Page 30 of Tactical Lies

Although they’d walked mostly in silence, he’d stopped her regularly to check in and ensure she was physically and emotionally capable of continuing. She was struggling on both fronts, but neither were going to get the best of her.

“I'm okay, I just wanted to say, be careful.”

His entire face softened at her words. “I’ll be careful. Promise.”

Despite his promise, that rock of fear continued to sit heavily in her stomach as she watched him walk away again. This time she didn't call him back even though she wanted to stick close to him.

Just a few days in his presence, and she could already feel herself being pulled back into his orbit.

Something she couldn’t allow to happen.

Trust.

It all boiled down to trust.

Theirs had been shattered, and she wasn't sure it could be rebuilt. Even if it could be, there were sure to be pieces missing. Things could never go back to the way they had been before, and she wasn't sure there were enough pieces left to put together to make something that would even resemble trust.

Seconds ticked by.

Fear grew inside her.

Her fingers curled tightly around the handle of the knife in her right hand and the butt of the gun in her left. She wouldn't hesitate to use either to save herself if she had to, but she didn't want to have to.

Had the men who had been ordered to abduct and kill her to try to keep Connor and his family silent made it to the camp before them? Had they killed any survivors of the first assault? Had they killed Connor too?

Finally, just when she thought she couldn’t handle another single second of waiting, she saw him. Moving through the trees toward her. Coming fast. Was that a good sign or a bad one?

Unable to stand still, she hurried toward him, meeting him halfway. “What happened? What did you find?” she asked, forgetting to try to keep quiet in her need to find out just how bad things were.

The expression on his face was one she didn't like.

One that sparked more fear inside her.

“Connor? Are they all dead?” she asked her greatest fear. If everyone was dead there was no way she wouldn't blame herself even if the village had been attacked because of Connor and his family. Connor was only there because of her. That made it her fault.

“No, honey,” he assured her, reaching out to take the weapons from her hands. What did that mean?

“You're scaring me, Connor. Something is wrong. Your face … it’s the one you always make when you have bad news you don’t want to tell me.”

A half smile wiped away a little of his anxiety. “I forgot how easily you can read me. I promise you not everyone is dead. In fact, there are fewer dead than I originally thought. I spoke with the leader of the village. He said the death toll is standing at six, but there are a couple of people in critical condition and a lot in serious condition.”

Her chest eased a little at those words.

Those six dead would eat away at her, but it wasn't as bad as she’d feared.

“They were able to get help?”

“Yes. They got to the nearest town, and there are cops and military in the village now.”

“So those men that took us, they’re not there?” The last thing she wanted was to set off a second assault on the village by being there.

“No. My guess is when they realized we were gone, they packed up their camp and fled back to wherever they came from. That camp wasn't a permanent one, and it was close enough to the village that they were probably keeping tabs on it so they knew that the military had already moved in, and it wasn't safe for them.”

“Okay, okay, that’s … good … I'm glad not too many died.” Her voice wobbled a little on those last words because even one death was one too many. Things were better than she could have hoped for, better than she’d believed these last few days. But … Connor had that look she knew meant something was wrong.

Something he hadn't told her yet.

Something she dreaded hearing.

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