“We could try and take out the guy holding her with a head shot.”
“If Kaitlin could run, maybe. But she can hardly stand up. We take him out, she drops to the ground, and they’ll just shoot her.”
They were starting to head backwards, holding Kaitlin in front of them. He caught her gaze, and she gave a tiny, almost imperceptible shrug as if to say she was sorry.
He gave a small shake of his head. This wasn’t down to her. God, he wanted into her head right then. Wanted to tell her he loved her. That he would do whatever was needed to save her. But he couldn’t risk it, so he tried to convey his feelings through a look.
She smiled and mouthed the words. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Then another grimace of pain flashed across her face as she was dragged away. He stared at her as they backed slowly up the track.
There was a flurry of movement from the side, and someone hurled himself into the man holding Kaitlin. They all went down, and for a moment everything was chaos, and Kane couldn’t quite see what was happening. A figure jumped up, grabbed Kaitlin from the ground, and carried her, racing toward them.
It was the colonel. And he was totally exposed.
“Give them cover,” Jake snapped, already letting off a shot at the four figures standing staring down at them. Kane raised his own gun and shot toward the man still on the ground. Others were shooting all around them and the woman was hurled backward as a bullet took her in the chest. She was up a moment later. Aiming her weapon toward the colonel. He’d almost reached them, when a laser blast shot out from the gun, flashed across the space, and the colonel flew forward. Kaitlin was hurled to the ground, and she rolled and started scrambling toward them.
“Cover us,” Jake shouted to the others as all around them, the shots multiplied.
Kane raced forward, scooped up Kaitlin, then dived for the cover of the trees. Beside him, Jake was dragging the colonel.
Kane collapsed, Kaitlin wrapped tight in his arms, his heart racing. He lay still for a moment, hardly daring to believe he had her. That she was alive and, if not safe, then at least in his arms and out of harm’s way for now.
She wriggled. “I can’t breathe,” she mumbled, and he reluctantly loosened his hold. She took a deep breath. “I really thought that was it. I can’t believe I was saved by the colonel. Is he okay?”
He didn’t know. He pushed himself up and looked across to where Jake crouched over the colonel. He glanced up, as ifsensing Kane’s gaze and gave a small shake of his head. “He’s alive, but it’s not good.”
“Let me go,” Kaitlin said.
He didn’t want to. But he released his hold, and she crawled across the space between her and Jake.
Kane followed, keeping his head low. Shots still rang out.
The colonel lay on his back, his eyes closed. But as Kaitlin reached out and touched him lightly on the chest, he blinked, and a wince of pain flashed across his face. “Well, that wasn’t too clever,” he muttered.
“Just lie still,” Jake said. “Christa is coming. She’ll have a medical kit. We’ll get you patched up.”
“I think I’m beyond patching this time.”
“Thank you,” Kaitlin said. “You saved my life.”
He gave her a small smile. “I owed you a life. Make it a good one.”
Kaitlin sniffed.
“I never said I was sorry,” the colonel continued, “but I was. More than I can ever say. People make mistakes. Though mine was bigger than most and cost the lives of people you cared about. I was blinded by the idea of a better world. But you can never have a better world by sacrificing others. I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry as well,” Kaitlin said. “I won’t forgive you for Sam but thank you for saving my life.”
At that moment, Christa appeared. She dropped to her knees beside her father and took his hand.
Kaitlin backed away, dragging herself across the ground to sit with her back against a tree trunk, her legs stretched out in front of her. They were scratched and covered with blood and her left ankle was swollen. She looked up at him. “I’m sorry about Leila and Brandon.”
He nodded. But he couldn’t even think about them now. Later. He would think about them later.
“You need to stop them,” she said. “I think they’re going to destroy the time machine.”
