The Soldier's Mission Read Online Free PDF Page B

checked him over again to be sure there were no other injuries. After doing everything he could to make Walter comfortable, Paco left the dead man where he was—afraid to disturb the scene. Then he finally turned to Laura.
    And saw that she was about to fall into a heap on the floor.
    â€œLaura,” he said, hurrying to her, wishing the nearest hospital wasn’t so far away. “Laura, are you sure you’re all right?”
    She bobbed her head, her arms crossed around hermidsection, her gaze locked on the gruesome site of the man by the door. “Is that man dead?”
    He pulled her close, leveling his gaze on her until she looked at him. “Yes, he is. You saved my life.” He was as amazed by that as she seemed to be.
    â€œI…I didn’t know what to do. I had to stop him…and I thought I’d shot you at first. Is your grandfather going to be okay?”
    With each word, tears brimmed in her eyes until one lone drop moved down her right cheek. Paco reached up and caught the tear, keeping his gaze locked on her. “I hope so. I think he’s got a concussion and he’ll need stitches for the gash on his head. I’ve made him comfortable and the paramedics are on the way. But it’ll take them a few minutes. Let me check you over.”
    She tried to push away and stumbled, her face deadly pale. “I’m okay. I…Paco, I think I’m going to be sick.”
    Paco hurried her to the tiny bathroom in the back and waited at the door, keeping watch on his grandfather while he paced. When she came out a few minutes later, her skin was whitewashed with shock and she held a damp paper towel to her mouth.
    â€œBetter?” he asked, guiding her to a chair.
    â€œI think so.” She looked up at him, her eyes as blue as a desert sky at midnight. “I’ve never killed anyone before. Now I know how you must feel.”
    That statement punctured Paco’s heart. How could such an innocent woman ever know or understand the way he felt? How could she be so brave, coming here to find him simply because she was worried about him? How could she get herself caught up in something thatwas probably of his making, put herself on the line like that for him, when she didn’t even know him?
    Before he could speak, she touched a trembling hand toward his heart. “I know what you were searching for that night, Paco.”
    Paco swallowed back the lump in his throat, the sound of distant sirens echoing inside his head right along with the rising echo of his pulse. She’d called him Paco. That meant she trusted him now, meant he’d allowed her to get that close already.
    â€œWhat then?” he asked, unable to stay quiet, unable to comprehend this whole morning.
    â€œYou were looking for your heart. You wanted your soul back.” She cleared her throat, her delicate hand warm on his chest, her gaze full of understanding and redemption. “I read a poem once where there was this heart hunter. He was searching for his own heart. He wanted to feel that warmth in his soul again. You know, that warmth that comes from faith and love and grace. And forgiveness. And so do you, I think. That’s something we can all understand, something everyone longs for.”
    Paco lifted away, his head down. Grandfather always said there were no coincidences in life. He believed the Father knew all and saw all. Had God seen Paco’s pain that night, the struggle for his soul, the struggle he’d battled through between the Bible he’d clutched and the bottle that was trying to clutch him, all night long and well into the early light?
    Had God sent Laura to him?
    â€œWe have to get you out of here,” he said in response, his thoughts too raw and fresh to express right now. He didn’t know how to voice his thoughts, even on a goodday. “They’ll want a statement. Let me do all the talking. If they do ask you questions, just answer as