“I’m more worried about who and how many.” He shifted his weight until most of it fell away to her side. “Stay under me.”
“Are you wearing a bulletproof vest?”
“Didn’t think I’d need one.”
She waited for the attacker to rush them. Listened for another shot. “I can’t hear or see anything.”
“I need to get to the helicopter.”
A vision of him running and getting shot hit her with the force of a crashing train. The horror of it stole her breath and had her fingernails digging into the dirt. “No.”
“I have a vest and binoculars in there.” He slipped farther off her. “Other weapons.”
“You can’t risk going into the open.”
With barely a touch he moved them to the left. She felt his deep inhale before he rolled them over and stopped close to a large tree trunk. He tapped the back of her legs. “Curl up.”
When the world finally stopped spinning she looked up and saw rough bark right in front of her face and threw a hand out to touch the surface. “What are we doing?”
“You are going to make yourself as small as possible.” He gave the orders without looking at her. His head kept moving as he glanced around them. “Then you’re not to move.”
“You can’t—”
“I’m serious. You move and I will come back, which is more of a threat to me than racing over there.” With a hand between her shoulder blades, he lowered her closer to the ground. “Stay down.”
Before she could grab on or call him back, he was gone. In a crouch, zigzagging he broke through the last line of trees. He hugged close to the helicopter as he lifted a hand. The door must have stuck or his angle was off because she saw him pulling and tugging.
With all her concentration, she focused on him. Her teeth clicked together as terror spun through her. She waited for footsteps to fall and a hand to pull her up. The only thing that kept her from screaming was watching Joel. Even as her vision blurred around the edges, she stared.
After some fiddling and a yank, he got the door open and bonelessly slipped inside. One minute his dark hair provided a beacon and the next he was gone.
Her breath hiccupped in her chest as she fought the urge to run after him. She’d just decided to do that when she saw his head again. He held binoculars and swept his gaze over the forest. The door inched open and he was off again, this time running toward her.
He slid in beside her, kicking up twigs and leaves around her. He held up a vest. “Put this on.”
“You need it.”
“I think the person is gone, but I don’t want to risk you getting shot.”
When he continued to hold the vest, she took it and slid it on. The way he stared at her with that I-can-wait-all-day expression had her adjusting the straps and securing it tighter to her body. “Happy?”
“Not really.”
That made two of them. She looked at the binoculars. They weren’t the standard bird watching kind.
“Do they do something special?” She half hoped they functioned as a grenade launcher. She’d be satisfied with any weapon that could protect them all and get them out of there fast.
“Increased magnification and brightness. Plus the universal mil reticle.” He spit all that out without lowering the glasses.
“Um, okay.”
“The last is a special feature snipers use.” This time he looked at her. “It allows for better targeting and range estimates.”
The techno-jargon filled her with a strange sense of relief. It was as if they had walked right into his wheelhouse. She was fine to stay there with him.
Despite all their personal troubles, she never doubted his competency on the job. He was the man any sane person would want on her team when things fell apart. Now qualified.
Still, the sniper talk had her attention. “I don’t know most of the words you just used.”
“It means—”
She put a hand on his arm. “Don’t explain. I’m just happy you know what you’re talking about.”
He nodded. “We need to get back.”
The comment started a new round of thundering in her chest. “How do we know it’s safe?”
“I’ll feel better when we’re in the cabins.”
She’d feel better in her town house. “Any chance your team is on the way?”
“I called them. Yes.”
“That’s good news.” But she noticed he wasn’t smiling and didn’t look one ounce more relieved than he was before he crawled into the helicopter for reinforcements. “Right?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Something inside her shriveled. “I was afraid you’d say that.”