Page 13 of Keeping Amanda
Moving as stealthily as he could, Buck crept back through the trees to where he’d left Mandy. For a moment, he panicked when she wasn’t crouched behind the large tree. Then a soft sound had him spinning around, and every muscle in his body sagged when he saw her. She’d moved away from the tree a little and was lying on her side in a ball, snoring lightly.
The fact that she’d felt safe enough to fall asleep wasn’t lost on him. Or maybe it was just sheer exhaustion. Whatever it was, he felt horrible that he had to wake her, but they needed to get as far away from the rebel camp as possible before they could truly rest.
He put a hand on her shoulder and gently shook her.
She woke instantly, eyes wide with panic as she lurched away from him.
Feeling sick that he had to grab her to keep her from making any noise, Buck was on top of her with a hand over her mouth before she could let out even the smallest squeak.
“Sorry!” he apologized immediately. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay? Awake now?”
When she nodded, he quickly dropped his hand. “Did I hurt you?”
“No. Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Did you find the things we need?”
Buck nodded. “Got us some good stuff. But we need to go. Now.”
She was on her feet almost before he’d finished speaking. Obviously more than ready to leave a place that was a source of some horrible memories.
“I’ll lead. Stay right on my ass. Hold on to the backpack if you need to. Step where I step. Try not to make any noise. Understand?” He was being extra brusque, but the hair on the back of his neck was standing up. It was too light outside now, even under the canopy. They needed to be gone.
“Yes.” Her reply was short and to the point.
Taking her at her word, Buck turned and headed north. They’d go that way, then circle back around to the east. Taking the long way around the camp, but he’d rather be safe than sorry.
Just when he thought they’d done it, that they’d gotten away without anyone knowing someone had been left behind by the chopper, a shout rose from the direction of the camp.
“Someone’s been here. There’s food missing!”
“Fuck. We need to run,” Buck said. “Can you do that?”
“Yes!”
He didn’t hesitate, just took off at a jog. They were still way too close to camp. And from the yelling he heard, Buck could tell the rebels were both pissedandexcited.
The thought of them getting their hands on Mandy was enough to spur him to run faster. He could hear her breathinghard behind him, but she didn’t complain, simply did her best to keep up.
At least the rebels had no idea who or how many people they were looking for, or what direction they’d gone. They probably thought they were looking for a kid or two—which again would work in their favor.
Still, the more distance they could put between them, the better off they’d be. Buck had no doubt the rebels wouldn’t give up easily, but eventually when they didn’t find anyone, he hoped they’d second-guess themselves…think perhaps the kids had stolen food before they’d been rescued, and just give up the search.
How long they ran, Buck had no idea. But it wasn’t until it occurred to him that he didn’t hear Mandy’s breathing that he looked behind him.
His heart literally stopped beating when he didn’t see her anywhere.
“Shit,” he whispered, spinning around to backtrack.
He didn’t have to go far. When he found her, he knew immediately they weren’t going to be able to go much farther. Her face was bright red from exertion and tears were streaming down her face.
“I’m sorry!” she whispered. “I’m coming. I’ll do better.”
“Shhhh.I’msorry,” Buck told her, as he wrapped an arm around her waist, taking some of her weight. “I’ve got you.”
“I can keep going. I just needed a second to breathe,” she told him. “And I didn’t want to call out to let you know in case someone could hear me.”
She was being smart, but Buck still felt bad that he’d been so focused on escape that he hadn’t even noticed she’d fallen behind. He vowed to do better. Tobebetter. He wasn’t in this with one of his Night Stalker pilots or a special forces operative. Mandy was a civilian. One who’d been through hell and was nearing the end of her rope. He wouldn’t let her down again.
“Come on, I’m pretty sure we lost them. We need to find a place to hole up anyway. Rest. Eat something.”
