Page 70 of The Commander

I lift my head a few inches and spot a black sheet folded on the floor and decide to go for it. After a huge bump, I scramble into the cab and slip under the sheet, grateful for my small frame.

I did it.

Noah is lying beside me, exposed. Hidden, I reach out and squeeze his arm.

He doesn’t wake.

I feel myself trembling, wondering how injured he is as the vehicle bumps aggressively on the path as we speed through the compound.

“Noah.” I slap his face, lifting an inch of the black sheet as much as I can risk.

Nothing.

Oh, my God.

Panic starts to sink in. This man I lo...like, care for, l...he could die if I don’t do something.

Suddenly voices outside the vehicle get my attention. I glance out of my hidden spot a little higher and see the lights coming from the main buildings.

Please, God.

Please let the BHS guys stop us so we can get Noah the medical help he needs.

CHAPTER TWENTY

NOAH

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Quinn’s scent surrounds me as I hold her in my arms. My eyes are closed, but I can feel her. We are floating on a boat in the Bahamas...

I think.

“Noah,” she whispers.

I love you.

Did she say that?

I know she loves me, even if she won’t say it.

“Noah,” more insistent. “Oh God. I’m going to come for you.”

Like...sexually?

No, that doesn’t fit. It should...but she sounds worried, not aroused. I never want Quinn to be scared. I’ll protect her with my life.

My head hurts.

From too many drinks in the sun, or perhaps sunstroke? Were we playing cards?

Confusion blurs my thinking.

Where is she?

I can’t feel her as I did before.

A cold, hard surface replaces the blissful floating feeling sharply.