by Dana R. Lynn
Turning to tell her the plan, he saw Lilah’s foot hit a patch of mud. Her arms flailed as she slid. Jumping in front of her, he caught her as she pitched forward. Her arm struck out, banging into his injured side. For a moment, lights danced in front of his eyes. He wrapped his arms around her, taking her weight as she fell against him.
They wobbled for a few seconds. Levi’s feet slid back.
Finally, he steadied them, and she found her feet.
He looked at her, ready to crack a joke, or make a light quip to ease the tension of the moment.
Instead, he found his glance landing on her lips. Smelled the lavender scent on her hair. Electricity sizzled in the air between them.
He dropped her arms and staggered away from her.
He would keep her safe. He would help her discover the truth. What he wouldn’t do is allow this woman to destroy his peace of mind. Not because she was unworthy. Nee, Lilah Schwartz was completely worthy of a man’s respect and devotion.
The problem was with him.
Lilah gave him a look filled with confusion and questions. She wasn’t prepared for the attraction between them, either. Or maybe he had hurt her by his reaction to their closeness.
It was all for the best. If she really knew him, she’d understand that there was too much darkness in him.
But she’d never get that chance. Not if he could help it.
* * *
What had she done to cause that reaction from him?
One second, Levi caught her as she fell, the next he was practically tripping over himself to get away from her. It could have been embarrassment. Or his Amish sensibilities telling him it wasn’t right to stand so with an unmarried maidal.
It wasn’t. She knew his reaction had more to do with the sparks dancing in the air around them. She’d felt it, too.
The experience wasn’t pleasant. It rattled her. Hadn’t she learned? Men were not trustworthy. At least not romantically. She didn’t welcome the butterflies fluttering in her stomach when he got too close. She’d lost so much in her life. Risking her heart again was not something she was prepared to do.
She had to find out what happened to Jacob. Nothing else mattered, not until she accomplished that goal. It was the only way she could make reparation for all that she had cost him. His death had only been the last in a long line of sacrifices Jacob had borne out of love for his one sibling. Sacrifices that had come between him and Hannah and had lingered enough to poison her own relationship with her sister-in-law.
Levi was watching her, his eyes sharp and probing. She squirmed, her instinct to hide like an earthworm burrowed deep in the rich soil to escape the blistering heat of the sun.
“Where are we going, exactly? Are we purposely walking the boundaries of the property line?”
Levi had turned his back on her and started walking again. He answered over his shoulder. “Jah. We couldn’t walk directly to the buggy. We’re going to walk to the front of it and hide behind it as we climb on.”
A shiver worked its way across her shoulder blades. “He’ll see us.”
Levi halted and whirled to face her. In three steps he was at her side. His left hand lifted, then dropped back to his side. Had he planned on touching her, to reassure her?
“Lilah, I can’t promise that we won’t be seen.”
“Jah. I know this. That’s not something I’d expect of you.”
He nodded his head toward where they’d come from. “I can’t even promise that we won’t get hurt. I will promise to do my best to get you out of here. And to keep you safe.”
He glanced around. His sigh brushed against her cheeks like a caress. She blushed, then frowned, irritated with herself. It wasn’t like her to be so silly about a man.
“If I were still Englisch, I would have owned my truck. We could have been gone already.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. He gave a sigh rife with mock longing. “Four-wheel drive, you know.”
She spluttered, half laughing, half shocked. Satisfaction bloomed across his face. Ah, now she understood his strategy.
He wanted to distract her from her fears.
“Danke.”
He nodded, confirming her suspicions. For all his prickles and defenses, Levi Burkholder was a gut man with a kind heart.
“All right, then. Let’s go.” She made her words firm. She was strong. And she was smart. If he told her to do something, she’d do her best to follow his instructions. If she didn’t, both of them could pay for it.
With each step closer to the edge of the trees, Lilah’s muscles tightened. Her heart raced so fast, soon it was hard to hear anything except for the blood pumping in her ears. Her stomach was crunched into a hard ball by the time she stepped up beside Levi.
His narrow stare scanned the yard. His blank expression chilled her. This was not the same man who had bemoaned not having his four-wheel drive truck. Nee, this was a man who had gone to war and seen violence. Possibly, he’d killed for his country. She couldn’t imagine what that kind of experience would do to one’s soul.
The buggy was exactly where they’d left it. The mare still standing placidly, grazing on the grass on the side of the drive.
“I’ll go first. If no one shoots at me, follow.”
Levi lifted a leg to walk to the buggy.
“Wait!” She grabbed his arm, panicked. “What do I do if you are shot?”
He froze for a moment before placing his left hand over hers. “If I’m shot, I want you to run.”
She started shaking her head and backed away. Crossing her arms over her chest, she glared at him. “I will not leave you here to be killed! What a horrible idea!”
“Lilah, you have to.” He placed a finger under her chin and applied enough pressure to bring her eyes up to meet his. “If you don’t run, we’re both dead. If I get shot, you will be my only hope. Go, find help. Call the police, an ambulance. Whatever we need. You will be the only one who can.”
She didn’t like it, but she nodded her agreement. There was a community phone booth less than a mile from their position. She’d never needed to use it before. She held her breath as Levi turned away from her.
He crouched and edged out into the open, soundlessly creeping across the open space that stretched out between the buggy and the safety of her hiding place.
She hated this plan.
He arrived at the buggy, carefully easing himself up inside the black boxlike vehicle, staying low. Once he was inside, she relaxed. If the shooter didn’t look through the tiny rear window, all would be well.
Until they started moving.
It was her turn. Lilah mimicked Levi’s approach. Her legs were trembling so hard each movement felt like she was trying to walk a thin tightrope. She lost all sense of time. It could have been minutes or an hour. When she joined Levi at the buggy, he hauled her inside.
For a moment, her nose was buried in his chest as he hugged her. She felt him trembling. For all his calm expression, she knew the truth. Watching her walk across that short expanse of open driveway had terrified him.
Then she was free. He made no mention of what had occurred. In fact, he didn’t speak at all. Both hands moved out and caught the reins.
Neither of them was sitting fully on the seat yet. As he settled back, the mare nickered and pranced, jostling the buggy. Levi’s shoulder slammed against the wall of the buggy. It swayed.
For one horrified moment, they froze, eyes clashing in disbelief.
Glancing back to where her brother had his tree stand, she gasped.
A man was scrambling out, a rifle in his hand.
Levi exploded up and sat firmly on the seat. Clenching the reins, he flicked them, sending the mare into a canter.
A bullet cracked and slammed into the back of the buggy with a clang.
Another flick of the reins. The mare sped up, careening ou
t onto the road. The buggy swayed and swerved dangerously.
Lilah started praying. They had maybe a minute, maybe one and a half, before the man from the tree stand made it to his car and came after them, intent on taking their lives.
SIX
Lilah started to rise. Levi barked at her to stay down. Freezing at his harsh command, she remained on the floor of the buggy, leg muscles cramping painfully. Riding sideways in such an uncomfortable position, she understood what seasickness must feel like. Her stomach began to roil. She lowered her head and closed her eyes.
When she started feeling light-headed, she couldn’t take it anymore. Lilah heaved herself up and slid onto the seat. She expected Levi to rebuke her. He didn’t, though his mouth tightened. She must have looked as ill as she felt.
Then she noticed the strain around his eyes. His complexion was gray.
She glanced down at his side. The stain was spreading. He’d reopened his wound.
“Levi, you’re bleeding again.” Her voice rose.
“Jah,” he grunted. His breathing was harsh. “I bumped it when the mare bolted.”
He was close to passing out. Lilah reached out and grabbed the reins from him.
“Hey—” His normally robust voice was thin.
“You’re going to pass out at any moment.” Her glance darted around. “We have to get off the road. He’ll be by any moment. We can’t outrun him.”
Seeing a dirt road on the right, Lilah made a split-second decision and steered the mare down the road. It was little more than a tractor path. Spying an opening in the trees, she used the reins to direct the mare off the road and toward the opening.
The buggy was snug in its little alcove.
Lilah watched the road they’d come from, anxiously. A minute later, she heard the roar of an engine a second before a green Jeep, covered with dirt and dust, sailed by. She didn’t have a clear view of the driver, but she was positive it was the shooter. She clearly recalled a green Jeep passing the Burkholder haus the day she’d arrived there. Was that only two days ago?
“We can’t stay here for long,” Levi murmured.
“Jah, I know. I just want to wait a few more minutes. I have a feeling he’ll cumme back this way.”
Levi groaned and attempted to straighten from the slouch he’d fallen into. She placed her hand against his shoulder. Gave it a slight push.
“Stop. Rest for a few minutes. If we don’t see anything, we’ll go.”
Five minutes later, the green Jeep passed again, going back toward what was left of her haus. She waited another moment, then urged the mare out of its hiding spot.
“Let’s go back to my haus,” Levi suggested. “I can get patched up, and we can plan our next move.”
She didn’t like it. It felt too much like giving up. But what other choice was open to them? She had a feeling the sniper was heading back to her place.
“I wonder if he’s waiting for backup to help him search.”
“Could be. Or maybe we surprised him before he had a chance to leave this morning. Funny, I hadn’t noticed the Jeep on the property.”
She shrugged. “I didn’t either, but that doesn’t surprise me. You must have noticed how the weeds had grown up on the west side of the haus. We stopped mowing that section years ago. It would’ve been easy to hide a vehicle in there. Actually, you could have hidden several cars there, and I never would have noticed.”
He chuckled. She frowned at how tired it sounded. Levi was so intense, his current condition was all the more striking. It was like finding a tiger and hearing it meow. Unexpected and disconcerting. She hoped it wasn’t too serious. Maybe he’d be fine after the wound was cleaned and he had time to rest.
She peered over at Levi again, half-afraid he’d drifted off. He’d become quiet in the past few minutes. Too quiet. She didn’t have any medical training, but she knew more than she’d ever wanted to know about injuries and blood loss. The accident that had taken her parents and left her in Jacob’s care five years ago was not something she was likely to forget, no matter how many years Gott planned for her to live on Earth.
She needed to shake this mood she was in. A dark cloud of gloom and weariness hung over her, dragging her spirits down. She was more exhausted than she had thought, and no wonder. The past few days had been one harrowing event after another. The worst of course had been when Jacob had died. But then she’d been kicked out of her temporary home, been shot at, and now the man who rescued her and was trying to assist her had been injured on her account.
By the time Lilah steered the horse and buggy into Levi’s driveway, tears were building behind her eyelids. She sniffed and clenched her teeth together, willing them away. Crying wasn’t going to help her.
She halted the buggy in front of the porch. It should probably go back into the barn, but she needed to get Levi inside.
His mother made her way painfully to the porch. Nee. She wasn’t going to tax that sweet woman any more than was absolutely necessary.
“Levi.” Smiling at his mother, she jostled him awake.
“Jah. I’m awake.”
“Gut. Your mamm is waiting for us. You should put on a smile and prove you can walk on your own, ain’t so?”
He sat up, his posture stiff. Agony radiated off him. But he didn’t complain.
“I can help, if you need me to,” she offered but wasn’t surprised when he refused.
“Nee. I can do it.” A glimmer of humor appeared in his eyes. He spoke out of the corner of his mouth, his lips barely moving. “You’re right. Mamm will be less concerned if I walk into the haus independently.”
She tore her gaze from him, flushing. She’d been entranced by his impromptu ventriloquist display. So entranced that she’d been staring at his mouth. Ducking her head, she sped up in an effort to hide her face from him. She had to fight this attraction between them.
His chuckle vibrated along her nerves. He knew what she was doing, she was sure of it.
She joined Fannie on the porch. Levi’s mother smiled at her, but her gaze sharpened as it zeroed in on the splotch darkening his shirt.
“Levi? What’s wrong? Bist du verletzt?” Fannie demanded.
Levi waved his hand, but the gesture appeared stiff to Lilah. He was in pain, but she knew he wouldn’t admit it. Not because of macho pride. Nee, Levi didn’t want his mamm to be anxious. Which was ridiculous. Mothers always worried when their kinder were injured or scared.
“It’s fine, Mamm.” He mounted the steps slowly. “A small injury. I just need to clean it.”
Fannie Burkholder wasn’t having it. She planted her fists firmly on her hips and stood in his path. Eyes wide, Levi had no choice but to stop. It was either that or skirt around his mother.
“You are hurt, and you will let me tend your wound.” Fannie’s voice was soft as velvet, but steel rang just below the surface.
Lilah heard it. The expression on his face told her Levi had heard and recognized it, too.
Shifting to the side, Lilah waited until they had moved past her before following them inside the haus. She was numb. Levi would be fine if he hadn’t been helping her. How long would it take until Fannie came to the same conclusion?
She’d already been kicked out of one haus. Would the Burkholders make her leave, too?
She had nowhere else to hide.
* * *
His mamm could have been a drill sergeant.
People often saw her as frail. In some ways, she was. The arthritis had taken its toll on her for the past few years. The moment she started talking, though, he knew better than to argue. He’d heard that particular tone often enough to know any “discussion” would be fruitless. His mamm was bone stubborn when she chose to be.
Now was one of those times.
Holding in a sigh, he allowed himself to be prodded and scolded as she cleaned and dresse
d his wound. He’d been right. It had ached, and would be sore for a while yet, but the bullet had merely grazed him. He’d had worse.
Much worse.
He flexed the fingers of his right arm. The movement wasn’t as precise as his left, and it was limited. But he had more than many of the guys he’d served with had.
“Levi?” His mamm had finished and was frowning at him, furrows lining her face under its simple prayer kapp.
He stopped messing around and dropped his right arm, uneasy. He was grateful for the prosthetic limb. It was a blessing he hadn’t expected from an unexpected source. But he also didn’t like calling attention to it.
Where was Lilah?
He’d been so deep in his thoughts, he’d not been aware of the movement around him. He scanned the room for the pretty blonde, finally finding her hovering right inside the kitchen doorway. She hadn’t come very far into the haus.
Her posture reminded him of how she’d appeared when he’d found her huddled up in his barn. He took in the rounded shoulders, the arms crossed over her middle as if to hold herself together and the weary droop to her mouth. As his gaze clashed with hers, her posture tightened further. The anxious cast to her face was wiped clean, leaving it smooth and without expression.
Her whole demeanor told him she expected to be tossed out on her ear.
Like what had happened to her with her sister-in-law.
Not happening.
“Lilah.”
She flinched at his voice, overloud in the still room. He softened it. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to shout.”
She didn’t respond.
He tried again.
“Lilah, my getting shot?” His mamm gasped at this piece of information, which was not helpful. He squeezed his mother’s arm but kept his glance firmly on Lilah. “This isn’t your fault.”
She lowered her gaze and stared at the floor. “Isn’t it?”
