Leila resisted the temptation to do the exact opposite. Instead, she walked forward, trying to look relaxed but her shoulders stiffened. It wasn’t working. She really, really wanted to look. “What? What’s wrong?”
Xander gripped her arm so tightly it stung. “Just walk.”
Leila walked. His pace was normal, but there was an urgency in his steps, his voice, his touch.
Keeping her volume low, she asked again, “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Jones.” Xander kept his gaze straight and led her back down the shopping street.
Leila inhaled sharply. “What? The SIS guy? How did he find us?”
“I don’t know. But I’d recognize him anywhere. He’s here. We need to go.”
This was not good. Not good at all. “What do we do? We can’t go back to the dock if he’s following us.”
“We’ll have to shake him off. And pray Pete has that motor running.”
Leila glanced around, looking for a means of escape. A taxi, a bus—
Xander slipped his hand into hers and suddenly jerked her into a side street.
“Run!”
CHAPTER 28
They raced down a cobblestone alley, Leila’s footsteps matching her pounding heartbeat. An eight-foot wall loomed in front of them—there was no way out. It was a dead end.
“Climb,” Xander said, crouching with his hands cupped. She stepped into his palms, and he shoved her upward. Paint chips flaked off as she grabbed the top of the wall and pulled herself up to perch on the edge. She reached down and offered him a hand. He grabbed it and she pulled, though he did most of the work with his feet. A dark silhouette filled the entry to the alley a split-second before Leila and Xander dropped to the other side of the wall, obscuring the figure from view.
“Hurry.” He pressed a hand against her shoulder, and they broke into a run. They turned a corner and ran down the cobblestone street of another pedestrian zone. Shopping bags, people walking tiny dogs, and couples pushing strollers flashed by as Leila and Xander merged with the crowd.
Leila’s gaze focused on the back of a lady’s head. A hat would be nice. Something to better blend in than her days-old outfit that had seen city, desert, and sea.
Xander took a sharp right. Leila ran after him, and they raced beneath the colonnade of a church. He slowed as they approached a tall, wooden door, then whirled around and slammed his back against it, pushing the panel open. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her into the dim sanctuary.
The door slammed shut behind them with a groan.
Panting, they both shuffled down the aisle between two columns of pews. Streams of purple light filtered in through the stained-glass windows, footsteps echoing on the tiled floor. A few tourists gazed up at the ceiling in awe, quietly snapping pictures with their smartphones. A priest lingered near the main entrance to welcome guests while colorful, sparkling motifs of Mary and Joseph smiled down upon them.
“What’s the plan?” Leila whispered, though her hushed voice wasn’t enough to stop it from reverberating throughout the entire building.
“I’m making this up as I go,” Xander said, breathless. “We need to get back to the harbor, but I don’t want to lead Jones there.”
Without stopping to admire the intricate decor, Xander and Leila finished the walk down the center aisle, then between the pews to the left side of the building. They walked up to another wooden door and after a slight push, Xander paused and looked through the crack to see if the coast was clear. He nodded and they stepped outside, into the shade of a row of olive trees.
A bicyclist appeared at Leila’s right, rolling straight toward her. She jumped to the side, but the bike still rammed into her. Pain burst through her body as she hit the ground with a thud.
Groaning, she pushed herself into a sitting position. The line of trees doubled and merged into one, back and forth like she was on a swing. The bicyclist was at her side, asking her something in Greek. At the approach of footsteps, the bicyclist snapped his mouth shut.
“She’s with me,” a familiar voice barked. “Move on.”
The bicyclist wordlessly picked up his bike, got back on, and rode off.
Curses. Where did Xander go? Her vision came back into focus, and she glanced up at Jones. He towered over her, his face twisted in a scowl, holding a handgun at his side. Nausea churned inside her and the scabs on her arms prickled as the memory flared.
“Get up,” he snarled.
Leila cringed. Her limbs burned with bloody scrapes as her head swam. And she didn’t know how her legs would feel when she tried to stand. One thing was for sure: she was definitely done with running.
A low, grating roar grumbled down the road. Leila glanced over her shoulder as a large, brown UPS truck roared over the cobblestone. Jones held his gun at his side, watching the truck with narrowed eyes.
The truck was only feet away when it veered right, straight for the tree. Jones lunged to the side and Leila rolled away. The corner of the truck hit the tree with a bang and a crack.
Xander waved at her from the driver’s seat. “Hurry up!”
Ignoring her throbbing limbs, Leila pushed herself to her feet and clambered into the truck. Once her feet were on the floor, Xander put the truck into reverse and hit the gas. Leila flopped into the seat next to him, only to be flung back when he changed direction and drove down the street.
“Where did you find this?”
“Some delivery guy left it idling.” Xander shrugged. “He’ll get it back eventually.”
Leila rubbed her temple. Now Xander could add UPS truck thief to his resume.
They barreled through the city, rumbling their way through the crisscrossing streets. It took another fifteen minutes to find the harbor again. Xander parked the truck haphazardly on the sidewalk, a block down the road. They climbed out and ran, down the sidewalk, down the dock, and back to River God.
Pete stood on the deck, taking a swig from a water bottle. Once he noticed them, he spread his arms wide. “Where have you been?” he said, irritated.
“We need to leave,” Xander barked as he unlooped one of the ropes that anchored the boat to the dock. “Now.”
