"So, Mitch," I said, my tongue thick and clumsy in my dry mouth. "You never did answer what you were doing when you found our dig site. I mean, we were miles from anywhere. How did you find us?"
He groaned. Clearly, it was a question he didn't want to answer. "Checking the fences," he said.
I glared at him, letting him know I knew he was lying. "Our dig site wasn't near any fences."
He didn't reply.
What the hell! And here I thought we were actually getting somewhere.
He scanned the terrain with that same alert efficiency I'd noticed before. Everything about him felt trained. The way he moved, the way he deflected questions, even the way he'd assessed my injuries. I cleared my throat, and he seemed to brace for another question he didn't want to answer. "Were you in the military?"
His jaw dropped.
I nodded, reading his expression. "Yeah, thought so."
He frowned but shrugged, maybe figuring there was no point denying it. "Sergeant First Class with the Special Air Service. I served for over a decade."
"Huh." A rock stabbed my instep, and I gasped. Shit, that hurt. "But now, you're a cowboy," I said, my tongue was as thick as leather.
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Something like that."
"That's quite a career change." My legs were made of lead.
"Life's full of surprises."
"Clearly." I forced myself to keep talking, but forming words was getting harder. Anything to stay upright. "What made you leave?"
"That's a long story."
I spread my hands wide, and the movement made me sway. "We've got plenty of?—"
The world tilted. My eyes spun out of focus. My knees gave way, and I crumpled.
Mitch shouted my name, and his arms caught me before I hit the dirt.
"Charlie!" His voice cut through the fog. "Charlie, stay with me."
I tried to respond, but my mouth wouldn't work. Everything was spinning, tilting, fading.
"Shit!" His cry sounded far away, muffled, like I was underwater.
He lifted me into his arms and cradled me against his chest.
I wanted to tell him I was fine, but darkness crept in from the edges of my vision. I was a long way from fine.
"I've got you." His grip tightened. "Just hold on." I heard the low, rough edge of his voice.
But I couldn't hold on. My vision tunneled to a pinpoint of light.
"You're going to be okay." The uncertainty in his voice terrified me.
I wasn't okay. Nothing was.
Oh, God. Am I going to die?
Chapter 24
Mitch