Not Without Cause. Kay David

minutes before. He was glad to know there were some things he was still better at than Meredith. A few seconds later, he was behind her and she didn’t have a clue. He took two more steps, then he was at her back.

      He slipped his arm around her neck and pulled it tight against her throat.

      To her credit, Meredith didn’t cry out or make any sound at all. In fact, she went limp against him but Haden didn’t fall for her trick. He tightened his hold and dragged her into the jungle, her back against his chest, the smell of her skin filling his senses to the point of overload.

      She gripped his arm. “What are you doing?” Her voice was calm and even. “I followed you so I could help you, Haden. You don’t have to do this. You need to get some medical attention.”

      “Yeah, sure. Help like yours I can do without.” He jerked his arm against her throat. “We both know you aren’t the Red Cross. You came here to kill someone, but you weren’t expecting me and you tried anyway! I want to know who sent you and what the hell’s going on.”

      Gritting his teeth against the pain the movement cost him, he wrapped the vine around her wrists, pulling it as tight as he could. He spoke over her shoulder as he tugged on it to make sure. “What’s going on, Meredith?”

      Her arms secured behind her, Meredith turned slowly. They were inches apart. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, her eyes wide. “I was trying to get us out of there. I was aiming for the guard.”

      “The hell you were.”

      “It’s the truth!”

      He was weak and light-headed, but he jerked her closer and held on to the rope. “We both know what you do, Meredith. Don’t screw with me.”

      “You wouldn’t have said that a few years ago.”

      “You weren’t a killer a few years ago,” he said bluntly. “You were someone I could trust and I did. Things are different now.”

      “We do what we have to,” she said. “That’s how the world works.”

      “That’s not how my world works,” he said. “There are rules where I come from and you’ve broken them all.” He tightened his jaw, a creeping blackness dimming the edges of his vision. The run into the jungle was taking its toll. “Just tell me why you’re here, Meredith. Your services don’t come cheaply so someone must be paying you a lot of money but you were obviously surprised to see me. Who were you looking for? And what does Dean Reynolds have to do with this?”

      She looked him straight in the eye, her gaze cold. “Go to hell, Haden,” she said softly, her body still where it rested against his own. “I’m not telling you anything and you know better than to even ask.”

      He blinked, then a second wave of weakness hit him hard. He held his breath and rode it out. “You’re going to tell me the truth,” he insisted, “one way or another. Make it easy on yourself. I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

      He heard her voice, but it seemed to come to him from a distant tunnel. “You couldn’t hurt a mouse right now, Haden. Give it up….”

      “I’m not giving up shit,” he whispered. “I’ll beat it out of you if I have to….” His threat faded into silence as he felt his knees buckle.

      HADEN FELL to the jungle floor like a limp dish towel, taking her with him. If the situation had been slightly different, Meredith might have seen the humor in it, but right now all she could think about was getting things under control. The undergrowth cushioned their fall but he’d landed on top on her and her breath had left her chest in a whoosh. After a few seconds struggle, she wormed from beneath him and managed to get her hands untied. Two minutes later, she had their positions reversed, but her knots were much better. If he woke up before she got back, he wouldn’t be going anywhere.