Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Safe heard the rebel camp before he saw it.

The men didn't even seem to consider the thought that they should keep their voices down, that they might not be alone in the jungle. But why would they? They'd chosen their hideout well. It was miles from any kind of road and no one would dare venture into this part of the jungle if they knew what was good for them.

But Safe had no fear of the rifles the men carried. No fear of the men themselves. They were the ones to be feared, not the assholes who kidnapped innocent men and women.

Moving forward, Safe got into position. He and his fellow SEALS had surrounded the camp and were scoping out the situation before acting. At his request, Wren had shown him pictures on the BT Energy website of the men she'd be traveling with. He could see Dallas, Archie, Oliver, and Colby…but that was it .

Wren wasn't with them. But then again, he knew that already from looking at the GPS tracker. She was about three miles away, and until about half an hour ago had been moving at a steady pace.

Safe wanted to immediately head in her direction, but he needed to make sure his teammates had the current situation under control first.

"Anyone got eyes on the others? The bodyguards and the other two men?" Kevlar asked through their earpieces.

"Negative."

"No."

"No sign of them."

"Shit. There's a possibility they split them up," Preacher said.

Seconds after his teammate spoke, Safe could hear what looked like the leader of the ragtag group taunting his captives, as if he'd somehow heard Preacher's suggestion loud and clear.

"You want to make a run for it too? Do it! I'll shoot you in the back just like I did your friends. But I might let you get a little ways away. Make you think you can make it before BOOM!"

"Fuck," Kevlar said through the radio. "Guess that answers that. Safe, you got our girl on radar?"

"Ten-four," Safe said as he slowly eased backward, away from the clearing.

"We'll meet you at the extraction point at twenty-two hundred. If you aren't there, we'll intercept where we can."

Safe acknowledged his team leader's words before turning to go the long way around the camp and in the direction the tracker showed Wren had gone. He was also wearing a tracker, so Kevlar would know where he was at all times. So if something kept him and Wren from meeting up with his team—God forbid—they'd come to him . He had absolutely no doubt of that whatsoever.

His only mission right now was finding Wren. He hoped she'd been able to sneak away, but he wasn't willing to hang around to find out what the rebels knew. Ultimately, it didn't matter. He'd find her one way or another. And if someone had taken her away from camp for his own nefarious purposes, he'd regret it.

Completely focused, Safe concentrated on making his way through the thick jungle. His respect for Wren increased with every step. He'd expected this. Was prepared for it. He had a machete to help hack through the strongest branches in his way. Wren had nothing but her wits and determination.

Thankful all over again for all the precautions they'd made for this trip—for the tracker, the boots, the hiking clothes—Safe split his concentration between where he was walking and the GPS screen with the blinking dot. He sidestepped a forest vine snake, thankful he'd seen it. There was no antivenom for a bite from the snake, and its venom killed by preventing clotting and causing the internal organs of its prey to bleed profusely.

He also saw a leopard sleeping lazily in a tree, but it seemed to have no interest in Safe as he slipped through the jungle.

When Safe got within a quarter mile from where Wren's dot was blinking, he slowed. Walked more carefully. Silently. If someone was with her, holding her hostage, hurting her, he needed to approach cautiously. The last thing he wanted was Wren getting hurt because of his rash actions.

Every molecule within Safe urged him to rush forward. To call out Wren's name. But he moved stealthily, as he'd been trained. Not sure what he would find when he got to the target coordinates, but hoping against hope it would be Wren, alive. Probably scared, but relieved to see him.

Wren had no idea how long she'd been asleep, but it couldn't have been too long as it was still bright out. She felt like shit; short naps always did that to her. Made her feel worse than when she'd shut her eyes in the first place. That, along with the branches trying to slice her in half where she was awkwardly lying in the middle of the bushes, made further sleep impossible.

Exhaustion filled every cell of her being, but she couldn't afford to stay in one place for too long. The consequences could literally be deadly.

She started to wiggle, trying to get out of the cocoon of branches, when she thought she heard something nearby.

Freezing, Wren tilted her head, trying to figure out what she'd heard.

Then panic swiftly set in.

Someone was out there. Or something .

Moving slowly, she reached into her pocket for the knife. It wouldn't do a damn thing against one of the rebels, but she felt better having some kind of weapon in her hands. The only good thing about this situation was that it would be almost impossible to drag her out of the mess of branches currently surrounding her.

"Wren?"

The sound of her name didn't compute for a second.

"Wren? Are you there?"

Holy shit! That was Bo! She'd recognize his voice anywhere! Wren's entire body shook as she tried to extricate herself from the bushes. The more she struggled, the more stuck she seemed to get.

"Wren? Tell me that's you in there and that you're okay."

Bo's voice was firmer now. Bossy.

"Bo!" she croaked.

"Easy, sweetheart. I'm here."

Even in the middle of freaking Africa, after she'd been kidnapped by rebels, Bo sounded calm.

Wren fought to get out of the bushes, and the second she crawled into view, she wanted to cry. Looking up, she saw Bo standing there, looking larger than life. He had on a pair of green camouflage pants and a shirt, a pack on his back, the scruff on his face was much longer than when she'd seen him over a week ago, almost a full beard.

He was not smiling. Not even a little.

But that didn't bother Wren. He was here! He came!

One second she was on her hands and knees, and the next she was in his embrace. Wren shoved her face into the space between his neck and shoulder and held onto him as if her life depended on it. And honestly, it kind of did .

"Shhhh, I've got you," he murmured as he held her so tight, it almost hurt.

"Bo…" she said against his sweaty skin.

"I'm here," he told her. "I'm here."

She had no idea how long they stood like that, Bo's arms wrapped around her and Wren clinging to him like a baby monkey does its mother. Eventually she took a deep breath and lifted her head, but she didn't let go.

"How? I don't think it's even been twenty-four hours since we were taken," she stuttered.

"Eighteen and a half," he told her.

"How are you even here?"

"We were in the area. Finished our mission and didn't have anything else to do."

That Wren could find anything to laugh about right now was a freaking miracle. But chuckle she did. "Right."

"But seriously, we were killing time in Chad, waiting for your flight to leave South Sudan. Once that happened, we would've headed home ourselves."

"Wait," Wren said with a frown. "You were done, but were waiting for me to be finished with my trip before you left?"

"Just said that, I think. But yes."

It was that moment when Wren fell completely in love with this man. She was already mostly gone, but knowing he'd gone out of his way to make sure she was heading home safely before getting on a plane himself made it clear in a way no words ever could how much he cared about her. That whatever was happening between them wasn't casual.

"Bo," she whispered, almost speechless.

"Breathe, Wren. I know this is…a lot. But I need you to st ay strong. We need to get going. Can you walk? Are you hurt? Are you hungry?"

Pushing the awe she felt that this man and his team had purposely not left the country because she was still there, Wren took a deep breath and said, "Yes, no, and more thirsty than anything. I found some water early this morning, but didn't drink a lot because I was worried about creepy-crawlies."

At her response, Bo dropped his arms from around her and shrugged off his backpack. Wren watched as he rifled through it for a moment before pulling out a bottle of water, twisting off the cap, then handing it to her.

She took it without a word and brought it to her mouth. The water inside was warm, but so damn good. She guzzled down a few swallows then forced herself to stop. "You want some?" she asked.

Wren couldn't read the look in his eyes as he shook his head. "No, you need it."

She did. Wren could feel her body soaking up the lifesaving liquid as fast as she could drink it. It didn't take long for her to finish the entire bottle. Her belly hurt a little, but being full also felt amazingly good.

Bo collapsed the bottle and put it back in his pack, then pulled out what Wren knew was an MRE and opened it. She was about to tell him she wasn't hungry when he pulled out something in a small green plastic container, putting the rest of the MRE back into his pack. Then he zipped it shut and put it back on his shoulders. He opened whatever he'd taken out of the MRE and held it out to her. "Eat this."

"I'm not hungry," Wren told him .

"I know, but you need the calories. You've been walking all night, stressed, your body needs it."

Knowing he was right, Wren took the small square. "What is it?" she asked.

"Lemon poppy seed pound cake."

Wren took a small bite then looked up at him in surprise. "It's good."

His lips twitched. "Yeah. Some desserts are better than others, but I've always been partial to that one. You'll be thirsty when you're done, and I have some more water for you." He patted one of the pockets of his pants.

Every muscle in Wren's body protested the fact that she was upright and walking. She was sure she'd walked more in the last day than she had in her entire life. And now that she'd had some water, she'd begun to sweat as well. She was scared, miserable, and exhausted, but not one word of complaint would leave her mouth, because Bo was here.

"I'm assuming the toe ring worked," she stated as he led them through the jungle. She had no idea where they were going, but she had no problem giving control over to Bo as to their destination and what would happen next.

"It worked," he told her. Then after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Can you tell me what happened?"

Wren sighed. "We were on our way to the thing at the president's house but instead of being driven there, we were taken out of the city to this jungle."

"Ransom?" Bo asked.

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I know this is hard, but I have to ask. Where are the others? Were you separated? "

Wren swallowed hard, the poppy seed cake settling like a rock in her belly. "No. I guess they came up with some plan to run when we got out of the vans. They're dead."

Bo stopped so abruptly, Wren almost ran into him. He turned and once more hugged her. Hard. "I'm sorry."

"Me too," Wren mumbled into his neck.

Then Bo took her by the shoulders and stooped so he could look her in the eye. "I'm getting you out of here."

She nodded. What else could she do?

"You did good, sweetheart. You kept your head, got the cuffs off." His gaze went down to her bruised wrists. Her hands were resting on his chest and the marks were clearly visible. "And you hid until I could get to you. I'm so proud of you."

Wren blinked. How many times had anyone told her that they were proud of her in her life? Zero. She couldn't remember anyone ever telling her that before. She soaked his words in, reveled in them. Before reality set in.

"The others? I was afraid our kidnappers would take my escape out on them."

"They're okay. The rest of my team is extricating them."

Wren had a lot of questions. What would happen to the rebels? What about their stuff back at the hotel? What would happen to the bodies of the other guys? How would they get out of the country without their passports? Would the pipeline project even go forward now? Were her coworkers mad that she'd left them back in that clearing?

But she swallowed them all down. Now wasn't the time to ask anything. "Okay."

Bo studied her. As if he could tell she was bursting with questions, he said, "We're going to meet up with the team now. We'll fly out of here into Uganda. Tex has already arranged for replacement passports to be delivered for all of you."

Of course the mysterious Tex had access to passports. The man had probably already delivered them to the US Embassy in Uganda before they'd even left the US. But Wren couldn't be upset about that. If only Colby had used some common sense and canceled this trip.

Wren realized Bo was still watching her carefully, as if waiting for her to say something.

"Okay," she repeated belatedly.

"If you need to stop and take a break, let me know. We have some time before we have to meet my team."

Wren nodded. The truth was, she wanted to lie down in the middle of this damn jungle and sleep for days. But since that wasn't a feasible option right now, she'd do whatever Bo told her to do or die trying.

"Tough as nails," he told her, before leaning forward slowly. His lips on hers were welcome. Grounding Wren. Making her believe that maybe, just maybe, they'd get the hell out of here.

Without another word, Bo took the hand that wasn't holding the pound cake and started walking once again.

Safe had never been so relieved to see anyone in his entire life. He truly hadn't known what kind of shape Wren was going to be in when he found her. He'd imagined so many awful scenarios that even though she was bruised, scratched, dirty, and had dark circles under her eyes, seeing her alive and upright made his knees weak.

He'd been terrified that she'd be hurt…or violated. He had no doubt that had probably been on the rebels' minds, but thankfully Wren had taken her well-being into her own hands and gotten the hell out of that camp before they could do anything.

Of course, he didn't know with certainty that she hadn't been raped, but he'd seen the aftermath of enough sexual assaults to be able to recognize the signs. Wren hadn't hesitated to let him touch her, didn't have the vacant look in her eyes that he'd seen in the gazes of too many other victims. They needed to have a long, in-depth discussion about exactly what she'd been through, what she'd survived, but first he needed to get them to the rendezvous point. He had no problem being in this jungle on his own, but in this particular case, he'd feel better when he had his teammates on his six—and Wren's.

Because they weren't out of danger yet. All sorts of threats lurked in these trees. The two- and four-legged variety alike. They had about three klicks, or a little less than two miles to go for the rendezvous point. Safe wasn't too worried about the large animals in the jungle, it was the smaller ones, like the snakes and poisonous insects that worried him. But he also had no doubt there were other groups of rebels camped out in the area as well.

The men who'd taken Wren and her coworkers weren't the only ones who used this forest as a hideout. If they ran across anyone else, things could get ugly fast .

Safe didn't want to let go of Wren's hand, but he needed both of his free just in case he needed to protect them. "Hold on to my pack," he told her. "Stay close."

"If you think I'm getting more than two feet from you, you're crazy," she retorted.

Safe's lips twitched, but then he sobered. Getting through the jungle to the meet-up point wasn't going to be easy. He wished Wren didn't have to make this trek, but as he'd told her, she was tough. She could do it.

He wanted to talk to her, hear her voice, reassure himself that she really was all right, but he needed to listen to the jungle around them. Be alert for any kind of danger. Safe wasn't too surprised that she seemed to understand that and didn't attempt to make small talk. Then again, it was possible she was simply too tired to speak.

They'd been walking for thirty minutes, and had probably only gone about half a mile in Safe's estimation. Walking in the jungle was very different from taking a walk in a neighborhood or on an established trail. It took longer to make a path, and since they couldn't walk in a straight line they were adding steps and mileage as they went.

A noise to their left made Safe stop in his tracks. Wren actually ran into him, but he steadied her by reaching a hand back.

"What?" Wren whispered.

Safe heard the subtle sounds of someone's approach—and already knew they didn't have time to hide before they were surrounded by half a dozen men. All holding rifles.

Fuck.

Wren whimpered behind him .

"Hands up," one of the men ordered.

"Bo?" Wren whispered.

"Do it," he told her. He was good. But not good enough to take out half a dozen armed men. They'd be shot before he could mitigate the threat. Their best bet was to do what was asked of them. Wren still wore her toe ring, and he had a GPS tracker on him as well.

Wren cried out when she was wrenched away from him, and it took everything in Safe not to lash out at the man who'd grabbed her. He held her still while Safe was relieved of his backpack, rifle, earpiece, and had all his pockets emptied.

"Who are you? Why are you in our jungle?" asked the man who'd told them to put their hands up.

"We were on our way out," Safe said, meeting the man's gaze, ignoring the weapons pointed at him and Wren.

"And why were you here in the first place? This isn't exactly a destination for tourists…and you look like anything but tourists."

Safe ran over possible scenarios in his head. He could tell Wren to run, but with the way the man was holding her, she wouldn't get far. He could lie and insist they were tourists, but the man questioning them was obviously too smart for that.

Safe decided the truth was the best bet in this situation.

"She was in your country with her coworkers. They've been working with the government to put in a gas pipeline. They were kidnapped last night. Brought here. My team and I came in to rescue them."

Silence greeted his words…and for a second, Safe was afraid he'd made the wrong decision.

Then the man let out a disgusted grunt and spat on the ground. "Let me guess. The government says the money will be good for South Sudan. For our economy."

For the first time, Safe took his eyes off the leader of this small group and looked over at Wren. Her face was white as a sheet and she was shaking. Her captor stood behind her, holding her biceps and forcing her arms behind her back. She looked uncomfortable and scared, but not hurt. Thank God.

"That's right," she said in a voice that only trembled slightly.

"Liars! They're all liars ! They take money away from the citizens. We're starving, we don't have enough water or food to live off of. While they live as kings! Who took them?" the man asked Safe.

"I don't know," he replied.

"There were around twenty of them. We thought we were going to the president's compound for a dinner, but instead we were driven here, to the jungle. There was a man leading us, on a motorcycle," Wren said.

The leader spat on the ground again. "They're as corrupt as the government," he said bitterly. "Receiving inside intel. And money to buy guns."

Safe wasn't sure if this group's hatred for the other one was a good or bad thing. "She got away from them during the night. I found her, and I'm taking her back to where my team is waiting to leave the country."

The leader stared at Safe for a long, uncomfortable moment. He looked at Wren, then back at Safe. "She must be important for the US to send someone for her."

"She's important to me ," Safe said firmly.

"She yours? "

"Yes." There was no hesitation in his response. Because Wren was his. His to cherish. To protect. To love. Not in the way this man meant his question, but his all the same.

"I need to consult with my men. You come with us. We will kill you if you try anything," the leader said.

It wasn't what Safe wanted to hear, but it wasn't as bad as the alternative…getting shot where they stood.

The man holding Wren let go of her with a shove and she stumbled forward. Safe grabbed her before she could fall and held her against his side.

The leader started walking in the opposite direction they needed to go to meet his team.

Internally sighing, Safe didn't let any of his irritation and worry show on his face. The different ethnic groups in the country didn't get along. And if these men were pissed at the other group, the ones who took Wren and her coworkers, that might work in their favor. He wasn't going to make the mistake of thinking they were the good guys, but since they hadn't simply shot them on sight, he was taking that as a win.

No one spoke as they trudged through the jungle toward what Safe could only assume was another rebel camp. When he and Wren didn't show up on time at the rendezvous spot, Kevlar would come up with a plan B. Most likely sending the civilians away on the chopper as he and the rest of the SEAL team came after them.

They just had to be patient. Calm. It was the same advice Safe had given Wren in case something happened.

They walked for quite a while, and with every step Safe could feel Wren sagging against him a little more. She was completely done in, and he hated that he couldn't do anything for her right now.

Eventually they walked alongside a small stream and came upon what looked like a giant cave. It was almost hidden in a hillside and, more importantly for the rebels, completely defensible. No one could sneak up behind them and they could be sheltered from the daily rainstorms in this part of the country.

They joined about a dozen other men, and to Safe's surprise, there were even a few women with the group. They were led inside the cave toward the back, and the leader pointed to a spot next to a wall. "You. Stay. I'll talk with the others."

Safe nodded. He could plead their case, remind the man they weren't there to hurt anyone, that they just wanted to leave, but he needed to take care of Wren first.

He lowered her to the ground and squatted in front of her on the balls of his feet. "How are you holding up?" He knew the answer to his question—not well—but he asked anyway.

"I'm good."

Safe snorted. She wasn't good. Not even close. But he shouldn't have been surprised that she downplayed how she was feeling.

"I'm going to get you some food. And water," Safe told her.

"But he said for us to stay here," Wren protested.

"I'm not going to sit here while you suffer. I'll be right back." Safe then stood and turned toward the large space. The leader was at the mouth of the cave, talking with several others. A man had been left behind to guard them. He raised the rifle he was holding when Safe took a step toward him.

Immediately holding his hands out to his sides, showing that he was unarmed, Safe said, "Please. I need my pack. My woman is exhausted. She needs water and food. I have both in my pack."

"No," the man said sternly.

Safe wasn't about to take no for an answer. "Look. I don't care if you take everything I own. I've got things with me that will be useful for you all. But please, she was kidnapped, tied up, scared out of her mind, then she escaped and walked through the jungle for hours. Now she's had to walk even longer. She's not used to this heat, hasn't eaten in who knows how long. Please let me take care of her."

It wasn't the man who responded to his pleas, but one of the women. She walked over to the man holding the rifle and scowled. "Put it down. Let him feed his woman."

"He probably has weapons in his bag," the man argued.

Safe didn't move an inch. The fact of the matter was, he did have weapons in his bag. A few knives. A handgun.

"Fine," the woman said as she went over to Safe's backpack that was left in the middle of the cave.

"Thank you," Safe told her. "There are two MREs, meals ready to eat, we only need one. You can have the other. I'll also need some of the water purification tablets. They're in a small baggie in that outer pocket. Yes, that one. And if it wouldn't be too much trouble for you to fill that collapsible water bottle for us, it would help a lot."

He was pushing his luck, Safe knew that, but the woman seemed willing enough to help, so he figured it couldn't hurt to ask. To his great surprise and relief, the woman walked toward him and handed him the MRE and the tablets. He nodded his thanks before the woman left the cave, hopefully to get some water out of the stream.

When he turned toward Wren, the sight that greeted him had Safe both relieved and frustrated. She'd lain down in the dirt and fallen asleep. He was glad she was finally getting some rest, but frustrated that it wasn't in a chopper as they headed out of the country to safety.

He hated to wake her up, but he needed to get some calories into her. And more water. Then he'd let her sleep again and watch over her while she did so.

Sitting next to her, Safe put a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. "Wren. I need you to wake up."

"No," she moaned.

"Just for a little bit. I have some food for you."

"Not hungry," she mumbled.

"I know, but again, you need to eat. Come on, sit up. This one isn't bad. Chili and macaroni. You already ate the best part, the poppy seed pound cake, but the jalapeno cheese spread on the crackers isn't awful. Although I suggest not eating the beef sticks, they taste like dog food."

That earned him a small smile. Wren sighed then pushed herself upright. Safe moved her so she was sitting in front of him, her back against his chest, his legs on either side of her. He wrapped his arms around her while he opened the MRE.

The woman returned with the water he'd asked for. Safe thanked her, as did Wren.

Using some of the water to heat up the chili and macaroni, Safe then put a purification tablet into the bottle, along with the orange beverage powder that came with the MRE. It would be a strange-tasting drink, but the powder had carb-electrolytes, and Wren's body needed all the boosting it could get. Their situation was much better than he could've hoped after being surrounded by another group of rebels in the jungle, but they weren't out of danger yet.

While they were waiting for the noodles to heat up, Safe spread some of the cheese on a cracker and handed it to Wren. She ate it without a word, moving almost robotically, as if spaced out. Safe supposed she was still half asleep, at the end of her rope. But that was okay. As long as he could get some calories and water into her, he'd let her sleep as long as she could before whatever was going to happen next.

The three women he'd seen outside entered the cave and sat across from him and Wren, watching them silently. Safe ignored them. His only concern at the moment was the woman wilting in his arms.

Resting his chin on her shoulder, he scooped up a spoonful of the macaroni dish and blew on it, making sure it wouldn't burn Wren's mouth, then held the spoon to her lips. She opened without a word, and Safe couldn't help but feel satisfaction deep inside him that he was able to provide for her.

They shared the macaroni, taking turns eating small bites. He made sure she drank plenty of the orange-flavored water between spoonfuls of the meal. When they'd almost finished the pouch of rehydrated food, she sighed and turned onto her side in the circle of his embrace. Her head rested on his chest, right above his heart.

"Can I sleep now?" she slurred .

"Sleep, Wren. I've got you," Safe reassured her. He kissed her forehead as she snuggled into him. She was asleep in seconds, her deep breaths making her chest rise and fall under the arms he'd wrapped around her.

"She okay?" the leader asked as he walked toward them.

Safe didn't move. The remnants of their meal were strewn around him, but all his attention was on the man who held their fate in his hands. "Exhausted," he told him.

The man nodded. Then asked, "How much is she worth? To her company. How much would they pay to get her back?"

Safe tensed. This conversation wasn't starting out how he'd hoped. "How much is she worth? She's priceless," he said. "As for how much BT Energy would pay to get her back? I don't know. She was just hired a little over a month ago. She's not one of their executives." He was doing his best to make it sound as if Wren was simply another employee. No one important.

"Why was she here then?"

"She's their PR person. Public relations. She talks to the media. Explains the project, highlights the benefits."

The leader's lip curled. "So she's a liar just like all the press."

Safe shook his head. "No. She might concentrate more on the pros of a project than the cons, but she doesn't lie."

The leader stared at him for a long moment. Sweat dripped down the back of Safe's neck. He felt as if this moment was a turning point. Things for them could go either way right now.

"What about you? How much would the US government pay to get back one of their soldiers? "

It was a good thing the man didn't know he was a SEAL right about now. Safe shrugged. "Considering my team and I aren't supposed to be here in the first place, I'm not sure they'll pay anything to get me back." That wasn't exactly true. The commander had pulled some strings to get them permission to be able to bop across the border, save their countrymen and woman, and get the hell out, but as far as the president and other muckety-mucks went? Yeah, they didn't know and wouldn't approve of this rescue mission.

"Huh," the leader said with a disappointed grunt. "How many more of you are there? Will they come for you?"

"Six. And yes, they'll come."

"They know where you are?"

Safe didn't bother lying. "Yes."

"How?"

"I have a tracker on me. As does she," Safe said, nodding toward Wren.

"So even if we kill you now, they'll still come."

Safe nodded, holding his breath.

This was it. Decision time.

"When?"

"When what?" he asked in confusion.

"When will they get here?"

Doing some quick calculations in his head, Safe replied, "I'd say within three hours."

"Then you better be on your way. Maybe you can meet them along their way here," the leader said, turning away abruptly.

"Wait!" Safe blurted.

"What? "

He couldn't believe he was about to ask this, but he could see and hear the rain falling outside. "Can we stay for a couple of hours? She literally can't walk anymore right now. She's too tired."

"And your team? Will they shoot first and ask questions after?"

It was a valid question. "No. They'll observe first. Make contact with me before they do anything."

The leader's head tilted. "You aren't a regular soldier, are you?"

"No."

They stared at each other for a beat before the leader said, "Don't make me regret this."

"On the contrary, I'll do what I can to compensate you for helping us." To be fair, the man hadn't really helped them. He'd simply intercepted them. If it wasn't for being detained, Safe and Wren could've been in a chopper and out of South Sudan right this moment. But the man hadn't hurt them. For Safe, that was enough.

The leader nodded and turned away. The man who'd been guarding them with the rifle followed behind.

Feeling his muscles relax for the first time since he'd learned Wren and her coworkers had been kidnapped, Safe rested his head on the wall behind him. Wren lay curled in his arms, sound asleep. She was as vulnerable as she'd ever been, but Safe wouldn't let anything happen to her. He wouldn't sleep, no matter how tired he was. He didn't even have the urge to close his eyes. He'd stay vigilant and watch over her until his team arrived .

And he had no doubt they would. He just prayed he hadn't lied to the leader of this ragtag group of rebels.

If Kevlar and the others shot first before figuring out the situation, they were as good as dead. But his team was good at what they did. Very good. They'd scope out the area, get all the intel they could before making a move. Safe just had to wait for their signal and send the all-clear in return. Things would work out. There was no other alternative.