Silent Run by Barbara Freethy

Author:Barbara Freethy
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Onyx
Published: 2011-06-15T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Jake stopped abruptly, shielding Sarah with his body as he quickly assessed the situation. They were trapped between the fire behind them and the gun in front of them. Sarah’s hand tightened in his, and he could feel her body shaking, her breath on his neck. She was depending on him to get them out of this alive. He needed a plan, but there was no time to make one. The man was raising the gun, his finger on the trigger.

Jake let out a yell as he launched himself at their attacker, praying the gun wouldn’t go off and hit Sarah.

The man stumbled backward in surprise, but he recovered quickly, coming at Jake with a fury that he didn’t expect, slamming Jake’s head against the wall. He saw stars and felt blackness begin to descend, but he forced it back.

“Run, Sarah,” he urged.

His words turned his attacker’s attention on Sarah. The man fired a shot at her just as she ducked past him, running down the stairs.

Taking advantage of the man’s momentary distraction, Jake hit him from behind, this time knocking the gun out of his hand. They wrestled on the landing, both trying to get control of the gun, which had slid against the opposite wall.

The man was strong and knew how to fight. Jake battled back. He had to give Sarah time to get away.

Their bodies rolled over and over as they each struggled for dominance. They were close to the stairs now. If he could just shove the guy down the stairs, he might still get out of this alive.

The smoke was getting thicker. Jake could feel the heat of the fire emanating from the walls. His lungs were burning.

Suddenly a blast of cool air hit him in the face. There were men coming up the stairs. Firemen. Thank God!

His attacker jerked away. He gave Jake one last push as he ran down the stairs, nearly knocking over one of the firemen on his way down.

“Are you all right?” a fireman asked him, grabbing him by the arm.

Jake stumbled to his feet. He couldn’t speak. His lungs were filled with smoke. The fireman helped him out of the building. He prayed that Sarah had gotten away, that she wasn’t still waiting outside, and that their attacker hadn’t caught up to her.

Finally they reached the street. He gulped in deep breaths of the cool, fresh air. Dozens of people were milling around in front of a fire truck that blazed with red and blue strobe lights.

“I’m okay,” he said as a paramedic came up to him. But his gasp only led the paramedic to slap an oxygen mask over his nose.

“Breathe,” the paramedic instructed. “Sit down.”

He sat down on the grass, taking in much-needed air. All the while his gaze raked the area. He couldn’t see Sarah anywhere. He needed to find her. He pulled the mask off his nose. “I’m all right,” he repeated.

“You’re bleeding,” the paramedic said. “And the oxygen will do you good.”

Jake put his hand to his head, and his fingers came away wet with blood.

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