Ian groaned. He was alive.
Simone’s heart thumped against her ribs. Spiraling relief coursed through her veins. She gently shook him. “Ian.”
His eyelids slowly opened. “Are you okay?”
She nearly cried that his first thought was of her. The man continued to surprise her and endear himself to her in ways that scared her and delighted her. And created pressure in her chest. “I’m a little banged up, but I’m okay. You?”
“The same.”
She glanced up the hill and could see the bright lights of the monster vehicles shining down on them like vultures.
As if to punctuate her thought, gunfire rained down on them, but the Humvee held, the bullets making pockmarks in the reinforced windows and denting the armored frame.
“Austin!” Simone yelled.
His arms hanging limp, Austin didn’t move or make any noise. She sent up another quick prayer. Please don’t let him be dead.
This was her fault. She’d failed to protect them, just as she’d failed her friend all those years ago.
They couldn’t just stay here waiting for the men with guns to come finish the job. Shaking off the memories threatening to pull her into a dark place, Simone undid her seat belt, sliding onto the ceiling of the Humvee. She maneuvered until her feet were under her in a crouch. She turned to Ian. “Can you reach your seat belt buckle?”
“Yes.”
She grabbed his shoulders. “Do it. I’ve got you.”
The click of the buckle releasing filled her ears and then he was sliding into her arms, his feet coming down hard on the ground where the open roof rested. His head landed on her knees before he was able to position himself upright into a squat beside her.
She reached forward to check Austin for a pulse, bracing herself for the worst. She laid two fingers against his neck. His pulse throbbed weekly. A wave of relief hit her. He wasn’t dead. Thank you, Jesus. She needed to get him out of there. But how?
Austin was pinned by the steering wheel, the deflated airbag hanging as limply as Austin’s arms. Had he been knocked unconscious by the force of the airbag deploying? Blood smeared his face, no doubt from a broken nose. She shook him gently. “Austin.”
He groaned.
“I’m sure there’s a tire iron in here,” Ian said. “We can leverage it under the steering wheel carriage and lift it off of him.”
“No,” Austin ground out, his eyes opening. “Go. You’re sitting ducks here. Get Ian to safety. Head through the forest toward town.”
Simone’s heart lurched with dread. “Austin, we can’t leave you.”
“I’ll only be dead weight to you, and then all of us will die. Stay on mission, Simone. You know what you need to do.”
She’d never been faced with this situation before. And had always thought she would do what she’d been taught as they’d often practiced for scenarios like this in training. James always said the protectee was the main objective. But how could she leave a man behind?
“No, we’re not leaving you.” Ian grabbed her arm. “We’re not leaving him. That’s not how it works. We have to make a stand. Let me have his sidearm.”
“Listen to me,” Austin rasped, clearly in pain. “If you run, it’ll take them away from here. Lead them into the forest toward town. Then send help.”
The sound of the men crashing down the side of the hill, coming closer with each ticking second, urged Simone to do the hard thing. As much as it broke her heart, she had to stay on task. Her objective was to keep Ian safe. She couldn’t let him die. Then all of this would have been for naught.
She reached past Ian and opened the opposite side door. “Go!” She pushed at him. “We have to go!”
Ian stumbled from the vehicle and then pulled her out.
“Stay low,” she told him.
Together, they ran into the forest. The gunmen’s shouts echoed behind them.
Ian grabbed Simone’s hand to keep from separating in the dark as they ran deeper into the forest. They stumbled over roots and barely missed trees appearing before them like specters. Branches snagged at their clothes, scratched at their skin. The earthy scent of moss and dirt filled his nostrils. Fear that he might be the cause of Simone’s and Austin’s deaths burned in his lungs.
Behind them, the sounds of men thrashing through the trees and calling to one another spurred Ian to move faster, but he had no idea where they were headed. Away from town or toward it?
He pulled Simone behind a large bramble bush. They crouched, catching their breaths.
“What are you doing?” she whispered. “We have to keep going.”
The sky above them was obscured by a thick canopy of evergreen branches. “Going where?” He couldn’t keep the frustration from his tone. “We don’t even know what direction we’re heading.”
“Away from them.” She pulled out her phone and hissed through her teeth. “No service.”
“It’s not normal. You should be able to get a signal,” he said. “Could they be using a jamming device? I’ve read about that happening.”
“They could. These guys are coordinated and sophisticated,” she said. “Like soldiers.”
Ian’s gut twisted. “I’ve never heard Alex mention any military activity in Bristle County.”
“Doubtful he knows, or I’m sure he’d be monitoring them. It could be a paramilitary group hiding in the forest,” she said.
“Could that be what I’d discovered?” The thought ran rampant through his brain, but it didn’t stir any memories. What would some militia group have to do with Delaney Holdings or the Dresden Group?
Simone tugged at him. “We have to go.”
“Wait,” he said as she started to rise. “We need to find a clearing where I can see the sky.”
“The sky?”
“Yes. I can navigate by the stars.”
She blew out a breath. “First meadow we come to, we’ll stop.”
Her grim sarcasm made him wince as they took off again, blindly running through the forest. They broke into a small clearing where the trees were spaced farther apart. He pulled her down into the tall grass swinging in the slight night breeze.
He pointed to the sky. “We have to find the Big Dipper, which will point us to the North Star. Once we do that, we’ll know which direction to head.”
She scooted so that they were back-to-back. “You’re the expert, you find them. I’ll keep watch.” She held her weapon at the ready.
Admiring her strength and courage, Ian searched the sky, finding the Big Dipper. He followed the two point stars in what would be the ladle and drew an imaginary line to Polaris, the North Star, as most people called it.
“There. North is to our left.” He kept his voice low.
“And how does that help?” she whispered back.
“The town is southwest of our estate. We need to head off in that direction.” He gestured with a pointed finger.
“Go figure.” Admiration laced her words. “Let’s do it.”
As they ran, careful to keep to the trees for cover, he couldn’t deny how much her approval meant to him, even as guilt ate at him. Either the nurse had called to draw him into a trap, or the bad guys had been watching the estate for an opportunity, which he’d given them. Either way, this was on him. He raised a silent prayer, telling God he would do whatever it took to keep Simone safe and asking Him to spare Austin.
As they stumbled along, Ian took every opportunity to check the sky to make sure they were running in the right direction.
A noise he could only identify as a car passing on asphalt echoed in his ears. He skidded to a halt and grabbed Simone’s hand. “Do you hear that?”
“Yes. The road.”
“This way.” He steered them slightly off course toward the highway. They had made a big loop. “We know if we follow this road, it will lead us straight to town.”
“We should stay to the trees.”
“Agreed.” Darting from tree to tree, they followed the road for what seemed at least a mile.
Headlights from behind them brightened their world as two vehicles rolled down the road, side by side. His adrenaline spiked as he glimpsed two of the trucks that had ambushed them earlier.
Simone yanked him behind a tree and into a low crouch. Ian wrapped his arms around Simone and hugged her tight, hoping to make them as invisible as possible. She shifted in his embrace so that her back pressed against his chest, her weapon held in front of her.
His warrior was always ready for battle.
Before he had time to analyze that wayward thought, the trucks drew abreast of them and inched their way forward. A wide beam of brightness from a search light mounted on one of the vehicles swept the side of the road.
“Don’t move.” Simone’s voice was hardly audible. “Let them pass.”
He held his breath, praying with all his might that the trucks would head to town, thinking they’d already made it to safety.
Minutes ticked by. The cool night air seeped through his sweat-dampened shirt. His legs protested the prolonged squatting position, but he held steady, barely daring to breathe until the light moved on.
After several more excruciating minutes, Simone broke free to peer around the tree. “All clear.”
Painfully, he stood and joined her as they watched the red taillights of the trucks disappear around a curve in the road.
“That was close,” he breathed. His heart hammered in his chest and his blood pounded in his ears. His shook out the numbing sensations in his legs.
“Come on.” Simone strode forward with purpose, still keeping to the trees.
From behind him, the sound of tires on asphalt jolted his heart. He pressed Simone up against a tree.
“Wha—”
“Shh,” he hissed into her ear.
There was only darkness around them, but he was confident in what he’d heard. He dropped his forehead to the rough bark of the tree over Simone’s head.
“Ian?”
“There were four trucks that ambushed us,” he whispered. “Two went by. The other two must be following at a distance without their lights.”
In a swift move, she reversed their positions so that she was shielding him. “This isn’t good.”
For a long heartbeat, he thought maybe the additional trucks had rolled past as he strained to listen. But then two sets of headlights burst on with a bright glow that made Ian cringe. He prayed they wouldn’t be seen.
Suddenly the world around them turned even brighter. The two trucks that had passed earlier approached from the opposite direction, their headlights mingling with those of the other trucks.
Simone groaned. “They must have spotted us. Our only option is to go deeper into the woods and keep running.”
Since he didn’t have an alternate plan, he said, “On three.”
She tucked her weapon into her waistband and grabbed his hand. “Now.”
Together they made a run for the denser forest, a yawning blackness that waited to swallow them whole.
But out of that darkness came a dozen flashlights, their beams blindingly bright as their pursuers encircled them.
Ian skidded to a halt, his arm snaking around Simone and drawing her tight against his side in a protective gesture. Bracing himself for the bullets he knew were going to come, he looked down into her face. “I’m so sorry.”
She turned in his arms so that they faced one another. There was a soft click as she removed the magazine from her weapon. “No, I’m sorry.”
The defeat in her voice made him want to cry. He heard a soft thud at their feet, but it was too dark at ground level to see what she was doing with her foot.
“This is my fault,” she continued. “I failed, just as I did with Beth. I couldn’t protect you, and now we’re both going to pay the price. This is on me.”
Obviously, something tragic had happened in her past for which she still carried a burden of guilt.
He should’ve listened to her and let Austin turn around. She’d had a bad feeling, and he should have trusted her.
Resolved to not give up, he released her and held up his hands. “Please, let her go. She’s not a part of this. She knows nothing.”
“What are you doing?” she growled.
“Trying to save you,” he told her. “You shouldn’t have to die because of me.”
“It’s your lucky day, Delaney,” a male voice with a heavy brogue called from the darkness. “The boss wants to talk to you and your girlfriend. Simone, is it?”
Fear mingled with a short burst of relief. At least they wouldn’t die right here, right now. Ian didn’t believe in luck, but he did believe in a loving God who answered prayers. Hopefully, Ian could convince the “boss” to let Simone go. There was still time to talk their way out of this. If there was one thing Ian had mastered from his father, it was the art of negotiation.
The men, some dressed in dark-colored tactical gear and others in mismatched camo, moved in, tightening the circle around them. The man who’d spoken before stepped closer. “Make no mistake. The boss may want to talk to you, but he’d be satisfied to see your corpse, as well. Don’t make any sudden moves.”
Rough hands separated them, pulling their arms behind their backs and tying them with ropes. Then they were pushed forward in the direction of the road, where they were forced into the back of one of the trucks. A young man climbed aboard and sat with his back against the tailgate. He held a high-powered rifle across his lap.
As soon as the truck began to roll forward, Ian let out a breath and leaned close to Simone, putting his forehead against her hair. Keeping his voice low, he said, “A momentary reprieve.”
“Yes.” She turned so her mouth was against his ear. “How do these men know my name?”
“I don’t know.” His eyes on their armed guard, he said into her ear, “Where’s your weapon?”
“I buried it in the dirt as best I could. Best for them not to know I was armed. Or that I’m your bodyguard.”
Ah, now he understood what she’d been doing and what the thud at their feet had been. Ian sent up a small prayer for God’s provision. If they’d found her gun, they might have felt threatened enough to kill her. He realized this woman meant more to him than he’d thought possible. He had to see that she stayed alive. “If the opportunity presents itself, you escape.”
She leaned away from him. The moonlight spilling across her face, creating shadows, but there was no mistaking the horror in her expression. “That’s ludicrous. We have to have hope. There has to be a way out of this. Together.”
Darting a glance at the thug with the gun, he said, “We have to put our hope in God above.”
She relaxed next to him, settling her head on his shoulder. “Yes. Dear Lord, deliver us from these men. Save us from the criminals who want to do us harm. Be with us and make us strong in the face of our adversaries.” Her soft voice floated through the air and wrapped around Ian like a comforting quilt.
He sent up his own plea. “Please, Lord, please hear our prayers. Amen.”
Despite the circumstances, an unexplainable peace descended on Ian and he took comfort in the sharing of faith with Simone.
Simone kept her gaze on the passing scenery, hoping to identify any landmarks. “Do you recognize where we are?” she whispered.
“Not really,” he said. “But judging by the position of the stars, we should be near town.”
Good news. Leaning in close, she whispered, “Here’s what we can do. Scoot so that we can reach each other’s hands. We untie the ropes and jump out.”
He made a noise in his throat that she took as agreement. They shifted slightly until they found each other’s ropes. Almost immediately, her stomach sank as she realized they were dealing with constrictor knots, which were nearly impossible to untie. But they had to try. She hissed as one of her fingernails broke at the quick.
“You okay?” Ian’s concerned voice came at her through the dark.
“Fine.” She slanted their guard a peek. The young kid’s head bobbed forward. Apparently, he wasn’t too concerned that they would escape. “Just keep working at the rope.”
“I can’t make any traction with it. This is unlike any knot I’ve ever encountered.”
“We have to keep trying.” She hated how desperate her voice sounded.
The truck turned off the asphalt onto a winding dirt road.
“We’re on the backside of the big mountain,” Ian told her. “How can my father have something to do with this?”
The hurt in his tone pulled at her. “We don’t know that he does.”
But she had a sinking feeling they were being taken to the place where the encoded longitude and latitude intersected. In the morning, Deputy Rawlings and the new deputy, Leslie, would head out to the location. Would they find Simone and Ian’s dead bodies?
The trees and the foliage grew thicker the deeper they went into the forest, the road harder to traverse. The stars were obscured. Even the moonlight barely cast its glow through the canopy of big tree branches overhead.
Finally, they came to a stop. Unfortunately, neither Simone nor Ian had been able to release themselves from the ropes, much to Simone’s frustration.
They were pulled out of the back of the truck and brought to the center of what appeared to be some sort of camp with tents blending into the landscape and men carrying guns everywhere.
“On your knees.” A man pushed her and Ian down to the ground.
“Please let my girlfriend go,” Ian pleaded with the man. “She has nothing to do with this.”
Simone clenched her jaw to keep from protesting his words. The ridiculously chivalrous man just couldn’t get it through his head that she was the one who should be sacrificing for him. But she would use the fact the men thought she was merely Ian’s girlfriend and not a threat. Let them underestimate her. She’d use it to her advantage when the opportunity arose.
A tall, dark-haired, bearded man walked out of one of the tents. The men moved back, creating a path for the man to walk toward them.
This must be the boss. “What is it you want?” Ian asked. “Money? I can get you money. Just release my girlfriend.”
The man laughed. “I have to say it’s very nice to see Ian Delaney begging.”