Undercover Lovers

Chapter Forty Five.

"How do we know it's all cleared?" Hana asks. Her knees are to her chest, face buried in her lap. She has dirt smeared on her shirt from leaning against a tree, hair still intact with her braid.

Xavier wants to go back to the rest stop, check to see if the people are still there. His face is flushed with adrenaline but his eyes are stone, hard as he looks around as a predator. He squats, never taking his eyes off our surroundings, where Hana breaths deeply and fast- his breathing is controlled and even. As if he were laying all day and didn't carry a pregnant woman, running a speed that could have put an ostrich to shame.

My muscles burn with the feeling I've came to miss. Like the burn after a quick warm up before a work out. I take a deep breath. I do not know how I'm breathing, or if I'd be much help on sound. All I can hear is my heartbeat in my chest and ears.

I blink rapidly, trying to not let the gunshots and sight of kids running get to me. My arms are trembling and I bite my lip, nearly causing blood as I try to keep myself from panicking. This is not a time to panic.

I close my eyes and tilt my head to the sky. "Hana. Take deep breaths. Don't let the thoughts get to you. Keep your mind on the task at hand." I tell her, swallowing a pile of hot coals down my throat. My breathing shakes. "Just think about your goal."

"My goal?"

"Getting to safety." I answer for her.

She clutched her pant leg, blinking rapidly as her eyes begin to water. "And your goal?"

I look to the woods ahead of us. It's dark. Inside and out. I slip my bottom lip between my teeth. I think of the hurt- the chaos that Hana doesn't know about. Bones. "Revenge."

She looks to Xavier, who's back is straight and eyes flickering to me. "And yours, Xavier?"

"Getting you two to safety and sorting this out."

I don't let his voice attach to my mind and push away that empty voice. The voice I know that means nothing good. Never before has it gotten so cold. Terrifying. Hana shivers.

"Sort it out?" She asks. "With your gang? Is this what this is all about?"

"I'm sorry." Is all he says.

The chill of the air flows under my clothes, chilling my bones as I hold to myself. The sky is darkening, meaning it will only get colder.

We haven't bumped into anyone else from the bus, doing a quick survey to the ground to check if some routes have been taken. We have stayed away from the trails, Xavier saying it is the first thing the people will expect.

I know not everyone was shot, their had been people running into the woods after us. There's no way they were all captured.

"How many people were in the cars?"

Xavier bites his lip. "They were driving Two Honda Pilots so..... no more than thirteen.... fourteen. That is if they say two people in the back which is unlikely. We are most likely dealing with ten or so."

I nod, taking a deep breath as I look down to where we came from. "I think Hana should stay here. If it's clear we can always come back and get her. If they are still there..... I don't want to chance it."