Free Behind Enemy Lines by Cindy Dees Page B

her. “Wimp. I guess we’ll have to get you a boat and the rest of us will swim behind it and push you.”
    “Gimme a break.”
    Tex shrugged. “We’ve done worse before.”
    The smile faded from Annie’s face. Holy mackerel. Tom wasn’t kidding. What kinds of superheroes were these guys?
    Annie woke up abruptly sometime after midnight, unsure of what had startled her out of her sleep.
    There it was again. A faint noise, like rain hitting a metal roof. Except it sounded like it was coming from far away. She lay on the couch for several minutes, staring at the ceiling. The refrigerator rattled and then settled down to humming quietly. She didn’t hear the noise again.
    Restless, she rolled over a couple times, trying to get comfortable in her uncomfortable bed on the sofa.
    A sharp noise jerked her upright. It was much closer this time. Much louder. And it sounded like…
    That was gunfire! Right down the street.
    And then another sound, one that caused her to leap to her feet. Tom groaned as if he were in pain.
    Ohmigosh. Was he hit?
    She raced into the bedroom and found him tossing on the bed, fast asleep. She sat down on the edge of the bed and reached out to soothe his forehead.
    This time she wasn’t quite as startled when he jerked her down beside him and whispered, “Get down, for chrissake, Jackie. They’ll shoot you.”
    “Tom. Tom, it’s Annie. Wake up.”
    Slowly he roused from his dream. His eyes opened, and his gaze locked on to her face. Gradually his eyes focused on her.
    “Annie. What are you doing here?”
    “You were having a bad…”
    She broke off as a burst of gunfire sounded practically outside the window.
    He rolled completely on top of her, crushing her. “Stay down,” he ordered.
    Annie replied dryly. “I had that one figured out, thanks. Besides, I couldn’t move if I wanted to.”
    With a flash of white teeth, he grinned and rolled off her and on to the floor before Annie could stop him. She watched him…slither was the only word for it…to the window. He eased himself up under the curtain and peered cautiously outside.
    He slithered back to the bed.
    “Get on the floor on the far side of the bed.”
    Annie rolled off the bed, doing her best to imitate his liquid movements. It was harder than it looked. He started to drag the mattress toward the living room. As soon as she realized what he was up to, she crawled over and pushed the clumsy mattress from behind.
    Once they’d horsed the thing into the living room, they stretched out side by side on the narrow double mattress, each lying very still in their mutual awkwardness. In the silence following another volley of shots, Tom pulled down her pillow and blankets from the sofa.
    “We may as well get comfortable. Those snipers are going to be out there a while.”
    “There are snipers out there?”
    “Welcome to the Gavronese revolution, Annie.”
    “What are you saying?” Her mind refused to grasp the implication of his words.
    “Congratulations. You’ve just entered a war zone.”
    “Maybe it’s just some of those drunks Tex was talking about.”
    Tom fluffed the lone pillow and drew her close so they could share it. He pulled the blanket over them and tucked her head into the crook of his shoulder.
    “Sorry. Those are government and rebel soldiers down there firing at each other.”
    “You’re sure of that?”
    “I chased a bunch of rebel uniforms through the jungle not too long ago, and I don’t believe the government has changed its markings recently. Yup, I’m sure.”
    “Good Lord.” So. War had come. The realization was beyond sobering. It was chilling. Absolutely terrifying.
    “Welcome to my world, angel.”
    She didn’t know whether to laugh at the absurdity of finding herself in the middle of a war zone, or to cry at the tragedy of Tom living in this bizarre, dangerous world.
    “What do we do now?”
    “We rest, and we wait for morning. The shooting will stop when it gets light out. You may as well