“I’m sorry,” Avery said with a small frown.
“Don’t be. They’re better off separated. They’re both great people and they’re much happier apart than together.”
“Do they know what you do?”
“That I’m a SEAL? Yes.”
She shook her head. “Okay, but, do they know how much you mean to people like me? People who are literally at the end of their ropes and know they’re going to die, before you and your team swoops in to save the day?”
Rex shook his head this time. “I’m no superhero,” he warned. “I’m a normal guy. I swear too much, watch too much sports on TV, and can only cook the basics. Don’t make me into something I’m not.”
Avery rolled her eyes. “Whatever. And for the record, real women don’t give a shit about any of that. We want someone we can count on when we need it. I’d gladly put up with football on the TV all day and night and being in charge of the kitchen if I had someone who I knew would drop everything to get to me when I needed him most. And you, Cole, are definitely that kind of man, whether you want to admit it or not.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Rex couldn’t help but love that she saw him that way, but he also worried she was putting him on a mighty high pedestal—and if he took one wrong step, he’d have a hell of a fall.
“Ready to go?” Phantom asked from nearby, breaking the intimate spell that had woven around Rex and Avery.
“We’re ready,” Avery said, dropping her gaze from Rex’s as she went to stand up.
Rex immediately put a hand on her arm to help her. She swayed for a second, then got control of herself. He frowned. “You going to be able to make it to the top?” he asked, his eyes going to the mountainside they had to scale then back to her.
“Yes,” she said firmly.
Rex nodded. He should’ve known that was going to be her answer. He turned to look at Phantom, and the other man gave him a slight chin lift. He knew as well as Rex did how tough and stubborn the lieutenant was. He’d be on watch as much as Rex for how she was holding up.
He went over to grab his pack and Avery asked, “Can I carry anything?”
Snorting, Rex didn’t bother to answer.
“Seriously, I feel like a slug for not helping. I know those bags have to be heavy.”
Rex turned to answer but Phantom had already walked over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Wary, Rex stood nearby, ready to do damage control if Phantom said something inappropriate.
“You’re helping,” he told her. “You’re helping by doing what we ask. By not complaining. By staying upbeat. You’ve carried a heavy enough load on your shoulders and heart for the last two weeks, and you’ll probably continue to carry it for a while. Your job is to put one foot in front of the other and keep going no matter what happens. Can you do that?”
Avery immediately nodded.
“Good,” Phantom said. “Then how about we get the hell out of this desert and back home, huh?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Avery responded.
Phantom turned away without a backward glance and started walking toward the side of the mountain.
“Ready?” Rex asked quietly, seeing Avery was watching Phantom’s back with an inscrutable look on her face.
She took a deep breath and nodded. “Ready.”
They locked gazes for a second, and Rex saw a vulnerability he hadn’t seen before in her eyes. Phantom’s words had struck a chord. She was strong and resilient and all the other things Rex admired her for, but she’d also been damaged by her experience. Phantom had recognized that, openly acknowledged it, and accepted her anyway.
He made a mental note to do his best to follow Phantom’s lead. To not force Avery to shove what had happened to the back of her mind. She had to deal with it. To cry, to get angry, to be pissed. Only then could she move on.
Two hours later, they were still steadily walking upward. They were close to the cave where they’d originally found Avery, and on a relatively flat piece of ground at the moment. Once at their destination, they’d still have about a thousand more feet to climb before getting to the point where a helicopter could pick them up. Phantom had prearranged a time for the extraction. If something happened to make them miss the pickup, he’d call and inform the team. But so far they were on track.
They’d just left the relative safety of a small group of boulders when they heard voices.
Without thought, Rex rushed the three steps required to get to Avery and took her to the ground. Hard.
She let out a soft umph, but didn’t make any other sound when she hit the dirt. Rex had done his best to use his arms to make her fall lighter than it might’ve otherwise been, but it still couldn’t have felt good to have him basically tackle her. Knowing Phantom had also hit the dirt, Rex concentrated on reassuring Avery.
He was lying on top of her, hopefully covering every inch of her body with his. He lowered his head until his lips were against her ear. “Hold very still, Avery. They’ll walk right by us.”
Her heart was pounding double time and he saw the pulse in her throat mirroring that of her heartbeat. She didn’t say a word. Didn’t nod. Didn’t even shift under him. Tucking his arms closer to her body, Rex prayed that the tan camouflage uniforms they were wearing did their job.
They were out in the open, surrounded by tumbleweeds and other scraggly brush, with a few good-sized rocks here and there. If they were spotted, they could run back to the boulders they’d just passed, but they’d be sitting ducks as they ran. Both he and Phantom had weapons, and while it sounded like there were only a couple of men, discharging their firearms would alert any others in the area.
“Breathe, Avery. Don’t hold your breath. Match my breaths. In…out…that’s right.” Rex did his best to reassure her. He didn’t dare turn his head or look up to see where the men were. He could still hear them talking, and out here in the desert, that could mean they were right on top of them or far enough away that they couldn’t spot them. But he wasn’t going to take any chances. Not with Avery’s life.
There was a road nearby, as well as other caves. They just had to wait them out. A bead of sweat slowly moved down his forehead and fell to the dirt below him. He saw Avery’s face was also covered in sweat. She had to be hot against the warm sand and with his heavy body on top of her. But she didn’t move a muscle. Did exactly what she was supposed to be doing. Namely, becoming a part of the desert they’d been moving through.
It took almost thirty minutes, the longest thirty minutes of Rex’s life, but eventually the sound of the men talking faded away. He and Phantom stayed right where they were for another ten minutes, just to be sure.
When Rex slowly eased off Avery, he saw her inhale deeply. “Did I crush you?” he asked in a toneless voice, ever aware that since the men’s voices had carried so easily, so would theirs.
Avery didn’t move to sit up, merely lay in the sand and shook her head.
Rex put his hand on the back of her neck and said, “Look at me.”
She turned her head and rested her cheek on the sand. Her neck was wet with sweat under his hand and he could see her hair plastered to her forehead.
“We’re good,” he reassured her. “They didn’t see us.” She knew that, but he wasn’t sure what else to say to reassure her.