Page 215 of Valor

Great, now he was taking her to some hidden cavern.

Lord, please protect me. This is the dumbest thing I have ever done. Please forgive me.

“Let’s go!” he ordered.

Her shoes sloshed with every step she took as Oliver guided her into the trees.

“Get down.” He pulled her to the forest floor and pointed toward the river. There was a group of men passing along the opposite bank. They were dressed in military gear, rifles in their hands. One of them held a large drone. Her breath caught. Oliver wasn’t making this up. She shot him a look. He was tapping his screen.

“What—” Meghan was gasping for breath.

“Just got a message from my team. The helicopter can’t fly in this weather.”

“I—”

Meghan couldn’t form a sentence. Out of breath, getting colder by the minute, scared out of her mind, she just stared at him. How did she get herself into this mess? Mom would never let her leave the house once she found out what had happened here.

“Ready?”

She wasn’t, but the situation left her no choice.

* * *

Oliver assessed the area.The granite wall in front of him hid the cave entrance. Somewhere. He tried to recall the details of this landscape. The best thing about this cavern was that the entrance was well concealed, which right now was a problem. When the Russians crossed the river and climbed the hill, they would surely catch them. There was no telling what would happen next unless he found the hidden cave.

God, if you are somewhere out there, as she believes, this would be a good time for you to do something. If they get hold of her?—

He couldn’t finish the thought. Oliver walked around the face of the sheer rock.

“Help me look,” he whispered.

“What am I looking for?”

“There is a cleft in the wall. It’s hidden by a boulder. We will need to squeeze behind it to get to the entrance.”

Meghan stopped. “So, you actually don’t know where the cave is?”

“I do. Keep your voice down.”

She really disliked his commanding tone. “If you do, why are we looking for it?”

“You will get it once you see it.”

“You mean if we see it before those goons get us?”

“Meghan!”

She inhaled sharply.

“Sorry,” he said, immediately regretting his angry tone. Oliver saw the fear in her eyes. Acting on instinct, he wrapped his arms around her. This was his worst idea yet. But it felt so right. How would he ever tell her that his world shifted the first time she smiled at him? “We need to go,” he whispered into her hair. When she nodded against his shoulder, he gently kissed her on her forehead. “I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said as their eyes met, hers glistening with tears. “Trust me.”

She sniffed, evidently not willing to cry.

Oliver ran his fingers through her wet hair. “I see the entrance. It’s right behind you.”

Meghan whipped back, but all she saw was a granite wall.

“Here.” He let go of her and patted the rock, then stepped behind it. “Follow me.”

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