Page 80 of Nuclear Option (Owens Protective Services)

We had been runningfor too long. My side ached and it was unsurprisingly difficult to run with one arm in a sling. I was losing steam fast. From where we were, we could only see smoke in the distance where Jones’s cabin once was. I didn’t know how they managed to catch on that someone was after us, but I was grateful they were all paranoid as hell.

“It’s just up ahead,” Jones pointed to the barn. “They keep horses. We can ride to the cabin from here.”

“Ride what?” I asked, knowing he was talking about the horses, but not wanting to believe it.

“It’ll be fine. You can ride with me,” Cash answered, his hand wrapped around my good arm as he continued to pull me toward the barn.

I was out of breath and hurting badly by the time we got there. I collapsed on the ground as they wrenched the barn door open and went inside. I wasn’t going anywhere until I got my heart under control. How did they do this all the time? I was exhausted, out of breath, and they were walking around like they had just taken a leisurely stroll through the park.

“Eva, let’s go.”

“Just leave me,” I waved him off. I wanted Cash, but at this point, I was ready to surrender if it meant having a bed and an oxygen tank to fuel my lungs.

He walked over and hauled me off the ground, carrying me over to the massive horse.

“Whoa, you are not putting me on that thing. It’s got to be like fifty hands.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’ve seen that horse movie. Large horses are measured in hands.”

“Not to rush things, but we should probably leave before the baddies catch up and find us,” Rae interjected.

“Not fifty,” Cash laughed. “It’ll be fine.”

“You know, you keep saying that, but we keep getting blown up!”

“We haven’t gotten blown up once,” he retorted.

“And they will kill us when they find us,” Rae continued.

“We were hit by a vehicle,” I said, putting my hand on my hip, ignoring her urgency. “I have one working arm and you want me to get on that beast and hold on as we race across the countryside avoiding bullets and grenades and rockets and…things that go boom?” I stuttered.

“Technically, grenades and rockets both go boom,” he said, trying to be funny.

I narrowed my eyes at him, not finding this funny at all. “Are you mocking me? Because I’ve dealt with a lot, and you said this would be easy—”

“I never said this would be easy.”

“Seriously, Rae’s right,” Jones cut in. “Time is of the essence.”

“And here I am, about to get on a horse with a gimpy arm—”

“Jones only has one leg. You’ll be fine.”

My jaw dropped open, and then I remembered. “Jones has a bionic leg. It works!”

“And you have me. I’ll keep you safe. You haven’t died yet, have you?”

Well, he had a point there, even if I wasn’t very fond of it. Huffing, I followed him over to the horse and waited to see how he was going to get me up there.

“Fox, we need your back.”

“Righty-O, boss.” He walked over and bent down, giving me his back as a step.

“Okay, now I know you’re insane. There is no way I can actually climb up there!”

“You’re right. I’ll pull you up. Fox, you wait there.”

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