He'll come through

Quinn knew they were virtually upon them, but the terrain this far up was too rugged for the quad bike, and he hoped that the fact he could still hear the engine was a good sign. The route they’d taken wasn’t obvious, he’d changed direction frequently, kept checking they hadn’t left any visible trace. This was just a waiting game, and he hoped that he wouldn’t have to use the gun, he wasn’t sure how Lilah would take to that, and she’d been upset enough already.  

So he sat...and waited.      

He could just make out voices when he felt Lilah stir behind him.                       

“What...”                       

“Sshh!” his whisper was half beg. “They’re near. Stay still.”      

Lilah flipped from half asleep to wide awake and terrified in less than a second, her poor heart was racing again pounding against the wall of her chest. Quinn had his back to her, but slid a hand back to rest on her, reassuring that he was in control. It did little to comfort her, but she curled back to the wall and prayed to anyone who’d listen. Her parents had always said they were pagan, so did she pray to Mother Earth? She’d been brought up Christian but was in a predominantly Islamic area, so she combined them all, anything pagan who could hear, God, Allah...anyone. Closing her eyes she tried to dream of tropical beaches, anything to keep her calm, quiet, but nothing could prevent the trickles of nervous sweat running down her neck.      

Footsteps crunched through the gravel and Lilah thought they sounded right above them. She gripped hold of Quinn’s shoulder in fear and he flinched slightly, but didn’t brush her off, instead he lifted his fingers from the trigger of the gun to brush over hers in a conspiratorial moment. In that instance she knew that Quinn understood that she was terrified, but also that he was trying to protect her from anything that could happen.      

She fought the tears that spilled down her face, but lost, though she did swallow the sobs that were desperate to accompany them. The voices finally grew quieter, but they both knew that wasn’t the end. So they stayed silent, Quinn angling his gun at the entrance to their hidey-hole, Lilah trying to stop breathing for fear of sneezing or coughing....anything that might give them away.      

Eventually after what seemed like an eternity Quinn dropped down to the floor, lifting a finger he placed it over her lips, smiling nervously when he saw she was poised to ask him a question.                       

“Let me look!” he mouthed, then still wielding the gun, he moved along the ravine out into the hot sun. Pausing every few steps he glanced around peering up to the rocks above their heads. Then with a hop, he disappeared from view.      

This was Lilah’s cue to panic. Where the bloody hell was he? What if he didn’t come back? She didn’t have a clue where she was, how the hell did she find her way back to her captors, let alone freedom?  

Keep calm, she told herself, he’ll be back, he won’t be caught, or killed....that thought wasn’t a great thought.      

Minutes seemed like hours, and she was almost shaking when she finally saw two boots emerge over the ledge above her. Someone was sat on the rock above her. But who was it? Her heart pounded and she wished she’d been more observant of Quinn, she should instantly know if it’s him, but as it was she had no clue. Sliding back further under the ledge she started to shake, whimpering with fear, trying to bite her lip, anything to stop her making a sound, she watched as the body slithered down in front of her.      

It was Quinn, alive, well and looking very triumphant. That was until he saw her quivering in the corner her face pale with fear.                       

“Blondie! It’s ok, we’re fine!”  He pulled her towards him and she slipped down off the ledge and into his arms, and it was then the tears started and she couldn’t contain her emotions any longer.      

Quinn was initially scared. She was absolutely inconsolable, but as he held her surprisingly slight body against him, he went into protective mode all over again, here she was all vulnerable and needing him to care for her. He’d been chased, chased people, tracking good and bad in worse conditions than this. She was an innocent, someone who desperately wanted to be normal, but was anything but. He stroked her hair, feeling his t-shirt getting damp from her tears and never had he felt so responsible for someone.          

Lilah was mortified, not only had she thrown herself into his arms, she’d cried...like a baby. ALL over him. She’d become her own worst nightmare, a whimpering stupid girl.  With a grunt she pushed away from him, furiously swiping at her face not aware that she was dragging the tears through the layer of dirt that covered her face, streaking her cheeks with lines of mud. Turning away she mumbled an apology.                       

“I should apologise Blondie, I was gone for ages. Did you think I wasn’t coming back?”      

She shrugged, “I hoped you weren’t killed.”      

He laughed, “I KNEW you’d start to like me!”                       

“I can’t get anywhere safe without you!” she snapped.      

Quinn smiled, “sorry Delilah, I shouldn’t wind you up so much! But you’ve been so brave up til now; it’s human to get upset, isn’t it?”      

She crumpled down onto her knees, “it was the final straw Quinn, I’m so desperate to get out of here, so scared...”      

He lifted her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes, “you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t get scared. Very few people survive the things you’ve been through. Every minute we’re away from those men is a moment closer to home, ok?”      

She was shaking again and couldn’t stop it, “I just want to be home! With my bloody odd parents!”      

He pulled her into his arms again, giving her a giant bear hug, “that’s the most natural thing in the world! And I’m going to get you there I do promise that!” he tugged her chin up to him again, “now don’t you want to know why I look so happy?”      

Lilah nodded, then watched as his face broke into a smile, “I can see a town; it’s down the other side of the hill, about three miles I reckon. Take us two hours at the most. All we gotta do is wait until it’s dark. You ok with that?”                       

“Stay here?”      

He nodded, “those guys are miles away, I can see them kicking dust up with their quad bike and car, they must think we followed the road last night.”                       

“It could be a trap...”                       

“Oh yes, it could be Miss Dawson, but it’s a risk we have to take and we need to be one step ahead of them. And for that we need sleep. I’ve made the rocks above us a little unstable, I think if anyone gets close they’ll make a noise cause a mini rock fall, that’s the best alarm system I can make. Ok?”      

The thought of unrestricted sleep without the hint of fear was bliss in her eyes, and to be wrapped so protectively in his arms, head nuzzled into his chest, his legs either side of hers as they lay together. Lilah didn’t think she’d sleep, her stomach was empty, her body ached, but she did, and deeply.      

Lilah didn’t know what was happening, she’d fallen asleep in his arms, but now she was pinned under him, a thigh heavy across her legs, his arm snugly wrapped around her waist, his mouth nuzzled into her neck, breath warm, causing goose bumps all over her.      

“Quinn,” her voice was hoarse as she tried to wriggle from under him, suddenly a little intimidated by the closeness of this man.      

He stretched, leaning a little closer to her as he arched his back, then he nuzzled at her neck with a groan, his tongue suddenly sliding out and licking at her skin.      

Squealing she pushed him away and he bolted awake as he almost fell from his perch, “what the hell?” Managing to retain his balance he glared at her, “what was that about?”      

She glared at him, ignoring the different type of racing she felt in her chest, “you kissed my neck!”      

Laughing Quinn moved over her, “if that was true, which I don’t believe it is, then who could blame me? You do have a cute neck!”                       

“Cute neck? What the hell does that mean?” Lilah could find an insult in every compliment.                       

“It means that you’ve got a cute neck! No warts, no prickles, and a cute head screwed on top. What more could you ask for? Now...” he glanced at his watch, “there are a few more hours of sun light, and I really want a bit more sleep.” Nuzzling back into her he closed his eyes, and she knew he was asleep before she had the chance to retaliate.      

Trying to sleep was useless, with her eyes closed her other senses seemed to be enhanced, she could feel him where his body pressed against hers, the smell that was so different to hers wafted into her nostrils, the deep rhythmical sound of him breathing, this bloody man was so infuriating!      

Lilah wasn’t aware exactly how long they lay there, she must’ve napped in patches, but that was all it was. When she opened her eyes it was dusk, not dark, but the sky that she could see over Quinn’s slumbering body was a hue of red and pink.      

Shaking Quinn’s shoulder she murmured, “it’s getting dark snorer, come on and wake up!” She was still too terrified to speak louder than she was.      

Quinn slowly opened his eyes to come face to face with Lilah, biting her bottom lip in an endearing way, her nervousness and anxiety seemed to boost his macho streak, she was definitely good for his ego...and as he studied her in the fading light through his hooded eyes, he could see the un-surety in her expression, her eyes. Then he remembered he’d nuzzled her neck, caught her off guard. Well he had been half asleep, and he did wake up with a beautiful female smell, not perfume...just feminine. It had been so long since he’d been that close to a woman and in the fuzziness of half asleep half awake....too long. Who could blame him for acting like that? He was a red blooded male after all.      

Shaking his head, Quinn smiled, “evening Blondie. You ready for the hike from hell.”      

She paused a moment thinking about her blistered and cut feet, “ready as I’ll ever be.”      

Pulling himself off the ledge he stood and pulled the boots off his feet retrieving two thick dark socks.                       

“They probably stink but under your shoes they’ll at least give you some protection from the ground and pad the blisters and cuts a bit.”      

She kicked off her flat shoes with a wince then slid the socks on, she could barely fit her feet back into the shoes, but she had to admit the extra padding did stop the shoes rubbing. “What about you? Your boots will rub too without socks.”                       

“Then we’ll both have our handicap! I’m going to have a quick look out then if it’s all clear we’ll get going. Have some water and crackers, we’ll need what energy we can muster.”      

Fifteen minutes later, she followed him from her hiding place out into the late evening. This was the thing she’d been dreading all day, leaving the security that the mountain offered. Taking a deep breath, she accepted his hand to pull her up out of the ravine, and then followed him over the mountain.