Free The Forty Column Castle by Marjorie Thelen

door and crawled inside, slamming the door and cowering
     on the floor. A rapid exchange of gunfire heralded Zach’s approach to the Rover, and
     a bullet hit the driver’s side of the vehicle. Zach sprang in, turned over the motor
     and slammed the gears into reverse. The Rover squealed back through the clearing making
     a wide circle on two wheels, screeched to a halt, roared into forward and out of the
     clearing followed by a barrage of bullets.
    I hunkered down on the floor and squeezed my eyes shut until we were out of the clearing
     and lurching down the rocky lane.
    “Damn,” said Zach.
    I opened my eyes and looked up at him.
    “Another shirt ruined,” he said.
    Three explosion holes on his shirt front marked the spots where bullets had hit.
    “I’m glad I thought to put on a bullet proof vest today.”

Six
    My pulse was hammering so hard in my head, I thought it would explode. I looked behind
     us but whoever had attacked made no attempt to follow. Our attackers had had no vehicle,
     or if they had, they weren’t using it to pursue us. I couldn’t believe Zach had put
     on a bullet proof vest in anticipation that our flight might involve gunfire. I was
     in way over my head. I should have gone to the Cypriot authorities. In hindsight,
     it would have been much wiser. Too late to think about that now, wasn’t it?
    Zach’s sun-bleached hair was hardly ruffled, and beyond the holes in his shirt he
     looked like he hadn’t done anything more exciting than spend an afternoon at the racetrack.
     I had the uneasy feeling that Aunt Elizabeth and I were pawns in a game, and this
     game involved criminals. The man sitting next to me was a player in the game. The
     thought was unnerving, and my opinion of him underwent a serious overhaul.
    He slowed the Rover to maneuver the ruts better. I thought my neck would snap in the
     attempt to get away from the so-called safe house, and my demise would involve a broken
     neck instead of flying bullets.
    “Where are we going?” I asked when I had a chance to calm down.
    Zach didn’t reply, his attention focused on putting distance between us and the flying
     bullets. He appeared to be scowling at the question and the answer to it.
    “I’m not sure. I’m thinking,” he said, not taking his eyes off the road.
    “Who were those people? Do they have names?”
    “Max and Irene.”
    “How could they not exist?”
    “They decided long ago to go under cover and not come back. They led a simple existence,
     and they helped a lot of people in trouble. I’m sorry to see them go out like they
     did. They were the best, but they knew the risks.”
    Like that justified everything. “I hadn’t bargained for running into bullets, but
     you had.” Truth be told, I hadn’t bargained for any of this.
    Zach glanced at me like he didn’t believe the words coming out of my mouth and looked
     back to the road. We turned right at the end of the lane leading away from the safe
     house and headed higher into the mountains. In greater abundance were the tall, biblical
     cedars of Lebanon that I loved so much. Seeing them now brought me no joy.
    “We’ll try to find your aunt,” Zach said. “Or would you like to tell me where she
     is?”
    My mouth dropped open, and I looked at him in astonishment. “I thought you knew. Wasn’t
     that the bargain? That you would take me to her?”
    “I was playing a hunch. You said you would cooperate.”
    “I was lying,” I said.
    “So was I,” he said.
    We bounced along in strained silence, me trying to make sense of the situation and
     having no luck. My stomach had settled down enough that it began to rumble. I realized
     I hadn’t had anything to eat. I fished in my bag for the sweet rolls I had bought
     at the hotel. It wasn’t much, just two small rolls, but I needed something to settle
     my stomach. I debated whether to offer one to my kidnapper, and my nicer side won
     out.
    “Would you care for a sweet roll?” I asked. It