kind of men had she been around to have gained such a low opinion of them? “My orders are to get you and what you’re carrying safely to American jurisdiction,” Jack said. “I interpret that to mean everything you’re carrying, not just the disk, so you’ve got nothing to worry about.” He stopped at the back of the truck, took one look at the height of the tailgate and then leaned over to scoop Eva into his arms.
She gasped. “Sergeant!”
She was lighter than he’d expected, even with her extras. Instead of simply lifting her into the back and getting in after her, he carried her with him as he climbed inside.
Duncan looked up when the truck dipped with their weight. The moment he saw the bulge beneath Eva’s coat, he pulled off his headphones. “Ma’am, are you pregnant?”
Jack spoke before she could answer. “Nope. Not anymore. Ma’am, this is Duncan Colbert.”
She acknowledged the introduction with as much dignity as she could, considering her position.
Duncan frowned and looked at Jack. “What’s that mean, not anymore?”
“Dr. Petrova brought her kid along.” Jack picked his way through the loose bark that littered the rusty floor. Apparently, the truck he’d acquired had been last used for hauling firewood. He set Eva on her feet where the cargo bed met the truck cab. “Stay here, ma’am. It should be the most sheltered spot.”
“I need no special treatment.”
“Well, with Lang and Gonzales up front, the cab’s going to be crowded, and you probably don’t want to get too close to Matheson when he’s armed, so this is the only spot left.” He stuffed his gloves into his pocket and put down his gun so he could peel off his coat and spread it in front of her. “You can sit on this.”
“Thank you, but as I said, I need no special—”
“There might be spiders in the bark.”
She hesitated for less than a second before she sank to the cushion Jack’s coat provided and wrapped her arms around her baby. Her lips trembled. She pressed them together and inhaled hard through her nose.
Jack amended his assessment of her mental state, adding exhausted to terrified. He had a crazy urge to sit beside her and pull her, baby and all, into his arms. She’d felt good there. But that would probably bring out the ice princess again. He took one of her hands and guided it toward a loop of strapping that hung from the truck’s short side wall. “You might want to hold on to that once we start moving.”
She nodded and threaded her fingers through the loop.
Tyler returned and climbed into the truck, pulled up the tailgate and dropped the canvas into place. He spoke without turning around. “I heard you talking through the canvas, doc. It sounded like you said she brought a kid. Tell me I heard wrong.”
“Sorry, junior, you heard right. We have a baby on board.” Jack glanced from Tyler to Duncan. “Hey, either of you wouldn’t happen to have one of those signs to stick on the windshield, would you?”
Tyler grunted, donned a pair of night-vision goggles and swung his weapon to his shoulder to sight through the back opening. Duncan muttered something about Murphy and put his headphones back on.
Their lack of reaction didn’t surprise Jack. They didn’t have the luxury for anything else. He leaned past Eva to rap at the window to the cab. “Okay, Kurt. We’re ready.”
The truck jerked into motion. Eva knocked into the side of the truck with her shoulder. Still holding the strap, she shifted her position so she could draw up her knees and put her back to the low wall for support.
“Are you all right?” Jack asked.
“Yes, thank you.”
“It won’t be long now. If you need anything, let me know.”
She opened her coat just enough to slip her hand inside. “We’ll be fine.”
He regarded her for a while to make sure she had steadied. Now that she was sitting, the sacks of baby clothes would be resting on the floor and her drawn up legs would take most of the baby’s weight. She still looked exhausted, but some of that could be due to the green glow from Duncan’s instruments. Jack went over to squat beside him. “What’s the latest intel on the rendezvous site, Duncan?”
“Not good. Weather’s coming in.”
“Lang will get us there.”
“We have to hope the bird can land. It could get messy.” He tipped his head toward Eva. “Are you sure she’s got a baby?”
“Saw her myself. She was asleep.”
“My sister’s boys used to sleep as long as they were moving. Especially on car rides. She told me they’d be out like a light as soon as she left the driveway. Sometimes she’d stuff them in their seats and take a drive around the block just to get some peace.” He pressed the transmitter on his headphones. “Say again, Gonzales?”
The truck hit a bump, jolting Jack into the air. He glanced back at Eva to make sure she was still hanging on, then shoved aside a stray piece of wood and braced his knuckles against the floor. “What’s going on, Duncan?”
“Gonzales spotted a patrol.”
“How far away?”
“Less than a mile ahead.”
Ahead? If there had been a pursuit, it should have come from behind. This was either bad luck or someone had guessed they were coming. The first possibility was just par for the course, but the latter could scuttle the mission before it got started. They could only hope that Eva had been as careful with her preparations as she’d claimed.
Duncan glanced at the map on the laptop and spoke into his transmitter. “Lang, we’ll try to go around them. There’s a track coming up on the left about a hundred yards.” He tensed and grabbed the equipment. “Sharp turn, everyone.”
Jack dove for Eva and landed beside her just as the truck lurched to the left. He put his hand over hers to grip the packing strap, cushioning her from the impact as they slammed against the side. The truck slowed only long enough to allow Gonzales to jump into the cab, then began accelerating uphill even before the passenger door slammed. Bark and bits of wood slid backward. Jack dug the edge of one boot into a row of rivets in the floor, braced his legs and twisted to lock his free arm around Eva. “Hang on!”
Her face was mere inches from his, so he could clearly see the fear in her eyes. She didn’t protest about his help this time. She would have heard Duncan as well as Jack had, and she was obviously bright enough to have understood the danger they were in.
A muffled wail rose from her coat. One tiny, mittened fist knocked against Jack’s sleeve where his arm stretched across Eva’s chest. Despite the rocking of the truck, she dipped her head toward the baby, caught the tiny fist in her hand and brought it to her lips. “Shh, kitten. Don’t cry. I won’t let anything hurt you. I promise.”
The change in Eva’s voice was startling. It was as tender as a kiss, completely unlike the brittle tones she’d been using with Jack. And
