Chapter Eight
Jane smashed headfirst into another wall. Her arms tightened around Teddy as they stumbled back. The air had been knocked out of them. They gasped and wheezed. Her tired mind struggled to define the problem as she finally gulped in air.
No, that had not been a wall. Jane tore Teddy from her chest, wrapping the boy behind her. She lifted her hands and dropped into her fighting stance, unable to make sense of the darkness ahead of them.
Her eyes adjusted in the faint moonlight that poured through rips and craters in the building.
The man in front of her wore black tactical gear.
His face was mostly obscured by night-vision goggles and a helmet.
Even his hands were gloved, with his finger resting on the trigger of the biggest rifle Jane had ever seen.
He was quite possibly the scariest, most wonderful thing she’d ever set eyes on.
He held up a hand in a way that said hello and be quiet. “I’m one of the good guys.”
English. He was an American. “Thank you.”
“Grab the kid and listen to what I say. Let’s go,” the man said gruffly and turned.
Jane straightened. This was the wrong time to take issue with the guy’s manners, but, hell, his tone worked down her nerves like nails on a chalkboard. “Okay, but you don’t have to be an ass about it.”
He paused then turned slowly, head cocked. “Are you kidding me, lady?”
She realized that his proclamation as a good guy didn’t mean much. Why would she blindly trust another person simply because they spoke English and said they weren’t the enemy? Were his clothes even issued by the US government? “I don’t know who you are—”
“You people,” he muttered. “And this fucking job.”
She balked. “Excuse me?”
He leaned closer like a bull pushing an invisible fence. “If you want to stick around and die, be my guest. But I’m taking the kid with me.”
Jane threw her arm out like a barrier between the grouchy-warrior dude and her sweet little boy. “I don’t think so, Rambo.”
He cackled. It wasn’t like a laugh, because the sound was too full of disdain and reproach.
A thunderclap of a nearby explosion shook the walls, and she jumped.
“You ready now, Mary Poppins?” He reached over her and lifted Teddy. “Or were you going to stay put?”
For as coarse and gravelly as he was to her, he had an immediate magic touch with Teddy, somehow making him laugh.
Teddy’s laugh was nearly the only reason she relented and agreed to follow. That, and the fact that she’d worked too hard to stay alive since they’d landed in Syria to let a little spite toward the big guy with a gun be the reason she didn’t make it out of this hellhole.
They took off and plunged into complete darkness, which was great for him, with those night-vision goggles. But she ran with hands outstretched and groping to keep her balance.
“Hang on,” he ordered.
But Jane was a millisecond too slow to comprehend. Her outstretched hands landed flat on his back before her face smashed against him also.
“Try to keep yours hands to yourself, Mary Poppins,” he muttered.
Teddy giggled.
Whose side was the kid on? “A little more warning would be nice.”
“Our pathway ended,” he explained.
Jane peeked around them and could barely tell they had reached another T-intersection. The man listened intently to their surroundings. At least, that’s what she thought he might be doing. She tried to as well… and heard absolutely nothing.
“Do you know where we are?” she whispered.
He ignored her.
Jane’s lips flattened. “Do you know where we’re going?”
Again, he ignored her.
“Great.” She scrubbed her hands over her exhausted eyes. They were lost in a dungeon-like tomb of a half-collapsed building, and their saving grace didn’t know which way would lead them to safety. She decided they should go left.
“Let’s go.” He turned right.
She hesitated. “Are you sure?”
“This way. Now.” He motioned to her forcefully with his gloved hand. “Keep up.”
After a few more turns, they came to a place where one of the walls had partially collapsed. The man set Teddy down and crouched. “We might need to crawl through there.”
“Um…” She wasn’t sure if his armored body could slip through the broken wall. “I don’t know if we can fit.”
Teddy scampered forward. “I can!”
“Teddy!” Jane dropped to her knees. “Wait!”
“Hold on, kid.” The man produced a flashlight.
“It’s easy,” Teddy called from on the other side of the stone wall.
“Teddy! Hang on.” Jane wriggled through the opening to follow after the little boy. Debris shifted under her hands and knees, and she maneuvered around concrete chunks connected to thick metal rods. Behind her, she heard the man close on her heels. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
She shrugged, crawling forward. “I didn’t think you’d fit.”
He laughed. “Heard that before.”
Had he just made a sex joke? Jane’s jaw dropped. “Crass.”
“What?” he deadpanned. “I—"
Another explosion ripped through the building, knocking her off balance. Dust fell. Rocks tumbled. “Teddy!”
“Damn it.” The man pushed ahead of her.
Jane tried not to choke on the flurry of floating dust. The man cursed again, and she blinked in the darkness to clear her view. Wait, no. Dust hadn’t clouded her eyesight. A new section of the wall had shifted, creating a barrier between her and Teddy.
Jane rushed forward. The worst possibilities came to mind as fear burned her eyes and throat. Was he trapped? Crushed? “Oh my God!”
“Don’t move,” the man ordered.
“Oh, screw off.” She strained to see through the rubble. “Teddy! Can you hear me?”
A faraway and faint voice hit her ears. “Janie! Help me!”
Breathing a sigh of relief, she grabbed a handful of small rocks. “I will, honey! I’m coming.”
Then, the little boy let out an anguished sob that tore Jane in half. Aching to wrap her arms around him, she dug harder, oblivious to skinned knuckles and the grit burrowing under her fingernails.
“Stop.” The man tugged her shoulder back.
Jane slapped his hands away. “Why would I stop?”
“You need—”
“I need to get to him,” Jane cried. “He’s trapped, and I’m Mary freakin’ Poppins! So why don’t you help instead of slowing me down?” She whirled back to the downed wall.
He yanked her away. “You keep digging, the whole wall’ll fall on you.”
Jane stopped and understood he might be right. But she couldn’t do nothing. Desperation made her dizzy. “Then what do we do?”
His answer didn’t come. She tried to stare him down, which was impossible. The darkness, his height, and the impenetrable dark goggles were a combination that even her best glare couldn’t fight past.
“This way.” He motioned for her to turn around. “We back out and go around.”
“What? Leave him?” She shook her head. “No way. I…” She didn’t want to leave Teddy all alone. “I can’t.”
“Look at me,” he said quietly.
Her chin snapped up. “I can’t even see you.”
The man laid his hands on her shoulders. “Then you’ll just have to trust me.”