“’Kay.”
“I’m going to escort you.” He paused, staring at my face. “Any second now.” Another pregnant pause as his eyes guided down my neck. “Just as soon as I can uproot my feet from this stone, I’m going to walk with you.” He smiled taking in my face again.
I fought a smile of my own when he grabbed the lantern hanging on the hook above us, his broad chest expanding right in front of my face. We stood still for a minute.
“Come on,” I told him, walking away first.
He quickly caught up with me and held the lantern ahead of us. We didn’t say a word on the short hike to our hut. We didn’t even glance each other’s direction. I walked right to my side and went inside, turning to say goodnight but he’d already gone into his side, leaving me disappointed and just a teeny bit pissed.
I lit the small candle on my washstand and dressed in yoga pants with a long-sleeve fitted tee. I draped my wet towel at the foot of my bed and tossed my robe on its hook. I kept my flip-flops on because it was Uganda and you never took your shoes off ever. I’d just finished brushing my teeth and hair when I heard a faint knock on my door.
My heart leapt into my throat. “Yes?” I barely choked out.
“It’s me,” Ian said quietly. “Can I come in?”
led my face back and ran my hands across his face. “Will we be able to drive?”
He followed my lead and ran his hands through my hair. “We’ll have to cover our faces the best we can, the dirt will be overwhelming, but, yeah, we’re only about an hour away from Masego.”
A small tear fell down my face. “We almost died, Ian.”
He wrapped his arms around my frame and brought my head to his chest. “We’re alive.”
“But...”
“Shhhh,” he spoke into my hair, “I told you I’d protect you, didn’t I?”
“You did,” I confirmed into his shirt.
“I would never let anything happen to you, Soph.”
Clarity came to me in that second because I believed him.
“Thank you,” I whispered, bringing my face near his. “It’s not enough, but I have to say it. Thank you for saving my life.”
“It was my absolute pleasure.”
I giggled despite myself. “So polite.”
“Trust me, Soph, I am trying really hard to be polite right now.”
My brows furrowed. “Why?”
“Well,” he cleared his throat. “You’re, uh, you’re sitting on my lap.”
“Oh.” I blushed. Actually blushed! Sophie Price, who hadn’t blushed since she was a schoolgirl, felt embarrassed!
I scurried off his lap and he stood, offering his hand to help me up. He reached into his glove compartment again and pulled out a flashlight, lighting up our small area with a click. We examined the damage. Since most of the windows were down except one of the back passenger windows, none shattered but that one and the windshield. There were bullet holes riddling the sides of the jeep but when Ian lifted the hood, the engine appeared to be unscathed.
“Thank God,” he breathed.
“Agreed.”
Ian rounded the side of the jeep and picked up his guns, placing them back in the glove box and the back of the vehicle. He grabbed an old t-shirt in the backseat and effortlessly ripped it in two.
“Here,” he said, handing me one half of the shirt, “tie this ’round your mouth and nose.”
I grabbed it and nodded. Following his lead, I wrapped it around my face and cinched it as tightly as I could behind my head.