A vicious shake of his head. “Knowing they died, knowing he’s gone on killing. That’s all on me, Rush. That’s not something you face and make peace with.”
Yes, she could see—for a man who lived to protect people, the deaths of those people had carved out a piece of his soul. “You were between a rock and a hard place. Go in early, save lives, but forgo the evidence. Let the people die, but get the evidence. There was no win-win situation, Declan.”
“Instead, I waited just long enough for almost all those people to die and Anders still walked free.”
She could feel the tension radiating off him. “I’m sure the few who survived were grateful.” She touched his arm. “I’m so sorry, Declan.”
“Bastard is still out there terrorizing people.” Declan touched her healing cheek.
“You did your best. God, you aren’t a superhero, expected to be perfect and win the day every time. Cut yourself some slack.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. When Declan smiled, she felt like she’d won a prize.
“Your sweetness is showing, Rush.”
She snorted. “And your badassness is still firmly in place.” Her gaze shifted past him and she blinked. “I see people ahead. Look.”
He spun. “It’s a heat mirage. No telling what those shapes are.”
He was right, the shimmer made it hard to tell what the hazy, dark, shifting shapes were, but they sure looked like people to her. “Let’s check it out.”
They pushed on. The mirage felt like it wasn’t getting any closer. But those tantalizing shapes made her hope for safety, water, and rest.
“I want a huge glass of cold water. No, a bucket of it. I’ll drink until I pop, then tip it over my head.” She groaned. “Oh, a cold bath has never sounded so good.”
Declan grunted.
She elbowed him in the side. “Come on, what do you want once we reach Dakhla?”
“You.”
She stumbled to a stop.
His gaze traced her face. “A cold shower first would be good, then you spread out on a bed, naked. All mine.”
All the air in her lungs rushed out. The heat filtering through her now had nothing to do with the sun. “Don’t get me more hot and bothered!”
He grinned and some of that darkness that had been plaguing him eased from his face. “Is that what I’m doing?”
“Shush. No more about being naked.”
Now he groaned.
Soon, the shapes in the distance stopped moving.
Layne’s heart sank.
They weren’t people or trees. They were rocks.
The strange rock formations rose up. Some were like large balls at the top, narrowing down at the base. Others were straight, like pillars spearing upward.
Layne swallowed, trying to dampen her dry throat. “I’ve never heard of anything like this close to Dakhla.”
“Me neither,” Declan said. “But we can’t be far away. Keep moving, Rush.”
They did. They stopped a few times to rest and eat the nutrition bars from their backpacks. Layne was horribly aware that their water bottles were almost empty.
It felt like they’d been walking for days.
Her face felt pink from sunburn, her lips were chapped, and she was so tired and thirsty.
She kept walking, barely noticing that she was dragging her feet now, her legs feeling like blocks of lead.
One foot in front of the other.
Keep walking.
One.
Two.
Three.
Layne fell to her knees.
She blinked, trying to focus, trying to get her legs working. But all she could do was stay there on her knees, her hands dragging in the sand.
Chapter Ten
Dec suddenly realized that Layne wasn’t with him anymore.
He turned and spotted her a few feet back, on her knees, wavering. He rushed back and skidded to his knees beside her. “Shit, sweetheart.”
She licked her cracked lips. “Sorry. Need a rest.”
She needed more than that. He was pretty sure heat exhaustion was setting in. He cupped her face, checking her eyes.
“Here.” He pulled his water bottle out.
“No.” She pushed it away. “You need it—”
“I need you alive.”
“You could go on. Bring help back.”
His entire body rebelled at the thought. No fucking way was he leaving her here alone. “Hell, no. We are doing this together, Rush.”
She’d been such a damn trooper he hadn’t realized how badly she was doing. He slid an arm around her and hefted her up. He took as much of her weight as he could and they kept moving.
What he didn’t tell her, what he was most worried about, was that by his calculations, they should have reached the Dakhla Oasis about an hour ago.
She stumbled, pushing into his side. “I’m glad you’re with me, Declan.”