She nodded. When he removed his hand, it was wet from her tears. That hurt or fear from her nearly broke his heart.
Tears burned the edge of his eyelids, so grateful that he’d found her safe and unharmed. Or she appeared unharmed. He’d kill the bastard Quinn if he’d injured her.
He should release her, but she felt so good in his arms that he couldn’t bring himself to do so. He hadn’t been there to protect her, but he could hold her while she needed the connection. He loved this woman and would hold her whenever she wished. He’d be there to chase her demons away. First, they had to catch this demon. Yet, he wouldn’t release her a moment before he absolutely had to do so.
Boss came close and leaned in. “Tell us what you can,” he whispered. “Quietly.”
When she didn’t pull away but appeared to sway toward Danny, he decided to keep holding her. Like the need to breathe, Danny had to touch her. Had to feel she was safe.
“Quinn is chasing me.”
“Only him?” Boss asked.
She nodded, but he doubted Boss could see since he’d lifted his NVGs. But the going bet was Boss was superhuman.
“Wait,” she said, “there was a guy earlier. He left with Declan, but I only heard Quinn calling for me.”
“Okay. Danny’s going to take you to safety.”
Danny bristled. He wanted a piece of Quinn, yet he didn’t want to leave Moira. During the flight, all the ways he’d make the man pay had worked through his mind. Now, he was left with only one focus. Moira. His heart swelled. She was more important than chasing Quinn. The team would take care of him. So he followed his boss’s orders and leaned down to Moira while the twins moved forward, followed by Cowboy and Doc.
“Let’s go. I want you to hold my hand and follow in my footsteps.” Luckily, he had night vision gear, but she didn’t. He hoped she could follow him safely. “Until we hear different, we’re still moving through the woods.” Meaning Quinn had been captured and everyone was assured no other threat existed. “Are you okay to travel?” He should’ve asked that first. But she’d made it this far, and something told him she’d make it to safety. His little artist made him proud. She was now an escape artist, finding her way out of whatever situation confined her.
She nodded again.
He wanted to tell her he loved her, but since it’d be the first time she heard it, now didn’t seem the right time. “Let’s go.” He finally let go of her but immediately took her hand.
They eventually left the woods for the road; it took longer to return to the bird since the pace had been adjusted for Moira. What would she say once she found out about the trackers? He grew more apprehensive about telling her. He had no idea how she’d react. They had saved her. Well, she might’ve made it to civilization on her own. She was at least headed in the right direction. But the team wouldn’t have been there to clean up the scene by taking Quinn into custody. Still, he had to tell her. Like a chicken, now was not the time.
At the bird, Boss took up a protective position but informed Danny to see to Moira. Here they could use a light, and he cringed when he saw the lower half of her calves. They were a bloody mess. At first, he wanted to rail at the man she’d told him had tied her up, but he realized it was from her trek through the woods. With that knowledge, he felt partly responsible for some of the wounds.
Quietly, she cried, and her breathing became difficult. Danny didn’t acknowledge the tears as he figured she needed the time to decompress. It hurt him, though. He listened to her breathing in case she had an attack.
She worked hard to keep silent, but the sniffing of a stuffed-up nose gave her away. He didn’t look up but offered a tissue pack and her inhaler from his kit, thankful he’d snatched an inhaler his home before heading to HQ.
After she blew her nose and took a puff from her inhaler, she informed him, “Declan told me you and Justin were just keeping me safe until Boyle could slip into the country.”
How she planned to treat Declan after this deceit, he didn’t know. Being the recipient of his actions would be a heavy weight to carry, for anyone. Even more so since the siblings were close. Danny finally looked up to her bright eyes cast in the shadows of the flashlight positioned by her legs. “And do you still believe it?”
She shook her head. “I’m not sure I truly believed it then. I just couldn’t take the chance since Boyle was on his way.” She straightened like a thought just occurred to her. “Boyle. Has he been captured?”
Danny gently reached up and touched her thigh to calm down the near hysteria that accompanied her last statement. “Calm down. He’s in custody. All the stuff Justin provided will help keep him there.”
“I’m sorry.”
Danny smiled. He could forgive her anything. It burned that she hadn’t trusted him—well, maybe she still trusted him—but she was put in an unusual situation where she trusted the wrong person. “It’s okay.”
Then he noticed her lips tremble and a tear leak down her cheek. “He traded me.”
He stilled one hand hovering over her calf with an antiseptic wipe. “I’m sure he hates that he had to.”
“But he didn’t have to. He could’ve chosen to save me.”
Unable to imagine the war going on inside her, he remained quiet and went back to tending to her wounds.
“That’s wrong and selfish of me,” she said.
He looked up and gave her a small smile. “To me it sounds about right.”
“Have you
