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Natches rushed the ht before after Faisal’s shortwave coded e had hit his radio He’d irl the boy had seen hauled into the duh camp, out of the way, populated by barely a dozen hard-eyed, fanatic bastards and one little Ah to lose her? She was an agent, he could tell fro her She didn’t have the strength to crawl on her own, but her legs wereto help hi at his side, his dark face creased orry at the sound of gunfire behind the hill, and the hole was just ahead, covered deep with stripped trees and wrapped with dead brush A natural part of the landscape

"Get in the hole" He lifted the first cover and pushed Faisal into it with the supplies he would need in a sirl into the second hole and jerked the secured covering over thean to hum from the direction of the terrorist base

Of course, there had to be a fucking helicopter, he thought as he lifted hih the natural break he had created to see if they were followed Fuck, he didn’t need this

The hole was deep enough to sit in, the upper natural covering strong enough to hold a tank,as the bastards didn’t have dogs It wasn’t very long, wasn’t very wide, but it was the best he could do on short notice

"Do you have extraction colanced back at her and winced She was curled against the dirt wall, eyes swollen closed, her lips dry and cracked She looked vulnerable, but the woman had a spine of steel

"I have a tracker on h When I wasn’t at the first extraction point, they’ll have followed the beacon I have on ly "Are you sure? Collateral dae is the motto these days, you know"

Fuck wasn’t that the truth "Every good redneck knows you always have a plan B," he assured her His team was all the plan A or B that he needed Most snipers worked alone, but on this mission, he was numero uno and he knew it They needed hied

She breathed out wearily as he pulled a canteen from his pack and uncapped it "Here Drink slow" He lifted the water to her lips, staring at her face as she sipped

"I have soes for your eyes," he said "Bastards always go for the eyes first, don’t they?"

She gave a sh "At least second"

He pulled out the medical kit, ses over theht Fine bones, delicate cheekbones, pretty sensual lips, he bet Right now they were bloody and swollen

"Old lady at hoht me last year, just about tore my eyeballs out before I escaped When I went home on leave, she made the salve and made me promise to keep it with me"

"Kentucky," she whispered as the helicopter swept overhead

"Lake Cuently touched the scratches on her face with the salve

She was a slender woman Dirt caked her hair and smeared her face, but he bet she was a beauty before Nassar and his land" He nodded at her accent "Dairls"

Her smile was tired "There’s one less now"

He sincerely doubted that "Did they rape you?"

He was surprised at the fury that threatened to drown his common sense Of course they raped her They were known for it

She shook her head and grily "They didn’t"

"Who did?" He sht the eri the to do the deed when he left Thanks for the ti by the way"

Natches sat back on his haunches and listened carefully for noise outside There were no caves in this area The next hill over had several The area he had chosen was nobut soe and dead brush The perfect place for a hole They would check the area, but they would be oat herder friend," he explained softly "He saw Nassar bring you in He’s also got a handy-dandy eant for a buddy who taught hiht uys at hoet a street na away froood kid," she whispered, her head nodding to the side

"Wake up there, girl"

"Chaya My name is Chaya" Her voice was soft, sweet He liked her voice

Damned pretty naain

"Talk to me, Chay Tell me where you’re hurt I need to fix as much as I can just in case we have to run"

"Feet Bruised ribs, possible concussion No internal bleeding, no broken bones"

She was drifting away from him

Natches leaned in and touched her lips with his Her head jerked back as she gasped But her hands reached out for hi his wrists, tightening, as though she were afraid to let go of him, before she did just that Slowly Hesitantly

"There, awake now?" He ed the medical kit closer

"Why did you do that?" She sounded shocked, but awake, aware