Now she was alone with Axel, a man who could save her life—or end it.

She swallowed, her heart racing, her veins running with pure adrenaline, as he jogged toward the first of his fallen peers. He checked the pulse at the man’s neck, then sighed heavily and rose to his feet. Bypassing the burning remains of the ATV, he aimed his rifle at the unmoving form of her captor, cautiously approaching as he checked for signs of life. Apparently, he found none because he began searching the asshole’s pockets.

Slinging his rifle onto his back, Axel turned and made his way toward her, his gaze sharp and focused.

Mystery trembled. God, she hoped he was one of the good guys, sent by her father, as he claimed. Because if it was a lie to win her trust, he could do whatever he wanted to her out in this godforsaken desert. Cut her, rape her, strangle her . . . Snapshots of all the hideous ways he could murder her flashed through her brain. He could leave her bones to bleach out in the potent sun and walk away without anyone the wiser. This gun battle certainly had no other survivors who might rescue her—if they’d ever intended to.

Tears rolled down her cheeks. On the one hand, she realized that she was probably being overly dramatic and the odds of three men hunting down someone else’s captive to brutally murder her made very little sense. Why would he try to trick her into trusting him just for that? On the other hand, some small part of her mind realized that after everything she’d been through in the last few days, she wasn’t exactly prepared to be rational. Thoughts raced. Terror clung. She just wanted to go home, feel her father’s arms around her, get back to normalcy, which seemed a million miles away right now.

Axel turned and headed her way. She screamed.

He took off at a dead run for her. Mystery panicked and sprinted out of the shack. The wind whipped through her hair, kicking dust onto her skin. The sand felt hot on the bare soles of her feet, and she knew right away that days of being undernourished and afraid to sleep would catch up with her quickly. Axel’s pounding footsteps behind her drew closer and closer, and she felt powerless to keep him from capturing her.

It seemed as if mere seconds had passed before his arm snaked around her waist and he hauled her against his big, solid body.

“Don’t run. I’ve got you. I know you’re scared, but I’m going to save you.”

He panted against her neck, and she felt his chest rising and falling with every breath. She couldn’t seem to suck in enough air, either. Her heart beat furiously. Fear spiked her veins.

“Let me go. I just want to go home.”

“I know,” he assured, his voice surprisingly soft for someone who looked—and felt—all soldier. “I’ll take care of you. But you can’t charge through the desert without shoes. It may look dead around here, but I assure you, the land is very much alive, and you’d be no match.”

In her head, Mystery knew that. At the age of nine, she’d been with her dad on their way to Palm Springs for some celebrity event when their car had broken down. Even being stranded on the roadside for a few hours had been hot and harrowing. She’d never been so aware of the harsh elements and her inability to survive them.

Until now.

The fight left her muscles, and she nodded miserably.

Gently, Axel set her back on her feet and turned her to face him. She was almost afraid to look at him, worried she’d see cruel glee on his face just before he ended her. Instead, she saw a well of patience. He knew she’d had it tough and he empathized. The human kindness Axel showed her was the first she’d seen in seemingly forever.

Mystery burst into tears again.

“Hey. Hey!” He cupped her face and thumbed tears from her cheeks. “Shh. I know you’re on emotional overload, but we can’t do this now. Breathe with me.” He fused her gaze to his and demonstrated by dragging in a long breath, then letting it out. He did it again, waiting patiently until she followed suit.

Calm slowly made its way through her panic. With each breath and every second she looked into his eyes, she relaxed a bit more. Her mind wasn’t a constant explosion of chaos and terror.

As soon as the adrenaline dissipated, she felt incredibly weak. Her muscles no longer seemed able to support her, and she sagged against his chest.

“That’s it,” he crooned. “Nothing to be afraid of. I need some quick information, all right? Tell me if the man holding you hostage had any help? Anyone else who assisted him in keeping you captive?”

She shook her head. “H-he talked about someone who hired him, but I . . . I never saw him.”

“So it was just the two of you?”

Mystery nodded.

“Good. That gives us some breathing room. Come with me. We’ll go back to the shack and map out a plan.”

Plan? “I don’t want to go back. He kept me there. He—”

“I know.” Axel took her hand and slowly led her back to the place of her captivity.

She tried to dig in her heels, but he was far stronger. In fact, her legs gave out from under her, and without breaking stride, he bent and carried her against his chest, taking huge, ground-eating steps until the shade of the little outbuilding sheltered them again.

Gingerly, he set her on her feet, then kicked the door shut. “There. Now, another deep breath. Let’s talk this out rationally, okay?”

His deep voice soothed her. Mystery felt herself sliding slowly off the pinnacle of panic. She nodded at him.

“Listen to me. I was an army medic, sent as part of this rescue crew in case you need medical attention. But you have to be honest with me. I can’t help you to the best of my ability if you’re not. Understand?”

Again, she nodded.

“I need you to be verbal with me. We don’t have room for misunderstanding here. Say ‘Yes, Axel.’”

She swallowed and stared at a spot of smudged dirt on his T-shirt. “Yes, Axel.”

“Good. Did your captor beat you? Tie you, restrain you, or otherwise put you in any position that might have caused injury?”

“I was cuffed with my hands behind my back when he first brought me here. My shoulders ached for a bit. I’m all right now. He never struck me or restrained me again.”

Axel nodded. “Did you hurt your feet running outside barefoot just now?”

Her soles smarted, but nothing more serious than when she’d played barefoot in the backyard as a kid. “No.”

“When did you last drink water? Eat? Did he feed you regularly?”

“He gave me one meal and two bottles of water a day. I haven’t eaten yet today.”

“So he provided enough to keep you alive but not well hydrated.” Axel cursed, then let out a deep breath. “We can work with that.”

“Well, I drank the bottles then refilled them in the little bathroom sink. It’s disgusting, but I knew that if I tried to escape alone through the desert that I’d need to stay hydrated.”

He grabbed her shoulders. “Good thinking. You have to use your head to survive this climate.”

She nodded, every muscle in her body weak, even those in her neck. She felt like a bobble head. Then she remembered that he wanted a verbal response. “Yes, Axel.”

“Anything else?”

“He drugged me every night so I couldn’t escape.”

Axel tensed. “Any idea what he gave you?”

“No. He injected it. It made me sleep for half the day, sometimes more.”

“Any side effects?”

It wasn’t what he said or even how he said it, but something about the tight set of his mouth told her that everything her captor had done to her had really pissed him off. That made her feel better. If he was indignant on her behalf and concerned about her health, maybe he really was one of the good guys.

“No. I mean, I’d wake up groggy, but it would wear off eventually.”

“No drug cravings?”

That hadn’t occurred to Mystery, but she was damn glad the asshole hadn’t given her anything she might become addicted to. She shook her head. “No.”