* * *
She was far from okay.I let out a bellow of rage as she was shoved back into the wall of the building. Her head bounced off the stucco and she fell to her knees.
The four men surrounding her turned my way and I gritted my teeth as I waded into the fray, outnumbered. It didn’t matter. The others would be here soon enough. I might leave someone alive for them to kill.
The first man to approach wore a vicious grin, demonstrating that he was going to enjoy what he did to us. Little did the fucker know who he was going up against. Many men made the deadly assumption that because I was big, I was slow. This man clearly thought the same as he and his comrades tried to surround me. He realized his mistake soon enough as I tossed the man closest to me against the nearby building like he was a rag doll and faced the others before they had a chance to strike.
They darted in, the knives in their hands gleaming with wicked intent. From the corner of my eye, I saw Colby get up onto her hands and knees, shaking her head. Then her gorgeous hazel eyes snapped up to mine. A fire lit there and I shook my head at her as I grappled with the leader of the group for control over his knife. Keeping my hands in an iron grip around his knife, I kicked out at the second man, who was trying to come to his leader's rescue.
Colby, completely ignoring my silent command, stood up and braced herself to charge.Stubborn fucking woman.She didn’t bother with a war cry. Her attack came silently, but she launched herself up onto the back of the man that was creeping up to my side. His howl of pain echoed through the alley.
Glancing over quickly I saw a puny knife sticking out from his side, beneath his ribs. Where had she gotten that?
Letting my hand slide up a bit, I gripped the man’s wrist and started to squeeze. A gasp left his mouth and that’s when I twisted with all my strength. His wrist snapped beneath my hand like the dried up branch of a palm tree in a strong breeze. As soon as his knife loosened, I grabbed it and began stabbing him in the gut until he went still in my arms.
Right as I was tossing his lifeless form away like the trash he was, Sig and Rafe ran up. Sig pried Colby off the man she’d attached herself to like a spider monkey, while Rafe and I dispatched the remaining men.
Sig was checking over Colby’s head, lightly prodding the area she’d hit when slamming into the building. Her poor head had taken a beating over the last few hours.
“We have to go,” Rafe muttered, giving Colby a dark look. He was angry that she’d run. So much so that he’d forgotten and spoken in Italian.
She was too out of it to realize what he’d said. Her head slumped against my chest as I lifted her into my arms. Heat and exhaustion had gotten to her.
“I’ve got her,” I told them. “Let’s get out of here before more come.”
Someone had alerted The Holy Order of Qaltala of her presence at the market. The mark on their hands signified that these were some of their assassins. Those were the last people we needed finding her—or us. Their hatred of outsiders was legendary. We were not armed or prepared for a head on confrontation right now.
We made our way out of the market as quickly as we could, while keeping as low a profile as possible while carrying an unconscious woman.
I kept turning in my saddle, gazing across the sand that stretched behind us as our camels carried us quickly away from the market. “No one is following us,” I called out after about thirty minutes of traveling.
Rafe didn’t comment, just kept the breakneck pace going. We followed closely behind. He slowed only when we were a few miles from our hideout. The camels were going to get a much deserved break for a few days after today’s events.
Looking down, I smoothed my thumb over Colby’s forehead. Her eyes stayed closed and her breathing even. Frowning, I rested my palm on her skin.
“She’s burning up. Sig, bring over some of that water.”
He maneuvered his camel over as we continued walking and handed me a canteen. I dumped it over her head, uncaring that it rolled off her and onto me. It was lukewarm, but the breeze would add a chill and help her cool down. The water sluicing down her face and body didn’t rouse her.
Wiping the wet hair out of her eyes, I patted her cheek with my hand. “Wake up.” We were almost back to the hideout and I was worried that she was still out like a light. We didn’t exactly have access to modern medical equipment. Even giving her an IV to rehydrate was out of the question right now.
Rafe had slowed his mount down and watched me tend her with worried eyes. Sig and I knew him well enough to know his anger back in the alley stemmed from worry, but I wasn’t fool enough to think the storm was over. Once she was awake and safe in our temporary home, Rafe was going to blow up like a volcano. It was his way. Rather than cool off, he had this unique ability to store the rage for later use.
Bilal glanced back curiously as I continued to try to rouse her. I’d let his reins drop, but he was happily following the others. He knew he and the others would get a special treat for their hard work today.
She still hadn’t woken when I carried her into the hut. Sitting down on my cot with her, I tipped her head back and poured water in a trickle down her throat. She’d walked a long way out in the heat today, then had helped me fight off the insurgents.
One of the reasons we’d chosen this spot, besides the cabin already in place, was the previous owner had already set up a pipe system to the nearby Euphrates river. We’d put a water purifying system, that is to say we made a crude purifier with sand and charcoal, on the spigot outside and it meant we had clean water anytime we needed it. When we left and moved to another spot we took the system with us.
We could easily live without electricity, but not having fresh water out here was a death sentence. The quality of the water was always in question, and we lacked the antibodies that come with being raised on river water. Sig was the one who’d known how to fix that problem.
“It’s almost ready,” Rafe called out to me. He’d reverted back to Russian. He also was keeping his eyes on his work, too angry to say anything to her for now.
They were filling the tub with buckets as the sun began to sink toward the horizon. The night temperatures and the fresh water would help cool her down quickly.
Rafe’s words were my cue. She was going to be pissed when she woke up. Putting that out of my mind, I began to strip her. I could have left her in her underwear, but she was so overheated that any clothing would be restrictive. Since we’d filled the bath she may as well get clean. I stripped her bra and panties off her and tried my best not to notice gorgeous, pink tipped breasts and the prettiest pussy I’d ever seen.
Gritting my teeth against the pain of my aching balls, I lifted her naked body in my arms and placed her gently in the cool water. The others watched with hungry looks as her body disappeared under the surface.