Wrapping her arms around Jack, Lily ran headlong toward the line of trees a few yards away. When she was halfway there, a second explosion rocked the night. Lily looked over her shoulder in time to see a plume of smoke rise from the nearest jeep. Flames shot from one of the tires. Several of the soldiers were doubled over and coughing violently.
Robert was a few yards behind her, running like a sprinter. Behind him, the lieutenant had fallen to the ground, his uniform charred and smoking. Lilly watched in horror as he rolled and came up with a pistol aimed directly at Robert’s back.
“Look out!” she screamed.
Robert’s gaze met hers, but he didn’t stop running. She saw fear in his eyes, felt the same fear grip her. A shot snapped through the air. Robert jolted, but he didn’t slow. Knowing she didn’t have a choice but to defend herself, her child and the man who’d probably just saved both their lives, she slowed her pace, lifted her skirt and tugged the tiny chrome .22 caliber handgun from its holster at her thigh. Twisting in midstride she fired four times in quick succession.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw the pistol fly out of the lieutenant’s hand. She reached the line of trees a moment later and burst through the low-growing brush. She ran blindly, branches clawing at her face, roots grabbing at her feet like frantic fingers. She ran until her lungs threatened to burst, until her legs quivered with exertion. Then Jack began to cry and a terrible new fear crept over her.
Terrified that he’d been hurt by a stray bullet, she stopped and looked at him. Her hands shook uncontrollably as she ran them over his little body. “Hush, sweetheart. Everything’s okay. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Leaning forward, she kissed his cheek. “Shh. Mommy’s here. Everything’s okay, sweet baby.”
But Jack wasn’t having it and squealed even louder.
Lily couldn’t blame him; she felt like crying, too. She could still feel the hot sweep of horror. Still see the terror on Robert’s face. She had no idea how he had managed those explosions, but he’d gotten them out of what surely would have been a deadly situation. For that, she would be forever thankful.
“Robert?” she whispered into the surrounding darkness. “Are you there?”
The only answer came in the form of her labored breathing and the cries of her son. Around her the forest pulsed with nocturnal life. She wasn’t sure how far she’d run, but she could no longer hear shots or see the fire through the thick trees.
“Robert? Wh—”
She yelped when a dark silhouette stepped out from behind a nearby tree.
“I’m right here,” he said.
Pressing a hand to her stomach, she uttered a silent prayer. “Thank God you’re okay.”
“Are you hurt?” he asked. “Jack?”
“We’re fine.” She looked at Jack. “Shaken up and scared, but we’re—”
He didn’t wait for her to finish, but walked over to her and reached for Jack. Lily’s first instinct was to hold her son tight and not let him go, but something in Robert’s eyes stopped her. His hands trembled as he unbuckled the carrier straps. An instant later, he released the boy and gathered him into his arms. Lily watched, awestruck and moved, as Robert closed his eyes and pressed his cheek against Jack’s. He didn’t say a word, but she saw the emotion overwhelming him, and only then did she realize that in the last days something profound had occurred between father and son.
“That was close,” he said a moment later.
“Too close.”
Robert was shaking violently. His face was pale. A sheen of sweat coated his forehead.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“I’m fine.” As if realizing how he must look, he loosened his grip on Jack. “Give me the carrier. We’ve got to keep moving. Put some distance between us and DeBruzkya’s goons.”
Something in his voice warned her not to argue. She eased the straps from her shoulders and passed the carrier to him. He passed Jack to her, then quickly adjusted the straps to fit his larger frame and slipped the carrier over his shoulders.
“Where the hell did you learn to shoot like that?” he asked as he reached for Jack.
“I didn’t.”
“I saw you shoot the pistol out of the lieutenant’s hands.”
Lily shrugged. “I was aiming for the tires on the jeep.”
“Terrific.” He strapped Jack into the carrier. “Okay, big guy. Let’s make some time.”
Standing on her tiptoes, Lily draped a blanket over Jack’s head and over Robert’s shoulder. “Maybe he’ll sleep once we start walking.”
Robert looked over his shoulder, his eyes scanning the darkened forest. “DeBruzkya’s soldiers aren’t going to give up. We need to cover some ground very quickly.” He glanced at the compass in his hand, then started forward. “Let’s go.”
Uneasiness prickled up her spine as Lily fell in beside him.
“Why didn’t you tell me you had a bounty on your head?” he asked.
“I didn’t know.”
“That could complicate things at the hospital.”
“All I care about is Jack. I don’t have to be there for him to get treat—”