Shadow Men – 15 – Rafe and Steele

Rafe came over to stand beside Steele, well aware of what he was thinking after so many years together. "I'll need a hand to get out," he said.

With Steele's help Rafe made it through the small window, careful to take his full weight on his good leg as he did. Moment's later Steele had one arm around his waist to help him cross the short distance to the trees.

"We can go deeper and see if there's somewhere safe to pack it in until you get some rest, or we can use the car and try to get back to the road tonight. Your call," Steele said.

As much as Rafe would have liked to do the latter he knew realistically that could be asking for trouble if the Colonel's people were on their way up to the cabin. The gorge was only wide enough for one car and if their enemies blocked it with their own vehicle he was in no real condition to fight or flee if that happened. "Deeper in and hope for a cave or something."

The ground soon began to slope steeply upward. Rafe fought the pain in his thigh as he used tree trunks to help him climb. He knew he could have asked for Steele's help but one of them had to be hands-free in case of trouble. After what felt like an eternity Steele came to a stop and pointed. Rafe squinted then nodded when he saw the darker shape in the rocky wall that stood a few yards to the side of them. It was barely visible behind some scraggly bushes. Only the angle of the moon's light allowed them to see it.

"Hope no bear has made it their home," Rafe said quietly.

Steele must have been as tired as Rafe because all he said was, "Do they have bears in Italy other than in the gay clubs?"

Rafe snorted softly. "Everywhere has bears, I think. The real ones. Well, and the others too."

"Okay, you stay here while I check it out. If you hear moans and wild cries of ecstasy…" Steele moved toward the cave, chuckling when Rafe said, "If I do, there will be two dead males and I won't be one of them."

The cave was small and filled with detritus but otherwise empty. Steele came back to help Rafe make it up the sharp incline that led to it. Once inside they set down their backpacks to use as improvised pillows. Then Steele made Rafe lie down so that he could check his wound again, with the aid of the bright focused beam of his small LX2 flashlight.

"It looks all right, no inflammation," Steele said as he cleaned the area and dosed it with more antibiotic cream. "Damned lucky the bullet went straight through."

"Been luckier if it hadn't hit at all," Rafe mumbled as his eyes closed.

Steele smiled softly and lay down behind him, pulling him tightly against his chest. "Love you," he murmured even though he was certain Rafe was already dead to the world.

"Love you…too," Rafe whispered. He pulled Steele's arms tighter around him and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

I know you do. Steele brushed a strand of sweat-dampened hair from Rafe's forehead. Thank God, because without you in my life… He didn't finish that thought. The mere idea of losing Rafe made his blood run cold and he shivered as he nestled his lover even more tightly in his arms before finally falling asleep.