Five Ways To Surrender

Alex, burdened with the girl on her back, started up the path, urging the other children to climb or crawl up the slippery slope. By the time she reached the entrance, she was breathing hard.

She slipped the girl from her back and eased her to the stone floor of the cave.

More than a dozen women and children emerged from deep in the shadows, their eyes wide and wary. They gathered around Alex, all talking at once.

“Where are the others?” Alex asked in French.

“Scattered among the caves.” A woman called Rashida stepped forward. “There are many caves. This is only the first one.”

“They will find us here,” a younger woman said. “We must go deeper into the hills.”

“We can’t,” Rashida said. She tipped her head toward three older women sitting on the ground, their backs hunched, their eyes closed. “The old ones will not make it. It was all they could do to come this far.”

Alex’s heart went out to the old and young who couldn’t move as fast or endure another climb up steep hills.

“None of us will last long without food and water,” the other woman argued.

“We can’t go back down to the village.” An old woman called Mirembe glanced up from her position seated on the ground. “We would all be tortured or killed.”

Alex didn’t want to argue with the women when the reverend and his wife were down there with no one to help or hide them. With the children safe in the cave, Alex couldn’t stop thinking about the elderly missionaries. She drew in a deep breath and made up her mind. “I need you women to care for these children.”

Again, the women gathered around her.

“Where are you going?” Rashida asked.

“Don’t leave us,” another woman pleaded.

“If you go back, you’ll be killed,” Mirembe predicted.

“I have to go back. Reverend Townsend and his wife stayed behind.”

Mirembe shook her head. “They are dead by now. They must be.”

A sharp pain pierced Alex’s heart. “I choose to think they are still alive. And I’m going down to see if there is anything I can do to help.” She glanced around at the women. “Will you care for these children?” she repeated with more force.

Rashida nodded. “We will look after them until your return.”

A tiny hand tugged at her pant leg. “Miss Alex, please don’t go.”

Alex glanced down at Kamaria, the little girl she’d carried up the hill. She had tears in her big brown eyes as she stared up at Alex.

Her chest tight, Alex dropped to one knee and hugged Kamaria. “I’ll be back,” she promised. “Until I return, I need you to help take care of your brothers and sisters.” She brushed a tear from the child’s cheek. “Can you do that for me?”

Kamaria nodded, another tear slipping down her cheek.

Alex straightened. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Fariji followed her to the cave entrance. “It is not safe for you to return to the village. I will go with you.”

“No.” Alex touched his arm. “Stay here and protect the women and children. They have no one else.”

The gentle young man nodded, his brow dipping low. “I will do what I can to help.”

And he always did. Fariji was one of the most loving, selfless men in the village.

Alex hugged him, and then she left the cave and slid down the gravelly slope to the base of the bluff. She figured returning to the village would be dangerous, but she couldn’t abandon the missionaries. If she could help, she would, even if it meant risking her own safety.

Chapter Two

Going down from the hills alone went a lot faster than climbing, carrying a child on her back and herding half a dozen more. Within minutes, Alex reached the edge of the village.

She hid behind the first wall she came to, pushed the scarf she wore down around her neck and listened, her heart beating so loudly against her eardrums, she could barely hear anything.

The gunfire had ceased, but men shouted. A woman screamed and vehicle engines rumbled.

The reverend’s wife had been in the home of a woman who’d given birth to a baby boy. The baby had been breech, complicating the birth. Both had survived, but were weak and unable to travel.

Mrs. Townsend had been caring for the two since the baby’s birth.

Alex dared to peek around the side of the hut. The narrow street between the dirt-brown mud-and-stick buildings appeared empty. She sucked in a deep breath and ran to the next structure.

A man shouted nearby. Footsteps pounded in the dirt, along with the rattle of metal against metal or plastic, like the rattle of a strap on a rifle.

Alex held her breath and waited.

Shouts grew closer. The sound of something smashing made Alex jump and nearly cry out.

She clapped a hand over her mouth and slipped farther back into the shadows.

Another man yelled, the noise coming from inside the building behind which Alex huddled.

Voices argued back and forth, and then...bang!

Knowing it was too late to change her mind about coming back to the village, Alex shrank into a dark corner and prayed the men in the hut didn’t come out and discover her there.

The home the reverend’s wife had been in was a couple huts over from where Alex hid. If she could get there without being seen, perhaps she could convince the missionaries to leave before the men found them.

Voices sounded again as the men exited the building and moved to the next.

Alex waited, fully expecting them to come around the corner and start shooting.

She froze and made herself as small as she could in the meager shadow.

A loud bang erupted nearby, as if someone had slammed a door.

The men in the street said something, and then more footsteps pounded against the dirt street, moving away from Alex’s hiding place.

She let go of the breath she’d been holding. After another moment or two, she rose and eased to the corner. The street was clear.

Someone shouted from a couple houses over.

If she was going to move, she had to do it before the men returned.

Alex ran across the street, skirted another hut and checked around the next corner.

It, too, was clear.

She started across the street, heard a cry and nearly froze. Realizing she couldn’t make it around the next home in time, she dived through a door and squatted inside, trying to control her breathing in order to hear the enemy’s approach.

Footsteps clattered along the path outside the hut. Then they stopped.

For a long moment, Alex heard nothing. She waited a little longer and then eased toward the door.

Before she reached it, an arm wrapped around her middle and a hand clamped over her mouth, stifling a scream rising up her throat.

She struggled to free herself, but the arm holding her tightened, trapping her arms against her side and her back against a hard wall of a chest. “Shh,” he whispered against her ear, his breath heated and minty. Not what Alex would have expected from an enemy rebel.

“Check in that building,” someone said in French outside.

Alex froze. Though she was unsure of her captor, the men outside had been shooting. She’d make her escape from the man holding her after the other men passed in the street. Until then, she held still against the warm, hard surface of a hulking, big man with arms like steel vises. As she waited, she listened for the sound of movement outside the building.

Someone called out next to the door, “I have this one, you check the next.”

The door jiggled.

The hand over her mouth dropped to her arm and she was shoved backward, behind the man.

If she wanted, she could escape him. But to what?

She couldn’t go back out into the street and risk being captured by the rebels storming the village. She’d be better off taking her chances with her unknown captor in the dark interior of the hut.

The door swung inward.

Alex was shoved behind the opening door as a beam of sunlight slashed across the floor.

A man in black clothing stepped into the building, pushing the door wider with the rifle he held in his hands.

As the light beam fanned out, it chased away the darkness of the rest of the room. In the gray light out of the sunshine’s wedge, Alex studied her captor.

He wore a desert-camouflage military uniform and a helmet, and carried a wicked-looking rifle of the type the Special Forces units carried. She searched for some indication of whose team he played for. Was he American, French or—God forbid—one of the paid mercenaries so often found in conflicts where they didn’t belong? He wasn’t from Niger. The skin she could see was too light. Granted, it appeared tanned, but not the rich darkness of the native Niger people.

The man who’d pushed open the door stepped inside the room, his weapon raised. Then he fired several bullets.

Alex flinched and shrank back into the corner. If the shooter turned any farther in their direction, he’d hit her captor.

The rebel turned slowly.

Alex’s captor leaped forward, slamming the butt of his weapon into the side of the shooter’s head. The weapon dropped from his hands and fell to the floor. Before the man could react, the military guy pulled a knife and slit the shooter’s throat. Her captor bent to retrieve the other man’s weapon. With equally efficient movements, he removed the bolt, slid it into his pocket and laid the remainder of the rifle on the ground next to the dead man.

Then her captor turned to her and held out his hand. “We have to move.”

She remained frozen in her position crouched on the floor of the hut, her heart beating so fast she could barely breathe to keep up with her need for oxygen.

His hand shot out, palm up. “Now!”

Alex stared at the big, calloused hand that had just dispatched a rebel fighter with such ease and efficiency of movement. Would he do the same to her?

Shouts outside the open door of the hut shook Alex out of her stunned silence.

Her captor dropped his arm, eased up to the door and glanced out. Without turning, he spoke softly, “If you want to live, come with me now.”

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Introductions later. Run now!” He hooked her arm, jerked her up off the floor and rushed her to the doorway.

After a quick pause, he dragged her out into the street and back toward the hills.

They’d gone past several huts when Alex remembered why she’d returned to the village in the first place. She dug her heels into the dirt and ripped her arm out of his grasp.

He wheeled around, his gaze shooting in all directions. “Why are you stopping?”

“I came to help Reverend Townsend and his wife,” she said.

His lips pressed into a thin line. “You can’t help anyone if you’re dead. We have to get out of the village, before they find that man’s body.”

“I didn’t kill him,” she pointed out. “You did.”

“It was him or us.” The man grabbed her arm and pulled her off the street and into the shadow of one of the huts. “Now isn’t the time to argue. The terrorists outnumber us twenty to one. And they won’t hesitate to shoot first. If they take prisoners, they won’t be kind to them.”

“Exactly my point. The reverend and his wife stayed behind with a new mother and her baby. I can’t leave them to the terrorists.”

“You will do them no good if these ISIS bad guys capture you, as well. The best we can do is get out of here, notify someone with more firepower than we have and let them launch a rescue mission.”

“Why should I go with you? I don’t even know if you’re one of the good guys.”

“If I was one of the bad guys, I would have left you behind for ISIS to find instead of wasting my time arguing with you.” He peeked around the corner of the building. “Now, if you’re done flapping your jaw, we need to move.”

He had an American accent, and, despite his gruff demeanor, he had saved her from being filled with bullets. Or had he saved himself? Either way, she was still alive and he was the reason.

This time he didn’t grab her and drag her; he glanced back and raised his eyebrows. “Ready?”

She nodded.

He held out his hand.

Alex laid hers in his. A jolt of awareness raced up her arm into her chest. His fingers curled around hers, strong, sure and rough. A fleeting thought ran through her mind. What would it feel like to have those hands run freely over her naked body?

Shocked at her thoughts, Alex shook herself and fell in step with the man who had her life in his hands. Once he got them out of the current situation, he could do anything he wanted with her.

A trickle of fear and something else slipped down her spine. Alex refused to think past getting out of the village to somewhere safe where they could hide. For all she knew, she was trading one bad set of cards for another.

* * *

JAKE HADN’T EXPECTED to find an American woman in the village. When she’d run into the hut where he’d been hiding, he knew he couldn’t leave without taking her with him. The ISIS terrorists would either kill her, or rape and torture her until she wished she were dead. Leaving her behind wasn’t an option. But taking her with him made them both more vulnerable. She slowed him down, and two people made a bigger target than just one person attempting to escape and evade capture.

With the sun starting its descent toward the horizon, their best bet would be to either make a dash for cover in the hills, or hunker down in one of the huts and wait until dark to make their move.

The crack of gunfire filled the air with the answer to Jake’s question. They had to get out now rather than later. When the terrorists found the dead man, they’d be out for blood. He felt bad about leaving behind the reverend, his wife and the new mother, but he couldn’t take on the entire ISIS force that had stormed the village. They were far outnumbered, and his ammo wouldn’t last long enough to take out all of them.

He prayed his diversion had bought the rest of the SEAL team time enough to get away from the ISIS rebels. They would expect him to seek refuge and escape from the occupied village before attempting to reconnect with friendly forces.

Jake wondered what had happened to the drone that was supposed to be flying over while they were on their mission. Had the drone been in the vicinity of the village, they would have known the ISIS group was on its way and either been prepared for the attack or gotten the hell out of Dodge before they’d arrived.

Instead, they’d been outmaneuvered and outgunned. If Jake hadn’t rammed the other truck, they would have been mowed down by the sheer number of bullets the terrorists could have unloaded into them.

Hut by hut, Jake led the way, making it to the edge of the village. He paused to assess the chances of strolling across a wide, barren expanse of land. By himself, he could low crawl or run in a zigzag line long enough to achieve the safety of cover behind some of the larger boulders at the base of the nearby hills. With the woman, he wasn’t sure he could reach safety before they were discovered, and he didn’t know her physical capabilities.

He ran his gaze over her length. “Can you run?”

The woman tilted her chin. “I was on the track team in high school.”

“I didn’t ask if you were on the track team.” He drew in a deep breath, let it out and asked again, “Can you run now?”

She frowned. A nearby shout made her jump. “Yes. Yes, I can run.” She inched closer to him.

“Then on the count of three, I want you to take off in front of me and run like the hounds of hell are on your heels. Keep as low as you can. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t slow down until you reach those boulders at the base of the hills.” He touched her arm. “Can you do it?”

Her eyes round, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded.

After one more glance around the vicinity, Jake whispered, “Go.”

For a moment, the woman didn’t move. Then she took off like a bullet shot from an M4A1 rifle. He’d never seen a woman run as fast as that woman ran from the Niger village.

He almost smiled, but he didn’t have time to admire her resilience and strength. He took off after her, staying as close as possible to block the bullets someone might shoot their way. He had the bulletproof vest, but the woman had nothing.

Once they were over halfway there, he began to think they’d make it without being noticed. That was not the case. The sharp report of gunfire echoed off the hillsides.

Jake automatically ducked lower, and he was glad to see the woman in front of him doing the same.

With over two hundred yards between them and the village, they could potentially make it to the hills without being shot. Hitting a still target at two hundred yards was hard enough. Hitting one that was moving was even harder. He closed the distance between himself and his lady counterpart, keeping his back between her and that village. Fifty yards. All they needed was another fifty yards, and then they could duck behind the cover of the boulders.

Something slammed into his back, pushing him forward. He stumbled and plowed into the woman, sending her flying forward. She hit the ground on her hands and knees, but kept moving, crawling as fast as she could go.

Jake regained his footing, scooped up the woman, set her on her feet and hustled her toward the boulders.

Bullets kicked up dust at their feet as they rounded a man-size rock that had fallen from the bluffs above.

After a few deep breaths to refill his lungs, Jake stared at the woman who wasn’t breathing any harder than he was. “By the way, I’m Jake.”

“Alexandria Parker. Most folks call me Alex.” She looked past his shoulder. “I can hear voices coming nearer. Let’s go.”

She stepped out with purpose, heading away from the village and up into the hills.

Jake followed. “You weren’t kidding about running track.”

“I run whenever I get a chance,” she said without slowing to catch her breath. “Even over here in Niger.”

When they came to a bend in the trail, Jake glanced back, his pulse picking up again. “Well, you’re going to have to keep running. They’re coming after us.”

Alexandria picked up the pace, climbing higher and faster. Soon the village was completely out of view behind a hill. They couldn’t keep up the pace, but, thankfully, neither could their pursuers, and they didn’t have the benefit of ATVs to speed up the search.

“If you’re up to it, we should keep moving until nightfall,” Jake suggested.

“I’m good to go,” she said, her breathing a little labored. But she didn’t slow, didn’t falter, just kept going.

Jake thanked his lucky stars this woman wasn’t one to fall to pieces when the going got tough. A glance ahead at the rocky path provided a good indication that the going promised to get tougher. And they had no food or water to sustain them if they had to hide out for any longer than a day or two.

At the moment, though, their number-one need was a safe haven from gunfire.

The path into the hills forked. When Alexandria turned right instead of left, he didn’t question her choice. It made sense to choose the path least traveled. The other appeared to be recently disturbed.

The crack of gunfire echoed off the hillsides. As they slipped over the top of a ridge, Jake glanced back.

Several men dressed in the black garb of the ISIS rebels were climbing the path they’d taken.

“Wait on the other side,” Jake commanded.

Alexandria dropped below the ridge and did as told.

Hunkering low to the ground, Jake steadied his rifle and peered through the scope, focusing on the movement below.

His hands tightened on the rifle. “Damn.”

“What?” Alexandria started to climb up beside him.

Jake held out a hand to stop her and replied, “They’re following our path.”

“Good,” Alexandria whispered. “They found the candy wrapper I left.”

Anger surged as Jake sank back behind the ridge and stared at the woman as if she’d lost her mind. He stopped short of grabbing her by the arms and shaking some sense into her. “Why the hell did you do that?”

Her lips firmed and she lifted her chin. “The other path led to where the orphans and villagers are hiding in the caves. I didn’t want the militants to find them.”

His ire abated as he stared into the eyes of a woman who had sacrificed her own safety for that of others. He couldn’t fault her for that, not when he’d done the same for his team. “Okay. I get it. But that doesn’t make it any easier on us. We can’t stop moving until dark.” He glanced one last time over the top of the ridge.

They’d lost some of their lead. They’d have to get a move on to gain ground. He’d counted six of the ISIS fighters. The predators outnumbered the prey, but they still had the lead. With only a few rounds remaining in his magazine, Jake couldn’t risk a firefight. He had to get himself and Alexandria back to his team before they were caught or died in the arid landscape.

Chapter Three

Alex’s calves and thighs were past sore and now bordered on numb, but she kept climbing. Dusk settled in around her and Jake, making it more difficult to judge distance. She slipped on the path and almost tumbled down the hill they were on.

Jake grabbed her arm just in time and jerked her backward, slamming her into his broad, muscular chest.

She clung to him, appreciating his strength for a brief moment. He didn’t seem to be winded at all, whereas she was breathing hard and every muscle in her body quivered with overuse. Sure, she ran and kept in good shape, but she hadn’t been climbing hills, which required the use of a different set of muscles.

“We need to find shelter for the night,” Jake said, his voice so close to her ear it warmed the side of her neck.

She pushed against his chest and straightened. “I can keep going.” It was a lie, but she refused to be the one to hold them back. If the rebels caught up to them because of her, she would be responsible for the outcome.

“You might be able to keep going, but I’m tired and I don’t have any desire to fall off a cliff in the dark.”

“Okay.” She stared up at the bluffs surrounding them. “These hills are riddled with caves. Will a cave suffice?”

He nodded and glanced up. “Yes.”

Alex’s lips twisted. “We passed several in the last valley. But, of course, when you’re looking for one you can’t find one.”

“We’ll keep moving. Maybe there will be one over the next ridge.”

Jake took the lead, picking his way through the brush and bramble. The trails had become nothing more than animal paths, crisscrossing the sides of hills and seeming to have no rhyme or reason to their course. He headed toward a pass between two hills, climbing up a steep slope to reach it. He didn’t linger on the ridgeline, dropping to the other side quickly to keep from being silhouetted against the fading light.

Alex did the same. When she stood beside him on the other side of the ridge, she scanned the hillsides, cliffs and valley below.

“There.” Jake pointed to several dark areas along the side of a bluff, across the narrow valley from where they stood.

Alex squinted. The dark shadows could be caves. The only way to know for certain was to get closer and check them out. With darkness settling in around them, they had to hurry or they’d be stumbling around in pitch black before the stars came out to shed a little light on their situation. And when the stars came out, that might allow for enough light that their pursuers could pick them out against the slopes and give away their hiding place before they even reached it.

Jake eased down the slippery slope one side step at a time.

Alex sucked in a deep, tired breath and hurried down the hillside, slipping and sliding on the loose gravel and stones. Her feet flew out from underneath her and she sat down hard, her momentum carrying her downward faster than she’d intended and bruising her backside as she went. She reached out, flailing for purchase, grabbing at the brush or anything that would slow her descent. The roots and brush she tried to hold on to ripped from the dry soil, barely slowing her fall.