Page 45 of Her Faithful Protector

“Ah fuck, Max, I’ve got another hostage here. I’ve got to leave the church. Raiden, get here fast.”

Another hostage? What was Asher talking about?

“You mean a villager?” Max asked.

“A kid. One of the guys is using a kid to get to the satellite truck.”

“You’re down to eight,” Raiden reported. “Going to the church now.”

* * *

Camilla was kneeling down on the floor, the elbow of her left arm propped up on the pew, her right hand cradling that arm. Travis had found a piece of blue cloth to wrap around her shoulders that she was eternally grateful for. She no longer felt like she was being stretched out on a medieval rack. She listened as the students cried and moaned at the sounds of shots being fired, but what she really wished was that she could get over near Lisa. The woman looked catatonic. She just stared off into space; nothing was touching her.

“Lisa?” Travis called the tour guide’s name. He slowly walked up to the woman who was leaning up against the side of one of the pews, her legs stretched out into the aisle.

“Lisa?” he said again. She didn’t respond.

He touched her shoulder. In a shot, Lisa’s arm moved with lightning speed. Her hand grabbed Travis’ forearm and twisted. She looked up at him with rage. God bless Travis, he didn’t make a move, didn’t try to get away. “Lisa, it’s me, Travis. Are you okay? We found some water, would you like a bottle?”

It was like she was looking right through him.

“Lisa,” Camilla called out in her gentlest voice possible. “Can you hear me?”

Lisa cocked her head.

“Lisa, say my name. It’s Camilla. Can you talk to me?”

Slowly Lisa turned her head to look at Camilla. Her eyes filled with tears. Then she looked up and saw that she was holding Travis’ arm. She released it. He crouched down. “Would you like a bottle of water?”

She shrank back from him, but still managed to nod her head. “Yes, thank you.” Her voice was soft and husky. This was not the confident woman from yesterday.

Still, she did manage to twist the football captain’s arm…

Travis handed her the bottle, then moved to hand a bottle to the person seated in the pew next to her.

Lisa looked at Camilla. “Are you all right?” she asked as she saw how Camilla was holding her shoulder.

“I think that’s my line,” Camilla responded with a gentle smile.

Lisa bit her lip. “Can we focus on you?” she asked tremulously. “Or better yet, what do you think is happening out there?”

“I think our saviors are out there kicking ass and will soon be able to get us the hell out of here, that’s what I think.”

“Really?” Roxanne asked from the pew across the aisle. “How many of them are there? Who are they? That man sounded like an American. How did they get here?”

Lisa winced. She slowly pushed up off the floor and walked down the aisle close to the front entrance of the church. Well wasn’t that the smartest way to handle Roxanne? Too bad she had finally found a semi-comfortable way to hold her shoulder and couldn’t walk away.

“Doctor Ross?”

“I’m too tired to think, Roxanne.”

“But—”

“Roxanne, shove a sock in it,” Travis said as he walked by to deliver another bottle of water.

“But Travis, I really want—”

“I’m serious as a damned heart attack. I’ll find something to gag you with if you don’t shut the hell up,” the young man growled.