Page 68 of Hunting for her Heart
I pull back again and see pride and determination in his eyes, warming me from the inside.
I stand up and move to Hawk next. Assuming the same position I did with Ronan, I straddle him and kiss him with just as much passion as I gave Ronan, trying to convey how Ifeel with just a kiss. When I pull back, his hazel eyes are shining bright, telling me how he feels with just that one look.
I move over to Bo and grip his face, leaning my forehead against his as my eyes meet his. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispers. I nod, then place my lips to his, with a kiss filled with so much emotion that I almost forget where we are.
“Times up,” the man tells me, and I pull back, giving Bo a strained smile before I retake my seat at the base of my tree and begrudgingly let him tie me up again.
As he walks back toward the fire, I risk a glance at Ronan and see he’s already trying to cut through his rope. Not wanting them to look over and see me watching him, I turn the other way to look at Hawk instead.
We stare at each other in silence until his eyes move over my shoulder, and a flash of surprise crosses his face before he looks back at me. I see the corner of his eyes crinkle with hope and know he must realize what Ronan’s doing. We both stay silent, not wanting to attract any attention as we turn to watch the guard, who still appears to be the only man awake.
Luckily, he’s not sitting facing us, but he is facing sideways. The tiniest movement of his head will have him looking in our direction. We won’t have much time here. Once Ronan is free, if he can avoid being seen, I pray he’ll cut one of the other two free first.
Because, unlike me, they’ll be able to help him fight them off. I’ll only be a liability. Even if I run, I don’t stand much of a chance out here without them.
I risk a sideways glance, and my eyes widen when only the rope remains where Ronan just was.He’s already escaped!
Staring back at the guard, my heart races with fear of himgetting caught. I don’t feel him touching my rope, and hope that means he’s working on the others. One yell from that guard and all the other men will be up in a flash. And they’re all armed.
It takes everything I have not to turn my head toward Bo and Hawk, but I don't want to risk the guard sensing any movement over here.
When I finally let my eyes move in that direction, only turning my head an inch, I see that both Bo and Hawk are gone. Fear crashes through me.
Did they leave me here?
Before I can even consider how ill-conceived that idea is, my rope starts to move, and I know someone is behind me cutting it.
I start to hope that all four of us are going to be freed before the guard even notices, but then he turns in our direction. His eyes widen and he immediately jumps to his feet as he yells, “They’re escaping!”
My ropes drop as Hawk appears at my side, scooping me up and running away from the camp before I even realize what’s happening. Looking over his shoulder, I can't see the other two, and fear fills me once again.
“Hawk! Wait! Bo and Ronan aren’t following!”
“I know. We have a plan.” Just as he says that, I hear the clanging of swords, and I cling to his neck with worry.
He keeps moving at a clipped pace until the sound of fighting can’t be heard anymore, then he slows a little and starts to look around. He stops near a large tree and sets me on the ground. “Get on my back. I’m going to climb,” he says as he squats down in front of me.
I jump on and wrap my arms around his neck, then he stands and starts to climb the tree. He moves slowly andcarefully, but it amazes me how easy this seems for him. He continues higher than I expected, moving past several rows of branches until I can no longer see the ground.
He finally stops on one of the larger branches and sits down, his legs straddling it with one hand on a larger branch to his side.
“I need you to try to move around to my front. Can you do that?” he asks quietly.
I nod as I hold on tighter with my arms. One of his hands covers one of my wrists, giving me a safety net as I slowly unhook my legs and use them to help me wiggle around his side until I’m standing on the branch in front of him.
He grabs my waist tightly as he explains, “I’m going to move back so I can lean against the trunk. You need to move with me.” I nod as he does a weird little butt walk backward until he’s firmly against the tree.
“Good girl,” he says with a tight-lipped smile. “Now sit sideways in my lap so I can hold on to you.” I don't bother arguing. There’s no place I’d rather be right now. Except maybe on the ground with him, and the other two, and away from this stupid Mating Hunt.
He hugs me tight, and I lean my head against his shoulder and let out a deep breath. “They’re gonna be okay, right?” I ask quietly.
“Hey,” he says, making me look up at him. “They’re going to be fine. Those men might be trackers and have that knockout spray, but Bo and Ronan are warriors. Now we know about their weapon, and they can watch for it.”
“How will they find us?” As soon as I ask, I realize I already know the answer. “Oh, right, the bond.”
“That’s right,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head. “They’re going to get rid of all of them, then they’ll come find us.”
“Get rid of them?” I question. “Like… kill them?”
