“I’m not letting you out of my sight,” he growled. “Next thing you’ll have the entire Rebelian army after you.”
Because she wasn’t so certain that wasn’t already true, she didn’t say anything. “Those explosives you used. I’ve never seen anything like them.”
“They’re relatively new. Used for personal protection. Last resort kind of thing. I figured that situation qualified.” He frowned at her. “Keep walking.”
The realization of how things could have turned out shook her. “If you hadn’t been there—”
“I was.” Robert regarded her with steely eyes. “It’s over.”
Before realizing what she was about to do, she crossed the distance between them and pressed a kiss to his mouth. He stiffened for an instant, then his mouth relaxed against hers. Before the moment turned sexual, she pulled away. “Thank you.”
He raised his hand to wave off her thanks, but she stopped him. “I mean it, Robert. You saved my life. You probably saved Jack’s life, too. I can’t tell you what that means to me.”
He stepped back, looking a little stunned, watching her like a big male cat that had just been cuffed by a much smaller female. “I think I know,” he said.
Thunder rumbled in the distance and the moment was broken. Hefting Jack’s carrier higher on his abdomen, Robert looked around. “We’ve got to keep moving. The soldiers aren’t far away, and I would imagine they’re pretty pissed off.”
“We’re not going to make it to Rajalla by morning, are we?” she asked.
“We can’t risk traveling on the road. Unless there’s an alternative route that’s relatively smooth going—or maybe a taxi service—we’re out of luck.”
“There are trails through the woods, but they’re not well traveled.”
“That’s going to slow us down.” He looked up. “And if I’m not mistaken the sky is going to open up in about two minutes.”
Lily looked up in time to see lightning flicker. The thought of traveling at night in cold rain with a band of angry soldiers hot on their trail was bad enough, but the thought of Jack getting wet was unbearable. “How are we going to keep Jack from getting wet?”
“Good old-fashioned American ingenuity.” Working the carrier off his shoulders, Robert removed his jacket and draped it over the baby. “Water resistant nylon.”
Trying not to let it show how much the gesture meant to her, Lily held Jack while Robert slipped the carrier onto his shoulders, then put the baby into the carrier.
“How well do you know the area?” Robert asked.
“I’ve taken this route to Rajalla several times.”
“Is there someplace where we can take shelter?”
Lily thought about it for a moment, pulled a dusty fragment from her memory. “There’s a mine not far from here. It’s old and the entrance is boarded up, but I think I can find it.”
“As long as the roof doesn’t leak.”
She didn’t relish the idea of spending the night in a dark and dusty mine, but it beat the alternative of sleeping in the rain. “This way,” she said and started down the trail.
Robert knew things could always get worse. That seemed to be the only rule he’d been able to count on since arriving in Rebelia. Of course it was little consolation when 2:00 a.m. rolled around, the skies opened up and the rain began to fall in sheets. To top things off his leg was aching like a son of a bitch. It had started troubling him several miles back, and the pain showed no sign of abating any time soon. The orthopedic surgeon had told him the pain stemmed from nerve damage he’d sustained from the shrapnel injury. He’d recommended ice, anti-inflammatory drugs and elevation to alleviate swelling and pressure on the nerves. Robert didn’t think he was going to get any of those things any time soon, so he’d just have to grin and bear it.
He hadn’t even bothered to tell Lily about the bullet wound in his shoulder. Mostly because he knew it was superficial and he didn’t want her fussing over him and risk slowing them down. But it was starting to hurt, too.
Looking up at the sky, he let the cool rain wash over his face. Jack had been sleeping uneasily for the last two hours, but Robert could tell the baby was getting uncomfortable with the constant motion and cold, damp air. They needed to camp for the night. More pressingly, they needed to get out of the rain. It was barely fifty degrees. Once they were wet, it wouldn’t take long for hypothermia to set in.
“How much farther?” he shouted over the din of rain.
Lily turned to him, looking miserable and wet and uncertain as hell. “I’m not sure.”
“Let’s keep moving.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”
“I’m fine. Keep walking.”
“Robert, you’ve been limping for the last couple of miles. Do you want me to take Jack?”
“No, damn it.” He hadn’t even realized he’d been limping. He was so accustomed to the pain, he compensated almost automatically by keeping as much weight off his leg as possible.
“If you need to stop—”