Savage Hunger (Project Nemesis) (6 page)

She didn’t want to think about what was going to happen to her.  She could almost trust them.  There was sincerity to these men that she couldn’t fathom or deny.  She didn’t know if it was because everything about the way they moved and spoke pointed to their honesty, or the fact that they were being hunted and it elicited pity from her.

Jasmine had always had a thing for helping strays in need.

Like it or not, she had to trust they wouldn’t go back on their word.  The aggressiveness she had to contribute to the situation, and barely escaping with their lives from military boats bound and determined to hunt and shoot them down in the water.

It had been hellacious luck she’d been in their path.  They’d probably all be dead right now if she hadn’t been, and that didn’t set well with her either.

She hated killing, for whatever reason.  Innocent or not.

Something about them made her feel like they’d been persecuted without fair trial.  She’d always heard nefarious goings-on happened in Cuba.  At least, that’s what the conspiracy theorists had led her to believe.

She wouldn’t know anything for certain until and unless they decided to clue her in.  And with them planning on dumping her off in the first safe spot, she rather thought she probably would never know what was really going on.

Sleep wouldn’t come.  She knew she was in for a helluva ride when they got to the first drop off point.  It didn’t matter that she knew she needed rest.  Insomnia plagued her, keeping her awake with troubling thoughts.

The swaying of the boat moving through water finally lulled her into a fitful sleep.  It wasn’t until an indeterminate time had passed that she was awakened by a male voice at her door.

“We’re here,” he said.

Jasmine opened bleary eyes, rubbing the sleep from them as she sat up in the bunk.

The boat felt still, and she realized they must have stopped their forward momentum.

Lucas walked into the room.  “We have to go,” he said, touching her shoulder.

Instant, crippling fear cramped her belly.  She nodded and rose stiffly, following him out of the room to the deck.

When she reached the deck, she saw they’d already seemed to have made one drop off they hadn’t told her about.  She’d thought they would be the first to go, but it looked like they were in the second wave.

Zach and Dante stood by the side of the boat, watching her.  The other men stood at the wheel, waiting for them to jump ship.

“How are we going to do this?” she asked, looking out into the utter blackness that surrounded the boat on all sides.

The sea, lapping around the sides of the boat, looked like ink.  The small sliver of moon in the sky did absolutely nothing to illuminate their surroundings.  She had only their word that they’d arrived at their destination.  As far as she could see, there was nothing but water and more water.

Fear pervaded her every nerve.  She’d never been a great swimmer.  She had no interest in attempting to swim the distance to land, however far it might be.  Especially since she couldn’t see it.

“You ready to do this?” Zach asked her, drawing her attention.

She didn’t see a life raft inflated off the side of the boat.  She was sure they’d had one somewhere.  Didn’t all boats?  “Ready to what?  Swim?  I don’t see anything out there to swim to!”

Jasmine heard the panicked edge to her voice, but she was powerless to stop it.

Zach pointed to a small sliver of beach, barely visible from her position.

“No way.  I’ll never make it.  I’m a horrible swimmer.”

He grabbed her shoulders, holding her steady.  “You have to, or stay here with the others.  I can’t control them if I’m no longer on board,” he said quietly, his face serious.

“We’ll help you swim, baby,” Dante said.  “We’ve been trained for this.  You don’t have to worry about anything.”

“And you can wear a life vest if it makes you feel better.”

Jasmine nodded, breathing deeply to calm herself down.  “Yeah.  Yeah, that’ll be better.  I’ll take the vest.”

She hadn’t noticed, but they were all loaded down with small canvas bags stuffed to the brim with what she assumed was supplies from the boat.  She slipped on a life vest and tied it around her chest and waist.  She looked out again at the thread of beach shimmering like a needle in the moonlight.  Before she had a chance to argue against them, someone pushed her overboard.

The moment the cold water touched her skin, she wanted to scream, but that would fill her mouth with water and she’d drown.  Through sheer effort of will, she choked the scream back and kicked with all her might.  The vest helped her stay afloat and she bobbed back up to the surface.

Behind her, she heard three more splashes as Zach, Dante, and Lucas joined her in the water.  It made her feel a little better that they hadn’t just tricked her into going in alone so they could abandon her to her own devices.

Blinking water out of her eyes, she felt them sting from the salt.  She gritted her teeth, paddling her arms and kicking her legs.  She didn’t seem to be making any headway, however.  She would have been surprised if she’d managed to swim even ten feet.  There was no way for her to tell how far or how little she’d gone.

Zach growled impatiently beside her and grabbed her vest, tugging her along behind him as he swam to the shore.

Beside them, she could just make out Dante and Lucas in the water.  They had determined looks on their faces, but they pulled ahead of her and Zach, seemingly without effort, even loaded down with the canvas bags which had to be heavy if they took on any water.

Jasmine kicked and splashed, trying to swim, but it was difficult with the buoyancy of the vest floating up around her neck and armpits.  The darkness didn’t help either.  She couldn’t see shit from the water and paranoia had her expecting a shark attack at any moment.

She blamed that fear on watching Jaws too much as a kid.

Her arms and legs began to feel heavy from the exertion.  She couldn’t imagine how the guys must be feeling towing the bags and her.

Waves crashed against her, strangling her with water.  She coughed and sputtered, wondering how much longer the torture would continue.

After what felt like forever, she felt the pull of shoreline beneath her feet, tugging them in to the beach.  It didn’t take much longer before she could feel sand beneath her toes and she was able to walk instead of swim.

She stood and waded to the shore, dropping to the beach, thankful to still be alive.  On her knees and hands, she gasped for breath, watching water drip off her chin and nose into the sand.  Beside her, the men dropped their bags on the beach, catching their breath.

“That was a little further than I thought,” Lucas said with a grin, breathing heavily.

Dante chuckled and Zach grunted.  “You good,” Zach said, looking at her with concern.

“Yeah.  I thought I was a goner for a little while there.”

“I knew you could do it.  You’re tougher than you think,” Zach said.

“Not without help,” she admitted.

“Come on.  We can’t stay here,” Zach said, getting to his feet and opening the bag.  He threw a pile of clothes at her.  “Put these on.  We’ve got dry clothes for everyone, socks and shoes.”

Jasmine was surprised the bag had protected the clothes from getting wet, and figured the bag must’ve been water resistant.  She stripped the life vest off and immediately caught the men staring at her shirt.  When she looked down, she saw her nipples peak the wet t-shirt.  Feeling her face heat, she turned around and stripped out of the shirt and wet bikini top, quickly slipping a dry shirt on and then shimmying out of her wet jeans.

She pulled a pair of sweatpants on.  She supposed she’d go commando, since he hadn’t thrown her any panties.  It wasn’t that she hadn’t done something like that before on laundry day when all of her clothes and undergarments were dirty.  She just hadn’t done anything like that with three men around.

Sitting in the sand, she pulled on socks and shoes, then stood.  In the time she’d had her back to the men, they’d managed to change into pants.  It was a tight fit, given they’d come from her father.  She supposed it was lucky for them he had a habit of leaving clothes everywhere he went and was of an average size.  They were definitely broader in the shoulders and chest and were in the process of pulling shirts on.

Muscles moved in fascinating patterns as they dressed, and she felt magnetized to watching them dress.  She caught herself when Lucas grinned at her, flashing white teeth in the dark and winking when he caught her looking.

Jasmine smiled back and shook her head, feeling a flash of heat cross her face.  She got to her feet as they finished up, avoiding looking at their muscular physiques with tightly stretched t-shirts and pants.  Each of the three men swung a heavy bag over their shoulder.

They began walking along the stretch of untouched beach.  It looked for all the world like some abandoned island.

At least she didn’t have to worry about tripping over anything in the sand.  That was the brightest point she could look at, over her situation.  She only hoped they intended to keep their word and let her go on her way at the first chance.  She could see no reason for them to keep her.  They hadn’t once mentioned using her as a ransom, and honestly, there wasn’t anyone left alive in her family that would pay it.

Dad had died of a heart attack not long after losing his wife of twenty years.

Even now, just thinking about her lost family made her eyes mist.  It was hard to hear music they’d enjoyed or watch movies they’d seen together as a family.  Added to that, she had the fear that she would follow in their footsteps and die at an early age.

As much as she tried to be healthy, it seemed like it didn’t matter.  Genetics were against her in this.

The men stopped, drawing her attention away from her morose thoughts.

Zach pointed.  “Keep to the beach and you should find a fishing village somewhere along the way.  They dot the whole area.  You’ll be fine.”

She realized then that they really intended to let her go.  Elation surged through her, and some sadness, realizing they were hunted men and she would never see them again.  She couldn’t help but pity them and the obstacles they would face.

Impulsively happy, she hugged Zach, wrapping her arms around his neck and thanking him.

The contact appeared to be too much for Zach, however.  His arms tightened around her.  His hand caught in her short, spiky locks and he tilted her head back, locking his mouth against hers in a searing kiss.

Heat washed through her, enveloping her senses as he kissed her long and deep.  His mouth was hot, his tongue rough, his kiss sending a dizzying wave of desire through her that caught her off guard with its hungry intensity.  Immediate lust pervaded her, traveling through her core as enveloping and heated as magma.

The kiss ended almost as abruptly as it had begun, but she was left speechless.  Almost as soon as he’d let her go, Lucas grabbed her and spun her towards him.  He kissed her, nibbling her mouth hungrily before Dante snatched her away and kissed her just as ravenously and eagerly as the other two.

When she was finally released, she felt like collapsing in the sand.  Her knees felt like jelly.  She damned sure hadn’t expected three kisses in a row, each different, each heated and devastating to her senses.

Her mind reeled from the sensual onslaught and her pulse raced, making her heart feel like a trapped bird in her chest.  She tried to calm down, but with the way they were looking at her, it was almost impossible.

“Jesus,” she mumbled, touching her kiss swollen lips in a daze, wondering what the hell had just happened.

They grinned briefly at her.  “Get going,” Zach said, pushing her in the right direction before they could change their mind.

Lucas tipped an imaginary hat.  Dante blew her a kiss and flashed an enigmatic smile.

Numbly, she watched them disappear into the overgrowth, knowing they would have it worse than her.

She walked on wobbly legs, her feet dragging in the sand, lost in her thoughts as she trudged up the beach.  The lustful thoughts they inspired in her were embarrassing under every circumstance.  She couldn’t help but imagine what it would be like to lay beneath them or have them inside her.  She smiled and shook her head.  Things like that happened in porn movies, not in real life.

The sky lightened on the horizon, and ahead, she heard male voices speaking in Spanish.  Feeling heartened that she’d found a measure of civilization, she broke into a run, breathing heavily after a few minutes of struggling on the beach.

“Help!” she called, hoping to get their attention before they could leave.  With the hour, it was most assuredly fishermen getting ready for the day.  She seemed to remember that most fishermen went out in the hours before full sunlight.

And then she saw the group of men smoking cigarettes and chatting amongst themselves.  On the beach, she saw a boat that looked remarkably similar to the one that’d chased her away from the docks and soldiers who obviously didn’t belong to the local militia or fishermen.

They had to be some of the men looking for Zach, Lucas, and Dante!

They were carrying what looked like assault rifles.

Her cries for help were immediately choked off.  She stopped, feeling panic rise.  This fishing village was obviously in contact with the people who’d been holding the other men prisoner.  She knew she didn’t want anything to do with them.  She only prayed they didn’t spot her before she could slip away unnoticed.

“Hey!  What are you doing here?” they shouted, catching her movement from the corner of their eyes.  The men immediately raised their weapons, halting her escape.

She debated with herself, wondering if she could make it into the jungle before they shot her.  Would they take her hostage and hold her for ransom?  Would they just kill her for coming up on their encampment?  She couldn’t count on their good graces just taking her to the American embassy.

In fact, she was pretty sure she’d be going to the same place the guys had escaped from, and she knew she didn’t want that.