Cade frowned, opening his mouth then closing it, and Jane wondered what he had been about to say.
While she tried to make herself as comfortable as possible, Cade straightened out his legs. Reaching out, he curled his hand around the nape of her neck and pulled her down until her head rested on his thighs. She lay stiffly, unable to relax with Bailey’s eyes spitting fire. Jane closed her own to shut her anger out. Cade’s comforting hand didn’t move away; instead, he gently stroked her neck until she fell asleep.
It seemed like only a few minutes before she was being shaken awake.
“Is it time to leave already?” she asked drowsily.
“Yes, I want to get started,” Cade answered.
They crawled out of the crevice.
“What time is it?” Jane asked, staring at the large expanse of land around them.
“Around noon.”
They walked for a while before Jane realized she had left her backpack behind.
“Forget it. We don’t need it,” Bailey said.
Jane looked at Cade in question. “It’s too far to go back for it now. Hopefully, we won’t need it.”
Jane nodded unhappily. There wasn’t much left in the bag. Besides, the contents weren’t important to anyone other than her, although it was handy to have when she wanted to stash something.
“We’re getting closer to the border. They’ll probably have people stationed at a few of the crossing, watching for us,” Cade warned.
They passed several small villages on their way. The curious looks from the town people heightened Jane’s fears that they would be stopped.
Bailey quieted, the tension finally succeeding in silencing her.
“Let’s stop here while we still have a little cover. As soon as the sun goes down, we’re going to reach the border,” Cade informed, telling both women without words that they were entering dangerous territory.
Jane nervously ran her hands along the sides of her pants.
“You don’t think Raul would really hurt us, do you?” Bailey asked when Cade went to scout ahead.
Jane remained silent, not wanting to lie.
“Why would he hurt us when he can get money out of Dad?”
Jane couldn’t keep the contempt out of her eyes at Bailey’s unconcern for their father being extorted by her husband.
“Don’t look at me that way!” sneered Bailey. “You’re no goody two shoes. You hang out with bikers and trash.”
“Don’t talk about my friends that way,” Jane warned in a low voice.
“It’s true. Hell, you’re nothing but their little ass kisser. Anytime they need something done that none of them want to do, they just get you to do it.”
“It’s not true, and you know it for a fact.” Jane leaned forward so Bailey couldn’t mistake her meaning. “You don’t like them because they know you’re a fucking bitch. You’re afraid of Sex Piston, Killyama, T.A., and Crazy Bitch.”
“I am not.”
“Yes, you are, and we both know why.” Jane had dealt with enough.
Standing up, she walked away to put a few feet between her and her sister. She walked farther than she realized and stared around in dismay, not seeing Bailey or Cade. She spun in a circle, not spotting anything she recognized, and began to panic. She was totally confused as to which direction she had come from.
While her instincts screamed at her to keep moving, calm reasoning kicked in, and she stood still, hoping the soldiers didn’t find her before Cade.
She didn’t see him until he was almost on her.
“What in the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I’m sorry. I got lost.”
His hands reached out, grabbing her arms. “You’re lucky I don’t pull those pants down and smack that ass.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated with tears brimming in her eyes.
“Stop crying!” Cade said heartlessly. His face was a mask of harsh recrimination. “Are you trying to get us all killed? Were you trying to get my attention?”
“No!” Jane was aghast at his interpretation of what had happened.
“Well, you have all my attention now, so what are you going to do with it?” he went on, ignoring her denial.
“What?”
Cade jerked her to his chest, his mouth cruelly covering her trembling one. She tried to turn her head, but his hand went to her jaw, holding her in place.
“You wanted to kiss me again, didn’t you?” he gibed.
He covered her mouth again before she could deny his accusation, trying to part her lips with his tongue. Jane refused to let him deepen the kiss, but Cade wasn’t a man who took denial easily.
“Open your mouth.”
Jane tightened her lips, giving a whimper as his knuckles brushed against her nipples. With a gasp of shock, her lips finally parted, and his tongue claimed her mouth, discovering the sweet interior without caring, seeking to humiliate her. Jane managed to put her hands on his chest, thrusting herself away from him.
“You bastard.”
“That’s right. I am. And I’m fed up with you two. Both of you need to quit worrying about who’s going to get inside my pants instead of getting our asses out of here alive!”