Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Laura Scott (speed reading book .txt) 📖

a man like Liam, accustomed to taking action, to saving others rather than the other way around, that would likely grate, but there was no choice.

Pulling Liam through the quicksand was like pulling a canoe through molasses. They weren’t moving fast enough, not with the voices of their pursuers growing closer with every minute.

She redoubled her efforts, calling on the Lord’s help. I know I can’t do this on my own, Lord. I also know that with Your help, we can save Liam. Please give me the strength I need.

“It’s no use,” Liam shouted, his words carried on the wind. “Get out of here.”

“Not going to happen.”

Her arms felt rubbery, her shoulders bunched into tight knots, but she didn’t let up. Couldn’t. Just when she was certain she couldn’t pull anymore, a fresh burst of strength surged through her and she tugged with all her might.

“We’re doing it,” she yelled over the wind. “We’re doing it. Don’t try to help, just hold on.”

Another foot gained. And another. She doubled down on her efforts and put her whole self into the task.

Just when she thought they were home free, a shot rang out, dangerously close to where she stood. Their pursuers had found them, but she couldn’t let up on her task. Not now.

A second shot quickly followed. Then a third. Or at least she thought it was a shot. With the wind whipping the air with all its might and the rain pelting, it was hard to tell. How many shots had she heard? Three? Four? Five?

And how many men were there? The men who had run them off the road could have called for backup.

Don’t think about that. Liam needed her focus. She kept pulling.

The Lord was in charge, she reminded herself. He would protect her and Liam if her faith didn’t waver. She recalled one of her favorite scriptures from 2 Kings. Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

“Get out of here, Paige.”

She ignored the order just as she had the others. Her hands were raw from the scrape of the vine against her palms. Even through the rain, she could see the blood running down her wrist and arm, but she refused to let go. The blood turned her hands slippery, but she dared not take a second to wipe them on her pants.

Liam’s life depended upon her. She knew the Lord was doing His part, and she just needed to do hers. He didn’t ask that she do more than that of which she was capable, only that she do her best.

I’m trying, Lord. I’m trying.

Another shot. Ignore it. The shooter couldn’t see any more than she could. He was firing blindly. The thought brought little comfort, though.

Three more yards. That was all they needed. Only three more yards. You can do it. The words chanted in her mind, and she matched her rhythm to their beat. Hand over hand, she kept up the punishing pace.

“We’re almost there.” She panted out the words with each pull on the vine.

Liam was moving closer, so close she could almost touch him. She longed to do away with the vine-shirt contraption and pull him the rest of the way herself, but she dared not give way to the temptation. If his greater weight pulled her into the quicksand, they’d both be lost.

After another superhuman effort on her part, he stumbled to safety. When another bullet whizzed heart-stoppingly close to them, he pushed her down and covered her with his own body. Mud filled her nostrils and mouth, and she did her best to spit it out.

The rain and wind that she’d decried only moments ago now served to shield them from their enemies. So did the quicksand. Without knowing how far the pool of deadly mud reached, the men couldn’t risk coming any closer.

A blessing in disguise. Grateful as she was for it, she’d been hoping for a blessing that wasn’t covered in mud and muck.

Liam held Paige to the ground. The shots continued to go wild. That told him the shooters weren’t first-tier operators. Even poor shots, though, could find their target occasionally, if only by accident.

“We can’t see them in this stuff,” one of the men said, voice carrying on the wind. “Let’s get out of here. Maybe the swamp will do our work for us. There are wild boar out here, not to mention bears.”

“I’m with you.”

The men retreated.

Still, Paige and Liam didn’t move. It could be a trick. Terrorists in Afghanistan had been fond of pretending to leave an area, only to rise up from the sand and pick off unwary soldiers who’d believed the enemy had departed.

When long moments had elapsed, Liam got to his feet and offered Paige his hand.

Cautiously, she stood. “That was close.”

“Too close.” He heaved out a breath. Another. “Thanks. You saved my life.”

“All in a day’s work. Besides, I owed you.” Her words were strained, as though she had trouble squeezing them out. At the same time, an unmistakable electric current crackled in the air.

He dipped his head and came within an inch of touching his lips to hers. He didn’t want to dwell on the warmth of her voice or the lips that were but a scant inch from his own.

The moment passed. His hoarse laugh relieved the rest of the tension. “I’m covered with mud and stink of the swamp.”

“And I’m not much better.”

He focused on picking his way through the slippery floor of the swamp, careful not to trip on the vines that stretched across the ground.

They made their way out of the swamp, all the while listening for any sounds that hinted they weren’t alone, that the men who had attacked them were lying in wait. The last thing they needed was to let down their guard and invite another attack. Though the men weren’t professionals, they could still be deadly.

The sounds of animals rustling in the underbrush gave credence to the men’s comments about