His words bring a hot blush to my cheeks. “You’re a brute,” I complain.
“Damn straight, girl,” he says without any hint of shame, wrapping me up in his arms. I get hugs. Not orgasms. I suppose I shouldn’t complain—and I don’t. I settle in with him, accepting my fate, whatever it might be. I still doubt the military are after him. He knows that I can’t be fully trusted out here. But still, we cling to each other. We are all the other has ever had. Even if he is rampaging on some cocktail of his own making, and even if I am a faithless brat, we’re in this together. For better or worse. Like a married couple would be, but there’s no divorcing our way out of this bond. He’s stuck with me. And I am stuck with him.
Chapter Eleven
Briarlee
It’s very, very early morning when the sound of plane engines throbs me out of sleep. The sun is rising, and flying in its golden wake is a big plane, flying lower than seems reasonable. Maybe a sightseeing tourist plane? No. Can’t be. It’s too big for that.
I’m half asleep as little black things start tumbling out the back of it. What are they? I squint my eyes and then realize that they’re men. For a sleep-addled moment, I wonder why you’d sky dive into the middle of the forest—then the parachutes begin to flower and it hits me what they are.
“Daniel! Wake up!”
He sits bolt upright. I point.
“Stay here,” he says. “I mean right here. Don’t move. I’ll be back.”
Just like that, he grabs the bag of medication and dives into the forest. I hear the trees rustling as his big body moves through them, and then there is nothing but silence.
“Daniel!” I cry out for him. “Daniel!”
Silence answers. I watch the parachutes descend, dozens of them, with a feeling of dread. Suddenly, I believe everything he said. But it’s too late now. I don’t know what to do. He told me to stay, and what choice do I have? If I move, I’ll be lost in the forest forever. But if I sit here, near our tent, they’ll find me.
For a long time, nothing happens. The parachutes descended into the forest what feels like almost an hour ago. I’m starting to think that this has nothing to do with us. Like, it’s a training exercise. We just happened to pick a part of the woods popular with families and armed forces, maybe?
I start to get bored, and hungry. Our rations are right there, so I dig into them. A protein bar finds its way into my hand. I’d prefer a croissant and some fresh brewed coffee, but I guess this will do. Daniel is probably going to want us to move again, so I’ll need my strength—assuming he doesn’t carry me to the next spot, like he did this one. Maybe if I act up, I’ll hike through all these woods without ever taking more than a few dozen steps of my own. The thought makes me smirk to myself as I chew on the alleged bar of protein. It tastes like dates and coconut. Ick.
“Don’t. Fucking. Move.”
I don’t recognize the voice that comes from behind me in an aggressive shout.
“I wasn’t moving,” I mumble through a mouthful of protein.
“Face down on the ground!”
Whoever this is, he’s loud and he’s rude. I don’t care for either. I have one brute ordering me around, but even Daniel would never speak to me this way. If this is the military, they can frankly fuck right off. I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m not breaking any laws. I’m camping in the forest. That’s allowed.
I turn my head and look into the camouflage-painted face of a very serious-looking man dressed like a tree.
“Can I help you?”
“Lie face down on the ground! Now!”
I take another bite of the bar. It doesn’t taste good. I don’t want it. But I do want to prove to this screaming psychopath that just showing up wearing green and khaki and holding a gun isn’t enough to intimidate me. This is still the United States. There are still laws.
“I’d rather not.”
He grabs me by the shoulder and throws me into the dirt.
“What the hell? I thought this was America! What the fuck?”
“Don’t move, ma’am!”
I try to get up, but a heavy boot pushes me back down on the ground. I really don’t like this guy one bit. He calls for backup and in minutes the campsite is absolutely crawling with soldiers going through everything. They don’t talk to me. They just work around me like I’m nothing. I’m so pissed off I could cry. How fucking dare they treat me this way?
“Okay, get her up.” Someone else is speaking now. Someone with a ring of authority, and the ability to use an indoor voice.