Page 17 of Shadow of Hope
She just raised an eyebrow and watched him.
“What are you not telling me?” he asked.
“Nothing. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to stop at the latrine and then get some shuteye.” She marched down the path toward the women’s latrine that she’d dug for herself.
He couldn’t very well follow her. Maybe getting away from him was her real reason for going.
He gritted his teeth and stood sentry. Time ticked by. Minute by painful minute.
One. Two. Three.
A cry of distress pierced the night.
Kari!
He spun and ran down the path. Privacy or not, he was going in.
Please don’t let Kari be hurt. Or worse…
5
Ava had hit the ground hard, and her knife went flying. She rolled in the path to search for it and gulped in air to stem the residual fear. Two things had happened all at once. She’d caught her foot in a pothole, only to fall flat on her face. Not the biggest problem though. The real problem was a loud snap and then something whizzed through the air above her.
No way an object would randomly fly overhead with such force. Had to be from a trap or something like it. With this path leading to the women’s latrine and her being the only woman, the item had to be meant for her. The object designed to hit her. To take her out. Or to seriously injure her. Thankfully she’d tripped first.
She shuddered, and her whole body vibrated with fear, but she continued to brush across the dirt until she touched the cold steel of her knife. She scooped it up and flipped over in time to see a heavy cloud dart in front of the moon.
Why had she gone storming off without a light? Because that man, that infuriating man, kept prodding, and she couldn’t keep her secret from him much longer. Maybe it was time to tell him.
“Kari?” he called out from down the path. “Where are you?”
“Here.” She was shaking and terrified and had to admit to being glad he was coming to find her. But what would happen when he started questioning her again? Would she be glad then?
He wore his headlamp and came charging down the path, the piercing light bouncing and swaying as he kept a watchful eye on his surroundings while he moved.
He reached her. “Are you okay?”
Was she? She hadn’t even taken inventory. “I think so. I caught my foot in a pothole and hit the ground.”
He glanced over his shoulder then looked down. “Where’d that rock in the path come from?”
“Above.”
“Above?” His head flashed up, and his light traveled the area. Through the trees. To the side. Over the hard-packed ground littered with pine needles. The bright beam landed on several pieces of carved wood lying by the path. Hidden under a Hosta.
“A catapult.” He charged to the spot where his light had settled.
She joined him and pointed at the pothole. “That’s where I fell.”
He squatted and shone his light on a thin wire. “Trigger point was set here. If you wouldn’t have fallen you would’ve hit this while walking. That rock would’ve taken you out. Instead, your foot must’ve caught and triggered it when you fell.”
The confirmation of her thoughts left her knees weak. “It flew over me. I heard it.”
He swiveled but didn’t stand. His light landed on the rock again. He let out a low whistle. “That would’ve done some serious damage.”
She braced her legs to keep from melting into a puddle on the ground. Someone was actually trying to kill her. Or at the very least hurt her. Unless she shared her secret with Micha, she was all alone. On her own to make sure she stayed safe.
She glanced at him. At his rigid posture and his equally tight expression in the moonlight.
