When Michaela hesitated, they all turned to look at her.

“I’m afraid,” Michaela said, trembling.

“We all are.” Corbin smiled at her warmly. “But we’re stronger together than we are alone.”

Sarah Beth looked at her older schoolmate, her lip quivering. “It’s okay, Michaela,” she said, touching the girl’s arm. “I’m afraid too. I was terrified when Victor came at me. But then a Scripture popped into my head—from Deuteronomy. Do you want to hear it?”

The girl nodded and wiped tears from her cheeks.

“It says, ‘The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.’ I think God put that verse in my head because I don’t really remember learning it, but I sure know it now. Maybe we can believe it together? That God will go before us?”

Michaela gave her a tight smile and pressed her lips together, inhaling deeply through her nose. Then she slapped her hand on top of Josh’s. “Okay, I’m with you.”

CHAPTER
FORTY-SEVEN

C-130J, “VALLEY ONE”

ONE THOUSAND FEET OVER THE HARPETH RIVER

Jed and Eli performed buddy checks on each other’s gear while Johnny and Bex did the same. After getting the thumbs-up from Eli, he tugged one last time on his rifle sling, snugging the weapon tight to his chest. He nodded at the veteran, who nodded back and gave him another thumbs-up.

“You guys all set?” he asked, his gaze shifting to Johnny and Bex.

“Check,” they answered in unison.

“The radio chatter at the front gate has gone quiet,” Ben said after putting on a set of headphones tuned to the same channel Jed’s team was on. “And we have eyes on what looks like two vehicles caravanning on Route 70. There’s nobody on the roads, so this could be a Dark One QRF en route, not sure, but either way it’s not looking good down there.”

“Any contact from St. George’s at all?” Jed asked, desperately needing a ray of hope in what seemed to be a dismally deteriorating situation. He’d tried several more times to reach Sarah Beth and had gotten absolutely nothing back from her. As an experienced operator, he knew better than to play the what-if game, but his mind kept going there anyway.

What if she’s unconscious?

What if Victor has her?

What if she’s . . . ?

“I’m sorry, Jed, but the campus is dark and it’s still radio silence.” Ben clasped a hand on Jed’s shoulder. “Are you sure about this jump?”

“We don’t have a choice,” Jed said, meeting the Shepherd commander’s tortured eyes. “But don’t worry. We’ll make it.”

“I wish I could come with you.”

“I know, boss,” he said. “But we’ve both got our jobs to do.”

“Good luck and go with God.”

“You too.”