21. Come Up From Behind
Chapter 21
Come Up From Behind
M arcus kept his senses wide open even as he listened to Owen’s jokes and tried to come up with outrageously bad answers. The kid was priceless.
“What kind of lion never roars?”
“A sleeping lion.”
Owen shook his head with a grin.
“A lion chewing a peanut butter sandwich.”
The kid shook his head and bounced down the path. “Nope.”
“A stuffed toy lion.”
“Nope, but that’s a good guess.”
“How about the kid lion from The Lion King?”
“No way. He’s got a big roar like this.” Owen’s roar had everyone laughing. “Do you give up yet?”
Marcus frowned hard at the kid, but it only made him laugh harder. “Yeah, I give up.”
“You can’t find them this time of year, but they’re here in Vermont.”
“We don’t have lions in Vermont. Well, we do have some mountain lions, but they do roar. You got me with this one, bud.”
The boy threw his hands in the air like Rocky at the top of the steps. He did a couple of cartwheels along the path and then ran to grab his puppy’s leash from his mom.
Owen and Flups bounced to Marcus. “It’s a dandelion. Get it? Dande lion ? It can’t roar but it’s got lion in its name.”
Marcus laughed along with the boy. “That’s a good one. Make sure Elina and Piper add it to the list.”
The endless ball of energy kept bouncing over to Elina. “Can Finch walk with me? He’s good, and he won’t run away. He and Flups like each other. Can I?”
Rachel laughed. “Did you somehow sneak in sugar for lunch? Like a whole bag of sugar?”
Owen shook his whole body like he’d been zapped by lightning. “How’d you guess?”
Rachel shook her head. “You’re a wack-a-doodle.”
He nodded. “That’s me? Can I take Finch, Elina?”
Elina grinned and handed over the leash. “But you need to be calm if you’re in charge of the dogs. Don’t get them all riled up. Finch doesn’t know his way out here, and we don’t want him spooked.”
Like a light switch, Owen’s demeanor softened. He patted the Dane’s massive head. “We won’t let you get lost, Finch. I’m always careful with Flups. You guys can check out the smells in the leaves that already fell.”
The trio wandered to the edge of the path, and sauntered along, the dogs’ noses in the leaves and the boy’s quiet voice chattering to them.
Marcus turned to Rachel. “You think he’s going to end up on stage?”
Rachel smiled fondly at her boy. “Or in the circus. He can be an acrobat or a clown. Other days, I think he’s going to be a veterinarian. He’s fascinated by what Kimi does, and he’s gentle with the animals. He loves them.”
Marcus patted her shoulder. “Not surprising at all. He’s a great kid, and he’s got a huge heart.”
Rachel’s skin flushed. “Thanks. I think he’s awesome.”
Elina nodded. “He is. You two were the first people I met when I got here. You were both so nice. It convinced me to spend some time in Phail.”
Marcus had even more reason to like the boy.
On the next post, they added a fact about the Phail family who had founded the town over a hundred and fifty years ago. Owen had fun figuring out how long of a time that was. If his mom lived her life fifty times over. And if Owen did it three times more than that.
Marcus thought the boy’s eyes were going to bug out of his head as he worked out that number.
When they reached the next post, they were deep in the woods, and the trees were showing off all their glory. They took a break while Piper shuffled through her cards, looking for a good one.
Owen sat on the ground with the dogs. “Okay, Flups, let’s show Finch how to follow the signals. Ready?”
Owen held his hand out, palm facing down and parallel to the ground. Flups flopped to his belly, and Owen rubbed his head. “Good boy, Flups. Good job. Finch, you try it. This means to lie down. Can you do it? Finch. Lie down.”
His voice was soft but firm. Kimi had probably been teaching him how to train the puppy. Finch looked from Owen to the other dog. Then, he checked in with Marcus and Elina before turning back to the boy.
Owen repeated the command and the motion. Finch took another moment, and then he lay down beside his new buddy. Owen praised him, and rubbed him down. Rachel was right. The kid was great with animals.
“Found a good one.” Piper’s voice had them all turning to her. Troy helped her slide the card under the glass and then waved Owen over.
The boy read it aloud. “I’m light as a feather, but you can’t hold me for five minutes. What am I?” He frowned for a moment, then shrugged. Marcus didn’t know the answer immediately, either.
When no one said the answer, Owen nodded. “That’s a good one, Piper. What’s the answer?”
Piper laughed. “Not a chance, kiddo. The riddles are there to puzzle over. I won’t reveal the answer until the next riddle goes up.”
He grinned. “Waiting is hard. I want to know now.”
She tapped his nose. “Then you’d better think hard.”
Owen nodded and tugged the dogs into moving to toward the next post. “What do you think, guys? What’s light a feather? Maybe a hummingbird. I don’t think he’d like me to hold him, so I don’t think that’s the answer.”
The boy continued to talk to the dogs as they moved down the path toward the next curve. The Great Dane puppy stood almost at Owen’s shoulder, and his King Charles Cavalier dog wasn’t much taller than his knees. They were a cute trio as they sauntered toward the next bend in the trail.
How would Elina feel about having kids at some point? They hadn’t discussed it. Hell, he hadn’t thought about it much, but the look they shared earlier had him imagining it now. A little girl climbing all over the dog and letting the kittens climb all over her. A fierce girl who would help the world with one random act of kindness after the other. A girl who might grow up to be an artist or a cop. Or something completely different.
He could see it as clearly as he could hear the wind through the leaves.
Danger rippled through those leaves, and he could feel a person watching them. Not just any person. The asshole.
Shit.
One second, everything had been normal. He pulled his weapon while he ran. “Owen. Come back.”
Before he even finished the first syllable, he knew it was too late.
Owen screamed.
Finch barked.
And Elina, who’d been ahead of him by a few steps, took off running toward the boy.
Shit.
T he creepy feeling came out of nowhere, and Elina was running before she heard Owen scream. Marcus shouted behind her, and Finch barked ahead.
This area of the woods was a mix of trees, with plenty of spruce trees blocking the view around the corner. She poured her energy into her limbs, needing to get to Owen and the dogs. If this was the man after her or Marcus, the boy didn’t deserve to be caught in the mess.
Flashes of that day back in Suraih flashed through her head. The shouts and the rifle shots. The fear as she tried to decide whether to hide the children or get them to run. Relief when Marcus and Scooby arrived with Shaggy. The pure panic when she realized Damsa was still in the school.
Shaggy finding the little girl. Scooby scooping her up. Marcus and Shaggy ushering them out. Then the explosion and the school collapsing on Marcus.
Elina forced away the memories and the panic as she ran. Maybe it was a bear that scared Owen. The dogs would keep him safe.
But she knew it wasn’t a bear.
Behind her, Marcus called her to stop, but she couldn’t. Owen couldn’t get caught in this mess.
She rounded the spruce trees and kept moving. A man held Owen at knifepoint. With a khyber. She’d seen those knives frequently in Suraih but hadn’t seen one since. The long, thin blades had originally been created for penetrating chain mail, but they were popular with many of the soldiers overseas. They were used in assassinations, and too many videos of people having their throats slashed. “Let him go. He’s done nothing to harm you.”
The man didn’t look familiar, but his eyes flared with hate as he looked her over. He stood taller than her but not as tall as Marcus and his friends. His skin was a few shades darker than her own. And he made her skin crawl.
“I’ll trade him for you.” Then he cursed at her in Pashto, calling her all kinds of vile names. Was this somehow connected to her work in Suraih? She’d been back in the States for years. Why now?
In Pashto, she answered. “Done.” Elina moved forward until she stood close. To point the knife at her, the man would have to swing it away from Owen.
She swallowed hard and kept her eyes on the man’s, trying to read his intent. All she saw was hate.
She kept her hands up and stood a yard away, ignoring the shouts of the people behind her. Owen’s safety came first. “Let him go.”
“Maybe I should slice him open first.”
Thankfully, they continued to speak in Pashto, not English. Ignoring the fear, she forced herself to reply. “You’re not angry at him. He’s a child. Do I know you?”
As she’d hoped, the man’s attention turned fully on her. Hate radiated off of him as he swung the knife in her direction. Owen proved how smart he was when he took off the moment the knife moved off of him. She kept her complete attention on the man.
“You ruined my life, you worthless bitch.”
She frowned. “I don’t even know you. You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”
He spat at her, but she avoided it. When she stepped backward, he lunged forward and waved the knife in her face. “Don’t move. I’d like to carve you up into little pieces, starting with your face.”
Her body shook at that threat. She knew Marcus was there somewhere, but he wasn’t faster than a knife.
“Why? What did I do to you?”
He lunged with the knife, and she avoided it, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her close. The lunge had been a feint, and she’d fallen for it.
He moved backward and dragged her with him. She kicked and fought until he wrapped his arm around her and put the knife directly against her throat. “Move and die. This time, you’re not messing everything up.”
What did that mean?
He backed them up until they rounded the next curve. She couldn’t get too far from the group. He had to know there were people with her. Had to know they weren’t just going to let him drag her away without a fight.
“It’s your fault I was stripped of my rank. Your fault I was sent to this horrid place and forced to work with foul Westerners. The shame will be eliminated when I bring home your head. And his.”
Everything in Elina froze. Everything. Her heart, her head, her body. He had to mean Marcus.
This man must be connected to Suraih but she didn’t remember him from the village. He’d probably been one of the insurgents who’d tried to destroy the school that day. Part of the attack that had killed Shaggy and almost cost Marcus his life.
Had he been part of the group who’d kidnapped her, too? She’d often wondered if it had been the same group at work. She’d never learned what had happened to the other villagers. No one had been able to share information with her once she’d woken in that German hospital. Had he killed them, too?
The man kept muttering as he yanked at her and tried to pull her into the woods.
She wished she and Marcus had talked through the scenarios. They’d worked on her self-defense skills, but having a knife at her throat had zapped her courage.
“You ruined me. If it wasn’t for you, Faadir would have named me a lieutenant. Maybe even his second. Instead, I’m consigned to this evil place and forced to be a distributor. This will redeem me. This will make him see my worth.”
The man was full of rage and hatred. He wasn’t going to listen to reason. She had to get away. Where was Marcus? What was his plan?
On cue, Marcus rounded a large spruce tree with his gun up, and his eyes lasered in on the man holding her. “Let her go. It’s over.”
The man’s evil cackle could have landed him a Hollywood villain role.
He waved the knife at Marcus but had it back on her neck before Elina could react. She’d be ready for the next time. “Now I’ve got you both. You get to pay. You’ll watch her die first, and then I’ll gut you. I’ll take both your heads back, and I’ll be Faadir’s second.”
The inane thought that he’d have a hard time getting heads through customs ran through her head, and she knew she was on the verge of hysteria. Deep breaths. Picture him as a comic strip villain. How would they defeat him? Good always defeated evil, especially in her strips.
Marcus moved his gaze to hers, and that intensity of his tried to send her a message. An instruction of what to do. She didn’t have a clue.
Then he raised his hands to the sides and held the gun in the air in surrender.