Trisha hated his logic. “Yes, but I don’t want you to go. Stay with me. Chances are, when your people arrive, it will scare those assholes off. I’m sure they never planned to have to search for us.”
“Don’t tempt me, Doc. Holing up with you inside this small space for a day or so…” He winked. “I would enjoy the hell out of keeping us from growing bored.”
“Stay with me.” Hope soared inside Trisha. She just wanted him safe, with her.
“It’s too big a risk if I were to stay with you and do nothing. There’s too many of them and they can spread out to search a lot of places. If we’re found they could surround us.” He glanced around the cave and then back to her. “You could be struck by a bullet if there’s a shootout. There’s too many rocks buried into the walls that something could ricochet off and strike you. I won’t allow that to happen. We also don’t have enough bullets to hold them off. They could also start a brushfire and smoke us out. It’s better if I go after them than risk them trapping us here. I’ll make certain that anyone who comes close to you is no longer breathing.”
She bit her lip, forgetting her injury, and winced from the instant pain. Slade brushed his finger over her mouth, staring at it.
“You will need to stay low, no standing or moving around much. That blonde hair of yours can draw attention and doesn’t blend well with the hillside. Remember to stay out of sight. I’m leaving you all the guns from the camp just in case some of them get 89
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past me or they take me out. This handgun is all I need. You only fire when they are close enough not to miss and you have no other choice. The noise will carry far if you shoot and bring more of them this way. That would be bad.”
Trisha stared into his eyes when he met her gaze. She did what she really wanted to do most. She leaned forward, gripped Slade’s face, and watched surprise cross his features a second before her mouth brushed his. She tested the soft texture of his full lips, heard the sound Slade made deep inside his throat, and then he took control of the kiss.
He deepened it, his tongue meeting hers. She ignored the pain of her cut lip, even the taste of her blood mingling with Slade’s taste, just wanting, needing to get lost in that kiss. Her arms wound around his neck and he lifted her weight when his arms slid around her waist, gripping her hips to pull her close, pressing them chest to chest. Slade suddenly growled and tore his mouth from hers, breathing harder.
“Trisha,” he groaned. “You’re making this difficult for me and if you sat on my lap, you’d know how hard you actually are making it. I have to leave now. Please don’t make this worse. This needs done and I have to go while I have enough daylight to move quickly. My night vision is not as good as normal sight during the day.”
She knew she’d lost the argument and he had his mind set to hunt down those men.
He planned to go out there and risk his life trying to save hers. Hot tears threatened her eyes but she blinked rapidly to hold them back.
“Okay. Just come back to me, Slade.”
A smile suddenly twisted his lips. “What are you going to give me when I return, Doc?”
“Anything you want.”
His eyebrow arched and the smile widened. “Anything?”
“Anything,” she repeated firmly. “Just don’t get killed.”
Slade nodded. “Stay low, be quiet, and keep those guns ready. Use them only if you have to and hold them off as long as you can. I’ll hear if you have to fire at anyone and I’ll be coming. No more provoking jerks trying to get them to kill you. Remember to just survive and I’ll have something to save. You promised me that, sweet thing. I’m holding you to it.”
“I remember and promise. Swear to me that you won’t take too many risks.
Survive, Slade.”
Slade nodded again, studied her intently as if trying to memorize her face, and then he backed away, releasing her completely. He forced his gaze from hers before he quickly took some items and shoved them into his pockets. He gave her one quick glance and then started to climb down from her hiding spot. He was gone in seconds.
Trisha had to bite back the plea to beg him to come back, certain that regardless of what she said, he wouldn’t change his mind.
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She unrolled the sleeping bag on the hard, unforgiving earth to keep busy. The dirt floor was embedded heavily with tiny rocks and hard clumps of dirt. Even with the sleeping bag she could still feel the uncomfortable ground beneath the thick material when she sat to assess what items she had.
Slade had acquired two sets of binoculars and he’d left one behind inside the backpack. She found them and inched to the opening. She used them and it didn’t take long for her to spot Slade. He moved amazingly fast without her.
She turned the binoculars, scoping out the area, but didn’t spot anyone else. She could see for a long ways with the help of the powerful glasses. She turned her focus back to Slade, knew when he had reached the bottom of the ravine to her left. He turned and examined the area where she hid and then started to jog away. Trisha kept her focus trained on him.
Darkness crept up too quickly for Trisha’s liking. She had lost sight of Slade through trees but sometimes she’d spotted him through the dense foliage. He moved fast, showed no signs of slowing, and he seemed to be heading in one direction. She wondered if he’d caught someone’s scent with his amazing nose.
She scooted back into the dark hole and had to feel her way to the backpack and unzipped it. She’d watched Slade take all the beef jerky but he’d left her the breakfast bars they’d found. She ate two and drank a soda before crawling back toward the opening. She glanced at the darkness below her and then gasped. In the distance she spotted a tiny sparkle of flame that came from the same direction Slade had been heading.
Trisha could see what had to be a camp. Flames showed through thick trees, not more than distant flames even with the binoculars. She had a sinking feeling that’s where Slade headed.
Trisha sat up and dragged the sleeping bag to the edge where she got comfortable, grateful she at least had somewhere to try to catch a glimpse of Slade. He was out there somewhere and she worried.
If Slade could smell their fire and he planned to attack, that’s where it would happen. Forever seemed to pass to her but no distant sounds of a fight reached her ears.
She got more comfortable by stretching out on her stomach and propped her elbows on the sleeping bag while she continued to catch snatches of the flames.
More time passed and she lay down flatter onto her stomach. A yawn passed her parted lips, reminding her of her exhaustion. She drifted to sleep until a single gunshot jerked her awake.
Trisha scrambled to sit up while frantically aiming the binoculars toward the campfire. She spent seconds searching the darkness until she found the flickering light.
Her attention remained focused on it until it died out, disappearing in the darkness.
No more shots rang out. It gave her hope that he might have survived if he’d attacked the camp.
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She fought the urge to shed tears over Slade being out there alone. He could be dead if one of them had gotten off a lucky shot. She dragged the sleeping bag away from the edge and huddled into a ball on top of it. She needed sleep and she had no chance of trying to spot Slade until the sun rose.
* * * * *
Slade kept low, watching the four men in the camp with hatred. He could hear their words and it made his blood boil. The smell of the deer they’d shot and cooked faded with the firelight they allowed to slowly burn out.