Page 91 of Protecting Bree
“Shouldn’t we be getting out of here?”
Smiley shrugged. “The second we go out that window, we’ll be sitting ducks. Visible to anyone and everyone. I’d rather stay here, hunker down, see if they’ll think we escaped and run off looking for us before we purposely put ourselves out there.”
That made sense, but waiting wasn’t Bree’s strong suit. It felt as if the boogeyman was just outside the door. Salivating, purposely torturing them by not coming inside. But she’d said she trusted Smiley, and she’d do whatever it took to prove she was a woman of her word.
Every minute that passed felt like an eternity. They heard stomping over their heads, and it amazed and worried Bree how thin the ceiling seemed to be. Without a watch, she had no idea how much time had passed, but it wasn’t enough. It hadn’t been thirty minutes yet, of that she was sure.
But when they heard voices in the hallway, then the unmistakable sound of doors being kicked in, it was obvious their time had run out.
“Time to go,” Smiley confirmed, sounding calm.
She was seeing her man in a new light. This was the deadly Navy SEAL. Focused. Intent. Decisive.
Swallowing hard, she let him lead her to the window. He raised the glass and looked out. Then he turned to her. “I think it’s best if I carry you. You can climb onto my back and hold on as I get us down. Unless you think you have the strength to hold on to the gutter and slide down yourself.”
The concern in his voice was easy to hear. And he was right. She was shaky, hadn’t had nearly enough sleep or calories in her to be able to do something so physical. She wanted to question if he could get down with the added weight on his back, but she’d said she trusted him. If he was suggesting he carry her, then he was sure he could get them to the ground safely.
“Turn around,” she said in response.
He stared at her for a moment, before removing the rifles strapped around his back and placing them on the floor. Then he turned his back to her and crouched. Biting her lip, Bree climbed onto his back, hooking her ankles together at his belly and doing her best not to strangle him with her arms as he stood.
She didn’t like that he was leaving the weapons behind, but she wasn’t sure how this would work if he had to carry herandthe weapons.
Without hesitation, Smiley slung one leg over the window ledge. Bree squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath as he asked, “Ready?”
With the men kicking in what sounded like the door right next to where they were hiding, Bree made some sort of affirmative noise. They couldn’t stay where they were, there was literally no place to hide in the tiny apartment, but sliding down a questionably secure gutter didn’t seem super-smart either.
“Hold on,” he said—then they were moving. Sliding downward at a brisk pace.
The sound of Smiley’s boots creating friction along the gutter was scarily loud, even with the noise of the city all around them. She felt the wind in her hair as he raced down the gutter…
Then the jolt when his feet hit the ground seconds later.
She heard a shout from above. Glancing up, she saw a man looking down at them from the apartment they’d been in moments before. Without putting her down, Smiley began to move—but before he took more than a few steps, he stopped abruptly.
To her utter horror, Mateo Castillo and two of the men who’d been on the boat to Ecuador were standing in front of them.
Mateo had a smirk on his face, while his men pointed what looked like freaking machine guns at their heads.
Bree’s blood ran cold. She didn’t want to think about going through everything she had, yetstillending up in some jungle prison after all. But she also couldn’t let Smiley lose his life because of her either.
She’d surrender to Mateo. Give herself up, if he let Smiley live.
In the back of her mind, she knew that was never going to happen. For some reason, the movieThe Princess Brideflashed in her head. When Buttercup had done what Bree was contemplating. Gave herself up so Westley could live…except the bad guy instead had her love taken to an underground lair and tortured him to almost-death.
Very slowly, Smiley crouched slightly and tapped one of her legs. Assuming that meant he wanted her to get off hisback, Bree slid off but stayed right behind him. She held on to his shirt with white knuckles.
“So…you’re the Navy SEAL who thinks you can take what’s mine,” Mateo said, that smirk still on his face, sounding like a man who was sure he’d won.
“Bree doesn’t belong to anyone, least of all you,” Smiley told him in a tone Bree had never heard from him before. It was full of derision and hate. She shivered.
“That’s where you’re wrong. I bought her fair and square.”
“You can’tbuyhuman beings.”
“Wrong again,” Mateo said calmly.
It felt weird to be standing there having what looked on the surface like a civilized conversation. The street around them was suddenly empty, the civilians in the area had apparently been smart enough to get the hell out of what was obviously a volatile situation.
