Page 32 of The Hero
She lifted her head and stared at him with big eyes. “Me?”
“Yeah. It’s as if my subconscious knew I was safe with you, that you’d protect me while I was asleep.”
“I will,” she said fervently. “I dare anyone to try to touch you while you’re sleeping.”
Bob grinned. She was adorable. He put his hand on her head and gently eased it back down to his chest. “Down, girl. We’re good. Close your eyes and get some sleep. We’ll head out late this afternoon and hopefully get across the border right when it gets dark.”
“I’m afraid to believe that I might just get home,” she whispered against him.
“You will. I promise.”
Marlowe hugged him tight and nuzzled his chest. Just minutes later, she was asleep.
Bob’s heart swelled as he held her close. He’d always felt protective with the people he was sent to rescue, butnothingcompared to the feelings coursing through his veins at the moment.
Marlowe didn’t deserve what happened to her. The same was likely for some of the other women who were incarcerated with her. He wasn’t a proponent of drug use, but enduring a life sentence for a few ounces of pot or a couple of yaba pills wasn’t right either.
He’d get Marlowe to safety, and he only hoped any other innocent prisoners still at large were able to hide. To continue to evade the police, with or without someone’s aid. That they’d be able to start their lives again.
Sometime later, Bob jerked awake. Glancing at his watch, he was surprised to see he’d actually dozed for a good while. It was now afternoon, and while he’d promised they could get an earlier start today, it was still a couple of hours before he felt they could safely continue their journey.
He scooted down until he was lying on the hard wooden planks of the floor, moved their backpack under his head, and adjusted Marlowe in his arms, more than content to let her use him as a pillow.
He was staring at the ceiling, going over the trickiest part of their escape in his head—getting across the border undetected—when he heard a sound that made his gut clench.
Their hosts were in the other room, arguing. They were trying to be quiet, but it was obvious they were having a heated disagreement about something.
The hair on the back of Bob’s neck stood up as he listened.
They were in a very poor area, like so many others they’d passed through. He wanted to trust Willis’s network, and an argument didn’t necessarily mean anything in regard to him and Marlowe. But heunderstood how tempting it would be for their hosts to turn them in for the reward money, no matter how much Willis had paid them.
Bob had also been a Special Forces soldier long enough to trust his instincts. And his instincts were telling him to get the hell out of this house.Now.
He sat up, shaking Marlowe as he did. “Punky, wake up. We need to leave,” he whispered.
To her credit, she didn’t ask why. Didn’t complain about more sleep, or moan about any aches and pains she might have from sleeping on the floor. She silently got to her feet, put the backpack on, and looked to him for direction.
Elsewhere in the house, the voices had stopped. Bob quietly strode to the door and opened it a crack, looking out. Not seeing anyone, he gestured for Marlowe to come closer. She was at his side immediately.
“We’re going to go out the front door,” he whispered. “I’m guessing our scooter is probably long gone. We’re going to have to go the last bit on foot.” He glanced down at her shower shoes with regret.
“It’s fine. We’ve got this,” she whispered back.
Damn, he adored this woman. When the going got tough, she didn’t break. Unbelievably, she got even stronger. “Come on,” he said, reaching for her hand. “We’re just two tourists out for a walk. We don’t want to bring any more attention to ourselves than we’ll already do because we don’t fit in here.”
“Do you think they called the police on us?” Marlowe whispered.
Bob pressed his lips together and nodded. He had no proof, but from the moment they’d arrived at this house, his gut had told him something was off. If theyhadnotified the authorities, he wasn’t sure why they’d waited so long. They could have had the police waiting for him and Marlowe upon their arrival. Based on the argument he’d overheard, he could only guess maybe one of their hosts hadn’t been so eager to betray them.
Whatever the reason, he was kind of surprised it hadn’t happened before now. The lure of a double payout was too much for some peopleto resist. And looking at the poverty most of their hosts lived in, he could hardly blame them.
He cautiously left the bedroom, thankful now that it was at the front of the house, and took the few steps to the front door. Closing it behind them as silently as he could, Bob quickly ushered Marlowe down the street, remaining on high alert. After a few blocks, they cut between two run-down homes, then traversed a long alley.
Suddenly, he heard sirens from a police car.
The sound seemed to echo around them before Bob pinpointed its location—in the direction they’d just come from. Again, there was no proof the police were actually coming for them, but for Bob, it was confirmation that his instincts were likely correct. The couple had notified the authorities.
“Easy, Punky,” Bob crooned as he continued walking at a brisk pace through the small town.
