Slide

8

As they moved away from the camp, Slide began to pick up speed. She knew that this was a casual jog for him, but for her team, it was a flat-out run. None of them had ever done this much hard exercise in their lives. Her best friend Tjon was struggling in the middle of the pack, and he began to slip behind.

But the ones she worried most about were Dean, an older man in his sixties, and Layla, a heavily pregnant woman. Layla had been about to go on maternity leave when they were captured.

She can’t run far, and every moment in this stressful situation is a danger to her and her baby.

Ember jogged along behind Dean and Layla, watching them. Tjon began to fall back, as well. Just when she thought that Slide would have to stop for them, the three of them picked up their pace and caught up with the rest of the group.

Slide was still striding it out in the lead. He was moving too fast, even for the fittest people in the group. Obviously, he had a goal, and he wanted to reach it, but they would never get there if half the party dropped from exhaustion.

She was tempted to sprint to the front and tell him, in case he just kept running even as each member of the group dropped. She couldn’t be sure, but there was a cold determination in him that seemed deeper than their rescue.

Something personal, maybe?

As if he wanted to get this part of the mission done so that he could move on to something else. Something far more important.

Ember put all of her energy into running, staying close to Dean and Layla. They couldn’t keep traveling like this, no matter how well they were coping at the moment. As soon as she got a chance, she’d confront Slide. For now, running was all that mattered.

SLIDE

Slide ran through the trees, curving his path to head toward his uncle’s village. He had planned the route carefully so the hostages could rest on their way to the pickup point. So far, everything was going exactly as planned.

He glanced over his shoulder, needing only a quick look to see that the group was keeping up well. He admired Ember for not wanting to leave without her friends, and the way she had taken up a position at the end of the group really impressed him.

She wants to make sure no one is left behind.

He knew that even hardened soldiers could become single-minded under pressure and take off out of battle zones to save themselves. Ember was not a hardened soldier by any means, but she seemed to have the heart of one.

The heart of a hero.

He turned his eyes back to the trail, jogging steadily. He counted the beats of his heart between each step, pleased that he was still fit even after the poor nourishment in the prison. He focused on running, on clearing a trail, and checking the stars to make sure they were going in the right direction.

It worked for a while, but he soon found his eyes slipping back over his shoulder more often. There was just enough light for him to be able to see Ember’s golden hair even from this distance. He told himself he was just checking on the hostages for the sake of duty, but deep down he knew he was watching Ember for other reasons.

He raised his hand and slowed to a stop. Immediately everyone in the group heaved in deep breaths. Some bent forward, and others leaned on trees. He saw one of the women at the back of the group falter, and Ember grabbed her immediately, holding her up.

He hurried back to them, his admiration for Ember growing. She had refused to leave without her people. She had stayed at the back of the group so no one would be left behind. Now she was assisting one of the others even though she had to be tired herself.

As he approached, he had to stifle a groan of dismay. The woman was with child. He was amazed she had made it this far.

On her other side, an old man was helping to hold her up. As much as Slide admired his courage, this was beginning to look like stupidity. The man looked older than God. If he tried to hold up a pregnant lady, he’d crumble like ancient ruins in the sun.

“We need to keep moving,” he muttered, hurrying up to them. “I think they have gone in the other direction looking for us, but we can’t take the risk that they’ll swing back this way. We can’t wait.”

“Just a moment,” Ember hissed, glaring up at him. Her eyes glittered in the moonlight, and he couldn’t help it ... he found the look on her face utterly adorable. It was like a puppy demanding its chew toy back. There was too much cuteness for him to take the rage seriously.

“Let them rest, just for one minute,” Ember snapped. He nodded, grinning, not trusting himself to speak. He could sense that if he didn’t take her seriously, there would be nothing cute about the anger that came next.

He walked up and down the group, checking in with each of them. Most of them had their breath back and were ready to continue. When he returned to the end of the line, the old man stood up quickly, and Ember glared at him as she helped the pregnant woman up.

“Are you well?” he asked her, not knowing what he would do if she said no. The pregnant lady threw back her head and glared at him.

“I’m fine. I could run all night.”

“Good,” he said softly. “You might have to.”

He glanced at Ember, who frowned at him. He jogged back to the front of the line and set out at a hard run. They came through the forest into a collection of small, rocky hills. He knew his uncle’s village was not far now and glanced behind again.

The others were all keeping up, and Ember was still at the rear. She jogged along, looking left and right as well as behind. He couldn’t have expected a soldier to do a better job. He was impressed by the care she showed her companions as well as her instincts in a dangerous situation.