“Then you have your answer.” Havoc nodded and went back into the cave.
When Ryder moved inside, he found Taylor lying next to Victoria. Havoc had moved to the back and made a bed on the floor.
He sat with a view of the opening and stared into the darkness.
“I, um…” Irene said. She held out his jacket to him, and he smiled.
“You brought my coat?” He grinned.
Even in the dim light, he could see the blush that crept up her face.
“I know I should have given it to you back at the bakery, but things got crazy and then you kissed me.” She trailed off and looked anywhere but at him.
“Come sit with me,” he said. His voice was rough with emotion, but he didn’t care. It had been a hell of a day.
Irene looked down at him and stared for a moment.
He patted the ground between his legs.
She looked over to the others and then back to him.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” he grunted and reached out to pull her down to him. He didn’t care what he had to do, he was going to hold her at all costs.
Irene slipped down between his legs. It seemed so strange to rest herself there, but when he brought his knees up and wrapped his coat around them, it was very warm and cozy.
“Better?” he mumbled in her ear.
She nodded, the back of her head resting against his chest.
“God, I love when your hair is down,” he said quietly.
She laughed a little. In all the excitement, she hadn’t even thought about it. Normally, she kept it back in order to keep it out of the way.
Irene sighed as he tenderly ran his fingers through her hair.
“You did well today,” he said after a bit.
Irene turned in his lap to look at him. Her heart hammered.
“I was so scared,” she said quietly. “I just had to keep it together. I don’t think I could have done it if it weren’t for them.”
Ryder shook his head. “I doubt that. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”
The tears that she had held on to all this time trickled out. “I’m not like you or Taylor though,” she whispered. “I don’t wear jeans. I like to wear girly clothes. I’m not tough, and I hate jumping in really cold water.”
She buried her head against his chest and let the tears come as he gently soothed her. When she had cried herself dry, he pulled her face up.
“I don’t want you to be like Taylor or me or anyone else but you.” He grinned. “I’m not interested in being with myself.”
Irene laughed.
“And I like whatever you want to wear or don’t want to wear.” He winked at her, and the heat came back to her face. “As for the water, I really have no idea why you’d jump into cold water, but if you don’t want to, I’m not going to make you.”
She giggled at how crazy she must have sounded.
“That’s what I like to hear,” he said.
It struck her just how close they were. Just inches from one another.
His eyes dropped to her lips, and without thought she licked them. Ryder’s thick arms tightened around her middle.
“I was so worried about you,” he whispered and placed his forehead to hers. “Even without all this other shit.”
“I tried to call you,” she said.
His eyes popped open, and she could see the deep pools of brown.
“Over and over.” She nibbled on the lower lip. “I just…” Irene didn’t really know where to go with it. “I kept hearing things, and I wanted you to know.”
Ryder sat up and studied her face. For a minute, she wondered if she said something wrong.
“Why?”
She shrugged.
He raised a brow.
Irene sighed. “Because I was scared, and you make me feel safe.”
He smiled at her.
“That’s something,” he said.
Irene shut her eyes. It was something. It actually meant far more than he could ever know. She gasped when his mouth moved to hers, soft and tender. Irene responded the only way there was to respond, by wrapping her arms around him.
His tongue teased the crease of her mouth, and when she opened to him, he slipped inside. This kiss was far more fevered than any other they had shared. Their tongues battled one another, and when she realized the sexual motion he was creating, Irene moaned.
Ryder pulled away and stared at her. For a moment, she wondered if she had done something wrong until he shifted and made a pained face.
“We should stop before this gets out of hand,” he whispered. “Not a lot of privacy around here.”
Irene nodded. This wasn’t what she wanted. Not that she knew what she wanted, but this wasn’t the time for it.
Ryder placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
“Let’s get some sleep,” he said. “We’ll talk about this when we get out of here.”
Irene snuggled against him and listened to the steady beat of his heart. For once in her life, she was going to think with something other than her brain.
Chapter Eight
Irene woke to the sound of the walkie-talkie next to Ryder.
“Go ahead,” Ryder said.
“They have taken care of the problem,” a man on the walkie-talkie said. “Cage was wounded, but he’ll be fine. The chopper will be at the clearing by the water at five. Can you make it there?”
She looked up at Ryder, who seemed to be having trouble answering. She wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t know how to handle Victoria or if he was worried about his brother.
“I’ll carry her,” Havoc said from the other side of the room. “We’ll need to strap her to my back, but I can pull us out of here.”
Ryder nodded.
“We’ll be there. Victoria has a broken leg, so she will need medical on site,” he said into the walkie-talkie.
“Roger.”
“How’s the fire, Charlie?” Ryder asked.
Irene wondered if Charlie might be Olivia’s step-father. She knew they had worked together when Reed was in trouble, but from what she knew of him, he wasn’t the sort to get mixed up with.
It took a moment for Charlie to reply.
“Not good. Damn thing is out of control. We haven’t had rain in ages, so it has a lot of brush to burn out. Just keep moving north to the spot, and you should be fine.”
“Roger.”
The room went silent.
Irene stretched and climbed up out of his lap.
Not having much choice, she made her way to the back of the cave to relieve herself. She swore, if they made it out of this, she was never peeing outside again.
Taylor was giving Victoria some water to drink when she came over.
“How you feeling?” she asked.
“Like hell.” Victoria gave a small smile. “I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
Victoria sighed. “This is all my fault. Those men were after us because of my father.”
Irene shook her head. “It’s those men’s fault, and maybe your father’s fault, but definitely not your fault.” She certainly understood how it could be hard to run from one’s past. For all the trouble she had with her family, at least she had been blessed by them not being involved in crime. Poor Victoria and Jess just wanted a better life for themselves.
Victoria closed her eyes for a second and let out another sigh.
Irene lifted the blanket to look at their makeshift splint. It wasn’t the best, but it would have to do for a while longer. She had lifted the pant-leg the previous night to make sure the bone hadn’t gone through the skin, but luckily the fall snapped just her shin bone without any blood.
“We’re going to have to move,” Irene said.
Victoria nodded. “I’ll be fine. Just give me the meds, and let’s get going. I want to get some real drugs.”
Irene chuckled. It was easy to laugh about, but she’d bet that it wasn’t that far from the truth.
They pulled out th
e bread and peanut butter from the day before. Irene set to work on making food for them while they were hiking. There might not be the chance to do it later on.
“Hell, Ryder, these women thought of everything,” Havoc said from behind her. She turned around. He grinned at her. She passed a sandwich up to him, which he took happily.
She watched the huge pony-tailed biker for a moment. In any other circumstance, she’d probably be intimidated by him, but Ryder seemed to trust him, and anyone Ryder trusted, she trusted. Besides, it helped to have another huge man to protect them.
He continued gobbling up his sandwich. Everyone ate their sandwich like it was the best thing they had ever tasted.
Irene pulled out Victoria’s pack. “I’m going to consolidate.”
Victoria nodded from the floor.
A part of her wanted to just ditch the bags, but it didn’t seem wise. With the three men still out there, assuming Havoc hadn’t seriously injured one in the firefight, if they didn’t make the meeting point, they would be stuck without anything.
She packed what she could and left the rest.
She watched as Ryder pulled rope from one of the bags he packed for her and wondered what else he had thought to send. Taylor put the bag back in her pack.
“I’m going to pick her up and place her on Havoc’s back,” Ryder said. “One of you will need to keep her foot steady while the other ties her on.”
Irene walked over to Taylor and pulled her away from everyone.
“I’ll tie. You hold,” she said. “This is going to hurt, and I don’t think she’s going to be able to sit still for it. You’re stronger than I am,” she said.
Taylor looked over to Victoria.
“You’re right,” she said. “Just make it fast. I don’t know how long I can stand to do that.”
Irene came back with rope in hand.
“I’ll do the tying,” she said.
Ryder nodded. While he lifted, Taylor held. Irene looped the rope in a criss-cross pattern across Havoc’s chest, under Victoria’s thighs and across her back. She looped it as tight and as many times as it would go before tying it off.
Victoria breathed heavily against Havoc and only cried out a few times. Irene’s heart twisted at the gut-wrenching sound.
She held her breath when Ryder let go of Victoria and was relieved when the rope held.
“Good,” Ryder said. “We’re burning day. Let’s get out of here.”
* * *
They had been traveling for hours and still weren’t even close to the meeting place. They were moving too slowly for Ryder’s taste, and as much as he offered, Havoc wasn’t sharing in the duty of carrying Victoria. Ryder wasn’t sure if the biker’s actions were more about nobility or just trying to prove he was the most bad-ass man there. Either way, Ryder was impressed, but they still needed to pick up the pace.
As they sat in the shade resting, Ryder gave it another shot, if anything for Victoria.
“We need to trade off, or we’ll never make it,” he said quietly.
Havoc glanced over to Victoria sitting in the grass.
“It’s my fault,” he said.
Ryder frowned. “You couldn’t have grabbed her.”
Havoc shook his head.
“My damn brother,” he said. “He’s my problem, and he caused this shit.”
Ryder sighed. “You can’t control what other people do,” he said. “And if you want to help her, you should want to make sure we get her there as fast as we can. Then, you can go find your brother and settle things.”
Havoc nodded. “You’re right.”
“Ryder,” Irene called. “The fire.”
He turned to see the sea of orange and red just below them.
“Fuck,” he groaned. “Quick, tie her on.”
They all but sprinted into action.
“To the water,” he shouted. “It will take us to the clearing and keep us safe.”
At least he hoped it would. There was little chance the fire would jump the bank, but one ill-timed wind could change everything.
Smoke choked the air as they raced to escape. Victoria cried quietly at his back, and he knew how much it must hurt to have him run like that, but there weren’t any options.
They reached the water. He sighed in relief. Being in the water meant they were still in the game, which was something.
* * *
Irene watched the skies from her position at the water bank. They reached the clearing with just enough time to spare, but she was anxious to get out of there. Victoria had started to run a fever and was looking worse by the minute. Any longer on the mountain, and she wasn’t going to make it out.
So far they hadn’t seen a sign of any of the men. She knew they were out there. Wolf or Kert or whatever he wanted to be called wasn’t one to just let them go. Paco might, judging by what she overheard at the cabin, but she doubted he even had a way to get off the mountain with all the fires. Blitz was the odd man in all this. He really didn’t have much vested, aside from pissing his brother off from what she could tell, but she didn’t know him or what he might do.
She sighed. This could all go wrong very fast.
The putter of the helicopter in the distance hit her ears.
“This is it,” Ryder said from behind her.
They watched the sky, waiting for it to come into view. She turned to her cousin, who was standing very close to Victoria.
“How’s she doing?” Irene whispered.
Taylor shook her head. “The painkillers are barely helping.” She swallowed back her tears. “I’m just glad we’re getting her out of here.”
Irene couldn’t agree more.
When the helicopter came into view, she felt a weight being lifted. It kicked up the dirt around them, and she had to shield her eyes while it landed.
“Won’t it turn off the propellers?” she shouted.
Ryder shook his head. “We need to make this quick,” he said. “We’re lucky they came up here as is.”
The crack of a gunshot ripped through the air.
Irene’s heart leapt into her chest. They were so close.
“Fuck,” Havoc shouted. “They’re shooting at the goddamn chopper.”
“Go,” Ryder said and positioned himself behind a rock to take aim. Another bullet went flying, and he returned fire.
The helicopter lifted slightly off the ground and started pulling away.
“No, no, no!” Ryder grabbed out the walkie-talkie.
“Charlie, we’re taking fire, and the chopper is trying to leave on us,” he yelled over the noise.
“Maybe we can pick a new safe spot,” Charlie came in over the mic.
Ryder shook his head, and they all looked to Victoria, who was strapped to Havoc and unconscious.
“She’s not going to make it,” he yelled. “If you’re on my side, you get them back here. Five minutes, that’s all we need.”
Silence met him on the other end, and Irene prayed that Charlie would be able to work some magic.
Ryder laid down the walkie-talkie and fired a few more shots in the direction the enemy attack seemed to be coming from.
The helicopter stopped pulling away. Another exchange of gunshots followed. The helicopter started descending again.
They all held their breath until the helicopter came back to the ground.
“Five minutes,” Charlie said. “Run.”
Ryder turned to them. “Go. I’ll lay enough cover for you to get there.”
Havoc nodded. “One of you in front of me and the other behind,” he said to Irene and Taylor.
“No,” Irene said and turned to Ryder. “I’m staying with you.”
“Damn it, Irene! We don’t have time for this,” he shouted.
“So, don’t argue then.” She stood tall. “Two laying cover is better than one, and we’ll have an easier time making it out of here, if Victoria makes it on there.”
He was angry. She could see it with every move he made, but there wasn’t
time.
Havoc handed Taylor one of his guns. “You take the rear. Fire in any direction but the one we came from.”
Taylor nodded.
Ryder handed Irene his second piece.
“Do you even know how to fire a gun?” he asked.
“It’s not rocket science,” she said quietly. “Can’t say I’ll hit anything, but that’s not the point.”
She hugged Taylor tight. “Run,” she said. “Run as fast as you can.”
They let go and took position.
Another gunshot cut through the air.
She looked to Ryder.
“I’ll take left. You take right,” he said. “Keep firing until they are on. Then, we run like hell.”
She nodded.
Havoc took a deep breath and locked hands with Taylor. Irene couldn’t tell if it was to give him strength or her, but it seemed to help.
“Go,” Havoc said.
Irene watched out of the corner of her eye as her baby cousin raced along, firing a gun like she’d been doing it her whole life. Irene’s own gun skills weren’t as amazing. She was helping to lay cover, but that was about it. The kickback was more than she expected, and she was constantly having to shift her position. Besides, she didn’t even see anyone to fire at.
“Almost there,” Ryder said. “Get ready to run.”
Irene watched as the others reached the helicopter, and when they had all climbed on, she let out a sigh. Victoria would get to a hospital and get the help she needed. The break had been nasty, but at this point, Irene suspected that there was something internal that was causing an infection. It was the only explanation she had for the fever. With all the rough hiking, it was no surprise though. She was more than certain that you weren’t supposed to move that much on a broken leg, even when you were being carried.
Ryder put a hand on her hands firing the gun and lowered them. He pulled the piece from her.
“Run,” he said.
She hopped up off the ground and grabbed her pack. It was feeling heavier and heavier each time she had to put it on, but at least she still had things in it. A part of her wished she had made Taylor leave her pack, so she could go through it, but it was too late for that. It wasn’t on the top of her mind, and even if there had been time, who knew if anything would have been useful.
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