Page 13 of Protecting Josie
“If you have any trouble walking, let me know. I’ll carry you. We’ve got this, Spirit.”
To his amazement, Blink felt her fingers tighten around his, as if in confirmation of his words. Again, the thought of how brave she was hit him hard. She wasn’t crying. Wasn’t bitching about the sandals on her feet that he saw wereobviously too big. She was doing what she had to do in order to survive.
But he had no time to think, as they were moving fast. And to his chagrin,Blinkwas the one having trouble walking. He felt himself swaying back and forth as if he were drunk. The beatings he’d received were catching up with him.
He felt the woman sidle up next to him. She held his hand even tighter, as if she could hold him up by sheer force of will. It worked. Having her walking so close helped Blink steady his stride.
They’d gone only a few blocks when they heard loud shouting from the next block over.
“Shit! Let’s get the hell out of here!” Safe exclaimed through the comms.
And just like that, adrenaline flooded Blink. He no longer felt his injuries. No longer felt weak.
“We’ll go north five blocks then west toward the water. There are three boats waiting,” Kevlar told him, bringing his weapon up, ready to use at the slightest provocation.
Blink didn’t need to explain to Spirit that something was wrong. Her body was tense and she could hear the shouting as well as he could.
“Easy,” he murmured softly.
Knowing if they ran they’d look even more out of place, Blink walked them behind Kevlar as they went as fast as they dared toward the extraction point. Getting out of the city was going to be dangerous as hell.
As soon as he had the thought, he heard rapid gunfire echo through the streets around them.
“Fuck. Can you run?” Kevlar asked, addressing the question to both Blink and the woman at his side.
Spirit nodded, and that was all Blink needed to see.
He wasn’t dying here, and neither was she. Every step hurt like hell. The shoes his team had brought him weren’t great for running, and Spirit’s were even worse. But if they didn’t get on one of those boats, the condition of their feet would be the least of their worries. And just getting to the boats wasn’t a guarantee they’d make it out of the country. Until they were out of Iranian waters, the possibility of being captured again was high.
Shouts sounded behind them—dangerously close.
They weren’t going to make it to the boats.
Frustration and anger swam through Blink. He’d promised Spirit he’d get her out of there, and he wasn’t going to be able to keep that promise.
Suddenly, Spirit tugged on his hand. Hard.
Almost falling, he glanced at her through the mesh of the burka and saw her pointing toward a house. A woman was standing in the doorway, motioning frantically for them to come closer.
“Kevlar. House!” Blink hissed, letting his team leader know what Spirit had spotted.
Every instinct told Blink to keep moving. To get to the boats. But the sounds of men searching the streets were louder now. Any second, they’d come around a corner and see them.
Kevlar nodded at him and they ran toward the house.
The door had just shut behind them when they heard the pounding of boots pass by. The woman who’d invited them inheld a finger to her lips. Blink had no idea if she knew he was a man, that Spirit wasn’t a little girl, but he wasn’t about to blow their cover.
He could feel Spirit shaking next to him and without thought, he pulled her close. Her head barely came to his shoulder, and despite the dangerous situation, Blink felt something click into place deep inside as the woman leaned against him. It was a feeling he’d never had before.
A sense of rightness. Of coming home.
They were in the middle of a completely fucked-up rescue mission, as vulnerable as he’d ever been, and yet somehow, everything felt right in his world.
“Blink?”
Jerking at the sound of Kevlar’s voice, he turned.
His team leader looked completely at ease. As if he wasn’t running for his life with two very weak people who, at this point, were liabilities to his survival. He motioned to the earpiece they were using to stay in touch with the others—the one he’d completely ignored because he was too busy feeling blown away by his connection to Spirit.
