Freefall (6 page)

“I can move.” Brent nodded, but instead of standing up, he motioned for her to sit down with him. “But why don't we say an evening prayer before we start out.”

Surprise lighted Amy's eyes, followed by a smile. “I'd like that.” She knelt down next to him as he moved to kneel as well.

“Do you mind if I offer it?”

Amy shook her head, bowing her head as he began. She felt such a warmth come over her as Brent expressed his appreciation for their safety and the Lord's guidance during their travels. Then he asked that they would be blessed with protection and guidance as they made their way home. When he closed his prayer, Amy felt tears sting her eyes. She blinked several times before looking up at him.

“Let's get going.” Brent stood up, reaching out a hand to help her stand as well.

Amy stared at him for a minute before asking, “Is it hard being LDS and being a Navy SEAL?”

Brent shook his head. “Not really, especially since my whole unit is LDS.”

“Everyone? How did that happen?”

Brent gave her a quick grin. “You have to realize my unit is only five people. It started out being just me and Kelan Bennett. Kel got promoted about the same time Tristan Crowther and Quinn Lambert finished their training. The commander of our SEAL team was reorganizing and he decided he might as well throw the Mormon boys together.”

Amy looked at him, questioning. “That's only four. What about the fifth?”

“Seth Johnson.” Brent's grin widened. “He was the odd man out who got stuck with the Mormon boys. The funny thing is that he's the one who suggested we start each day with a prayer. He converted to the Church about a year ago.”

“That's amazing,” Amy said as they packed up and started toward their temporary home. Brent moved slowly, but they had just enough light for him to be able to see the rough terrain. They reached the cave just outside of the one where the spring was located and settled in for the night.

“Let me check out your arm,” Amy said as soon as Brent had sat down against the smoothest of the cave walls.

“It's fine.”

“Good.” Amy retrieved a flashlight from her pack. “Let me check it anyway.”

Reluctantly, Brent took off his shirt and let her examine the stitches. The antibiotics he had taken right after Amy had stitched up his arm seemed to be working and there wasn't any sign of infection. The new supply of water would help him get the fluids he needed to help counteract the blood he had lost.

“I'm no expert,” Amy said after she unwrapped the bandage. “But it looks like it's starting to heal.”

“Since you insisted on seeing that for yourself, are you going to bandage it up again for me?” Humor laced his voice and he saw the beginnings of a smile on her face.

“I suppose.” Amy took the med kit he handed her and pulled out a package of clean gauze pads. After giving him the flashlight to hold, she then went about the task of placing the pads over the wounds and wrapping his arm once more. “Is that okay?”

Brent moved his arm, wincing in pain. “Yeah, that's fine.”

“If it's bothering you, why don't you take some more painkillers?”

“I'll take some Tylenol before I go to sleep.” He turned off the flashlight. “I just need something to take my mind off of it. Tell me about your family.”

She blinked in surprise, but she settled down on the ground next to him. Darkness enveloped them, with only a bit of moonlight coming through the cave opening. “Well, I'm sure you know my father's a senator.” When he nodded, she continued. “I have two older brothers. Charlie is two years older than me. He'll start law school in the fall. Matt's the oldest. He plays baseball for the Florida Marlins.”

“Are they married?”

“Matt is. His wife, CJ, was an Olympic swimmer before they started having kids. Their second baby is due this winter.”

“I remember reading about her,” Brent commented. “She's the one who was a government witness against that huge smuggling ring right before competing in the Olympics.”

Amy nodded. “Her best friend was a cop, and she was there when he was killed by a couple of men he was investigating. CJ helped figure out who was heading up the drug ring.”

“Pretty impressive.” Brent shifted to get more comfortable. “What about your mom?”

“Mom is a senator's wife, and she's good at it.” Amy smiled when she thought of her mother. “I think she's behind all the success the rest of the family has had. She's just always there, you know? If you do something wrong, you know she'll find out about it. When you do something right, she's always there to congratulate you.”

Brent returned her smile. “She sounds like my mom. She quit working before I was born to stay home full-time. She coached the high school swim teams as kind of a hobby, but it was amazing how much information she picked up. We couldn't get anything past her.”

“What about your dad?”

“We didn't see him much during the daylight hours, but Mom made sure he knew everything that was going on. Until he retired, he worked for a government contractor. He had to commute into DC every day, but he spent most of his time on the weekends with us kids. Every time I drive from Stafford into Washington I realize how much he sacrificed so that Mom could stay at home. It must have taken him at least an hour each way.”

Amy grinned. “Yet you chose a job where you have to commute across the world at a moment's notice.”

“That's different,” Brent told her, amused by her observation. “I live on base when I'm not on assignment, so I don't even have a commute. When something comes up, my team is so focused on what needs to be done, we don't really think about how far we have to travel.”

“Still, it must be hard on your family.” Amy dropped the bait.

“They worry some, but they know that traveling on I-95 is usually more dangerous than my job is.” Brent studied her a moment before he offered the information he hoped she wanted. “And there isn't anyone else back home to worry about me.”

“I should say I'm surprised, but I don't imagine it's easy to date with your job.”

“I don't know.” Brent reached for her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. “I can't say that I ever gave it much of a chance.”

Nerves fluttered in her stomach, and for a moment she thought he might just lean down and kiss her. His hand was warm in hers, and he was staring down at her in a way that made her wonder if her heart was designed to beat quite this fast.

Brent stared at her for a long moment, lost in his own thoughts. Finally, he pulled her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “We had better get some sleep.”

Amy saw something flicker in his eyes as he released her hand and tried to get comfortable. Confused by her feelings, she watched him for a moment longer before lying down in the darkness.

Amy sat just inside the cave, scissors in hand. She had gone up to the spring first thing that morning, first washing her own clothes so that she could let them dry while wearing the poncho and pants Brent had given her. Once they were dry enough to wear, she had taken a shower and washed the rest of her clothes.

As soon as she returned, Brent went up to the spring so that he too could shower and wash his clothes. He was moving much better this morning, and he had suggested that she try to get a nap before they set out that evening.

For now she had other plans. To battle the midday heat, she was dressed simply in her T-shirt and her sweatpants that she had cut off at the knees. Though the small scissors made the task difficult, she was currently turning the extra fabric that had once covered the lower part of her legs into bandages. After analyzing their supplies that morning, Amy realized exactly why Brent was so slow to take the painkillers. They were running out, and she had to assume he wanted to save them for when he would really need them. The roll of gauze bandages was also nearly depleted.

They had already started rationing their food, deciding to share one of the energy bars for the day since they would have access to as much water as they wanted for the time being. Amy imagined they would need their full portions once they started traveling again, but hopefully they could make it through tonight on a little less.

As she continued to make bandages, she let her mind drift back to her conversation with Brent the night before. Until he had gotten shot, he had seemed almost invincible, but last night he had seemed just like any other guy. Well, maybe not like any other guy, but for the first time she could almost envision him outside of a hostile environment. The way he talked about his family revealed a lot about him, and Amy was realizing that she would like him even if he hadn't saved her life.

She wondered what he would be like when he wasn't behind enemy lines, but her imagination didn't stretch quite that far. Setting down the scissors, she rubbed at the cramps in her fingers. Methodically, she began to pack the scissors and the new bandages into her backpack.

She didn't hear Brent approach, but suddenly there he was in front of her. She hardly recognized him. His face was free of the paint he had smeared on it at the beginning of this ordeal, and he had shaved. He looked younger and yet somehow more formidable at the same time.

He didn't notice her staring as he settled down next to her. “Can you bandage this up again for me?”

“Sure.” Amy took out one of her newly fashioned bandages and scooted closer. He smelled like shaving cream and toothpaste, and nerves danced in her stomach as she retrieved the antibiotic cream and began spreading it over his wounds. She took a deep breath and told herself to think about something besides the way the muscles rippled in Brent's arms.

“Did you go to college or on a mission before joining the military?”

Brent nodded. “Both. I went to Moscow for my mission, and I graduated from George Mason University.” He glanced down at his arm as she finished bandaging it. “And let me guess. You graduated from BYU, right?”

Amy smiled. “Good guess. I got my degree in international relations.” Now finished with his arm, she put the medical supplies back into her pack. “Obviously, there were a few practical lessons they didn't teach me.”

Brent laughed, appreciating the sarcastic tone. “For someone who has literally been dropped into a combat zone, I think you're holding up pretty well.”

“Believe me, falling out of helicopters was never mentioned in any of my orientation classes at the State Department.”

“But hostage situations were,” Brent pointed out.

She nodded. “I was naive enough to think it couldn't happen to me.”

The vulnerability was back, and Brent bit back on his frustration. Had he not been wounded, they would be within a night's journey of safety. He marveled that Amy didn't complain about the setback and that, despite her situation, she continued to be optimistic that he could get her home.

She shifted beside him, and her hair curtained her face. Without thinking, he reached over and tucked it behind her ear as she turned to face him. Embarrassed, he told himself to keep his distance, but he struggled to keep his body from moving closer anyway.

She stared up at him as he settled against the cave wall beside her. She was quiet for a moment before asking, “Is this the first time you've been shot?”

Brent nodded. “Believe it or not, Navy SEALs usually don't get into fire fights. Typically our operations are covert. If everything goes well, we're in and out before anyone even knows we're there.”

“I guess that wouldn't have worked this time.”

“The guys who took you hostage were expecting us,” Brent said.

“What do you mean?”

“They set traps, making it look like we could enter the building safely when I'm sure they were just waiting for us.”

Amy studied him for a minute and then asked, “How did you get onto the balcony?”

“I climbed.”

“You climbed up the building?”

He gave a casual shrug. “It was a better alternative than getting shot.” Before Amy could point out that he ended up getting shot anyway, he added, “This injury was from being in the wrong place at the wrong time, not because I fell for a lame ambush attempt.”

Amy considered his words for a moment before speaking. “Personally, I'm glad you and your friends are good at your job.”

“Thanks.” Brent leaned his head back against the cave wall and resisted the urge to put an arm around her. “We should get some sleep before we head out tonight.”

Amy nodded and settled down beside him. Moments later she closed her eyes and let the sound of his breathing lull her to sleep.

* * *

When Brent had said that the six miles of hiking through the rock formation weren't going to be easy, he hadn't been kidding. They had set out three hours before dusk hoping to reach the desert by dark, but it had already taken nearly four hours to make it those six miles.

“Do you need a rest?” Brent asked Amy as they approached the sandy terrain ahead, the darkness of the night now complete. Only the moonlight illuminated the empty space ahead of them.

“I just want a quick drink.” She pulled her water bottle from her pack. “How are you doing?”

“I'm holding up.” Brent motioned for her to sit down, and he pulled out his canteen and took a sip. He then opened up his map and clicked on a penlight to study it.

“How far is it to the nearest shelter?”

“It's hard to say.” He shifted closer so that she could look at the map also. “The nearest port is this way, but there's nothing but desert between here and there.”

“Which means we would be out in the open during the day,” Amy finished for him. “What other alternatives do we have?”

“We can head north toward this village on the river. We might be able to pick up a boat. If not, we can follow the river out to the ocean.” He turned to her. “Unfortunately, our latest intelligence said that the town just upriver from the village is where the rebels have one of their command centers. In fact, we think that's where Namir Dagan is holed up.”