Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98561 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 493(@200wpm)___ 394(@250wpm)___ 329(@300wpm)
So why did it hurt so much, to think of me getting the gold and him getting her?
A roar of gunfire tore the air apart. You could tell in a heartbeat who’d seen action before: every single member of the team moved, before their brains had even consciously registered what the noise was, diving for the nearest cover. Olivia, Marcos and Dr. Guzman flinched and looked around.
I dived at Olivia and Marcos with my arms outstretched, knocking them both down behind a log. I heard bullets zip over our heads.
Danny and JD returned fire. I lay there panting, holding Olivia and Marcos down so they weren’t tempted to lift their heads. The gunfire stopped. “Three of them caught up to us,” Danny said breathlessly. “We got ‘em, but more are right behind them.”
I let Olivia and Marcos up. Marcos was blinking at me in shock, the coldness gone from his eyes. “Everybody okay?” I asked. “Anyone hit?” Everyone looked at each other, worried, but we all seemed to be—
“Oh God.” Olivia ran over to where Dr. Guzman was sitting against a tree. He had both hands clutched to his stomach and his face was rapidly turning gray. When Olivia pried his hands away to look, blood spurted, and she cursed.
“We’ve got to move,” said JD. “Those three were just scouts, the others will home in on the gunfire. Colton?” He nodded at Dr. Guzman.
“Got it, boss.” Colton heaved the groaning Dr. Guzman over his shoulder, handling him as if he weighed nothing at all. We ran together into the trees.
But only a few seconds later, Olivia suddenly stopped dead in her tracks and then bolted back the way we’d come. I grabbed hold of her as she passed me. “What are you doing?!” I demanded.
She’d gone pale with fear. “The medical bag! I was using it on Marcos, it’s still back there on the log!”
“Leave it! There’s no time!”
“I need it! I need it to treat Guzman!” She was in a full-on panic, scared and guilt stricken. She thought Guzman was going to die and it would somehow be her fault. She tore out of my grip and sprinted back to the clearing where we’d taken the break.
“Olivia!” I yelled. I cursed under my breath and sprinted after her.
I arrived in the clearing just in time to see her grab the medical bag. She turned, about to run back to me…but at that second, two more soldiers arrived from the left: between me and her. I brought my rifle up but I didn’t have a clear shot: if I missed, I’d hit Olivia.
Another three soldiers ran into the clearing from the other side. One of them saw Olivia and raised his gun—
She darted into the trees on the far side of the clearing and ran. I started firing at the soldiers and managed to draw their attention from her, but then I had to fall back as they advanced. I was outnumbered…and being pushed further and further away from Olivia.
I felt a cold dread settle into my bones. My chest went tight and my stomach knotted. She was all alone in an area thick with soldiers. She didn’t have a gun or even a pack with any survival gear. And it would be dark soon. How the hell was I going to find her?
27
OLIVIA
I ran headlong into the jungle, dodging around trees and leaping over undergrowth, not daring to look back. I had to put some distance between the soldiers and me but with every step, I was getting further away from Gabriel and the team.
I finally slowed to a stop and pressed my back against a tree, listening. No footsteps. I was alone. But I had no idea where I was or how to get back to the team. The jungle looked the same in every direction and even if I did know which way to go, there were soldiers between me and Gabriel.
I looked around. The shadows were deepening and spreading, joining into black pools. The sun was going down and soon, I wouldn’t be able to see at all. What the hell am I going to do?
The prison camp had been frightening but at least I’d been with the other doctors. There’s a special kind of fear that comes from being entirely on your own. The jungle seemed to expand around me: I was a tiny speck in the middle of hundreds of miles of wilderness. Even if I could avoid the soldiers hunting me, I wasn’t equipped or trained to survive out here.
I cursed myself for going back for the medical bag. But Dr. Guzman would die without it. Yeah, like it’s going to do him a lot of good now.
I froze. I could hear voices, off to my left, talking in Spanish. I closed my eyes. Please don’t come this way, please don’t come this way.