Page 71 of Protecting Maggie
She also wasn’t sure about being bait. She wasn’t a great runner, and she had no weapon. If one of the soldiers decided to shoot her, she wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Artem’s advice about not running straight down a street, but instead using the maze of crumbled buildings to her advantage, was good. But she still worried about going down a dead-end, like they’d done while running from the Russians.
So many things could go wrong, but she’d do whatever it took to help Shawn get free. She loved him. It was a hell of a time to have that epiphany, but she didn’t shy away from it. He’d been nothing but supportive, hadn’t seemed to mind that she was a convicted felon, had stood up for her, introduced her to his friends, and made her feel as if she was the most important person in his life.
And now he was a captive of the Russian army because of her. He didn’t have to get out of that helicopter. He could’ve called for backup when he saw she was in thatcrate. But he hadn’t hesitated to rush to her side. It was…overwhelming. And proved what kind of man Shawn was. One that she wanted at her sideforever.
“Hang on,” she whispered. “Help is coming.”
If she and the kids pulled this off, it would be a story for the ages. One she had no doubt Shawn would tell proudly to anyone who would listen. About the time he was a POW, and a woman with absolutely no military experience and three little kids rescued him and his Navy SEAL teammate. He wouldn’t be embarrassed. No, he’d be proud of her.
Maggie wanted to make that happen. Make him proud. Wanted to prove that she was more than the felon society had labeled her. Determination swelled inside as her tears dried up. She literally had nothing to lose tomorrow. And a lifetime of happiness at Shawn’s side to gain.
She snorted silently. She was being a dork. There was no guarantee that Shawn felt the same way as she did. Yes, he seemed to like her now, but she was well aware of how life had a way of pulling the rug out from under a person when they felt as if everything was going great. She was living proof of that.
But regardless, she’d do whatever she had to in order to free Shawn and MacGyver, keep Artem, Borysko, and Yana safe, and to live another day so she could make Roman pay for his evil deeds.
It was a lot of pressure, but she’d survived two years in jail for a crime she didn’t commit. She could do this. Shehadto do this. There was no other choice.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“We need to get out of here,” Preacher said under his breath.
“Yeah,” MacGyver agreed.
The day before, they’d been marched through the destroyed town to the church where they were currently holed up. Half of the building was nothing but rubble, but the other half was miraculously still standing. He and MacGyver were currently in what used to be the nave. Pews were on their sides and strewn about the space, the stained-glass windows were broken to pieces, but the space was otherwise intact. There was one bored-looking soldier in the nave guarding them, and the rest were either outside or in the narthex, the small space just outside the worship area.
There were windows they could climb out of, but without any weapons, they’d surely be shot before theywere able to get outside. Preacher tried to come up with a plan, but his body hurt, his eye was still swollen shut, and he hadn’t slept much the night before. And he couldn’t stop thinking about Maggie. Wondering where she was, if she was all right, and how the hell he’d find her when his team showed up.
Preacher still had no doubt theywouldcome. He just wanted to try to avoid any one-on-one combat if he could help it. The last thing they needed was to somehow get the US any more involved in this conflict than they were already. World War III breaking out because of his actions wasn’t something he wanted to contemplate.
“Can we take him?” Preacher asked, using his head to indicate their guard, who couldn’t have been a day over eighteen, if that. It was well known that many Russians were being conscripted into military service. It was entirely possible this kid hadn’t wanted to join the army but had no choice. Then again, it was just as possible he was proud to be serving his country.
“Yeah, but then what? His buddies outside will probably hear what’s going on and rush in. And while we might be able to get his weapon, I’m not sure that’s enough to take on an entire platoon.”
“Can’t you MacGyver something to get us out of here?” Preacher asked, half joking.
“What? You want me to build us a time machine? A portal like inStar Trekthat will beam us somewhere else? Frankly, I’d like to beam myself to a beach in theCaribbean, but since that’s impossible, I’d settle for literally anywhere other than this damn building.”
“A portal will work,” Preacher said calmly.
“You’re so weird,” MacGyver grumbled.
Preacher couldn’t help but smile. Hewasweird, but since his friends were just as odd, he didn’t really care. “Think they’re going to feed us today?”
“Considering they didn’t feed us yesterday, no. Besides, they’re looking pretty lean themselves, they’d be smarter to keep any food they have for themselves.”
Preacher didn’t disagree. He’d just hoped that maybe if someone got close enough, they could somehow overtake them and steal their rifles. Without any firepower, they were definitely at a disadvantage. Their exceptional hand-to-hand fighting skills wouldn’t help if they were shot before they could get close enough to knock someone out.
“Right. So we wait?”
“Lookin’ like it,” MacGyver agreed.
“I hate waiting,” Preacher mumbled. “I can’t help but wonder where the hell Maggie is. What she’s doing. If she’s scared to death and hunkered down in some ruin of a building.”
“Same,” MacGyver said. “Those kids have been through hell. And seeing us getting beaten probably didn’t help.”
Both men fell silent. Sounds of the building creaking ominously around them seemed loud in the relative silence of the building. The soldiers talked quietly amongst themselves just out of sight, and the guard in the nave withthem sighed, as if irritated that he’d been given such a boring assignment.
“I hope Maggie is smart enough to be as far away from here as she can get,” Preacher said after a moment. “Heading west is the best thing she can do. She’s bound to run into others who can help her, maybe someone who speaks English who can get her in touch with someone from the US.”
