Keep it. I’ll get the rest of our food. Where’s our water?”
“In the river,” she replied, as she shrugged back into his jacket.
Kruze strode swiftly to the river’s edge, snagged a half dozen bottles from the plastic carrier, then crushed the others under his boot. In minutes, he’d retrieved the supplies she’d put high in the tree, and they were ready to go. “Move out,” he growled.
Despite his wounded side, together they ran in the opposite direction of Damon Vick. For all his sexist traits, Kruze didn’t once step out ahead of Bree and expect her to follow, just set a steady clip at her side. He even slowed his long-legged pace to match hers. They didn’t stop running until their camp was far behind. Bree was glad for the change of pace. She had stitches in her side and was out of breath.
“What kind of weapon did Vick have?” Kruze asked in a hushed voice. “Did you get a good look?”
“A big, black, metal rifle with a scope. He’s wearing camouflage like you were in Turkey, and a vest with lots of pockets. Looked like they were jammed full.”
“Probably ammo. You sure he was headed our way?”
“Yes, but I didn’t let him see me. Do you have any idea where we are?”
“Sure. I have a place near here, remember?” Kruze came to a full stop, then checked his watch, which Bree hadn’t noticed he’d worn until then. “SmarterWatch,” he explained.
“You mean Smartwatch,” she corrected breathily.
“Nope.” He popped the P as usual. “Mine doesn’t track non-essentials like steps, calories, or email. This baby tracks the US geosynchronous satellite currently in orbit above us, which in turn, sends my GPS location signal to Chance and Pagan. Plus…” Kruze aimed his watch back the way they’d come and tapped one of its buttons. “It also emits low-frequency soundwaves that disrupt cell phones and radio signals within a five-mile radius. Hopefully, it will keep Vick off our track.”
“You don’t think he’ll follow the pinger in my phone downstream?”
Kruze shook his head. “Doubt it, not if he tracked it to get this close. Once he sees how quickly you’re in the opposite direction, he’ll know you ditched it.”
“I had no idea he’d do this to me.”
“Don’t worry. Harvey Lantz is about to get his ass handed to him,” Kruze growled. “Let’s keep moving. There are a couple hunter cabins in these woods, but I won’t take the chance on us getting trapped in any of them. So we walk.”
“Okay.” That sounded good. “Umm, what’s a hunter cabin?”
“It’s a small cabin built by the locals for hunters or hikers who get lost out here. They’re safe, dry places anyone can use, and they’re kept stocked with sufficient dry and canned goods to keep a fella alive for a while. Some are even stocked with fishing gear, over-the-counter meds, ammo. Blankets. Firewood. That kind of stuff.”
“What a good idea.”
He didn’t slow down. “They’ve saved a few lost hunters and hikers over the years. It’s easy to get turned around in these woods, especially when rain and snow hit. Winters in Maine are damned cold.” He coughed, then said, “Sure sorry I fell asleep last night. Haven’t done that before.”
“No big deal. You needed the rest.” And you were probably mad at me, she thought, but said “Toni
ght, I’ll sleep, and you can stand guard.”
“That’s not how it works, Bree. SEALs don’t let each other down. What I did was dead-assed unforgivable. I could’ve gotten you killed.”
“I’m not helpless,” she told him quietly. “Besides, it gave me a chance to return the favor. I help you, and you help me.” Lord, that sounded a lot like marriage. “Do you want to stop, so I can change your bandage?”
“Not yet.” He’d changed into a hard-driving, focused professional, lethal and deadly. Even injured, he’d set a steady pace. He seemed to have compartmentalized his pain, but he was pale and sweating, even in the morning chill.
They’d have to rest soon, but Bree wouldn’t ask again. They walked several more miles without talking, until they came to a veritable wall of moss-freckled, ragged, black rock columns. The darned things rose straight into the sky. A few yards away, a stream splashed down from somewhere overhead. Smaller, thinner trees clung between the rocks, their trunks curved at the base, as they twisted and turned, reaching beyond the shade of the forest for sunlight.
“This is what I’ve been looking for,” Kruze said, his chest heaving as he looked upward. “Now, we climb.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kruze kept Bree positioned ahead of him, careful to not crowd her, but staying close enough to catch her if she slipped. They needed to hurry and get out of sight, but he refused to push a novice. These basalt columns were sharp and, in places, slick. She didn’t need the added stress.
He’d scoured these forests and hills before he’d bought the property after his mother died. Scarlett’s death had left her three sons filthy rich bastards, but instead of mourning her and letting her death eat at him, like Chance had after he’d quit the Navy, Kruze put his inheritance to good use. This tract of land on the other side of the country gave him space from his brothers. But with each step he climbed, he wondered why he’d ever thought he’d needed this much space.
Damned (SOBs Book 4) Page 22
