Naturally, that’s where she looked, the flashlight revealing an enormous spider in a web that stretched between two trees and was taller than she was. “Shit!”
“I told you not to look.”
“I can’t help it.” She thought she heard him chuckle.
“I know.”
They walked toward a rise, Malik picking a safe path.
“Stay here.” Rifle raised, he hiked to the top of the rise, glanced around, then turned and pointed his rifle toward their vehicle, as if checking to see whether he had a clear shot. “Let’s camp here.”
She hiked up to where he stood, glanced around.
He spread the plastic tarp on a relatively level area. “I know it’s not a nice soft bed, but you can lie down here and get some sleep.”
Kristi wasn’t sure about that. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to keep watch. I don’t want anyone or anything sneaking up on us.”
“Won’t you be exhausted tomorrow?”
He lowered his duffel to the tarp. “I’ve gone days without sleep. Don’t worry about me.”
Kristi set the water down beside his duffel bag and sat. “This is better than that awful hut with the rodent droppings.”
“Hell, yeah, it is. Fresh air. You can see the stars. No bad guys.” He knelt beside her, rifle pointed at the ground, and raised the NVGs. “I’m right here, Kristi. Just use my duffel bag as a pillow and get some sleep.”
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to sleep.”
“Then just lie down, breathe, and close your eyes.”
She lay down on her side, rested her head on the duffel.
“Turn over.”
She did as he asked, her gaze fixed on the dark wall of the forest beyond.
He rubbed her back, one big hand sliding up and down the column of her spine. There was nothing sexual about it. He was trying to help her relax—and it was working. Slowly, the day’s tension began to leave her.
“Just close your eyes, angel. You’re safe here.”
She must have been more tired than she realized because she began to drift. The last image in her mind before she fell asleep was of the lion’s amber eyes.
* * *
Malik stood over Kristi,watching the forest around them while she slept. They faced a long damned hike through the forest tomorrow. She needed her rest.
He had no idea how many miles they’d covered before getting caught in the fucking quicksand or how close they were to the river. What hedidknow was that they had long, dangerous miles ahead of them.
The rental vehicle wasn’t going anywhere, and when it was found, those Sky King fuckers would know exactly where to pick up their trail.
Malik didn’t know what kind of tech they had at their disposal, but it would be hard to evade search helicopters, especially if the people onboard were equipped with thermal imaging. The trees offered some cover, but, unlike the jungles of Vietnam or the Amazon, the forest here wasn’t impenetrable from the air.
He hadn’t talked with Kristi about any of this yet. After what she’d been through, he knew it would scare her. He needed her to sleep tonight, not worry.
He kept his gaze moving over the forest around them, careful to look up at the canopy above them and to watch the ground, too. Bats. Some kind of bush baby thing. A big python snaking its way up a tree.
Yeah, he could do without the snakes.