“Copy that.”
“David also said to tell you you’re a bastard for stealing the SIGs and the carbine, but under the circumstances, he’s glad you did. He’ll consider it a loan.”
Malik chuckled. “Tell him I’m grateful.”
“Your GPS trackers are working. Keep them on you. You two stay safe.”
“You, too.” He ended the call, glanced over to find Kristi watching him, her eyes shadowed by fear.
“There’s no doubt then. These bastards are after us.”
Malik took her hand. “Fuck them.”
* * *
The sun had set now,scattered headlights moving toward them in the dark, red taillights moving away, the savanna on either side of the highway cloaked in darkness.
Kristi had to focus on her breathing to keep her panic at bay, but Malik didn’t seem worried. “How do you stay so calm?”
“When someone comes into your ER all shot up, what keeps you from panicking? I’ve watched you work, remember? Samantha was hypothermic. Isaksen was hypothermic and halfway to Valhalla from blood loss. You had two people on the brink of death, and you were calm and cool.”
“It’s training. I know what I’m doing. We quickly assess a patient and treat the most serious problems first.”
“That’s how it is for me, too. This is what I’m trained to do. I triage our situation, work out the most likely scenarios, and try to reduce our risks before anything happens.”
Kristi saw where he was going with this. “There’s one important difference. If something goes wrong in the ER, I’m not the one who dies.”
He grinned, his teeth flashing white. “You’ve got me there.”
“When they abducted me, I remembered what you said about embracing your mortality and surrendering hope. I tried, but I couldn’t. I don’t know how to do that.”
Malik took her hand again. “I’d be surprised if you did. It’s not part of your job description. Your work is all about life, Kristi. You catch babies, treat sick people, help with surgeries. I take lives, but you save them. I respect thehellout of that.”
The way he said it made her feel special, as if being an RN were a big deal. Still, she had to ask. “Does it get to you? Do the people you’ve had to killstay with you?”
“I don’t regret killing terrorists—or those men at the camp. They worked hard to earn a bullet.” He looked over at her, his face illuminated by the faint light of the GPS screen. “Mostly, it’s the buddies I lost that hurt, the men who died when I got back alive. But that’s not happening this time. We’rebothgoing to make it home.”
The steel in his voice helped soothe the anxiety that had gnawed at her since she’d learned who and what the Sky Kings were. “Thank you, Malik.”
“For what?”
“Everything.” Her stomach growled.
“You hungry? There are some snacks in the back—chips and such. I’ve got some MREs in my duffel bag.”
“MREs?”
“Meals Ready-To-Eat. Pre-packaged army food.”
“Ew.” She could only imagine what those were like. “That sounds scary.”
That made him laugh. “You have no idea.”
She took off her seatbelt, and leaned between their two seats to dig around in the bags of supplies. “Oh, you got plantain chips. I love those.”
There were also crackers, a jar of peanut butter, cashews, and rice cakes.
“Oh, man.” Malik moaned. “Your sweet ass isright there, right next to my face, but I have to keep my eyes on the road.”