Gideon’s movement woke Lainey. He was sitting up, forearms resting on his knees, his broad back to her.

“Hey.” She sat up next to him, suddenly conscious she was wearing only his t-shirt. Tugging it down, she pulled her knees to her chest.

Gideon looked down at her, his lips held in a firm line. “Morning.” He turned back, looking out over the strip of jungle visible from their ledge.

While she didn’t expect a lavish display of affection, she thought he’d be a little more…something. Friendly, maybe talkative. She sighed; Gideon was a total mystery to her.

“What’s the plan?” Lainey sat up, searching for her pants. They were on the other side of Gideon and she poked him, pointing. He grabbed her clothes, handing them to her before turning away.

“They’re over the next hill on the other side of this stream. There’s smoke in the air; the winds from that direction.”

Lainey struggled into her jeans. Everything was still damp, and even though the clothes were cleaner than they had been, she was sticky and sand-covered. She changed Gideon’s shirt for her own, handing his back. He took it, pulling it over his head.

“This is where it gets dangerous and this is where you being here makes it worse. You’re a liability now, another body I need to watch and watch out for.” He finally turned and looked at her. “If you weren’t here, my life would be a hell of a lot easier.”

His voice was just as cold as his eyes. The Gideon she’d first met was back. If she thought anything had changed between them, it was clear to her that it hadn’t.

A pang of regret pierced her heart. Maybe seeking comfort in the arms of the man who’d rather not have her here was a bad idea. Obviously, it meant nothing.

“Listen. You’re going to have to come along. I can’t leave you here. It’s too dangerous.”

Gideon stood, moving to the front of the cave where he could stand. Lainey tied her sneakers and followed.

“You’re going to do what I say when I say it, nothing else, nothing less. Do you understand?”

“Yes.” She hated the weak sound of her voice, but this wasn’t the time or place to try to make Gideon believe she could take care of herself.

“Here.” He held out the large knife she’d seen him extract from the duffel. “I’m giving you this against my better judgment, but I’d rather you have something just in case. There’s no way in hell I’m giving you a gun.”

“I’ve shot a gun before. I can handle…”

He held up his hand, his brows drawing together, eyes darkening ominously. “Don’t give me the ‘I can handle myself’ line. This isn’t the target range. These are real people, and there’s a good chance they’re going to be shooting back.” He still held the knife and she took it, surprised by the weight. She stuck it in the waistband of her jeans.

Lainey’s heart took off, anxiety flooding her. She knew he was right, but there was no way she’d let him see how his words had effected her. Thrusting out her chin, she jammed her hands on her hips.

“This is my brother and he’s my responsibility. I go where you go because of that, not because you’re letting me come along.”

“I’m bringing you along because I have no choice. I’m not letting you do anything.” He held up both hands. “Look, Lainey. We don’t have time for this. We need to go. Now.” He bent down, grabbing the pistols from the ground, tucking them into the waistband of his pants.

“You follow me, you don’t speak unless I talk to you. You do not run to your brother, no matter what you see or how he appears, until I tell you to.”

He brushed past her, walking out of the cave. “If, for some God-awful reason, we get separated, come back here. Wait for me back by the duffel bag. Stay hidden. I’ll whistle.” He pursed his lips, mimicking the song of a bird. “Twice, and it’s me.”

She nodded.

“Then let’s do this.” He turned toward the stream and Lainey followed, sneakers sliding on the mossy rocks. But she’d be damned if she’d fall today. She was pretty sure Gideon wouldn’t bother picking her up.

Gideon took them through dense jungle, occasionally following what looked like a trail, sometimes moving through dense foliage. Lainey was totally disoriented. The anxiety she’d felt in the cave increased. She was practically walking on Gideon’s heels for fear of losing him. There’d be no way she’d ever find her way out of this jungle if she lost sight of Gideon.

Suddenly he crouched down and she almost tripped over him. The startled noise she made was silenced by his glare. He pulled her down beside him, his finger to her lips.

“Right there.” His lips were against her ear, his voice barely audible. She followed where he pointed.

Down below was a tiny dilapidated hut sitting in the center of a small clearing, a thin stream of smoke coming from a hole in the roof. There was no movement and the only sounds around them were the noises of the jungle.

“Here’s the plan. We go down there.” Gideon pointed to a dense section of jungle, indicating the route they were going to take. Lainey looked across the small clearing where the building stood. On the other side of the clearing was a footpath, fading off into the jungle.

“Where does that go?”

“There’s a village about two miles over the hill and down in the valley.”

“Any chance someone might come along the path and surprise us?”

Gideon glanced at her, one eyebrow raised. “Maybe. Something to think about.”

“I can watch the path, let you know.”

Now both eyebrows shot up. Gideon slowly shook his head. “No way. I can’t leave you out here by yourself.”

“But if we’re both in there…we’re sitting ducks.”

“I’m not going to be in there that long.”

“Yeah, but you said I’d be in the way. If I’m outside…”

“Fine. Okay. You can be outside. I’d rather have you do that than keep arguing with you. We’re wasting time, God dammit.” Gideon blew out a deep sigh. “Follow me. At the corner of the building, stay along the side. If there’s a window on the far side, stay below it. If there’s a door, stay away from it.”

He turned, his eyes, boring into hers. “Take this.” He reached into the waistband of his pants, pulling out one of his pistols. “You see anyone, anywhere, fire into the air. No heroics, don’t try to take on anyone. Into the air.” He pointed to the sky.

She nodded, taking the gun. It was a Glock; the same type of pistol Scott had shown her how to shoot. It was heavy, but having it in her hand gave her a sense of comfort.

“Can you handle this?”

“Yeah. I’ve shot with these before.”

“Another thing. There may be women or children down there, families. Do not underestimate anyone you come across. Do you understand?”

She nodded again. “I got it. Stay low, stay hidden, don’t make assumptions.” Her heart tripped along in her chest and she realized her hands were shaking.

“Then let’s go.” Gideon moved forward, body low to the ground. Lainey followed as best she could.

Gideon was totally silent as he drew closer to the building. Lainey felt awkward and slow, each step she took sounding like an elephant crashing through the jungle. But Gideon kept moving forward and she had no choice but to follow him.

Finally, he crouched behind a larger tree just on the edge of the clearing. The building was only a few feet in front of them. From here, Lainey heard low voices coming through an open window. She caught Gideon’s eye, pointing, shrugging.

He held up two, then three fingers, also shrugging. He pointed to his chest then to the building. She looked through the open window and saw a door and another window set into the opposite wall.

Gideon pointed to Lainey then to the right side of the building. She understood; if she waited there and someone came along the path, she’d be hidden, but she’d hear them.

Gideon tapped her on the shoulder, pointed to himself, then to the other side of the building. He was going that way.

She nodded and he tipped his head toward the building. He moved forward in a crouch and Lainey followed for a few steps, then split off and moved to the other side of the building. She looked up, checking for a window, but there wasn’t one. Trying to steady her breathing, she knelt beside the building.

Her hands were shaking and she held the gun the way she remembered Scott had taught her, her finger alongside the trigger guard, not on the trigger. The safety was off and she knew it was ready to fire.

The jungle seemed eerily silent, the birds gone quiet, the wind dying down. Nothing moved and she strained to hear Gideon. But no sounds came to her. She could have been the only person in the world at that moment.

The shriek of splintering wood, the crash of the door being kicked inward sent her heart skittering into overdrive. She crept to the edge of the wall, peering around the corner. Gideon was already inside. Shouts and curses, both in Spanish and English, filled the air, Gideon’s voice the loudest. But nowhere did she hear Shane’s voice.

Gideon was yelling now in Spanish. She winced at the sound of a fist hitting flesh, loud grunts, and then a body hitting the floor. Gideon’s voice disappeared from the cacophony. If Gideon was down, then Shane was at risk. Hell, Gideon was at risk and so was she. She hesitated then made up her mind.