Red-Hot Santa by Tori Carrington

stay long. Not now that it was obvious they were being pursued. It was important they get out of the area as quickly as possible.
    “We’ll wait fifteen,” Jackson said.
    “And then?” Max asked.
    He didn’t say anything. Instead he shrugged off his sack, placed it on a nearby rock and went to the side of the river where he splashed water over his handsome face.
    She wanted to stalk after him, demand to know what was going on.
    Instead, she let her own sack slide to the ground where she sat on it, watching as Polson and a few of the others did the same.
    Fifteen minutes came and went with each of them searching the sky, while keeping a furtive eye on the surrounding jungle.
    Nothing.
    Polson pushed from his sack and paced. “They’re not coming.” He issued a staccato litany of profanity. “I’m beginning to think we were never meant to get out of here alive.”
    “Don’t be stupid,” Jackson said. “What purpose would our deaths serve?”
    “Once they knew the mission was unsuccessful?” Polson asked. “I don’t now? To save a buck and cut risk?”
    Max rubbed her forehead. Even in the military sometimes decisions were made not to retrieve if the target area was too hot. But never to save a dollar.
    Could Polson be right? Were they expendable? Just another entry on a spreadsheet?
    Jackson finally glanced at her, the shadow in his eyes unreadable. She steadily returned his gaze. Then he walked to his sack, bent and opened a side pocket, sliding out what looked like little more than a glorified cellular phone. But she knew it was a satellite phone.
    Relief flushed through her, complete and overwhelming.
    Polson let loose an excited shout that sent birds fleeing from neighboring trees.
    Selznick hit him in the arm…hard.
    “What? Oh. Sorry.” He ran his hand over his close-cropped hair and back again, grinning. “It’s just I feel like a deathrow inmate who’s just been granted a reprieve.”
    Jackson frowned at him. “Yeah, well, don’t get too excited. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do anything to get us out of here.”
    “Hell, give me the phone and I’ll call my sister,” Polson said. “She’ll fly over and rent a car to drive in if she has to.”
    Jackson ignored him and turned to walk away.
    Max had no fear. She knew Jackson would get them out, even if they had to hike to the next village and buy their way out.
    What concerned her more than their current predicament was what was going through his head.
    That frightened her more than being taken hostage again. Because while she knew how to survive a hostile situation, she wasn’t so sure she knew how to survive if he turned away from her.
     
    LOOKING INTO MAX’S pain-filled and questioning eyes was too difficult, so he made a point of not doing it.
    Jackson placed the call directly to Lincoln Williams rather than through Lazarus Security for two reasons: one, he knew Linc would ask him no questions and would put his government connections to quick use and two, he’d prefer his brother Jason not know about this.
    Five minutes later, he broke the connection and stood staring at the quiet forest. Linc had promised to get back to him within minutes with exit details.
    “Jax?”
    The quiet question in Max’s voice touched a spot so deep inside him, he was afraid he might never close it off again. He looked at her before realizing he shouldn’t have, taking the moment to drink in her face.
    Even all smudged and dirty, with remnants of camo paint, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. Oh, maybe not strictly physically, but that wasn’t the point. What he knew of her inside, the way her mind worked, the way her heart worked, it all combined to make her the most beautiful person he’d ever been lucky enough to cross paths with.
    And it was because of that, he couldn’t allow this, whatever was happening between them, to go any further. He’d only hurt her. And he couldn’t bear that.
    Only the idea of