She didn’t like the ironic half smile that hovered around his lips. What was he planning? “I mean it, Cody. No standing up to draw fire away from me. You follow me quickly on your belly or we don’t leave here at all.” She let go of his jacket. “Which will it be? Stay or go safely?”
“Go.”
“Safely.”
“Safely.” He mimicked her emphasis.
She searched his eyes, but he was closed off to her. She didn’t like it, but would have to take him at his word.
She rolled onto her stomach so he could ease the straps of her backpack up her arms. He helped with her injured shoulder. He was beyond gentle. Still it hurt and she couldn’t help sucking in air.
“How are you going to support your weight on that arm?” he hissed.
She set her jaw. “Willpower. I won’t let that animal win.” A fire burned in her belly with anger and defiance, but also with the resolve to get home to her daughter. She would make it out of here. She would hold Annie again.
Beside her, Cody wriggled into his pack.
She took a moment to plan her route around bushes and trees. Farther up the hill, there were bare patches where they might be spotted, but if they moved quickly and got a head start before the shooter realized they had left this spot behind the rock, they could make it through.
Thank goodness the ravine had become shallower and this slope was not as steep or long as the one she’d fallen down.
“Are you ready?” she asked.
“Yep.” He touched her arm to hold her back. “Aiyana—” He seemed to struggle with his thoughts. “Please be careful.”
She felt something on her hair, the lightest butterfly touch of...his lips?
But she had no time to wonder.
The first few pulls forward almost killed her shoulder. Sweat broke out on her upper lip. She kept going, slowly, movements small while she hunted out bare spots. Nothing rustled around her, so maybe this would work.
Cody came next, as silently as a wraith. Had he done army training?
She bit her lip against the pain and tried to put more support on her good arm, but couldn’t avoid using her injured shoulder altogether.
About halfway up she had to stop. She rested her head on her crossed arms. Her pulse pounded deeply while her breath became more and more shallow.
“Aiyana,” Cody whispered. “Can you roll onto your good side?”
She did.
He crept up beside her in the space she’d left clear by leaning against a tree. After one glimpse of her face he rolled onto his back. Hands around her waist, he lifted and stretched her full length on top of his dry body, away from the damp earth.
A breath whispered out of her, his body beyond wonderful beneath her, solid and invincible. His palm wrapped around her head and held her against his chest. His heart beat a steady rhythm in her ear.
After catching her breath, she said, low and quietly, “I’m trying to be strong.”
“There’s no trying about it, Aiyana. You did well.” Even as he monitored their surroundings for signs of danger, his eyes sparkled when they returned to her. “I can’t believe how far you got before stopping.”
“Do you think we got away?” she whispered. “I haven’t heard a thing.”
“Me, either. We moved quietly. I’m not sure we even rustled those bushes. You picked a good route. Maybe he thinks we’re still hiding behind the rocks.”
“Give me a minute to catch my breath then we can move again.”
She felt him move beneath her, sensed him twisting his head to check uphill.
“You made it more than two-thirds of the way up.”
He grasped her face and kissed her forehead, hard and quick. An impulse, she thought—and a glorious one at that. “You’re amazing. If the shooter was coming, we would have heard him by now. I can carry you from here.”
“No.”
At her emphatic tone, his arms tightened across her back. “Why not? I can.”
“I know. You’ve proven how strong you are.”
He stiffened.
“I mean it, Cody. As much as you think I’ve been amazing? Double it for you.”
His hands rubbed her back and she melted into him, still chilled deep within by the night and the rain and the danger.
“We’d better get going,” she whispered.
He released her slowly. Was that reluctance she sensed? She didn’t have time to explore it. They had to get out of this ravine alive. They sat up and listened. They heard nothing.
Cody brushed a hand across her cheek and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. The action felt as sad as his eyes looked.
“It seems that he might have given up.”
He stood and Aiyana followed, helping to lift herself when he took her onto his back.
Fifteen minutes later, moving slowly, they reached the path that ran along the top of the ravine. Cody set her on her feet.
She leaned against him, her ankle throbbing. Glancing up and down the path, she said, “I think we’re home free. Cody, leave me here and go for help.”
“We’re really going through this again? Read my lips. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“Okay, fine. Be a bloody hero and knock yourself out.”
For a long moment, they stared at each other. Then Cody started to laugh, and she couldn’t help herself but had to join in.
“I’m sorry.” She groaned and gently rubbed her chest above the bruise. “You’ve been selfless and here I am giving you a hard time.”
“We’re both tired. This has been stressful.”
“No fooling. It’s kind of unprecedented. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in Accord.”
Cody took a map out of his back pocket.
“Well, we’re pretty close now. The shooter wouldn’t dare fire at us here. Everyone would hear and come running.”
A gigantic balloon of relief swelled inside her, and a heartfelt “Thank God” burst out of her. “And thank you, Cody. I can’t thank you enough.” Her voice broke.
He grasped her arm. “Buck up. We’re almost there.”
“I just want to get home so badly.”
“I hope this hasn’t ruined the park for you. Your dad says you come here all the time.”
“I do. I love it.” She glanced around while a poignant sadness filled her. “But I’ll have to take a break.”
Could she ever come back? She didn’t know.
Cody watched her, concern written like braille on his brow. He turned his back, picked her up and carried her along the trail. They heard someone coming ahead and tensed. Cody leaned against the upper hill, shielding as much of her as he could with his body.
A moment later, a park ranger rounded the curve.
Aiyana let out the breath she’d been holding. They were truly safe!
The ranger’s frowned eased. “You found her!”
“Yeah,