all of this in the time it took for three draws of breath, and by then it was too late. Heâd left the Jeep across the street, and the Land Rover was closing the gap with a full-throated roar.
âJason!â He snapped his head back to the street before him. Leiah was shouting at him from the driverâs seat of his Jeep. She had swung the Jeep around! âHurry!â
He reached the Jeep in three strides, hefted the boy into the back seat, and piled in beside him. The Jeep lurched forward before he had seated himself, and he nearly toppled off the back.
Machine-gun fire ripped through the air, and Jason shoved the boyâs head down. Caleb cried out in surprise.
âStay down! Move it, Leiah! Floor it!â
âIt is floored.â
They careened around a corner, beyond the sight of the EPLF truck. Jason had driven the Jeep cautiously over the last hundred miles, and it had just received a change of oil, both factors that may have contributed to its healthy pace now.
âSame truck?â Leiah yelled back.
âI donât know. Keep it floored!â
âItâs going as fast as itâll go, believe me!â
The EPLF truck came into view, nothing more than a small speck now, just emerging from the town. The sound of weapons fire popped adjacent to the truck: the Land Rover was taking fire. It made a sharp turn onto a side street and disappeared from their view.
Jason released the boyâs head and climbed over the passenger seat. âJust keep her pegged.â
âWe okay?â
âMaybe.â
Leiah stared ahead, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. Jason glanced back at Caleb, who sat staring at a rust bucket on the side of the road that looked as if it might once have been a Model T. His hood had flown off, freeing his shoulder-length hair to fly wild in the wind. It struck Jason that had his own son lived, he would be Calebâs age. He might not have looked so different.
âWhat happened?â Leiah asked.
Jason turned to face the road. âIâm not sure. Animals seem to like him. So does the EPLF.â
âOr hate him. Isnât this a bit far south for them?â
âA bit far? Honey, weâre halfway to Addis Ababa. Thereâs no way they should be this far south.â
âAnd what does that mean?â
Red hues drew the first lines of a sunset in the western sky. There was more happening here than Jason could even begin to piece together. What was it about this boy? Even beyond his unique innocence, there was a sweetness that had worked its way into Jasonâs heart.
âIt means that Iâm taking him,â he said.
âTo Addis Ababa?â
âTo the United States. To California. Itâs where the priest wanted him.â
âYou . . . how canââ
âThe papers are already drawn up. Father Matthew was no idiot.â
Her jaw stiffened and she looked ahead. The Jeepâs tires whined incessantly, speeding them down the deserted road.
âI thought you were going to allow me to take him.â
âYou assumed. And you assumed wrong.â
âThen Iâm going with you,â Leiah said.
He faced her, surprised. âDonât be ridiculous. I thought you were going to Kenya.â
âI said I was thinking of going to Kenya. But really I have no reason to go to Kenya or to any other place. The boy needs a careful hand. No offense, but itâs not something Iâm sure you have.â
âThanks. And youâre Canadian, not American. What do you think you can possibly do in the States that I canât?â
âI can be with him. The last time I checked, the Red Cross was an international organization. Iâll go with you to California and then return to Canada. I may be more help than you might think, Mr. American.â She paused and looked to the horizon. âBesides, itâs been a long time since Iâve been home; maybe itâll be for the
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