Number twenty-eight. I’d counted the entire time.
Craig’s radio squawked. I couldn’t understand anything, but his demeanor darkened. He keyed the mic. “Are you sure?” he asked as he grabbed his rifle leaning against a tree.
Again, I didn’t catch the answer.
Craig let out a sharp whistle. “We’ve got company!”
The guy who’d been whipping Kingsley stopped. His gaze darted around.
It was like a heavy weight lifted off my chest. This could only be God’s interference.I know it’s You, Jesus. I just know.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
I craned my neck to see where the rifle shots had come from, but it was too dark to see anything. More gunfire echoed through the jungle. Kingsley’s torturer brought his rifle up. Fired into the dark.
My heart raced. What if they accidentally hit Kingsley? Our baby?
I wanted to cover my belly with my arms, but that stupid duct tape. Craig had disappeared into the darkness. Not towards where the firefight came from. He’d run in the other direction. The coward was bolting.
The other goon suddenly pointed his muzzle at me. “Sorry, but I have orders to kill you if things go south.”
I closed my eyes.If that’s Your will God, so be it.
Something warm and wet splattered my face, making me flinch. Athudfollowed almost simultaneously with a single shot ringing out from far away. My brain needed a moment to grasp that the confusing order had to do with the speed of sound.
I slowly opened my eyes—
A dark shadow stepped in front of me, sending my heart into my throat.
“It’s over, Harley. You’re safe now.”
My heartbeat slowed. “Rome?”
He squatted in front of me. “Yeah, honey. It’s me.” Muttering a curse in Italian, he wiped my face with a gloved hand. Voices and movement came from behind him.
“Please get Kingsley down. Please. He’s n-not moving.”
“I know. They’re on it. His brother Wentworth is here. He’s a combat medic.”
I strained to see something, but Rome blocked my view. “I want to go to him.”
“Not now.” He rose—making sure I couldn’t see past him—and turned my chair around like I weighed nothing. Then he pulled out a knife. “There’s a dude with half of his head gone, and I don’t want you to see that.”
Oh. This had to be the guy who’d whipped Kingsley. The same guy who’d been about to shoot me. Who’d taken him out?
I jolted upright, which was now possible because Rome had cut the duct tape around my chest. “Wait, Craig ran! You have to get him!”
“They’re tracking him down.”
“They?”
“Marino.” A hulk of a guy clad in woodland camouflage and matching face paint stalked up to us. He had a buzz cut and thick beard. “My team established a perimeter. Ten confirmed kills. Caught one squirter. Just got confirmation that it was our target.”
Rome lifted his head from where he’d been cutting my legs free and looked at the guy. “Must feel good to take down an HVT.” He squeezed my knee. “They got Fuller.”
The relief that flooded me made me dizzy.Thank You for ending this nightmare, Jesus.I couldn’t have slept in peace knowing he was still out there.
“What are you going to do with him?” I asked.
