Dax was in the hold.
Since she was fairly certain he wouldn’t be at all pleased to find her down in the hold with the troops, she moved to the back.
“I don’t expect any ground force, but look alive out there. And keep a sharp eye out for any survivors.”
Any? Did that mean he wasn’t expecting to find any? Nigel might be out there, she thought in sudden fear. Dax had said he might be!
The moment the hatch opened, even before the gang plank was extended, the troops began pouring out the side of the ship. Lena followed them, determined to search for Nigel if there was any possibility that he might have been in the base when it was hit.
She’d managed to make it half way down the gang plank when Dax spotted her.
He caught her around the waist as she leapt from the side to run.
“Get back on the damned ship!”
“I’ve got to look for Nigel! He might be hurt!”
“We’ll look for Nigel. We’re looking for any survivors.”
Lena looked up at him in horror. “Any?”
His lips tightened. “Just go back inside and wait. If he’s here, I’ll find him.”
She was tempted to try to escape him and go anyway, but it occurred to her that as long as she held him up, he wasn’t looking and if Nigel was hurt minutes counted. Finally, she nodded. He caught her cheeks in one hand. “Promise me you’ll stay put!”
She looked away. “All right!”
When he released her, she trudged back up the gang plank, glancing around at the rubble and wondering if there was any possibility that they were going to find any survivors at all.
He didn’t trust her to keep her word and stay. As she reached the airlock, he whistled, making a hand motion when one of the men turned to look at him. The soldier glanced at her and nodded. Turning, he trotted back to the ship and up the gang plank behind her.
He caught her arm when he reached the top.
“He didn’t say I couldn’t stay here and watch!” she snapped, trying to wrest her arm loose.
He let her go. “Stay back from the door.”
“I’m just looking!”
“You’re liable to catch one between the eyes if you stand there,” the guard snapped back at her.
Glaring at the man, she moved behind the edge of the door and peered out, searching the rubble with her gaze for any sign of someone that might be trapped beneath it. It was a waste of time, or more accurately, only something to do to keep her from feeling so helpless and useless. The soldiers were making a sweep. If there’d been anyone nearby, they would already have found them.
Time seemed to drag by, but her anxiety only sharpened the longer she waited to hear if Nigel was among those who’d been here when the feds had attacked. The soldier who’d been sent back to watch her began to fidget. She tried to ignore him, but his restlessness began to grate on her nerves.
“I’ve got to take a leak,” he announced.
Lena turned to stare at him with a mixture of embarrassment and outrage. Like she wanted to know that, she thought indignantly!
“Stay put.”
Lena blinked. Finally, she nodded.
Apparently her hesitation was enough to alert him. Instead of dashing off to find the head, he glared at her, snatched the lower seam free and dragged the thing out right in front of her.
Lena’s eyes narrowed. Pursing her lips, she looked away. When she slid a glance at him again, she saw that he’d turned his back to her and was pissing off to one side of the gangplank. Without even stopping to consider the possible consequences, she burst into a run and slammed into his back with her palms. He yelped as he went out the door, but Lena didn’t pause to see if he landed on his feet. The moment she gave him a shove, she whirled and raced down the gang plank, leaping off when she neared the end and dashing toward what was left of the building that had once been the rebel base camp.
A shout behind her to stop alerted her to the fact that he was giving chase. Instead of stopping, she ran faster. She didn’t dare look back to see if he was closing in on her, fearful that she’d trip, or that it would slow her down enough to help him catch her.
