Chapter Eleven
Jane’s chin jutted up. Of course this wasn’t fake!
If she hadn’t been scared that drawing a deep enough breath to yell at the man might catapult them over the edge, she would have torn him to pieces.
But she didn’t think the ledge could handle that much movement.
“I know it’s not!” The fairytale part of Jane’s brain wanted to assure her that nothing bad could happen.
The rest of her brain screamed with common sense. “Teddy, take the man’s hand. Let’s go.”
Teddy obeyed, and she watched the juxtaposition between the armored man and her sweet little boy. The man looked back, catching her eye, and she dropped her chin, flushing—and then stumbled. Her gaze slipped down the long drop. “I thought you said this was the second floor.”
“Don’t look down,” he ordered.
That wasn’t an answer, and she looked again anyway. Her stomach tumbled. They were very high. The ground looked very rocky. Falling to her death in this spot would be particularly painful. “We’re definitely not on the second floor,” she muttered again, inching forward.
“It’s called a slope.” The man crept forward with Teddy in hand. “Stop looking down. We have to move faster.”
Teddy ran ahead.
“Not that fast, kid.” The man bolted after him, gripping his shoulder in half a stride.
Chunks of concrete crumbled in front of her. Jane watched the chunks fall and crash down the rocky slope below. She couldn’t move.
“Grab my hand, Janie,” Teddy called.
Her heart ached. He was so young, so brave. She couldn’t show him her fear. “Okay.” Gingerly, she stepped closer to him and took his little hand in hers. “Thanks.”
Unencumbered by Teddy, the man continued on. Teddy followed, and she tried to take careful steps. Too bad the sound of falling gravel seemed louder than the gunfire ever had.
A huge chunk of the pathway fell off the ledge. She faltered. “I should go back and find another way to the ledge.”
The helicopter arrived with a pulsating womp, womp, womp and hovered a dozen yards away, near the corner. Ropes hung down. Men dressed like the military seemed almost close enough to touch but still miles away.
“Don’t,” he barked. “Do not go back in there.”
“The ledge isn’t safe!” she shouted, then looked ahead and pointed to a large gash in the stonework ahead of them.
The entire ledge might fall at any moment.
There were cracks and missing chunks along the short path.
The ledge was covered with evidence of war and explosions, with black spots scarred on the light stone and pocked concrete.
A portion of the edge gave way and crumbled, proving her point.
He beckoned them to keep up. “You won’t fall. Keep moving.”
Jane gulped and searched for the safest path on the narrow space. “Teddy, keep close to the wall.”
“Okay.” He put his back against the building and sidestepped toward their rescuer.
Her heart hammered as she followed. The deteriorating pathway lost another chunk. Teddy jumped over it before she could cry out.
A sickening crack sounded ahead of Teddy. She rushed forward and grabbed him as a large piece of the path fell away.
“Damn it.” The man carefully eased back toward them. “Give me the boy’s hand.”
She looked down.
“Don’t do that,” he ordered. “Trust me.”
Jane had no choice, even as Teddy cried and clung to her. “Give him your hand.”
The transfer seemed effortless. Before she knew it, Teddy was safely tucked behind the man.
“Now, you.” He held his hand out. “Give me your hand.”
She inched closer. Rocks fell away under her feet. She stumbled back as the man turned Teddy away. For a terrifyingly grateful moment, she appreciated that the little boy wouldn’t watch her plummet to her death.
More stone cracked between them. Paralysis froze her muscles. He reached for her again, offering her a lifeline across the chasm. “Grab my hand.”
“I can’t reach you.” Her fingers dug into the concrete wall. “I can’t—”
“Yes, you can.” Rocks crumbled underneath his boot. “Shit.” He backed Teddy farther away and then pulled his face mask off. “Jane. Look at me.”
He knew her name? She met his gaze. His fiery eyes were unlike anything she’d ever seen.
She could see determination and loyalty mixed with dark blue and flecks of gold.
He wasn’t a man who failed. She could see him in a way that she didn’t understand, as though she could see his soul, and understood he simply refused to back down from death.
“You have to trust me,” he whispered.
Her bottom lip quaked. In that moment, she couldn’t imagine trusting anyone more than this man. His life was in danger to save hers and Teddy’s.
“Remember, my team calls me Midas,” he said. Rocks fell from under the toe of his boot, and he reluctantly shifted his weight back. “Everything I touch turns to gold. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Midas. Didn’t he know that the story of King Midas was a tragedy? The gold blessing was nothing more than a vain curse. Disaster loomed; she was sure of it. “You won’t let anything happen to Teddy.”
His jaw tightened. “I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”
The ground weakened beneath her shoes as well. Jane inched back and studied the rapidly expanding gap that separated her from Midas. Even if the ground didn’t soon give out under her weight, she couldn’t reach him. “Come back and get me.”
“No, ma’am.” He pulled his earpiece out and reached for her again, dangerously toeing the edge. “Eyes on me. Listen to me.”
Jane’s heart had never beaten so fast. She committed his brave face to her memory, then took a step back. A chunk of concrete fell from where she’d just stood. “You can’t save both of us.” He’d kill them all trying and die in vain just like Midas, the king with the golden touch.
His hard jaw set as though he refused to accept their fate. “Jane. Give me your goddamn hand.”
A sense of peace wrapped around her shoulders. A warrior like that man would keep Teddy safe.
Gunfire rang out again, but this time, it wasn’t aimed at her.
She jerked toward the helicopter. Midas’s team was returning fire.
The rapid-fire cracks mixed with the splintering sound of their ledge loosening.
She jumped back and reached for the broken wall.
Her fingers couldn’t find a hold. Jane scrambled back, knowing they’d run out of time, and looked at Midas one last time.
His lips were pinched. A hard fury flexed in his jaw, and he didn’t look away. His boring gaze drilled Jane with exasperation. “I’m coming back for you.”
Then he spun to Teddy, cradled the boy between him and the wall, and sprinted across the disintegrating ledge. A rope waited, and he secured them as Teddy wailed her name.
A second later, the helicopter disappeared. Jane rushed onto safer ground, pressed her hands to her heart, and fought for a deep breath. If nothing else, at least Teddy would be safe.