The Protector

by Cristin Harber

  They climbed through a labyrinth of decaying stone and twisted metal until they finally exited onto a dark street. “The extraction point is on the other side of that.” He motioned a few hundred yards away to the skeletal remains of a two-story building. It was an unsteady, mostly demolished structure, much like every other one on the surrounding dark streets. “We’ve got less than two minutes to get around it.”

  She stopped and slid the boy to the ground. Doubled over, hands on knees, she drew in breath after breath. “How? You’re not Superman.”

  “Maybe not.” His eyes scanned upward. “But you did mention something about Hercules.”

  She gave him a doubtful look. “Ha, ha.”

  He didn’t hear the helicopter’s blades beating through the air, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t waiting for them. “Either way, we gotta roll.”

  She snorted. “I wish this whole thing was a joke.”

  “Yeah, well, tough cookies, Mary Poppins. It’s not.” Chance took off and kept them close to his side.

  “But, knowing my boss, it just might be.”

  HQ barked the countdown in his ear, along with a harsh reminder they needed to get a move on. Chance lifted Teddy into his arms and positioned him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

  The kid squealed. “Hi, Janie.”

  Chance clapped a hand onto his back to keep the wriggling four-year-old in place and out of the way of his weapon. He jogged toward the extraction zone, occasionally eyeing Mary Poppins. She kept pace, but he slowed. Chance wanted to take a corner carefully and make sure she didn’t run herself into the ground before the helo arrived.

  He waved her against the wall, sliding a small mirror from his pocket and checking around the bend. “All clear.”

  “Just like in the movies,” she said.

  “What?”

  She motioned to the mirror.

  Chance shoved it into his pocket and eased them around the corner. “That’s a Boy Scout trick.”

  “I wish this was fake. All of it.”

  He choked on his laugh. “Wishful thinking.”

  She barely shook her head. “I wouldn’t put it past him to pull this shit in the name of going viral.”

  He glanced over his shoulder. “Who?”

  “Dax.”

  His lips curled in disgust. “Are you kidding me?”

  “No. This trip’s like a sex tape for an adrenaline junkie.” She rubbed her hands over her face. “Never mind. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

  Chance didn’t understand her point, but it didn’t matter. He had no time to think. The countdown from HQ and the hint of movement in the far-off darkness forced Chance to forget about anyone’s family drama.

  They needed to get to the evacuation zone pronto. The only way to meet the chopper in time was to go through the building instead of around. “In here.”

  They rushed toward a stairwell that had seen better days. The busted concrete and rusted rebar were like an altar to tetanus.

  “Watch yourself.” He picked a path and gestured for them to follow. “We have to go up there.”

  She looked up, then her face fell. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Not today. You can do it.” Chance lifted Teddy to the top of a broken wall and turned for the nanny.

  “I’m okay.” She shooed his hand away. “I’ve got it. Just stick with Teddy.”

  He studied her for a split second, deciding she could manage to hoist herself up, then he turned for the boy. The nanny came up behind Chance and said exactly what he was thinking: “This is impossible.”

  She was right. Half the floor didn’t exist anymore. The walls were rubble piles mixed with tangled, rusted rebar. Chance pinged HQ. “We don’t have a path to the top of Alpha location. Expect us directly below, on the outside ledge.”

  “Roger that,” HQ acknowledged. “They’re coming in hot. Be ready.”

  A bullet buried itself in the wall above Chance, raining stone on him. “Hell, we are too.” He reached for the woman and flung her ahead of him, and reported to HQ, “Taking fire again.”

  “Son of a bitch,” Jared snapped. “I’ve never seen assholes so intent to fight a losing goddamn battle.”

  “Go, go!” Chance waved them ahead and then returned fire. He couldn’t see where the shots had come from, but by God, he hoped he got lucky with a bull’s eye.

  “Fifteen seconds,” buzzed in his earpiece.

  Bullets whizzed again. They seemed to come from every direction. Chance didn’t have time to take cover. He struggled to maintain a foothold on the uneven pile of broken concrete underneath him. “Fuck you.”

  The gunfire paused, and he ran like hell toward the boy and the woman, not giving them a moment’s notice as he scooped their cowering bodies into his arms and hauled ass across the buckling concrete.

  “Ten.”

  Chance hurdled them toward a gaping hole in the exterior wall. The ledge, broken and damaged from years of war, came into view. Relief flooded his heart. “We’re here!”

  “Roger that, Midas.”

  Chance placed the boy down first. Mary Poppins wriggled from his other arm as an explosion shook the skeletal building. He covered their bodies until the repercussion faded, then urged them forward. “Go. Get onto the ledge.”

  She didn’t move, wrapped around the little boy like the reverb-shaken building had been the final straw before her shock set in.

  “Come on, Mary Poppins. You’ve got this.”

  “Why couldn’t this be fake?” she whispered.

  “I have news for you. None of this is fake.” Time wasn’t on their side. He held on to the remaining shred of his patience. “We need to move.”

  “Incoming,” HQ announced in his earpiece.

  “It doesn’t look safe.”

  “It’s not.” Nothing in this place was safe. “But it’s better than staying here.” Chance stepped onto the ledge. “We’ve gotta go.”

  “Promise me it will be okay?” she asked.

  Hell, he couldn’t do that, and he couldn’t lie to her either. For that moment, time suspended as he struggled to find a response. He looked at her. Really looked at her. She was a civilian. Scared… and beautiful. Vulnerability shone in her eyes, and while he always did his best, he wanted to do better than that. So long as he could ease her nightmare. “I promise I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you both safe.”

  Chance stepped through the broken wall onto the shoddy ledge. He reached for the boy. After a closed-eye squeeze, she urged Teddy to Chance. He hoisted the boy outside and onto the ledge.

  Once Teddy pressed against the wall, Chance noticed how much smaller the space was then he’d envisioned. “Stay there, kid. Don’t move a muscle.”

  “Teddy, be careful,” she shouted.

  “He’s not the one I’m worried about.” Chance held out his hand. “Come here.”

  Mary Poppins stepped closer. Her fingers rested on broken concrete, and she ducked under the metal rebar, onto the ledge. “Oh, God! There’s not enough room out here for all of us!”

  “There is. Hold on to the boy’s hand and follow me.” Chance led the way across the rickety ledge. Every step seemed to shake the concrete strip that led them to the far side of the building. “We have to reach the corner. Then it’s a piece of cake.”

  “What if we can’t?” she called.

  Chance wasn’t about to explain that the chopper couldn’t get as low and close as they needed. “Positive thoughts, MP.”

  “Don’t be cute!” she yelled, then followed behind.

  The ledge tilted as they shuffled forward. Chance cursed and backed them against the building. “I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you. But we have to keep going. Okay?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Or,”—he shook her shoulder, hoping to break her trance—“we can stay and test out the theory this is all pretend?”

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Jane’s chin jutted up. Of course this wasn’
t fake! If she hadn’t been scared that drawing a deep enough breath to yell at the man might catapult them over the edge, she would have torn him to pieces. But, she didn’t think the ledge could handle that much movement. “I know it’s not!” The fairytale part of Jane’s brain wanted to assure her that nothing bad could happen. The rest of her brain screamed with common sense. “Teddy, take the man’s hand. Let’s go.”

  Teddy obeyed, and she watched the juxtaposition between the armored man and her sweet little boy. The man looked back, catching her eye, and she dropped her chin, flushing—and then stumbled. Her gaze slipped down the long drop. “I thought you said this was the second floor.”

  “Don’t look down,” he ordered.

  That wasn’t an answer, and she looked again anyway. Her stomach tumbled. They were very high. The ground looked very rocky. Falling to her death in this spot would be particularly painful. “We’re definitely not on the second floor,” she muttered again, inching forward.

  “It’s called a slope.” The man crept forward with Teddy in hand. “Stop looking down. We have to move faster.”

  Teddy ran ahead.

  “Not that fast, kid.” The man bolted after him, gripping his shoulder in half a stride.

  Chunks of concrete crumbled in front of her. Jane watched the chunks fall and crash down the rocky slope below. She couldn’t move.

  “Grab my hand, Janie,” Teddy called.

  Her heart ached. He was so young, so brave. She couldn’t show him her fear. “Okay.” Gingerly, she stepped closer to him and took his little hand in hers. “Thanks.”

  Unencumbered by Teddy, the man continued on. Teddy followed, and she tried to take careful steps. Too bad the sound of falling gravel seemed louder than the gunfire ever had.

  A huge chunk of the pathway fell off the ledge. She faltered. “I should go back and find another way to the ledge.”

  The helicopter arrived with a pulsating womp, womp, womp and hovered a dozen yards away, near the corner. Ropes hung down. Men dressed like the military seemed almost close enough to touch but still miles away.

  “Don’t,” he barked. “Do not go back in there.”

  “The ledge isn’t safe!” she shouted, then looked ahead and pointed to a large gash in the stonework ahead of them. The entire ledge might fall at any moment. There were cracks and missing chunks along the short path. The ledge was covered by evidence of war and explosions, with black spots scarred on the light stone and pocked concrete.

  A portion of the edge gave way and crumbled, proving her point.

  He beckoned them to keep up. “You won’t fall. Keep moving.”

  Jane gulped and searched for the safest path on the narrow space. “Teddy, keep close to the wall.”

  “Okay.” He put his back against the building and sidestepped toward their rescuer.

  Her heart hammered as she followed. The deteriorating pathway lost another chunk. Teddy jumped over it before she could cry out.

  A sickening crack sounded ahead of Teddy. She rushed forward and grabbed him as a large piece of the path fell away.

  “Damn it.” The man carefully eased back toward them. “Give me the boy’s hand.”

  She looked down.

  “Don’t do that,” he ordered. “You have to trust me.”

  Jane had no choice, even as Teddy cried and clung to her. “Give him your hand.”

  The transfer seemed effortless. Before she knew it, Teddy was safely tucked behind the man.

  “Now you.” He held his hand out. “Give me your hand.”

  She inched closer. Rocks fell away under her feet. She stumbled back as the man turned Teddy away. For a terrifyingly grateful moment, she appreciated that the little boy wouldn’t watch her plummet to her death.

  More stone cracked between them. Paralysis froze her muscles. He reached for her again, offering her a lifeline across the chasm. “Grab my hand.”

  “I can’t reach you.” Her fingers dug into the concrete wall. “I can’t—”

  “Yes, you can.” Rocks crumbed underneath his boot. “Shit.” He backed Teddy farther away and then pulled his face mask off. “Jane. Look at me.”

  He knew her name? She met his gaze. His fiery eyes were unlike anything she’d ever seen. She could see determination and loyalty mixed with dark blue and flecks of gold. He wasn’t a man who failed. She could see him in a way that she didn’t understand, as though she could see his soul, and understood he simply refused to back down from death.

  “You have to trust me,” he whispered.

  Her bottom lip quaked. In that moment, she couldn’t imagine trusting anyone more than this man. His life was in danger to save hers and Teddy’s.

  “Remember, my team calls me Midas,” he said. Rocks fell from under the toe of his boot, and he reluctantly shifted his weight back. “Everything I touch turns to gold. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Midas. Didn’t he know that the story of King Midas was a tragedy? The gold blessing was nothing more than a vain curse. Disaster loomed, she was sure of it. “You won’t let anything happen to Teddy.”

  He jaw tightened. “I won’t let anything happen to either of you.”

  The ground weakened beneath her shoes as well. Jane inched back and studied the rapidly expanding gap that separated her from Midas. Even if the ground didn’t soon give out under her weight, she couldn’t reach him. “Come back and get me.”

  “No, ma’am.” He pulled his earpiece out and reached for here again, dangerously toeing the edge. “Eyes on me. Listen to me.”

  Jane’s heart had never beaten so fast. She committed his brave face to her memory, then took a step back. A chunk of concrete fell from where she’d just stood. “You can’t save both of us.” He’d kill them all trying and die in vain just like Midas, the king with the golden touch.

  His hard jaw set as though he refused to accept their fate. “Jane. Give me your goddamn hand.”

  A sense of peace wrapped over her shoulders. A warrior like that man would keep Teddy safe.

  Gunfire rang out again, but this time, it wasn’t aimed at her. She jerked toward the helicopter. Midas’s team was returning fire. The rapid-fire cracks mixed with the splintering sound of their ledge loosening. She jumped back and reached for the broken wall. Her fingers couldn’t find a hold. Jane scrambled back, knowing they’d run out of time, and looked at Midas one last time.

  His lips were pinched. A hard fury flexed in his jaw, and he didn’t look away. His boring gaze drilled Jane with exasperation. “I’m coming back for you.”

  Then he spun to Teddy, wrapped the boy protectively between him and the wall, and sprinted across the disintegrating ledge. A rope waited, and he secured them as Teddy wailed her name.

  A second later, the helicopter disappeared. Jane rushed onto safer ground, pressed her hands to her heart, and fought for a deep breath. If nothing else, at least Teddy would be safe.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Crouching inside the burned-out building, Jane listened to silence. The surrounding quiet overwhelmed her. She couldn’t hear the helicopter or gunfire. All was eerily still.

  Jane pinched her eyes closed and ducked her chin to her knees. She couldn’t shake the incensed expression on Midas’s face. But there was something else profoundly reassuring about his overbearing presence. He would see the job was done correctly. That meant someone, somehow, would come back for her. But, more importantly, Teddy was safe. And that was all that mattered.

  Distant gunfire tore peppered the silence. She backed into a corner and said a quick prayer. For what, she didn’t know. Another helicopter? Guidance on what to do next? No miracles fell from the sky, and she decided she needed to form a plan. Her concentration came in fits. Adrenaline made her hands shake. Her legs cramped, and she desperately needed to sleep.

  “Think,” she whispered.

  The only thing that came to mind was retelling this story at one of the Thanes’ excessive events. She always needed fodder for cocktail parties. The i
dea made her laugh. A trickle of humor mixed with sheer, utter exhaustion.

  Jane stretched her legs and sat down, deciding to stay put and watch for another helicopter. That seemed as good of a plan as any. After a few minutes of waiting, she wondered if it would return for her in the morning. Daylight always made problems seem more manageable.

  Could she sleep here? She didn’t know if it was safe—all things considered. Jane peeled herself from her hiding spot and tip-toed to a gaping hole that could’ve once been a window.

  The dark velvet night sky enveloped the world in a coldness that went beyond the temperature. She scanned the remains of a war-torn city. The moonlight created ghostly shadows. Was this what Dax had wanted to catch on film? Absolute devastation? Some buildings barely remained, while others seemed impossibly untouched.

  Voices echoed from below her. She pushed away from the wall and raced to find a better hiding spot. Jane crouched and searched for the voices. She saw no one. But now, the voices sounded like they were coming from above. “What the hell.” That was one of the many problems with partially destroyed buildings. Noises bounced and echoed in ways that she couldn’t wrap her mind around.

  Another voice and footsteps broke the quiet. This time, Jane was certain the proximity was much, much closer. She rushed down the semi-demolished hall. The scenery blurred together. She tried to reorient herself and turned in time to see three men hurrying in the direction she’d just come from.

  The hell with thoughtfully planning her escape. Jane needed to haul ass from here if she wanted to survive.

  ***

  Chance did his best to stymie a torrent of curses in front of Teddy Thane. But fucking hell. How did I not see that coming? The woman was a nanny with a superhero complex. He should’ve expected a stunt like that from someone who worked for the Thanes.

  Except it hadn’t been a stunt. If she hadn’t jumped back, she’d be dead. If she hadn’t demanded they leave, the helo wouldn’t have been able to stay. The kid would be dead. Hell, they would all be dead.