He had a solid point.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “I don’t know why you did this, but I’m grateful. I was scared out of my mind.”
“I know,” he said simply. “And I had my reasons.”
He fell silent and she didn’t pursue the matter any further.
After what seemed like hours, he carried her into a small clearing, where a black helicopter was resting a short distance away. As soon as they came into view, the helicopter roared to life and the rotors began spinning, kicking up dust and leaves. She turned her face into Armand’s chest to shield her eyes from the debris.
A second later he deposited her inside the helicopter and hopped up beside her.
“Put your belt on,” he yelled over the noise. “Make sure it’s tight. Don’t want you falling out.”
Yeah, neither did she. She secured her seat belt, and for good measure she latched onto his arm. He didn’t pull away from her and instead transferred her hand to his thigh and then wrapped the arm she’d gripped around her shoulders, anchoring her tightly to his side.
A moment later, they lifted into the air and the ground spun dizzyingly below her. The helicopter swept over the treetops, nearly clipping the tops as they flew away.
A shiver overtook her and she was glad he’d told her to bring a jacket. Though the temps were plenty warm, the night air had a crisp chillness to it the higher they lifted into the air. With the sides open, the wind blew straight through the interior, turning her nose into a block of ice.
She clutched her free hand over her belly in an automatic protective measure.
Armand looked down at her, his gaze inquisitive. She shook her head to let him know she was fine. Scared and nervous as hell, but she was okay. She just wished she knew where they were going. If he was planning to go back to Tristan, then he evidently planned to dump her somewhere and leave. Which meant she’d be going it alone.
That filled her with utter panic. Her only option would be to find a U.S. embassy and hope they believed her crazy-ass story of being abducted. Or she could try to find a way to contact Sam so KGI could come get her. She imagined that by now, Sam rued the day he ever met her. She’d been a source of trouble, no matter that she’d provided medical services for his teams.
If she got out of this unscathed, she was seriously going to rethink her career path. She had a baby to think of now, and working in parts unknown in isolated, rural areas of the world was no longer something she could consider.
An hour later, the helicopter began to descend. As she looked out, she was surprised to see they were in the mountains, and it looked as though they were landing in a small valley between two jutting peaks. Her guess hadn’t been wrong about being close to the mountains.
As soon as the helicopter set down, Armand reached over to unfasten her seat belt and urged her out. He ducked low and urged her to do the same, shielding her with his body as he pulled her into the trees a short distance away.
When they were far enough away from the helicopter for him to be able to hear her, she asked in a trembling voice, “Where are we? What do I do now? If you’re going back, then how do I know where to go?”
He touched her shoulder and then squeezed reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You won’t be alone. Someone is coming for you.”
Relief made her unsteady and her knees nearly gave out on her.
“Thank you,” she choked out. “I don’t know why you risked doing this for me, but I’ll be forever grateful. If there’s ever anything I can do to repay you, don’t hesitate to let me know.”
He grinned that sardonic grin and his eyes flashed with amusement. “Oh, I’ll collect, Maren. Just not from you.”
With that cryptic statement, he urged her forward again.
“Can you make it or do I have to carry you again?”
“Depends on how far it is to wherever we’re going,” she muttered.
“It’s not far. Half a mile or so.”
“I can make it.”
“Then let’s make tracks. I’m on a strict timeline here. I have to be back at the chopper in forty minutes, so I don’t have time to spare.”
Nodding, she quickened her step and fell in behind him so she could follow his lead.
Several long minutes later, her breaths coming rapid and short and puffing from her mouth in a visible cloud, they stopped. Or rather he came to an abrupt halt and she collided with his back.
He put his arm back to steady her and remained stock – still, his entire body rigid and wary, like he expected someone to jump out of the trees at them. With his free hand, he drew the gun from his shoulder harness and held it up and at the ready. Her heart jumped and began to beat double time.
“Stay still and remain absolutely silent,” he said in a low voice.
She went just as rigid as he was, locked against his broad back. He was big enough that she couldn’t see around him, and even better, it meant no one would be able to see her.
“We wait for your rescuer to show,” he said. “No matter what you hear, or what you may see, you do not move a muscle. Don’t say anything until I tell you to, no matter what happens, and do not react to anything that’s about to go on. We clear? Nod, but don’t speak.”
She nodded against his back and he relaxed, but he still had a tight grip on his gun as he scanned the area, staring intently into the darkness.
She wanted to ask him who the hell was coming for her, and if he trusted them to get her out of the country or where they were taking her for that matter, but he’d been very exacting in his requirements of her, and as he’d mentioned, she wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth. She’d sort out the details, hopefully when she was miles away from Kosovo and Tristan Caldwell.