Page 125 of Seasons of War
The woods hissed the word at her while she and the man tumbled to a stop.
His heavy body smothered hers, and he clutched her so fiercely against himself that he immobilized her.
Blinded by a black shirt, Kira pushed against the man's chest enough to gasp in a breath.
A force jerked them both.
Had they been shot?
She braced for pain but felt nothing. Saw him aiming his gun straight out to the side. It'd just been the kickback, jostling them with each muted shot.
Kira only caught blurred images in her periphery of soldiers collapsing within seconds of each other.
The violence broke out so fast that she had no idea what started it or who fought whom. But Kira did know who held her. Her heart twisted at the hard body conforming to her own, at the ache of his nearness. The ache she so longed for.
One of her hands was trapped against his chest, and she knew, even before sliding her thumb toward his heart, what she would feel.
A deep scar cut through his muscle.
Her palm traced the diagonal path, tears burning in her eyes.
Her stranger.
He was here. Came for her. Guarded her and his friend during their escape.
Pretended to be away.
And she didn't want him to die. His body covered hers, ready to take any damage meant for her.
Please, please, please.
No other words entered her mind, only the desperation for him to live. Fear ignited her vision with the eyes of the dead man.
Even as the panic tried to steal her away, his closeness—the scent of his skin and breath—tethered her to him and refused to release her to the chaos. For years, Kira yearned for his arms again, for a single glimpse, or just to know he was alive. And now, here he was.
So familiar. So wonderfully familiar.
Too familiar…
Her eyes shot open, and her breath seized in her lungs. Her other hand stole down his shoulder and grazed his collarbone right as he ripped away from her a moment too soon.
The stranger caught a fist above them.
Move. Move now.
A voice yelled it in her mind.
Kira rolled and pushed onto her knees, falling behind the cover of a tree. Her pointer finger burned with the feel of his collarbone and how close she came to feeling for the scar.
An attacker broke for Kira, but her stranger hooked his arm around the man's neck, while blocking a hit from another on his right.
He didn't try to defend himself as the one who'd lunged for Kira beat his elbow into his ribs. He just held tight, eyes on the other soldier who swiped athim with a knife.
Kira's hands searched for anything close enough to use. She didn't know how to fight, and these men wanted to kill her. The best way to help her stranger was to stay away from the danger.
But lobbing the giant ass rock she found at the soldier's head had to help too.
Just as an elbow bashed into her stranger's ribs again, she threw the rock with all her strength. The soldier tried to shift, but her stranger held too tight to him, and her projectile hit him right between the eyes. Blood rushed down his crushed nose.
