Reaper held onto his consciousness by a sheer force of will. That nice little concoction Mira had given him was definitely helping, but he wouldn’t make it ten hours, let alone half that time, on that tiny dose of ephedrine and steroids. He needed his serum, but before he could take more time for that, he had to get Caroline into that tiny hut he’d scouted out before penetrating the lab to kidnap her. It was located at least three klicks back into the jungle. Almost two and a half miles of nearly impossible terrain to cover—a near impossibility given his condition and the fact that Caroline was just running on steam. Compartmentalize, Captain. You need to suck it the fuck up.

He’d been in worse situations than this with his men. At least they’d managed to escape the town without detection, giving them precious time to make an escape without pouring what little energy they had into running. But that didn’t mean they could take a leisurely stroll through the forest. He needed to get them out of here STAT. But Caroline Cotter was the kind of woman that could distract a man easily with her big, innocent-looking blue eyes.

Innocent looking, who was he kidding? The girl was innocent through and through. Her sinister father had sheltered and protected her since she was an infant. His protective tendencies had only failed at the end of his life, when he’d arranged for her to marry a man who wanted to use her more than Reaper and Jack Mankel combined. Lucky for Caroline, it had never gone through.

Though Caroline didn’t know it, he’d met her maid, nanny and cook. They all lived in a la-la fantasy land whose borders were determined by polished mahogany and long, sweeping driveways maintained by full-time gardeners. Everyone in Caroline’s home reminded him of a domesticated Yorkie raised in a palace. They were nice enough, but completely oblivious to the threats that had surrounded them for years, let alone the true dangers to Caroline.

Because if they had even sensed a hint of danger that Reaper posed to their precious girl, they would have shot him dead on the spot before letting him into her mansion. But people were trusting; it was their downfall. He’d been trusting once too, and it had resulted in the death of Dawson, his teammate, and the alteration of his entire teams’ DNA against their will. They’d been turned into bloodthirsty killing machines with no control over their bodies. And all because Reaper had been blind and trusting.

He hadn’t felt much remorse about allowing Caroline to continue to believe he’d been sent here by her father to rescue her. Weakness didn’t deserve respect, no matter how good or true a person’s intentions. But Caroline wasn’t weak, not really. A weak woman wouldn’t have hidden them in that stack of bodies. And she was easily sharper than ninety-nine percent of the people he’d come into contact with over his life. She just completely lacked a sense of depravity. Lacked the selfishness possessed by most humans.

He could tell she truly meant what she’d said to Mira—she had every intention of getting back here to rescue the nurse, and if Reaper was willing to bet, every man, woman, and child in need in this area. Caroline was more stubborn than his team leader, and that was saying a lot. But while Hawk made Reaper want to throw a fist in his teammate’s face and pound some sense into him, Caroline’s stubbornness brought only a sense of admiration.

Could he really force her into another lab and take her blood? No matter how much he wanted to keep her as his own, to protect her from anyone who would do her harm, himself included, he’d made a promise to his team and that was a promise he would only break with death.

Maybe he should tell her the truth?

“Reaper, you need to rest. You’re going to re-open your wound.”

An annoying cacophony of insects crashed into his awareness. He’d been so lost in thought he hadn’t realized they’d nearly traversed the entire path to the hidden thatch cottage. “Almost there. Keep going.”

“I thought your men would be waiting at the edge of the jungle. Where are they?”

“There’s no one waiting. I just told her that so she wouldn’t say anything else when we left.”

Caroline stopped mid step. “You lied to her?”

“We needed to get out of there and it was a plausible explanation. I might’ve trusted her a little bit, but I sure as hell didn’t trust any cousin.”

“So, there’s no one meeting us?” When she gazed up at him like that, her damn baby blue eyes so wide and beautiful, it was hard for him to think straight.

He’d lost more blood than he’d thought—there was no other explanation for these stray and unwelcome thoughts. “Isn’t that what I just said? Sorry if it disappoints you, but you’re stuck with me for a little bit longer.”

And why the hell did he care if she didn’t want to be stuck with him? He shouldn’t care about her thoughts or feelings whatsoever.

And to cover up his aggravation, he started walking forward at an even faster speed.

“I’m not sorry. I’m glad. Honestly, I wasn’t ready to meet up with anyone else just yet.”

Her words caused him to stumble to a stop. “Why?”

She shrugged and turned her face away so he couldn’t read her expression, but she was hiding something. Had she figured out his plan? He couldn’t let her leave—not now.

“If you’re thinking about booking it out on me, it would be the dumbest decision you ever made.”

His comment had her whipping around to look at him, her blonde brows arched once more and her mouth open. “You think I’m going to leave you?” she said with a semi laugh. “Why would I leave my one chance at survival? The man who risked his life for me?”

Reaper shrugged, suddenly feeling self-conscious of all stupid fucking things. “You sound like you’re ready to be away from me.”

Her burst of laughter surprised him and he jerked back. “I wasn’t ready to give up my time with you yet, you stupid oaf. I don’t want to leave you.”

Her answer made even less sense to him. “Why the hell not? If my team were here, they could extract us, injury or not, and you would be stateside in less than twenty-four hours. Isn’t that what you want?”

Caroline didn’t immediately respond to his more than logical question and he found himself unable to look away from her. For once, her calm expression gave him pause. She was the one who held the silence this time, not him. Finally, when he was about ready to grab her and shake the answer free, she said, “When I first realized what had happened . . . that I hadn’t been kidnapped for ransom but so that the man I’d left at the altar could keep me and run experiments on me, yes, I freely admit that’s all I thought about. That’s all I dreamed about. Going back home to my father, the only family I’ve ever had. But something changed when you broke into the lab and rescued me.

“It was your voice that kept me grounded, your swift reactions and unquestionable authority over everyone around us. I should’ve been horrified when you shot Dr. Winters, but all I felt was a sense of relief and gratitude. You saved me from an untenable situation. And you’ve been saving me ever since.”

“But you still dream about getting back home. That’s what keeps you going, right?” Because that was what kept him going—getting back to his team, fulfilling his promise. No matter how much his feverish mind said it was now because he wanted her.

“I’ll always dream of going back home, but that’s not what’s keeping me going anymore,” she said softly.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop staring into her eyes. She’d thrown out an invisible net and trapped him. He wasn’t too stupid or prudish to understand exactly what she was implying. He was the reason she kept going.

The thrill that shot through him was so soul shattering it nearly rocked his entire belief system. Nearly. If he hadn’t already betrayed his men, if his actions and decisions had not resulted in this situation—where they relied on the compound found in Caroline’s blood for their very survival—he might let himself actually be sucked into the vortex of pleasure that her beautiful body offered. He might let himself give in to those feelings and emotions that were still trying to claw their way out.

But he didn’t have that luxury.

These daydreams were just another form of torture for them both. No matter how hard he was for her right now, he had to remember a cold truth: Caroline Cotter wasn’t his to have. She never had been and she never would be.

The abandoned hut that appeared in the distance was his salvation. “Well, Princess, I just found what we both needed to keep going.”

Caroline followed his gaze and seconds later gave a small jump in the air. “A house?”

“Your ability for optimism amazes me. Not many people would call that a house.”

“After the past few months, that shack looks like a freaking palace. If I want to call it a house, I will.”

He inclined his head, willing to give her that much, and said, “Your palace awaits.”