Page 34 of Savage Little War

I hurry out of the entryway and run to the left, fighting the agonizing aching in my feet. I don’t stop. I don’t turn around.

I run.

“Hurry!” Dmitri shouts from behind me.

I can’t go any faster! But I sure as hell don’t slow down.

I hear another bullet strike the exterior of a nearby building, the wall chipping from the force. I duck my head and cut left, stumbling down a short staircase and landing on my hands and knees.

Was this even the right way? I don’t remember the exact turns we took!

Pain sears through me as I weakly push myself to my feet, my muscles protesting every movement. But I move regardless and dart down the back street that I’m on, knowing that I have to keep heading west to reach the cathedral.

My heart pounds so fast making me so dizzy I can barely see straight. I can’t hear anything either. I don’t know if Dmitri is shouting for me. I can’t hear the rifle going off if the guy is still shooting.

There’s nothing but my own heartbeat, tired breaths, and the soft slap of my shoes on stone.

Until there’s a sound that steadily seeps into my attention. It grows louder and louder as I keep painfully jogging.

A crowd of people.

I exhale shakily in relief as I take one more staircase down and turn another corner to break out into the main square. Sweat rolls down my forehead as I look every which way, trying to spot familiar faces throughout the slowly moving crowd as they filter from attraction to attraction.

As badly as I want to backtrack and make sure that Dmitri followed, it’s not safe. I have to find someone on our side and stick with them until Dmitri reaches us.

I force my breathing to slow and melt into the crowd. Keeping my head down, I make my way toward the cathedral steps.

Sweat stings my eyes, briefly blurring my vision. I wince and rub them, closing my eyes for just a second, but it’s enough to make me run into someone.

“Oh, sorry,” I say as I quickly open my eyes, only for them to widen. “Luca!”

Relief flashes over his face as his eyes sweep over me. “Good. You’re okay.”

“You heard about the sniper?” I ask him as he puts his arm around my shoulders casually and steers me toward a nearby café.

“I did,” Luca replies. “I already lost the guards at that point, so I rushed back here to meet everyone. Where’s Dmitri?”

I shake my head as cold fear douses my entire body like ice water. “I don’t know. We got separated. He should be heading here.”

Luca rubs my arm. “He’ll get here. I’m sure he’s close.”

“Where are we going? Shouldn’t we wait by the cathedral?” I ask him.

Luca doesn’t even have to answer my question because I spot my father and Andrei sitting at a nearby table, cloaked in the shadow of a large umbrella and looking like any other tourists.

They made it.

Now that I really look around, I see some of our other guards spread out among the square, blending in.

“Thank God,” my father breathes out when he sees me. He stands from the table with Andrei and walks over to me, pulling me into his arms.

I stiffen at first, not even able to remember the last time that he hugged me. This is all still so foreign, but I’m relieved to see them. I let him hold me for a few seconds before we break apart from each other.

“Are you okay?” Andrei asks, inspecting me for injuries.

“I’m fine,” I assure him.

Andrei takes my hands and flips them over, exposing the blood staining my scraped-up palms. “Damien, go get some napkins and vodka. I think this place is a bar and a café.”