stepped out with purpose, heading away from the village and up into the hills.
Jake followed. “You weren’t kidding about running track.”
“I run whenever I get a chance,” she said without slowing to catch her breath. “Even over here in Niger.”
When they came to a bend in the trail, Jake glanced back, his pulse picking up again. “Well, you’re going to have to keep running. They’re coming after us.”
Alexandria picked up the pace, climbing higher and faster. Soon the village was completely out of view behind a hill. They couldn’t keep up the pace, but, thankfully, neither could their pursuers, and they didn’t have the benefit of ATVs to speed up the search.
“If you’re up to it, we should keep moving until nightfall,” Jake suggested.
“I’m good to go,” she said, her breathing a little labored. But she didn’t slow, didn’t falter, just kept going.
Jake thanked his lucky stars this woman wasn’t one to fall to pieces when the going got tough. A glance ahead at the rocky path provided a good indication that the going promised to get tougher. And they had no food or water to sustain them if they had to hide out for any longer than a day or two.
At the moment, though, their number-one need was a safe haven from gunfire.
The path into the hills forked. When Alexandria turned right instead of left, he didn’t question her choice. It made sense to choose the path least traveled. The other appeared to be recently disturbed.
The crack of gunfire echoed off the hillsides. As they slipped over the top of a ridge, Jake glanced back.
Several men dressed in the black garb of the ISIS rebels were climbing the path they’d taken.
“Wait on the other side,” Jake commanded.
Alexandria dropped below the ridge and did as told.
Hunkering low to the ground, Jake steadied his rifle and peered through the scope, focusing on the movement below.
His hands tightened on the rifle. “Damn.”
“What?” Alexandria started to climb up beside him.
Jake held out a hand to stop her and replied, “They’re following our path.”
“Good,” Alexandria whispered. “They found the candy wrapper I left.”
Anger surged as Jake sank back behind the ridge and stared at the woman as if she’d lost her mind. He stopped short of grabbing her by the arms and shaking some sense into her. “Why the hell did you do that?”
Her lips firmed and she lifted her chin. “The other path led to where the orphans and villagers are hiding in the caves. I didn’t want the militants to find them.”
His ire abated as he stared into the eyes of a woman who had sacrificed her own safety for that of others. He couldn’t fault her for that, not when he’d done the same for his team. “Okay. I get it. But that doesn’t make it any easier on us. We can’t stop moving until dark.” He glanced one last time over the top of the ridge.
They’d lost some of their lead. They’d have to get a move on to gain ground. He’d counted six of the ISIS fighters. The predators outnumbered the prey, but they still had the lead. With only a few rounds remaining in his magazine, Jake couldn’t risk a firefight. He had to get himself and Alexandria back to his team before they were caught or died in the arid landscape.
Alex’s calves and thighs were past sore and now bordered on numb, but she kept climbing. Dusk settled in around her and Jake, making it more difficult to judge distance. She slipped on the path and almost tumbled down the hill they were on.
Jake grabbed her arm just in time and jerked her backward, slamming her into his broad, muscular chest.
She clung to him, appreciating his strength for a brief moment. He didn’t seem to be winded at all, whereas she was breathing hard and every muscle in her body quivered with overuse. Sure, she ran and kept in good shape, but she hadn’t been climbing hills, which required the use of a different set of muscles.
“We need to find shelter for the night,” Jake said, his voice so close to her ear it warmed the side of her neck.
She pushed against his chest and straightened. “I can keep going.” It was a lie, but she refused to be the one to hold them back. If the rebels caught up to them because of her, she would be responsible for the outcome.
“You might be able to keep going, but I’m tired and I don’t have any desire to fall off a cliff in the dark.”
“Okay.” She stared up at the bluffs surrounding them. “These hills are riddled with caves. Will a cave suffice?”
He nodded and glanced up. “Yes.”
Alex’s lips twisted. “We passed several in the last valley. But, of course, when you’re looking for one you can’t find one.”
“We’ll keep moving. Maybe there will be one over the next ridge.”
Jake took the lead, picking his way through the brush and bramble. The trails had become nothing more than animal paths, crisscrossing the sides of hills and seeming to have no rhyme or reason to their course. He headed toward a pass between two hills, climbing up a steep slope to reach it. He didn’t linger on the ridgeline, dropping to the other side quickly to keep from being silhouetted against the fading light.
Alex did the same. When she stood beside him on the other side of the ridge, she scanned the hillsides, cliffs and valley below.
“There.” Jake pointed to several dark areas along the side of a bluff, across the narrow valley from where they stood.
Alex squinted. The dark shadows could be caves. The only way to know for certain was to get closer and check them out. With darkness settling in around them, they had to hurry or they’d be stumbling around in pitch black before the stars came out to shed a little light on their situation. And when the stars came out, that might allow for enough light that their pursuers could pick them out against the slopes and give away their hiding place before they even reached it.
Jake eased down the slippery slope one side step at a time.
Alex sucked in a deep, tired breath and hurried down the hillside, slipping and sliding on the loose gravel and stones. Her feet flew out from underneath her and she sat down hard, her momentum carrying her downward faster than she’d intended and bruising her backside as she went. She reached out, flailing for purchase, grabbing at the brush or anything that would slow her descent. The roots and brush she tried to hold on to ripped from the dry soil, barely slowing her fall.
“Watch out,” she called out as her body picked up speed, heading straight for the man who’d saved her from the ISIS rebels. And she could do nothing to stop herself.
About the time Jake turned to see what was happening, she plowed into his shins, knocking him off his feet. He fell, landing on top of her.
Instead of slowing her fall, he slipped down the hillside with her, like an avalanche of human flesh, plummeting to the bottom.
When she finally came to a halt, Alex lay for a moment, trying to breathe.
Jake was still on top of her, his face dusty, his eyes wide. “Are you all right?” he asked.
She tried to say something, but she couldn’t get enough air into her lungs to pass her vocal cords. “Can’t...” she wheezed.
“Can’t what?” he asked, untangling his legs from hers. Finally he pushed up on his arms, still leaning over her.
“Breathe,” Alex said on a gasp. She filled her freed lungs with precious air. “Though