Chapter 19
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Natalie had always been a decent sleeper, and she was genuinely worried the might pass out until morning
Initially, she’d thought of heading back to the car to rest, but the doors were locked. With Myla nowhere in sight, she didn’t dare wake Jonas to ask for the keys.
After a moment of brainstorming, she came up with a solution–tying the sleeve of her camouflage jacket to his ankle and then to her wrist.
That way, when Jonas got up, the tug on the sleeve would wake her too.
It sounded brilliant in theory, but in practice, things weren’t going so smoothly.
Jonas was wearing those massive military boots, the soles resting on the edge of the mat while the rest of his foot sank into the soft padding. To loop the sleeve around his ankle, Natalie would need to lift his foot slightly.
She eyed the boots, which looked more like small boats, and hesitated. Stretching out her hand, she mimicked the movement a few times, but the sheer size of the task left her at a loss.
After a bit of consideration, she decided to carefully slip her right fingers into the boot’s edge, hooking under the leather to lift it just enough. She tried pulling gently but quickly realized she couldn’t muster enough strength.
Switching tactics, she slipped her left hand in as well, both hands pulling upward. The boot shifted slightly, creating a tiny gap between the sole and the mat, but now her hands were occupied, leaving her no way to slide the sleeve underneath.
With a quiet sigh of frustration, Natalie withdrew her hands and sat back, determined to try again.
This time, she pressed the jacket sleeve to the ground with her knee, planning to lift his leg just enough to nudge the fabric through.
The idea seemed solid, but the execution left much to be desired. While she was kneeling, her hands barely had the leverage to pull with any real force.
She gave it her all, her arms straining as though she were lifting a hundred–pound weight. But the more effort she poured into it, the heavier his leg seemed to grow–as if some invisible force were pushing it down.
That unsettling thought jolted through her mind, making her shiver. Her heart skipped a beat, and she instinctively turned to glance behind her.
Jonas was still leaning against the mat, utterly unmoving. The faint moonlight draped over him like a silvery veil, softening the harsh lines of his rugged features. His lashes, thick and impossibly long, cast delicate shadows over his cheekbones.
His straight nose and slightly pursed lips gave him an air of quiet vulnerability. He looked, for all the world, like the picture of innocence.
Natalie stared at him for a moment, studying his serene expression. Assured that he hadn’t woken up, she let out a slow breath and shifted her focus back to the task at hand.
Her determination had become a game of endurance, each passing second testing her patience. The chill of the night seeped deeper into her skin, but the relentless pull of sleep wasn’t far behind. She shook her head, trying to ward off the drowsiness creeping in like an unstoppable tide.
“This is it, she thought, gritting her teeth. ‘One last try! Natalie decided to go for broke–she would lift Jonas’s lower leg entirely and slip the sleeve under in one swift motion.
Unbeknownst to Natalie, Jonas’s eyes slowly flickered open behind her, his gaze a mix of disdain and puzzlement as he
watched her movements.
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15:47 Fri, 11 Apr NA.
Chapter 19
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Jonas hadn’t slept at all. With a stranger he suspected of being a spy so close, there was no way he’d let his guard down. He was simply lying in wait, ready to see if she’d make a move.
He was the most patient hunter, fully prepared to endure a sleepless night with Natalie if that’s what it took. Yet, it wasn’t long before the faint rustle of movement caught his attention.
Natalie, thinking she was being quiet, had completely forgotten about the compressed biscuit in her pocket. Each tiny shift she made caused the crinkling plastic to rub together, the noise jarring and almost pinpoint–accurate in his finely tuned ears, like a tracking beacon.
