Page 28 of Rescuing Brinley

Dash stared at her for a long moment. He looked tormented. “If I don’t make it out of here, find one of the guys on my team. Tell him…” His voice cracked and he cleared his throat before continuing. “Tell him to tell my mom that I love her.”

Those words had her understanding exactly how dangerous this really was. She’d known it, but if he was worried about what they were about to do, she should probably take back her offer. Stay right where she was, hidden until the terrorists or whatever they were had been subdued.

But if she did, eight women’s lives would be changed forever. Their families would always wonder what had happened to them, where they were, if they were dead or alive. She couldn’t have that on her conscience.

“Right, we have to move. If we make it out of this, I want to take you to Kodiak’s cabin sometime and spend a week, just you and me, getting to know each other. Without any distractions. Without having to worry about anyone putting a bullet in either of our brains. Let’s move.”

Brinley didn’t have to tell her limbs to move; as soon as Dash started crawling, she did too. But his words echoed in her head. If any other man had said that he wanted to spend a week with her in what she imagined was some deserted cabin in the woods somewhere, after only knowing her a couple of days, she would’ve backed away slowly and told him he was crazy.

But a yearning filled her belly, so sharp and piercing it was shocking. She hadn’t let herself want something as badly as she wanted this man in her entire life. There was never any point. She wasn’t the kind of girl who had good things fall into her lap. She’d had to fight for every single thing she’d ever accomplished. Pretty people ran the world, everyone else was left to fend for themselves.

But right now? This moment? It didn’t matter that her hair was frizzy, or more orange than auburn, or that she wasn’t tall, her ears stuck out or that her nose was too big. All that mattered was making sure those women didn’t get taken away in that plane to end up who-knew-where with men who would hurt them in unfathomable ways.

And she, Brinley Deaton, was the only one who could do that.

Sure, Dash could take out the two men at the plane, but more would probably show up soon after. They’d be trapped on the dock. Their only choice was to take the plane and leave before backup arrived.

Brinley couldn’t believe she was doing this.

Her. The woman who preferred to hide in her apartment sewing dazzling gowns to enhance other women’s beauty. The introvert. The freak who avoided being around people because of what they might say or think about her.

Her entire world had changed in a heartbeat. She might not be pretty, but she was the one who could make a difference in the lives of the unconscious women being loaded onto that plane. Dash couldn’t do this without her.

Confidence swam through her veins. Determination. She wouldn’t fail. Wouldn’t let Dash down, or the women. Because if she did, if she faltered for even a moment, they’d all die. And the very last thing she wanted to do was track down one of Dash’s friends to give them the message that Dash wanted passed on to his mom. She’d do what she could to make sure he could say those words to his mother himself.

They crouched behind the final bit of cover at the end of the pier. A large potted plant. It wasn’t the best hiding place, but since the two assholes were busy with the plane and getting the last of the women onboard, they weren’t looking for anyone who might be attempting to ambush them.

“Remember what I said. Stay here until I take them both out. Then get your ass to the plane and do your thing. I’ll head back to the conference center to do what I can to help law enforcement take out the remaining Red Vipers.”

Brinley didn’t like that part of the plan. Not at all. But she didn’t have time to protest as Dash kept talking.

“Head to the opposite side of the island. Land, but don’t tie up to any pier, just stay floating offshore. Once you’re gone, I’ll tell the Secret Service what happened. They’ll communicate with local authorities and send someone to meet you. They’ll also bring a medical team to check on the women. Stay safe,” he said fiercely. “I want to get to know you better even more than I did before, and that’s saying something.”

He didn’t give her a chance to respond, just put a hand behind her head and pulled her closer, kissing her once again. But this time it wasn’t a hard and fast mashing of their lips. No, now his tongue surged into her mouth, and he kissed her with a desperation that had Brinley gripping the front of his shirt with one hand while holding onto his bicep with the other.

Her head was spinning, her fingers tingling, and for the first time in her life, she truly understood what lust was.

But it was over too quickly. Dash stared at her for a beat, bringing a hand up to her face and brushing a thumb over her cheek. “Fucking love these freckles,” he whispered.

Then he was gone.

He ran crouched over as he headed for the truck parked on the pier, doing his best to stay behind the bulk of the vehicle to hide his approach for as long as possible.

Brinley brought a hand up to her mouth and held her breath as she watched him.

That kiss.

Lord have mercy.

She wanted more.

But there was a greater-than-average chance that the man she was falling hard and fast for was about to die in front of her eyes, and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it.

The guy loading the women into the plane saw him first, and he let out a warning shout, pulling a weapon from somewhere on his person and firing at Dash. She saw the man in the cockpit turn around, then bring something up to his mouth.

Shit, he was calling for help, just as Dash had predicted.

She felt sick. Her mouth watered and she swallowed hard. She couldn’t puke. Not now. She had to watch and wait for the exact moment to act. To join Dash.