The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 429

It didn’t matter.

Right now, he had to get Petty out before Franco showed up.

He gripped his gun tighter, slipping deeper into the shadows, making sure Franco and his men wouldn’t spot him. The light was just good enough, so he took off his night-vision goggles and focused on Petty. His face was set in a way she’d never seen before.

“Are you trying to get out of Cabinda?” he whispered.

That stopped her cold. Her heart hammered in her chest.

Leave Cabinda?

It was a thought so buried and automatic inside her that hearing it aloud stunned her for a second. When she snapped out of it, she glanced toward the other side of the woods, only for her eyes to catch a small cut on the back of Aaron’s hand.

She knew that cut. Yesterday, when she’d cooked for Malcom and Aaron had helped her, he’d gotten nicked by a shrimp tail.

There was no way to fake that.

Aaron gave a quick look over his shoulder, keeping his voice low, “Petty, if you keep hesitating, we’ll miss our chance.”

Just as he was sure Petty would freeze up, she tightened her grip on the gun. She could still feel the lingering warmth from someone else’s hand on it. Biting down her nerves, she pressed her lips together and nodded at Aaron. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah!” he answered.

They moved fast, slipping out from behind the tree. The black handgun they’d been holding fell, landing right where they’d been hiding.

A split second later, an explosion rang out behind them. Aaron’s face shifted with alarm as he grabbed Petty’s arm, pulling her tight against him.

“Petty, get down!”

The air thundered with the sounds of cracking trees and rocks scattering across the forest floor.

The blast had come from the direction to their right. That could only mean...

Aaron nodded and led the way, cutting through the darkness, with Petty close behind. It was easy to lose your sense of direction at night, and she had no real combat experience. But Aaron had spent years as a mercenary. Even with nothing but moonlight in the wild, he’d get her where she needed to go.

He led her down to a hollow at the foot of the mountain. Just as he’d said, there stood Hans, cool and composed between two bodyguards, his black jacket unmistakable in the gloom.

Hans strode up to them, his tone sharp and direct. “Did you get hurt?”

Petty shook her head. Up close, she noticed the edge of pajamas peeking out beneath his jacket. He’d clearly dropped everything to come find her. The words she wanted to snap at him just got stuck in her throat.

Hans put his hands on her shoulders, pulled back her hood, and looked her over from head to toe.

“Pretty dirty, but nothing a wash can’t fix,” he muttered.

Petty didn’t even have the energy to argue. “Did you tear your stitches?”

Hans gave her a look. “Told you, I’m fine. Don’t fuss so much.” He tugged her hood back on. “We’re leaving. Now.”