Page 12 of Protecting Josie
“We can do this,” he told her.
Again, she nodded.
Not for the first time, Blink wished she would or could talk to him. Ask all the questions he saw swirling in her gaze. But for now, it was enough that she wasn’t panicking.
The sound of scraping seemed loud in the otherwise quiet room, and Blink winced, praying the men on the other side of the door wouldn’t hear.
The woman in the cell slowly stood. She walked over to where the cup was sitting on the floor under the water drip that had literally kept her alive. She picked it up, looked into it, then back up at Blink.
She held it up, as if asking if he wanted the water that had accumulated.
His chest hurt, and not because he’d been beaten time and time again. Blink shook his head. “You drink it, Spirit. Things are about to get pretty intense. Just stay calm, do what my team and I tell you to do as soon as we ask you to do it. All right?”
She didn’t nod, just tipped the cup up to her lips. Then she lowered it to her side and held it with what looked like a death grip. He could see her fingers go white as she gripped the thing. It would be smarter to leave it, but since it had literally kept her alive, he understood her need to take it with her.
About two minutes passed as his team worked to remove enough cinder blocks so they could crawl out of their cells. Spirit’s was completed before his, which wasn’t surprising, since the hole didn’t need to be as large.
“Tell her to come on out,” Kevlar said in Blink’s ear.
“Go on,” Blink encouraged the woman.
But she didn’t move. She stayed where she was, staring not at the hole in her cell, the path to freedom, and not at him…but at the progress his team was making to the hole on his side. It was hard to believe she wasn’t bolting the first chance she got.
Instead, she was waiting for him.
Determination swelled within Blink once more.
No one was going to hurt this woman again. No fucking way.
“I think it’s big enough. Get your hairy ass out here,” Safe said through the radio receiver.
“Ready?” Blink asked the woman. “Together.”
She nodded, then moved toward the hole on her side. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her lie down, and then his team pulled her out with no fuss. It wasn’t quite as easy for him. Blink lay on his back, since his hands were still cuffed in front of him. He wiggled his head out of the hole and then had to turn this way and that, as Kevlar and MacGyver struggled to get his shoulders out.
Blink wanted to scream in pain as the rough bricks scraped over the many wounds he already had on his body, but he didn’t even grimace as he was finally pulled out of that hellhole and hauled to his feet.
“You look like shit.”
“Wow, someone had a little too much fun rearranging your face.”
“Good thing you have that beard to hide your ugly mug.”
But Blink wasn’t listening to the banter his team was known for, especially in stressful situations. He only had eyes for the woman who’d been his rock. She’d kept him calm, gave him a purpose while waiting for rescue.
She was standing in the alley next to the building where they’d been held. Filthy as hell, wearing a fuckingbikiniundera brown cover-up that was at one time probably some pretty pastel color, holding on to that damn cup as if her life depended on it. Her toes looked dainty and fragile in the dirt and trash that was all around them.
“Here, get this on. You can be the mom, she’s the kid, and Kevlar’s the dad. Keep your head down and be ready for anything,” Safe said as he shoved a pile of material at Blink, even while Smiley worked to remove his shackles from around his wrists and ankles.
He figured out how to get the burka on and saw MacGyver helping the woman cover herself. The mesh screen across his face made it difficult to see clearly, but his team would be his eyes for him.
“Eyes open, everyone,” Kevlar said through the radio. “We aren’t out of here yet. Taxi’s waiting, let’s get the hell out of dodge.”
Without thought, Blink took a step toward the woman. He couldn’t see her eyes anymore, which bothered him for some reason.
“Stay one step behind me, Blink,” Kevlar told him. “And keep hold of the woman. She looks like she’ll blow away with one gust of wind.”
Kevlar wasn’t wrong. Blink reached out a hand and, to his surprise, she latched onto it with startling strength.
