He kissed me, hard and purposeful. Once, I could have become lost in a kiss like that, but the wheels were leaving the ground, and we were now a large and easy target.

“Nina, you have to have faith.”

My eyebrows pulled together. “Someone is going to have to give me a reason. I’m all out of faith.” The plane dipped a bit before making a sharp turn.

“Look at how far we’ve come,” he said, smiling. He meant to be comforting, but I could see the fear behind his eyes.

I buried my face in the crook of his neck, and squeezed him to me. My eyes shut tight, trying to push away the overwhelming feeling that we had been deceived, corralled into this deathtrap —the one place Jared couldn’t control.

The plane righted itself, and then climbed effortlessly into the night sky. The lights below appeared to shrink, until they seemed like glowing clusters of fireflies. Everything else on the ground was black and ominous.

Jared was unfolding a map of the old city, sprawling it across his lap. He used his finger to trace different routes to the Sepulchre, then sighed. “I wish we’d had enough time to send someone ahead. To shape the battle space.”

I touched his free hand. “I don’t know what that means, but we’ll figure it out.”

He paused. “I apologize for the military jargon. I’m just in that mode at the moment.”

“I understand,” I said. The stress he suffered was nearly visible. The pressure was crushing him.

His eyes slowly fell on where my fingers touched his skin, and then closed. He took a deep, faltering breath, and exhaled. “I am terrified of losing you. The routes, the possibility of last minute change of plan, everything that could possibly go wrong has ran through my mind so many times, I doubt I’ll ever forget. I love you so much, Nina. I love our child. The fear of failing you weighs so heavy on my mind, I feel like I’m going crazy.”

I turned in my seat to face him. My eyes bore into his, filling with tears fueled by every emotion. “If I’ve ever believed in you, Jared, it’s now. Whatever happens, whatever crosses our path, I know you’ll make the right choice.” I pulled his hand to my round belly. “We both believe in you.”

“Claire has spent quite a bit of time there.” He turned and gestured at her to join them.

“We’re setting down in Ben-Gurion airport,” he said, pointing to the map.

Claire nodded. “It’s about forty-one kilometers from the center of Jerusalem. We head west here, toward Nesher, and then take this right, here, to Route Forty-five-oh-three.”

With his finger, Jared followed the road, and shook his head. “But this is a main road. Shouldn’t we try some back roads?”