Page 50 of Protecting Kelli
But that time was coming. She knew it down to her toes. He had a life, friends, a job. And she had…what? A crappy job she did just to stay busy? Yeah, her mom loved her, but she was occupied with her own life. Somehow over the years, Kelli had become isolated by her own making, with no friends to speak of, while saying yes too many times to her mom and cousin and not putting her foot down when she didn’t want to do something. Doing whatever they asked just to avoid conflict.
Well, she was done with that. She wasn’t going to be in her cousin’s wedding. But shewasgoing to sit down and talk to an advisor at one of the local colleges, to see if she could figure out what she wanted to do with her life.
And she was going to take self-defense and survival training. She never wanted to feel as helpless as she had when she was inside that bus, ever again.
And Flash? She wanted him too. But she had no idea if what she felt was one-sided or not. Yes, he’d said he wanted to date her, and he’d certainly kissed her as if he wanted more than just friendship…but now that they were free, things could change. His feelings about her might be different in the light of day, literally.
She’d have to see how things played out.
First things first. Shower, food, water. Then she’d worry about everything else.
But even as she walked toward the vehicle to get the hell out of this jungle, she couldn’t help but love the feel of Flash’s arm around her. Couldn’t help but feel safe and protected. Getting used to that would be a bad idea, but for now, she allowed herself the moment of weakness. She’d find her backbone…later.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Flash was tense the entire ride back to the resort. He couldn’t help but remember what happened the last time he’d been in a vehicle in this country. It helped that his team surrounded him, keeping his mind occupied with questions about the abduction. He couldn’t concentrate quite so much on how bright everything was after being in that damn bus for so long, or how every time he looked out the front window of the van, it seemed as if they were going to crash head-first into another car.
Instead, he did his best to pay attention to what was being asked of him, and the soothing feeling of Kelli’s thumb brushing back and forth over his hand.
He hadn’t let go of her since he’d joined her outside of the bus, in the jungle surrounding that damn hole in the ground. He’d held her hand as Kevlar inspected the wound on the back of her head, confirming that he didn’t think she needed stitches, but suggesting it should be looked at again once the wound was clean, just to be sure.
Even as they’d crawled into the van, Flash couldn’t lether go. He was feeling off-kilter. So many emotions swam through his veins. Anger, frustration, worry, and of course relief that his team had come through so quickly and found them.
He recounted everything that happened, from the time the inner tube had popped in the rapids, forcing him and Kelli to share a tube and making them late to reach the pick-up point. He described Heckle and Jeckle as best he could—even though his team told him the names of the two men who’d kidnapped them, he preferred the stupid nicknames he’d come up with—and how they were forced into the buried bus.
“How come you didn’t disarm him?” Smiley asked. “And don’t say you couldn’t have. We all know it would’ve been easy for you.”
Flash pressed his lips together. He’d already had a similar conversation with Kelli and didn’t really want to rehash it. He still felt a little guilty because if he’d done what he’d been trained to do, it was likely they wouldn’t have had to spend any time in that buried bus.
“I didn’t know if Heckle…er…Brown had a weapon. I didn’t want to risk him shooting Kelli while I was dealing with Jeckle,” Flash said as succinctly as he could.
To his relief, his teammates all nodded. They understood. Yes, he could’ve taken out Brant Williams. Disarmed him in seconds. But if the consequence of that meant Kelli getting hurt, he wouldn’t risk it.
“Besides, I knew you guys would figure out what happened and where we were,” Flash said.
“He could’ve shot you after you were in the bus,” Safe said. “Like fish in a barrel. Easy pickin’s.”
Flash felt Kelli tense next to him. “But he didn’t,” hesaid firmly. “Did Jeckle really call the commander and ask for only fifty thousand dollars?” He wanted to change the subject. Talking about Kelli getting shot made his stomach clench painfully.
The rest of the trip was uneventful, and Flash and Kelli were brought up to date on what had happened since the guys arrived on the island. How they’d talked to the tubing company, found Errol Brown. And in the morning, they’d see if they could round up Brant Williams.
Flash didn’t volunteer to go with them. He didn’t want to leave Kelli alone at the resort. No, that was incorrect. He didn’t want to leave her aloneanywhere. The two of them had been through some bad shit together, and while he wanted to make sure she was all right emotionally, he also wasn’t anywhere near ready to let her out of his sight.
When they arrived at the resort, everyone was wearing clean and pressed uniforms. Flash felt uncomfortable…grubby and out of place. The lights annoyed him. All the people annoyed him. This happened sometimes after missions in remote places. It was hard to acclimate back to normal life.
“Come on, I talked to the manager. We packed up yours and Kelli’s things, and the resort put you guys in connecting rooms. Tex is getting us flights out of here tomorrow afternoon, so you have plenty of time to eat, sleep, and get clean,” Kevlar told them. “If you need anything, all you have to do is ask. Everything has been comped.”
Flash looked at Kelli. She was staring at the floor, not meeting anyone’s gaze. Her shoulders were hunched and she looked completely uncomfortable. He needed to get her out of there.
“Sounds good. We still have our passports, right?”
“Yeah, you’re good,” Preacher said.
“I’ll order you guys some food so you don’t have to come out of your rooms until we’re ready to go tomorrow. Protein, bread, and some dishes without too many spices. Again, if you need or want anything else, just pick up the phone and order it,” MacGyver told him.
“Thank you,” Flash told his friend. He was grateful that was one less thing they needed to worry about. “Let me know how tomorrow goes. Looking for Jeckle.”
“We will,” Blink said. “Take care of her.” He gave a small nod toward Kelli, who was glued to his side.
