Until Time Stands Still (6 page)

            Isabelle blinked quickly, fighting back the tears she could feel forming. It had been a hell of a day, and someone showing her simple kindness like that, when she hadn’t had any in so long was almost enough to make her cry.

            “How…” She cleared her throat, “How did you know where I was?” She asked.

            He smiled “I was getting coffee, and saw you get pulled into the van.” Her eyes, large and brown, like liquid chocolate, mesmerized him. A man could get lost in her eyes. For some reason that made him more scared than he had ever been in his entire life, including the one time he had been yanked back into time so far people didn’t even exist yet. An overgrown crocodile nearly ate him. She terrified him more. People say a lot of things about falling in love, but no one ever tells you how damn frightening it can be. How fast it can happen.  He knew with every fiber of his being, he wanted her. Ached for her. He wanted to know everything about her, to see her smile and look at him with desire and longing in those big brown eyes.

            “But what where you doing? I mean, you and your guys are all decked out in gear. There isn’t a military base around here, is there?”

            Luckily one of the guys came back in the room with an armful of clothing, saving him from coming up with some sort of explanation. He was already confused enough. He forced himself to stop staring at her.

            “Do you have any idea who would have done this?” Graham asked her, handing her the clothing that had been stripped off her.

            She shook her head. “I have no idea. One of the men said I was a payday.”

            “Any business rivals?” Graham frowned.

            She shook her head and turned her back to put her clothing on. They had already seen her in her underwear, but she at least wanted the illusion of privacy. She pulled her blouse back over her head. One sleeve was torn, and she tied a quick knot in it, to hold it on her shoulder. She slipped on her pants, wincing at the huge black bruise on her thigh and turned back around.

            “I want to go home now.” She said. “I need to call the police.”

            Mykel and Graham glanced at each other and didn’t say a word.

            “Let’s get out of here.” Graham said, heading out the door. “The others are already outside waiting for us.”

            Mykel escorted her out the door, naturally slipping his arm around her. “You’ll be safe with me.” He said simply, picking up his gun that he had leaned against the wall.

            She nodded and followed Graham, blanching a bit when she saw the dead man in the hallway. She gagged involuntarily.

            “Don’t look.” Mykel said softly. “Close your eyes.” He guided her around the dead man into the kitchen.

            Suddenly, glass exploded all around them. Mykel grabbed Isabelle and took them both to the ground and covered her body with his. Graham hit the ground next to them, his weapon at the ready.

            “Jacob’s hit!” Bryant’s voice came through the com. “There’s a sniper in the trees boss!”

            “Where the hell did a sniper come from?” Mykel hissed.

            “Can you get to him?” Graham asked, steady as a rock.

            “Not yet.” Johnny said. “It looks bad boss. He took one to the chest.”

            “I’ll draw the fire. You get him to cover.”

            More glass rained down on them and bullets flew above their heads like angry bees. Glass and wood splinters shattered all around them. Isabelle screamed when one whizzed past her ear. Mykel scrambled to pull her behind the island counter.

            “Do you know how to shoot?” Mykel shouted over the noise.

            “No!” She cried. “Why is this happening to me?”

            Graham crept to the front door and slid a tiny camera under the crack of the door. If he could make it to the old truck sitting in the grass before getting hit, he’d be able to draw the snipers fire away from Jacob.

            “I’m coming out boys. Myke, you take her out the front and take off.”

            “You sure Boss? Someone should have your back.”

            “Don’t worry about me, just get your girl out of here before anyone else gets hurt. Whoever is after her won’t stop. We need to get her to the base.”

            “This is so FUBAR.” He growled.

“Agreed.” Graham said. “Get moving.”

“Ok…Isabelle…let’s go…stay low to the ground, and crawl toward the front door Keep your head and your ass down. I’ll cover you. Got it?” He pushed her in front of him.

            Isabelle nodded and slid even lower to the floor. Broken glass bit into her skin as she scooted forward slowly, her heart thudding loudly in her ears. She felt like everyone and everything was in slow motion. She inched forward, trying to scoot broken glass out of her way as she went.

            Bullets thudded into the walls above their heads as a second volley began. Mykel could hear the familiar pop pop pop, the returning fire of their team.

            “Faster, darlin…we gotta get out of here.” Mykel said, right next to her.

            “I’m so scared.” She confessed.

            “I know. Just put your eyes on that door and keep moving until you get there.” He shouted above the noise of the fire fight. They made it to the door and Mykel reached up to unlock it.

            There was a silence suddenly, and all the gunfire stopped.

            “Hey Boss, we good?” Mykel asked.

            “No.” Graham’s voice came through. “I can’t find him. He may have moved.”

            “Jacob?”

            “We’re working on him. It doesn’t look good.” Graham said. “Johnny’s doing the best he can.”

            “We got a plan yet?”

            “Stay alive. Kill this bastard. Get our people home. The boys are headed back with Jacob now. It’s just me and you.”

            “Not quite how we planned the day huh?” Mykel said grimly.

            “If you ever go off mission again, I’ll shoot you myself.” Graham growled.

            “Yes, Sir.”

            Isabelle stared at him, stunned. How could he be so calm while people were trying to kill them? Most of her life had been quiet, normal. Simple. She was a good person. She gave to charity and tipped waitresses. She was, by most people’s standards, a good girl. She was hardworking at her job, and faithful to her husband. Who would want her dead? She looked over at Mykel. He was waiting at the door, trying to decide the best course of action. He glanced over at her and grinned widely, catching her staring at him. He was pretty average in the looks department. But he had a fierceness about him…a wildness. The lines around his eyes, and the scars on his arms she caught glimpses of told a story. He really lived, whereas for the last several years, she felt like she had been in a coma, barely existing. She was terrified, and he was over there grinning at her like a fool. He was actually having fun. In a weird way, having your life threatened was kind of exciting. She had never felt so alive in her life, or maybe she just appreciated breathing more than she ever had before.

            “When I open the door, I’m going to check it out to make sure there is no one waiting in the front. You stay here, and keep your head down. When it’s clear, I’ll come get you and we are going to make a run for it.”

            “I don’t have any shoes on.” She said.

            “If you can’t find any shoes in the next thirty seconds, you’ll have to do without.” He said. She scrambled to find her missing shoes.

            He opened the door and waited, crouched, ready to move. There were no sounds. He peeked out. There was a clear path to some trees, and some decent cover. No one was shooting at him.

            “Graham, do we have a location on the sniper yet?”

            “I’m hunting this bastard, pushing him back into the trees, headed north.”

            “We’re going south, we’ll work our way around to the extraction point.”

            “I’ll notify you when I kill this guy, and it’s safe to make the jump.”

            He crept forward on the front porch, and tracked the tree line, looking for any trace of movement, a glint of reflection from the sun. Nothing. Isabelle crawled back to the front door, with a pair of strappy heels in her hand.

            “Give me those.” He said, grabbing them. He smashed the heels against the railing and broke them off, and handed them back to her.

            “Hey, those were expensive!” She huffed.

            “Deal with it Princess.” He said gruffly. “You can’t run in heels.”

            “I could have.” She pouted.

            “If you could run in heels, you would have been able to run when they tried to grab you.” He pointed out. “Heels make you helpless. You need practical shoes you can run in.”

            “You’re a jerk.”

            “I never claimed to be a nice guy.” He said. “But I am the guy who’s saving your butt. Say thank you.”

            She glared at him, but didn’t say a word.

            He helped her stand up and led her through the trees, still on high alert. Even though Graham was pushing the hit man north, the man could have doubled back and slipped past Graham.

            “Stay behind me and stay alert.” Mykel said. “If I tell you to do something, obey. No questions asked. It could save your life. Understand?”

            “Yes.” She said quietly. “I’m not stupid you know.”

            “I never thought you were.” He said, glancing back at her. “But it’s obvious you have no training in survival.”

            “Of course not. Why would I?” She sniffed.

            He sighed and pulled her hand, walking them deeper into the forest.

            They walked in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. Isabelle watched him quietly, studying how he moved, trying to figure out what he was thinking, what he was looking for. She stepped carefully in his footprints like he told her to do, and brushed them away with the long cedar branch like he taught her. He moved with a confident grace of someone who had spent a lot of time doing this sort of thing. She felt safe with him.

            She found herself curious about him. He was a hard man that much was obvious. He’d lived a hard life. He obviously survived through who knows what. A true warrior. He was tall, well-muscled in a lean way. Naturally fit. He was quiet, and only spoke when necessary. Mysterious. She was curious about him. She wanted to know his story, find out more about him. But would he talk to her? Probably not.