Page 39 of Shadow Target

The man stepped on the gas, the Toyota chugging along, one long-broken fender banging and hanging off at an angle on the driver’s side. Shep placed his arm around Willow’s shoulders. She looked relieved as he told her what Luke had said. Weariness began to set in on her sweaty, dirt-streaked features. They were both physically as well as emotionally exhausted.

Shep was so damned proud of Willow, of how she’d kept her nerve and kept up her pace during the escape from the monastery ruins and the hard march to stay ahead of David’s soldiers. The edginess within him started to dissolve the closer they got to the city. Traffic slowed considerably, but their Ethiopian driver gleefully waded into it, making it look like an artform on four wheels as he snaked in and out of traffic like an Indy 500 pro. Within ten minutes, they were outside the hospital’s Emergency Room entrance. As they pulled up, Shep spotted Luke and Dev waiting near the doors, worried expressions on their faces. Luke was standing solid, speaking with somebody on his cell phone. Dev, on the other hand, moved restlessly from foot to foot, her face even more readable and filled with concern than his.

The moment Luke spotted them, he made a slight signal and Shep saw two of his people, a man and woman, appear. They carried no weapons on them that he could see, but he knew they probably had something tucked away in their waistbands hidden beneath their lightweight jackets. Both had their game faces on, and both were at full alert. He felt Willow sag against him and for a moment, as the truck came to a stop, she placed her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her mussed hair, smelling the river muck in it.

“We’re safe now,” he murmured, squeezing her shoulders gently. “There’s Luke and two of his security people. Dev’s waiting to meet you, too. Let’s get you patched up and then we’ll go home.”

“Home,” she murmured, slowly lifting her head, giving him a teary look. “Do you know how good that sounds, Shep?”

His throat tightened. “Yeah, I do,” he answered, his voice low, barely holding back his own emotions of relief. They’d dodged a bullet, quite literally, and he silently promised her she was going to become the center of his life once again. This time, for good, if he had anything to do with it.

Luke opened the door and Shep slid out. Then, he reached in to help Willow slowly down from the cab.

Shep turned, shaking hands with the driver, who was grinning ear to ear. He thanked him in Amharic. The man more than deserved the life-changing sum he’d been paid for his assistance, and he handed him another wad of bills, probably amounting to a hundred US dollars. The driver clutched the prize, giving a seated bow, thanking him, tears in his eyes. Shep stepped back, shutting the passenger-side door and waving goodbye to the man as he drove away. Turning, he saw Dev hugging Willow. She was crying and Willow was fighting back her own tears. How like her. A combat fighter pilot didn’t break down in tears in the cockpit, no matter how tough the stress and danger, and that spilled over into everyday life.

Shep gave them the time together they needed, and he saw the look on Luke’s face as he struggled not to show any emotion. “Sorry to drag you out of your picnic plans,” he said, shaking Shep’s hand.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got the Ethiopian Army on this,” Luke continued. “They’ve got a helo in the air, with soldiers on board. The helo has infrared capabilities, so they’re going to be hunting aggressively for that unit in the woods. I’d like to go with them, but you’re my focus,” and he grinned. “If they find them, they’ll contact me immediately with details and then I’ll pass them on to you and Willow.”

“Sounds good. I know you want a report on this, but I want to be with Willow in ER. I’m sure they’ll just clean the cut on her leg out, stitch her up, shoot her up with antibiotics, and release her, but I’d like to defer the report.”

Nodding, Luke shoved his hands into his cream-colored lightweight jacket. He was constantly looking around, not being obvious about it, but remaining alert. “That’s fine. We’ll cover it later. Right now, I want the Army to find those bastards. I figure that David and his solders were tracking you, but as you know, tracking is an art.”

Grim, Shep said, “Yeah, and I was hoping like hell that they didn’t have any good trackers among them. We were walk-trotting for I don’t know how many miles. We put some distance between them and us and I think that made a big difference. Willow was carrying her pack that had our boots, socks, both our pistols and her cell phone in it. In the river, an underwater tree limb snagged her pant leg, and the knapsack slipped off her shoulder and sank. She would have drowned if I hadn’t been there to rescue her. I’m worried about that knapsack being found and blowing our cover. Is there any way to retrieve it, Luke?”

Luke’s gray eyes grew thoughtful. “As soon as I hear from the army about their search, if you or Willow can give me info on approximately where you lost it in the water, I can don my diving gear and go down and try to find it.”

“Like your SEAL days,” Shep said, grinning a little.

“Roger that. I don’t want that knapsack found by anyone else.”

“I agree,” Shep replied. “I can go with you and show you the exact spot. The current isn’t that strong, but if you can’t locate it? More than likely, it will spill out at the mouth of the river and into Lake Tana.”

“Not what we want,” Luke said, shaking his head. “You’re our project engineer. We can’t lose you. You’ve given me the intel I need. If we find that little blue boat you rented and where it’s tied up, that’s all the extra I need. The general’s soldiers will scour the area for David and his soldiers FIRST and then I’ll go.”

“Good,” Shep agreed. He shook his head. “Honestly? I wasn’t expecting an attack from David and his men. Last thing on my mind as we searched those ruins. It was supposed to be a day off and a picnic.”

“I warned you that David was after an American, preferably a woman.” Luke glanced over at Dev and Willow, who were just parting from their embrace. An orderly arrived with a wheelchair for Willow. She thanked him and gladly sat down, relief in her features. Dev accompanied her into the ER.

Shep said, “Wyatt thinks they wanted an American woman to behead on the internet.”

Shaking his head, Luke muttered, “I agree with their analysis. Dev is a target, too, and she knows it because I shared the intel with her. That’s an added reason she’s so upset about Willow, and you being attacked.”

“Sonofabitches are the scourge of the earth,” Shep snarled under his breath.

Luke clapped him on the shoulder. “I won’t argue that. You got out of there, that’s all that matters. General Hakym’s pilots will fly the coastline of Lake Tana in that area, looking for your boat. Be nice if they could catch all of them. David is notorious for escaping capture. Maybe this time, the general will get lucky. I hope so.”

“As soon as Willow is patched up? We need to get some rest.”

“I’ll need a report eventually, Shep.”

Nodding, he said, “Understood. Once you hopefully find that knapsack in the river. Willow and I will sit down with you and give you a detailed report,” Shep promised. He too, would like to see Tefere David caught along with his ruthless soldiers. But right now, his focus, his heart, was on Willow. He wasn’t sure if anything further would happen to them, but his heart was screaming at him not to leave her side. Would she allow him to stay over at her place with her? Help her through her leg injury? He knew the shock and trauma of the experience was still tearing her up inside. Would she say yes? He didn’t know.

CHAPTER 12

Willow could feel herself crashing after she’d gotten home and taken a long hot shower, washing her hair and body. Her leg wound had been stitched closed and the doctor had placed a waterproof bandage over it. He’d told her no baths for at least a week. That was a bummer, but she could live with it. Donning a long lavender t-shirt that hung just above her knees, she quickly combed out her red hair, allowing it to air-dry. Her mind and heart were constantly on Shep. He’d pampered her once they got home, bustling around and making sure everything she needed was within easy reach. And then he’d left for his condo to go get cleaned up and find a set of dry, clean clothes to wear.

The late afternoon sunlight lanced in through the south and west windows of her own place as she stepped barefoot out of the bathroom. It was quiet in her condo, and the relief that they’d escaped alive was still filtering through her. How close she and Shep had come to getting killed. The shock was still rolling through her and she could feel its cold presence lingering even after the hot shower. It had been barely an hour and a half since he’d left but she already missed his quiet, strong presence. Picking up her cell, she called him.

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