Page 11 of Keeping Amanda
He frowned. “Maybe this isn’t a good idea.”
“It’s fine. Great. I just stood up too fast,” Amanda rushed to reassure him. She’d stay on her feet or die trying. Anything was better than being left behind. She just had to ignore her body’s need for sleep. Or food. Or water. Piece of cake.
The skeptical look Nash gave her wasn’t unexpected. Amanda did her best to smile in return.
To her surprise, after he let go of her arm, he reached for her hand. Holding it in a firm grasp as he began to head toward the camp. It was obvious he was holding her hand to try to prevent her from falling, but the warmth and comfort the small action provided was everything at the moment.
She’d been solely responsible for the twenty-three kids for so long, and the stress of that responsibility was immense. Simplyhaving another adult to help make decisions felt amazing. As did knowing the children were safe. In part because of Nash.
She made a mental vow not to do anything that would cause her to be a burden on him. Well…any more than she already was. She was so out of her element here, and she had no choice but to rely on him for just about everything. But she could do her best not to be the stereotypical “city girl” dropped in the jungle. She could suck it up and get through whatever she had to if it meant getting back to Guyana and safety.
Life had certainly thrown her a curveball in the last two weeks, and it didn’t look like her unexpected adventure was over yet. All she could do was hang on for the ride and hope that no one got hurt because of her. That was literally her worst nightmare.
Pushing the dark thoughts from her head, Amanda trudged behind Nash, concentrating on where she put her feet so she didn’t sound like a huge elephant making its way through the trees. Stealth was their friend. The fact that the rebels didn’t know they weren’t on the chopper was a huge advantage. And she’d do whatever it took not to blow that.
CHAPTER FOUR
Buck could admit that he’d been annoyed with Mandy. Annoyed that she’d done something so stupid like running away from the helicopter, forcing him to chase her down and thus miss their ride out of there.
But the feeling didn’t last long. Because honestly…hadn’t he done the same thing?
He had no gun, no supplies, had left the safety of his chopper and rashly raced into the jungle after her. How could he stay annoyed with Mandy when he’d been just as reckless himself? Besides, she’d thought she was rescuing a child. If there was ever a good reason for her behavior, it was that.
So no, he was no longer annoyed. In fact, the longer he was around her, the more impressed he became. She was obviously scared, but not hysterical. He could work with that. And he’d known she was compassionate from reading her file. The fact that she hadn’t been able to resist going to look for the allegedly missing boy wasn’t out of character for her. It just sucked that she’d been going on bad intel.
And Buck wasn’t one to rehash mistakes over and over. It did no good. All he could do was pivot and come up with a new plan.He and Mandy would either cross back into Guyana on their own—if nothing went wrong on their hike east—or Obi-Wan would browbeat the colonel and his special forces to fly over the jungle to find them.
One way or another, Buck would get him and Mandy out of the jungle alive. But the first step was to get supplies. And the only place he’d be able to do that was back at the camp where Mandy and the kids had been held captive. Bringing her along wasn’t ideal, but it would make getting the hell out of the area faster, which was a good thing.
Looking up at the sky as they quietly made their way through the jungle, Buck frowned. He didn’t have a lot of time left before it got light. And he and Mandy needed to be far from the camp before that happened. He could hear the men at camp now, which was both a relief and an added stressor to an already tense situation.
A few more yards and he stopped and crouched down behind a large tree, pulling Mandy with him. Buck had no idea why he hadn’t dropped her hand by now. He’d grabbed it to make sure she didn’t fall on her face and give away their location, but once they’d been on their way, and she was steady on her feet, he could’ve let go of her.
Truthfully, he wanted to comfort her in some way. She’d had a hell of a couple weeks and things weren’t about to get any easier. They had a long way to go, and she was obviously struggling. Though he was impressed with her attempt to keep her chin up and pretend she wasn’t at the end of her rope already. Holding her hand was a small way to help her continue to stay strong. To maybe give her some of his strength.
“What’s wrong?” she whispered anxiously when they’d stopped.
She was crouched next to him, staring at him with wide eyes. Her short hair was greasy and sticking up in every direction. She had dirt on her face, under her nails, and her clothes werecovered in dirt and mud as well, after they’d crawled away from the clearing.
And yet…there was something about her that was immensely beautiful to Buck. Physical beauty he could take or leave, but inner strength and kindness were two things he’d always been a sucker for. And Amanda Rush had both in spades.
“Nothing,” he told her. “I just need you to tell me, quickly, everything you can about the layout of the camp.”
Without hesitation, she did just that. Telling him about the four tents the boys had used, where the makeshift obstacle course was located, the tent the girls had slept in—and most importantly, where the one the kidnappers used as a kitchen was located, in relation to the others, as well as how it was set up.
She did such a good job describing everything, Buck had a clear vision in his head of the entire camp. He asked a few more questions—mostly about the supplies in the kitchen tent and about weapons—but before too long, he was ready to head out.
“I need you to stay here,” he told her, expecting her to protest once again. So he was pleased when she simply nodded.
“Is there anything I can do to help you from here?”
“Stay quiet. Do not under any circumstances, no matter what you hear, show yourself to the rebels. Understand?”
“I don’t want you to get hurt,” she said, a deep furrow in her brows.
“I don’t want that either. But if I am, if they discover me, you rushing in to help isn’t going to do anything but give them someone else to fuck with. Understand?”
Still frowning, she nodded. “Can we steal a truck?” she asked.
