Page 9 of Quinn

“I’ll go down and get the others so we can get going. The quicker we get her settled back at the compound, the better.” I attempted to pull my hands away from Arabella but she tightened her grip and rose onto her knees to push closer to where I sat.

“I’ll be straight back, honey. Barry will stay with you.”

“No, Quinn, stay with me please.”

I glanced at Barry. “I’ll fetch them.”

“Thanks.”

After he left, I turned my attention to Arabella. “We’re going to take you to our compound in Popondetta which is on the other side of the island. You’ll be safe there, I promise.”

“They’ll find me.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, her head lowered.

“Even if they did, honey, they can’t breach our compound.”

She raised her eyes to mine. “You don’t know how powerful they are, Quinn. They’ll destroy you.”

I kissed her forehead; I had no fucking clue why. “That’s highly unlikely but let us worry about that when, and if, it happens. I promise, they won’t get to you.”

“How will we get there?”

“My family has a small plane. Two of the men who were here before are the pilots. They dropped me, Waigi, and Mala off earlier today. We called and asked them to come back so we could get you away from here.

“They came here to get me?”

I nodded. “Yes, they did.”

“Oh…I’ve never been in a plane but they used to fly over the village sometimes and I’d watch, wishing one would take me away.”

“Sometimes wishes do come true.”

The door to the hotel pushed open and Waigi stepped into the room. “Everyone’s waiting downstairs. I’ll grab your bag.”

Fortunately, I hadn’t bothered to unpack it so we were ready immediately. Pulling back the sheet, I swept Arabella into my arms and started to leave the room.

“I can walk,” Arabella protested.

“You’re in no condition to be walking. Relax and let me take care of you."

She sighed, laid her head on my shoulder, and closed her eyes. By the time we reached the lobby, she was out cold.

***

I sat in the back of the large station wagon we’d hired from in front of the hotel, Arabella sound asleep in my arms. Logan sat up front and Waigi was alongside me in the rear. Barry, Mala, and Daly were seated in the third row of seats in the wagon area, pinned in by the three overnight bags.

The driver turned onto the road leading to the airport, and all hell broke loose. Gunfire sounded from every direction—aimed at our vehicle!

I dropped Arabella to the floor in the middle where I hoped she’d be safe, followed her down to my knees and pulled the pistol I kept pushed into the back of my shorts. Waigi dropped to his knees on the other side and had his gun aimed, searching for a sign of the shooters. I knew the other men with us would be doing the same as they had also dropped to the floor.

Gunfire peppered the side of the car, thank fuck none of the bullets made it through. The driver, probably scared shitless, slowed.

“Get this fucking car moving,” I shouted while winding down the window enough to be able to shoot through.

The driver stepped on the pedal and we sped towards the entrance to the building at Jacksons Airfield. Another spray of bullets peppered the car.

“Where the fuck are they firing from?” Frustration was clear in my tone.

“I can’t see a fucking thing,” Logan shouted back.