Hunted

HUNTED Chapter 18

Lanz Island

The night was long and hard for Thea Campbell. It had been a long time since she'd had to worry like this. It was a shock to the system after so long living a peaceful and normal life. Her husband's words, "I don't do normal," echoed in her mind. No, he didn't do normal. There was nothing in his life that had been, except for the past five years.

Her memories of their time together in Victoria, skittered across her mind like a black and white movie. The reel played in slow motion, reflecting the emotions felt by the characters. Happy faces, peace and contentment. They both really believed that they could do it—-to have it normal.

Normal, what really was normal? Perhaps their normal was their own variation of it. Could they have really settled in for a normal marriage and nine to five jobs in offices, like the majority of the world's population? Could Stephen have been content working with his hands in construction and risking his life each day for the sake of man's pride in building grand high-rises? No. There was no way that Stephen or herself could have ever been content with that kind of normal. It was the kind that Joelle had wanted, but not her. She had a thing for bad boys. Tough guys who worked out every day and risked their lives for the greater good. Stephen was a hero, whether he saw it or not. It was what first attracted her to him in the first place. It was the reason why she and Eric never became more than best friends.

A tear slid down her cheek. She could do with his company right now. She'd missed him over the past five years. Except for the rare encrypted message on a cat litter website, she'd heard nothing from him. If only she could hear his voice.

The sound of an engine roared overhead. Her body tensed as she looked out of the window. It was in the early hours, around two, when she saw the sea plane land and taxi next to theirs—-close to shore. Her eyes focused on the figures that climbed out and moved onto the white sandy beach. She furrowed her brows as she studied each of them. She relaxed when she saw Sam's large figure lift out the petite form of their Operations Manager. He'd brought Hetty with them.

"Stephen. Sam's here." Her voice remained low, their children slept in their beds in the room next door.

She heard him moan. She'd stayed awake, although her body craved sleep. But he'd needed her to stay alert and keep watch. The knives Gibbs had given her, were in close reach to where she sat on the edge of the bed. She'd refilled the bowl with cool water four times already, trying her best to keep her husband's temperature down.

She heard the branches she'd set out around the cabin to alert her, snap along the path from the beach. Her hand grabbed onto the knives and she quietly moved towards the door.

"Thea, it's okay. It's Sam."

She relaxed at his words and unlocked the front door. "He's not good, Sam."

He wrapped her in his arms and provided the comfort she desperately needed.

"He's lying on the bed."

Sam moved into the cabin and found his old partner in a bad state. He looked back at Thea as she greeted each of the team.

"Nell."

Thea pressed her fingers to Deeks' mouth and shook her head. "Not here."

Deeks nodded, he had thought it was safe here on this small island.

"Our children don't know our old lives. I don't want to alert them to anything."

"I'm sorry." Deeks wrapped his arms around her. "We've all missed you and Stephen."

"We've missed you all too." Thea stepped back and turned to face her old boss.

"He'll be pleased you came."