Page 37 of The Hero
They could still hear the security guards shouting, but they kept putting one foot in front of the other.
“Shit,” Kendric said as they exited the trees.
Marlowe stared at the canal in front of them. It was about ten feet wide, which wasn’t too bad, but the banks on either side were steep, and there was no way to go around it that she could see.
“We’re going to have to go through it,” Kendric said. “Look, over there.” He pointed to a speck in the distance. “See that house? That’s our destination. It’s a farm. Our next stop.”
“But Kendric ... the water ... it’s gross,” Marlowe said. And it was. The water was brackish and a dark-green color. Flies and other insects were buzzing around the surface, and she swore she could see feces bobbing in the water as well.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “But we can clean up when we get to the farm.”
Marlowe wanted to protest. Insist there was no way she was getting anywhere near that water. But if she wanted to get home, she had to do what she had to do.
She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and nodded.
“That’s my brave Punky,” Kendric said. He reached out and ran the backs of his fingers down her cheek.
That almost broke Marlowe. She wanted to fall to the ground in a heap and cry. She wasn’t brave in the least. Her face was probably red and her eyes swollen from the crying she’d already done when she thought Kendric wasn’t going to make it under the fence, her muscles hurt, she was shaky from the adrenaline dump, and her feet hurt from walking without shoes. But the last thing she wanted was to be a burden. She’d keep going because she had no choice.
To her surprise, he leaned over and picked her up, holding her against his chest with one arm under her knees and the other at her back.
“Kendric! What are you doing?”
“There’s no sense in both of us getting all gross in that water. I’ll carry you.”
“I can walk,” Marlowe protested, even as she tightened her hold around his neck.
“I know. Please, let me do this,” he said softly.
She studied him for a beat, wanting to argue. But something about his expression had her nodding.
“Hold on. I’m going to need one hand to brace as I go down the bank on this side,” he warned.
Marlowe nodded again and held on tightly as he slipped down the bank. She heard the slight splash as he entered the canal, but between Kendric’s height and the relatively shallow depth of the water—it stopped a few inches above his knees—she stayed well above the water line.
He began wading through the disgusting-smelling water. Looking around, she saw that ithadbeen poop she’d seen from above. A fresh pile of cow manure floated past them as Kendric strode toward the bank on the other side, which was far steeper. It was obvious he wasn’t going to be able to climb out with her in his arms.
Just as Marlowe was preparing herself to stand up in the nasty water, Kendric surprised her by heaving her upward—and she landed precariously on the sloped bank on her hands and knees. His hand went to her ass, and he held her steady. “Climb up, Punky. I’ll brace and push from down here.”
She wasn’t sure it was going to work, but she didn’t hesitate to start crawling toward the flat ground several feet above her. In the end, it didn’t take long for her to make it to the top, especially with the final hard shove Kendric gave her. She flew upward and barely kept herself from face planting into the dirt.
Marlowe turned around in time to see Kendric attempting to heft himself up and over the bank—until the dirt crumbled under his weight and he fell backward into the nasty water.
He popped up and grimaced, wrinkling his nose in distaste. He was soaking wet but didn’t say a word. Just moved to his left about eight feet, to a section of the bank that hadn’t been disturbed, and within seconds, he was beside her.
Marlowe wanted to hug him. To thank him. To tell him how scared she’d been. How proud she was of him. How worried she was about how they were going to get out of Cambodia—but he held up a hand.
“No, don’t touch me, Punky. That water was disgusting. We need to hose off. Get clean. Then I’m going to hold on to you so tight, you’ll bitch that I’m making you claustrophobic.”
“Not a chance,” she told him with a small smile. “Feel like a hike? Through the hundred-degree heat and the bugs that want to eat us alive, to that farm where the owners may or may not greet us warmly?”
He chuckled, then got serious.
“What?” she asked when he didn’t say anything.
He shook his head. “You.I’ve admired my fair share of women because of their looks. Or because they made me laugh. Or because they were brave in situations that would’ve brought others to their knees. But you ... you put them all to shame, Punky. I know we’ve done everything so far because it was necessary, but I’ve never been prouder of anyone in my life. Happier to have anyone by my side, to share my name with, than you.”
“Kendric,” Marlowe whispered, overwhelmed.
