Slide

7

EMBER

While she was trapped in the basement, Ember thought her way through many escape plans to occupy her mind. It was true that this combat stuff was not her forte, but she was resourceful and smart. Surely there had to be a way to outsmart them.

The General has a thing for me … Maybe I could play up to that. Whack him with something, run out, and …

Her plans sounded great in her head, right up until they hit reality. What would she do next, take on the army like an action hero? She laughed softly at herself.

When she heard the door creak open, she stiffened in the chair. She’d been imagining another impossible escape plan, and now that someone was actually coming into the room, she realized how foolish it was. She had no chance of taking on soldiers. If this was the General coming for her, she was done for, and she knew it.

When the blindfold came off, she found herself looking into the most gorgeous eyes she had ever seen. Her breath was stolen for an instant. Her head swam as her heart pounded. His eyes were scattered with flecks of gold, patterned over hazel irises. She was so stunned by the feelings that suddenly hit her in the chest that she couldn’t move.

His face was fine-featured with a strong jaw and well-set cheekbones. The most striking of all was the longish, bright blonde hair that reminded her of a lion’s mane. When he reached for her, she trembled, and she didn’t know if it was from fear or desire.

He murmured comforting words to her as he got the ropes off. She could barely respond. The relief of being rescued colliding with her shock at seeing such a gorgeous man staring into her eyes, left her practically mute. As he pushed her ahead of him through the halls, she tried to focus on taking long, slow breaths.

You’ll be out of here soon, and everything will fall into place. You’re just stressed out and tired, and he’s here to rescue you. That’s the only reason why you’re reacting to him like this.

As they got close to the doors, he yelled for her to run, and she didn’t pause or look back. She just bolted.

The trees were not far away, and she didn’t have to run for very long to reach their cover. She ducked down, waiting. It only took a few minutes before the man came out, buck naked and running straight toward her. Soldiers were starting to scatter all over the place, and she could feel her stomach twisting with anxiety.

He didn’t get us out of here just so we could get captured again. Have some faith.

She was trying, but he looked tired and busted up now. As he slid into her hiding place, she was beginning to have doubts that he could pull off this rescue.

He grabbed her hand and started pulling her through the underbrush, his head low. She dug in her heels and yanked her arm back. He turned and frowned at her, reaching out to grab her again. She jumped back.

Ember inclined her head toward the camp. “I’m not leaving without the others!” she hissed quietly but with complete determination.

He shook his head slightly, and she was sure she detected a faint eye roll. She was instantly furious, but there was no time to chew him out about it.

He pointed into the woods and mouthed one word, ‘waiting.’ She wasn’t sure what he meant but decided to follow him and see where he led. Once they were farther from the camp, she could question him properly.

As they hurried along, heads down, she often saw him tilt his head back to put his nose to the wind. She realized he was tracking the others with his shifter senses. Ember still had hold of one of his hands, and she was trying not to look at his naked body.

It was dark, so there wasn’t much to see, but they passed through a patch of moonlight on occasion. His body looked gracefully muscled and incredibly fit. She reminded herself that there was no time for admiring her rescuer, but it didn’t stop her eyes from sliding down to check out his butt every time he bent forward.

They entered a small clearing, and she saw the others. With a cry of relief, she hurried forward and hugged Tjon, one of her best friends. One of the others hurried forward with a pack that they gave to her rescuer.

I don’t even know his name.

She turned to ask him, not just his name, but also his rank and mission details. She set her eyes on him at the exact moment he was pulling his pants up his legs, and she caught an eyeful of his equipment. She quickly looked at the ground and fought the urge to clear her throat. After blinking a couple of times to try to banish the afterimage, she looked up to try again.

He was buttoning a shirt over his strong, well-muscled chest. Still distracting, but not as bad as before. She stepped forward and touched his hand.

“Who are you?” she whispered. He shrugged.

“Not important right now. We need to move.”

“Wait,” she hissed, trying to keep her voice low. “Why should we trust you?”

“I just saved you,” he said, looking at her in confusion. “Why would I do that if I was here to hurt you?”

“You could be from an enemy camp,” she hissed. “We’re valuable hostages.”

He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. “General Nydia sent me. You are Ember Rogers. I’m here to rescue you.”

“And you are?” she whispered. She was convinced he was on their side. She just wanted to know his name.

“Slide,” he whispered back. “Slide Jamison. We have to move ... now! There is a rendezvous point we need to get to, and we have to put as much distance as possible between ourselves and this camp immediately.”

She nodded, agreeing with him. He led the way, and she hung back, letting the others run ahead of her. She would much prefer him to take the rear position, but she didn’t know where they were going.

As they hurried through the woods, she quickly caught up with every member of the team, making sure they were fit enough to travel and that no one had been harmed. They had all been treated well, and Ember was grateful for that. At least no one was injured.