He took one of her hands and guided it toward a loop of strapping that hung from the truck’s short side wall. “You might want to hold on to that once we start moving.”
She nodded and threaded her fingers through the loop.
Tyler returned and climbed into the truck, pulled up the tailgate and dropped the canvas into place. He spoke without turning around. “I heard you talking through the canvas, doc. It sounded like you said she brought a kid. Tell me I heard wrong.”
“Sorry, junior, you heard right. We have a baby on board.” Jack glanced from Tyler to Duncan. “Hey, either of you wouldn’t happen to have one of those signs to stick on the windshield, would you?”
Tyler grunted, donned a pair of night-vision goggles and swung his weapon to his shoulder to sight through the back opening. Duncan muttered something about Murphy and put his headphones back on.
Their lack of reaction didn’t surprise Jack. They didn’t have the luxury for anything else. He leaned past Eva to rap at the window to the cab. “Okay, Kurt. We’re ready.”
The truck jerked into motion. Eva knocked into the side of the truck with her shoulder. Still holding the strap, she shifted her position so she could draw up her knees and put her back to the low wall for support.
“Are you all right?” Jack asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
“It won’t be long now. If you need anything, let me know.”
She opened her coat just enough to slip her hand inside. “We’ll be fine.”
He regarded her for a while to make sure she had steadied. Now that she was sitting, the sacks of baby clothes would be resting on the floor and her drawn up legs would take most of the baby’s weight. She still looked exhausted, but some of that could be due to the green glow from Duncan’s instruments. Jack went over to squat beside him. “What’s the latest intel on the rendezvous site, Duncan?”
“Not good. Weather’s coming in.”
“Lang will get us there.”
“We have to hope the bird can land. It could get messy.” He tipped his head toward Eva. “Are you sure she’s got a baby?”
“Saw her myself. She was asleep.”
“My sister’s boys used to sleep as long as they were moving. Especially on car rides. She told me they’d be out like a light as soon as she left the driveway. Sometimes she’d stuff them in their seats and take a drive around the block just to get some peace.” He pressed the transmitter on his headphones. “Say again, Gonzales?”
The truck hit a bump, jolting Jack into the air. He glanced back at Eva to make sure she was still hanging on, then shoved aside a stray piece of wood and braced his knuckles against the floor. “What’s going on, Duncan?”
“Gonzales spotted a patrol.”
“How far away?”
“Less than a mile ahead.”
Ahead? If there had been a pursuit, it should have come from behind. This was either bad luck or someone had guessed they were coming. The first possibility was just par for the course, but the latter could scuttle the mission before it got started. They could only hope that Eva had been as careful with her preparations as she’d claimed.
Duncan glanced at the map on the laptop and spoke into his transmitter. “Lang, we’ll try to go around them. There’s a track coming up on the left about a hundred yards.” He tensed and grabbed the equipment. “Sharp turn, everyone.”
Jack dove for Eva and landed beside her just as the truck lurched to the left. He put his hand over hers to grip the packing strap, cushioning her from the impact as they slammed against the side. The truck slowed only long enough to allow Gonzales to jump into the cab, then began accelerating uphill even before the passenger door slammed. Bark and bits of wood slid backward. Jack dug the edge of one boot into a row of rivets in the floor, braced his legs and twisted to lock his free arm around Eva. “Hang on!”
Her face was mere inches from his, so he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. She didn’t protest about his help this time. She would have heard Duncan as well as Jack had, and she was obviously bright enough to have understood the danger they were in.
A muffled wail rose from her coat. One tiny, mittened fist knocked against Jack’s sleeve where his arm stretched across Eva’s chest. Despite the rocking of the truck, she dipped her head toward the baby, caught the tiny fist in her hand and brought it to her lips. “Shh, kitten. Don’t cry. I won’t let anything hurt you. I promise.”
The change in Eva’s voice was startling. It was as tender as a kiss, completely unlike the brittle tones she’d been using with Jack. And in spite of her fear, the promise to her daughter hadn’t sounded like idle words that had been spoken in order to comfort. The vow had vibrated with courage any soldier would understand.
She would need all the courage she could scrape up, Jack thought. In the next instant, something whizzed past their heads. Moonlight winked through a scattering of new holes in the truck’s canvas side. Over the grumble of the engine and the crunching of tires on the rocky track came the staccato pops of automatic weapons.
So much for quick and clean. Murphy must be working overtime tonight. Jack pushed Eva to the floor and curled himself over both her and the baby.
Chapter 2
Pain seared through Eva’s side. She fought to control it, forcing herself to inhale in short bursts, but her ribs stung with each heartbeat. If only the ground would stop moving, yet it kept bouncing and shifting beneath her. It smelled like wool and soap.
She blinked hard and concentrated on her surroundings instead of the pain. She was lying on her side on the floor of the truck. Sergeant Norton’s coat was beneath her cheek. She could feel the pressure of his thighs at her back and the weight of his chest on her shoulder. With his hands braced in front of her and his knees behind her, he was caging her beneath his body because…because…
Her brain clicked back into gear. Oh, God! She could hear gunfire. Katya!
Before panic could take hold, she felt movement against her breasts. Katya was squirming in the confines of the cloth sling. Over the gunfire and the roar of the truck’s engine Eva heard the baby’s restless wails. She sounded cranky, not hurt. Thank God. If anything happened to this child because of her decision…
The thought was too terrible to consider. She dragged her arm around the baby, then pressed her nose to Katya’s head, drawing strength from the familiar, powder-sweet scent of the baby’s scalp. “There’s my brave girl,” she murmured. “Mommy’s here. Everything’s fine.”
Either her one-armed embrace or the sound of her voice penetrated Katya’s temper. The wails tapered off to weary sobs. Eva drew up her knees, curling her body around her child the same way Sergeant Norton was using his own body to shelter the two of them.
He had probably saved their lives when he’d knocked her over. And he was continuing to risk his own by shielding them. Who did that for complete strangers? What kind of man was he? She had seen he wasn’t happy when he’d discovered Katya, yet he’d sounded almost amused when he’d relayed the information to his companions. His voice could be gentle, and he had laugh lines around his eyes and mouth, though she could feel nothing soft about the rest of him. With his size he would likely crush them if he wasn’t strong enough to hold his weight on his arms.
The truck hit a rock, tossing her into the air. She collided with the sergeant’s body before slamming back down on her side. She clenched her jaw to keep from crying out at another stinging jab of pain. She must have fallen on a piece of wood when the shooting had started. Or there could have been splinters in the bark that covered the truck bed. That must be why her side was still hurting. The bouncing was making it worse, but she didn’t dare try to sit up. She had to protect Katya.
Had she