“Both guys start running for their lives, the bear hot on their heels. One man yells to the other, ‘Wait, I believe in God. I’ll just kneel right here and pray for help.’ The other guy yells back, ‘I believe in God, too, but he gave me legs, so I’m gonna run and pray’.”
“Yes, I’ve heard it before. In the service we used to call it ‘running and gunning’.” Margo stifled a yawn before continuing. They hadn’t slept in more than a day. “What if instead of running and praying, one of the men chose to fight and pray? And if he’d believed the dream he had the night before of a bear attacking and so brought along a tranquilizing gun, how quickly would the threat be secured?”
“There are a lot of ‘if’s’ in your version.”
“Exactly! But if I’m being attacked, I’m not running. I’m going to use any means within my power to gain the advantage and counterattack. That’s what I see us doing, Theo. We’re getting ourselves as ready as we can to fight back.”
Theo’s pursed lips turned into a tight smile. “This is just your way, isn’t it?”
“I became a soldier for this reason—and I was a damn good one, too. I am truly sorry if you disagree with me but—”
“I know, I know. I don’t have a better idea, so the plan stays. We jump into the flame together.” He reached out and rubbed Margo’s shoulder tenderly. They exchanged expressions of resolve in the glow of the industrial lights illuminating the sky around the salt lake.
27 Salt of the Earth
Sloan couldn’t distinguish which of them was in more peril. Sitting between a beat-up Cole and a shot-up Kylie, she’d given up changing gloves as she worked to control the chaos in the back seat of the sedan barreling down the road to God knows where.
Evan kept glancing into his rearview mirror trying to let Sloan do her work without comments from him. Cole was like a brother and Kylie—well, he didn’t know what to think of her—but he knew he wanted her to live.
“What’s your relationship with the girl?” Creed nodded toward the back seat interrupting Evan’s thoughts.
“It’s complicated.” Evan was trying to control the itching in his left hand by rubbing it on his jeans.
“Obviously. So who is she?” Creed turned to watch Evan’s profile in the dark. He was tired of focusing on controlling the pain from his internal injuries and needed a distraction. Conversation was all he could do while stuck in a moving vehicle.
Evan took a deep breath and shook his head slowly. “Until tonight, I thought she was just a resident at the university hospital. I had no idea she was—anything other than that.”
Creed nodded, waiting for Evan to elaborate.
Evan glanced over at Creed and saw him watching, waiting for more information. He shrugged. “Listen, she came up to me in the lab and started talking. I was rude to her—trying to get her to go away, but she was—undaunted. We ended up getting coffee together and kinda hanging out every day since.”
“You said you thought she was a resident?”
“Yeah, she told me she was only sixteen and had graduated to a resident research doctor despite her age because of her phenomenal intellect. After working with her for one night, I believed that had to be true. Her mind is truly impressive.”
“And apparently complex.”
“Apparently.”
“She provided the intel to Williams that ended in tonight’s attack.”
“Then she comes out of nowhere and takes a bullet for me?”
Creed shook his head in bewilderment and let the moment hang in the air. “Girls are heaven and hell—leaving us guys feeling lost and found at the same time.”
“You’re not pissed off at me? I mean for trusting her and endangering the family?” Evan’s face was pinched as though bracing for an assault.
“Nah, little brother. Girls can make us say and do things we never would have done in our right minds. I don’t blame you. Hey, look what I’ve gone through because of Meg. I changed everything for just the chance to be with her, and I’ll never be the same now that I’ve known her.” He sighed deeply before continuing. “The right girl—yeah, wow—the right girl only has to smile at you and you’re twelve feet tall, made of steel, unstoppable—and stupid as hell.”
The boys nodded at each other sympathetically.
Sloan had been listening to their conversation while monitoring Cole and Kylie. Cole had been stable and sleeping for the past hour. Kylie, on the other hand, just kept deteriorating. In the past five minutes, her stats started plummeting.
“Guys, Kylie isn’t going to hang on much longer. Her blood pressure is scary low. Her organs are going to start shutting down soon.” Sloan shook her head, strands of blond hair sticking to her sweaty brow. “She only has minutes—we’re losing her.”
A rush of panic slipped like a noose of icy steel around Evan’s throat.
She can’t die.
“Minutes?” he choked. He looked into the rearview mirror to read Sloan’s expression. Her gunmetal-gray eyes locked on his. They were red-rimmed and somber as she shook her head slowly.