Defending Morgan (Mountain Mercenaries #3)(5)
Just when she thought her luck had run out, she heard someone bark, “Down!”
Without thought, Morgan attempted to do as Arrow had ordered. Even though the guy was holding her up, she let every muscle in her body go limp.
At the sudden change of weight in his arms, the man swore and let go of her face long enough for Morgan to suck in some much-needed breath.
Her knees hit the pavement, and she winced at the pain that went through her body. Comparatively, however, it was nothing. Instinctively, Morgan fell the rest of the way to the ground, hunched over her bent knees, and covered her head.
The sound of a weapon discharging seemed obscenely loud in the quickly lightening alley. The weight of the man’s body dropped down on her, and Morgan could feel wetness seep through the raggedy T-shirt she wore.
Almost as soon as the man’s weight had crushed her beneath him, it was gone.
“Come on,” Arrow said urgently.
Her lungs still burning, Morgan didn’t hesitate. She stood with his help, and then they were running out of the alley, down the street, and between two buildings nearby. Arrow had grabbed her hand, and Morgan held on with all her strength. It felt as if he were her only lifeline in this terrifying world she’d been in for a full year. She knew she’d been two seconds away from disappearing once more. She had no idea how Arrow had gotten away from the other four men, but thank God he had.
She didn’t even care that he’d shot—and hopefully killed—the merciless man who would’ve tortured her before passing her off to his friends and enemies alike. It didn’t matter that she was a living, breathing human being with feelings and hopes and dreams. All that mattered to them was the fact that she was female.
Choking back the sob that threatened to escape, Morgan stared at the back of Arrow’s head as they ran as fast as possible through the dangerous back alleys of Santo Domingo. She had no idea where they were, but Arrow had killed for her—and he was the only thing standing between certain death and freedom.
“Wait here,” he said, pushing her back against a brick wall halfway down what seemed like the hundredth alley they’d fled through.
Shaking her head, Morgan hissed, “No! I’m staying with you.”
As if he knew she was hanging on by a thread, Arrow paused. He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned down so their foreheads almost touched.
Morgan was panting heavily, finding it hard to pull oxygen into her lungs. Her hands came up to dig into his forearms. She wasn’t letting go of him. No way.
“I need to check out this building and see if we can lie low without disturbing anyone.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said.
“Right. Because I’m going to be right by your side.” She knew she should be more compliant. Should be doing anything and everything he said without a word so he wouldn’t come up with a reason to pawn her off on someone else or leave her. But she couldn’t. Not with something this important.
Arrow huffed out a sigh and turned his head to look back the way they’d come. Then, just as quickly, he looked back down at her. “Fine. But don’t make a sound. Step where I step. And if I tell you to do something, you do it immediately and without question. Got it?”
Morgan nodded quickly, feeling almost lightheaded with relief.
“Come on,” Arrow said. He grabbed one of her hands and tucked it into the waistband of his pants. “I need both hands free,” he said by way of explanation.
Morgan would’ve preferred to hold his hand, but this was almost as good. His shirt was tucked in, so she couldn’t feel his skin, but she could feel the heat from his body against her fingers. The morning was warm and humid, just like most mornings in the tropical country. It would only get hotter as the sun rose above the horizon.
Following behind Arrow, Morgan did her best not to make a sound as she clung to him. They entered the dilapidated two-story building without a sound. It was obviously abandoned. There was junk everywhere. Discarded pieces of wood and metal, trash, and even rotting food. It smelled horrendous, but Morgan barely noticed the smells of the city anymore.
Gingerly stepping over the trash and debris, trying to put her feet exactly where Arrow did, she once again ran into his back when she didn’t notice he’d stopped walking.
He turned and put his hands on her shoulders. “We need to hide here for a while,” he told her.
Eyes wide, Morgan stared up at him. “But I thought we were going to the safe house with your friends and Nina.”
“We were. But after what happened in that alley, we need to hole up instead. I don’t think the guys I fought will stick around to talk to the cops, but that gunshot will definitely bring the authorities running. And the last thing I want is to have to deal with the local police. Not with you having no identification.”
Morgan wanted to ask him for more details about how she was going to get out of the country, but she only cared about one thing at the moment. She hated herself for being so fixated on not being left behind, but she couldn’t help it. “Will your friends leave us here?”
“No,” Arrow answered immediately. “But even if they did, it wouldn’t matter. I’ve got ways of communicating with them and the others back in the States. They might need to get Nina out of here, but they’ll come back for us.”