He circled to the back of the car and headed toward a faintly worn path. Just as he was about to enter the trees, Cam saw it—a clear fishing line-type trip wire.
She dashed toward him. “Diego, stop!”
But as he turned, his leg pushed against the wire and something exploded behind her.
Chapter Forty
Marco took the split second between Cam yelling and the blast to try to construct a protective ice wall at Cam’s back. But he only managed to make it a few inches before something near the car exploded.
He was thrown back and hit a tree.
It took him a second to jump to his feet, and then he raced toward the smoldering remnants of the car.
He was relieved to see that his wall was still standing—elemental ice was stronger than real ice—but his relief faded when he saw Cam on the ground.
No.
As he raced to her side, he melted his ice wall and put out the car fire. Marco knelt down next to Cam, who was unconscious, and checked her pulse. But while erratic, it was strong.
He checked her over, but when he got to her midsection, he found out why she was on the ground. A four-inch piece of shrapnel had blasted through his ice wall and into Cam’s side.
Diego raced out of the trees he’d taken cover inside, and stopped next to him and Cam. Only because Cam was hurt and needed help did he restrain himself from punching the man in the face.
Still, Marco couldn’t resist asking, “Why the fuck didn’t you pay more attention to your surroundings? You claim to be part of a Talent’s army, but if you’re the best this Talent has, then he or she isn’t going to last long.”
Diego wasn’t fazed by his anger. “Are you going to insult me some more, or would you like me to go get some help?”
Marco took a deep breath. Think of Cam. “Is there a hospital nearby?”
Diego shook his head. “No, but if we get her to Eduardo, he should be able to save her.”
Diego’s words only confirmed his suspicions about Eduardo being a Talent. But now was not the time to get the guy to admit it. “How far away is he?”
“Maybe ten minutes, if we hurry.” Diego gestured toward Cam. “Do you think you can carry her?”
Marco looked back down at Cam. It took all of his training and experience as a soldier to keep from panicking at the amount of blood on her shirt. “Yes, give me a second.”
He went around to her good side, placed his arms under her shoulders and her knees, and lifted her. He leaned her weight against his chest, careful not to jar her more than necessary. He looked back up to Diego. “Take me to Eduardo.”
Diego nodded and started walking.
As they moved through the jungle, Cam kept making small grunts of pain. The part of Marco that had come to care for her wanted nothing more than to lay her down and whisper sweet nothings. But, the solider part of his brain understood that such an action would probably kill her.
Don’t you dare fucking die on me, woman. He tightened his grip and pushed on.
In another five minutes, Diego suddenly stopped and put up a hand. Marco was still angry with the man who’d put Cam in this position, but he knew Diego was his best chance of getting her medical attention. If Eduardo was a Talent, and the legends were true, then the man should have extraordinary healing powers.
Marco waited to see what Diego would do.
Diego blurred in front of his eyes until Marco was forced to look away. When he looked back, Diego was gone. “Fuck.” The bastard had ditched him.
He was alone, the woman he cared for possibly dying in his arms. He well knew that emotions could kill in an extreme situation, such as this one, but it took him a little longer than usual to focus on what he could do rather than what he couldn’t.
All he could do was try to patch Cam up.
He kissed Cam’s forehead and said, “Hang on, beauty. I need you to hang on. I’m going to try and stop the bleeding.”
Marco knew some basic field medicine, but not enough. All he could do was remove the metal and create some kind of makeshift bandage.