Free Line of Fire by Cindy Dees Page A

soon as the rebel was cut loose, he’d tell his buddies where they were hiding! Tex must be regretting his decision not to kill the guy.
    Tex moved very slowly beside her. He eased one of the rifles across his body into a firing position.
    The swishing noise retreated a little ways. And then it stopped. She could picture someone out there, standing stock-still, listening as intently as she was.
    A quiet mumble of Spanish.
    An answering mumble.
    If only she spoke that language! She spoke Italian so beautifully it would make the Pope weep, but that didn’t do her a darn bit of good right now. Frustration mingled with her helpless terror.
    She glanced over at Tex. His jaw rippled with tension and his expression was grim, but he didn’t show the slightest sign of fear. Thank goodness he seemed to know what to do, because she was clueless.
    She blinked, startled by the thought. Never, ever, had she been able to tolerate helpless females. Her mother had been that way in the face of her father’s aggression. Revulsion at the memory of her mother’s biddable meekness surged through her. She’d sworn ever since she was a little girl that no man would ever have such power over her. But here she was, perfectly happy to have a strong, macho, armed male beside her.
    She really hated the idea of depending on Tex. But what choice did she have? She had no idea how to survive out here, let alone how to evade her would-be captors.
    The whole idea of being chased by kidnappers had seemed distant and surreal even after she accepted that this wasn’t a training exercise. And then a rebel put a knife to her throat. And now these quiet Spanish voices nearby. The danger facing them was suddenly very real indeed to her. Fear clogged her throat and made her light-headed. She struggled to breathe normally but only marginally succeeded.
    The swishing started again. She inhaled on a gasp and held her breath until she thought she’d pass out. The noise moved away until she couldn’t make it out anymore. Tex continued to lie still. She took her cue from him and made like a statue.
    While she waited a dozen lifetimes for Tex to call the all-clear, she prayed frantically that the bad guys would go far, far away from them. She prayed that Tex had the skills to get them out of this alive, and she prayed for a second chance to stay out of his hair and not give him any grief as he tried to save her neck.
    Finally he eased the gun back down. “They’re gone,” he murmured.
    “Who was it?” she whispered. “Could you understand them?”
    “Yeah. They were poachers. Talking about their prey.”
    She sighed in relief. Thank God it hadn’t been the Gavronese rebels chasing after them. “What were they hunting?”
    “Two Americans.”
    “What?” Her heart battered against her ribs like a panicked bird trying to escape a cage.
    “There’s probably a reward out already for anyone who brings us in or sights us.”
    She gulped. There was a bounty on their heads? “What are we going to do now?” she whispered desperately.
    “First, talk low under your breath like I’m doing. The sound of it carries less than whispering. Second, we’re going to take down our shelter and get moving.”
    “Now?” she asked in surprise. “It’s pitch black out. And those poachers are still out there!”
    “Now,” he answered firmly. “They won’t expect us to move until morning, and it’ll put some distance between us and them that they won’t be counting on.”
    She gulped and crawled gamely out of the shelter.
    “Put these on.” He handed her the dirty fatigue pants.
    She scowled at the Almighty’s rotten sense of humor. Did those gnarly pants have to be the test of her resolve to cooperate with Tex?
    With a sigh, she shimmied out of her skirt and hose and slipped on the pants. She then took one step away from Tex and promptly tripped on a vine. Even though his back was to her, he whirled and grabbed her before she hit the ground. Lord, he was