by Lucy Lennox
“Oz, you need to go,” he said quietly. “Go back to the lodge and stay there for a few days, okay? It’ll be safer that way.”
“Safer? What are you talking about? What do I need to be safe from, Jake?”
But he didn’t answer me. I let out a strangled laugh and shook my head as I realized none of this had to do with him being mad at me for lying about Laird. “It’s bad, isn’t it?” I asked. “It’s not just some rift with your family.” Jake stopped what he was doing but didn’t look at me. “I thought maybe you had a falling out with them and that’s why you weren’t in contact with them anymore.” I laughed again, but there was no humor in it. “I kept coming up with these stupid scenarios for why you’d stopped practicing medicine–I mean, real TV drama plot-worthy shit, you know? Like you lost a patient you loved or you were in some kind of love triangle thing at work or… fuck, Jake, please just fucking talk to me.”
“I can’t,” he said quietly, his voice breaking just a little.
“So that’s it?” I said. “You’re just going to go? I don’t get an explanation? Or even a fucking goodbye?”
He didn’t respond. Just stuffed a few more items into his backpack and slung it over his shoulder.
He kept the gun out.
When he went to walk past me, I stepped in his path. “Don’t do this,” I whispered, then I pulled his head down and covered his mouth with mine. I poured everything I had into that one kiss. He was stiff for several beats, then his arm went around me and he dragged me flush against his body. There was a thud as his backpack hit the floor, then his other arm wrapped around me. I could feel the gun against my back, but I didn’t care. What I cared about was that he was kissing me desperately and holding onto me so tight I was certain he wouldn’t let go.
But he did.
I could tell it took effort for him to tear his mouth from mine, but when he went to step back, I grabbed him by the back of the neck.
“Please, Jake.”
He let out a soft breath, then relaxed against me and pressed his forehead to mine.
“I can’t, Oz. I can’t lose you.”
I wanted to laugh because his words made no sense. But deep in my gut, I knew what he was talking about. The gun, the separation from his family, the mention of the person he’d lost–he’d said it was his fault.
“Stay, Jake. We’ll figure it out,” I promised. “Whatever you’re running from, we’ll get help.”
For the briefest of moments, I thought my words got through to him, but when he stiffened in my hold and stepped back, I knew he was beyond my reach. I felt something deep inside of me tear wide open. I dropped my hand but ended up closing it around his wrist.
The wrist of the hand with the gun.
Jake used his free hand to grab his backpack. I expected him to rip his hand free of my hold, but what he did was worse.
So much worse.
He stepped into me and brushed his lips against my temple, then dropped his mouth to my ear. “You have to let me go, Oz. If you love me, you’ll do this for me.”
I choked back a sob and shook my head, but my fingers loosened of their own accord. “I do,” I bit out as I closed my eyes. “So much, Jake.”
He kissed me softly again. “I know, baby. I love you more than you’ll ever know. Go live your dream, sweetheart. Live it for the both of us.”
I let the tears fall as I opened my hand to release him. Then he was gone. But everything in my being screamed at me not to let this happen, and I turned around seconds later. I scooped Boo up and ran for the door. I reached the front porch just as Jake stepped off the bottom step.
“Jake,” I called, but he held up his hand. It was then that I noticed how stiff he’d gone. His eyes scanned the surrounding forest and then he dropped his head just a little, like he was listening for something.
I tried to listen myself, but all I heard was the wind blowing through the ice-covered trees.
I was about to call to Jake again when I finally heard it.
Tires crunching over snow. Jake began slowly backing up the porch steps as his eyes went to the bend in the driveway.
I told myself it was probably just a worried Xander coming to check on us, but when a black SUV appeared, the hair on the back of my neck stood up and my stomach dropped out.
“Get inside!” Jake shouted, but I couldn’t move or think.
“Oz! Move!” Jake screamed again. I heard a loud bang and then a searing pain tore through my shoulder, knocking me on my ass. I gasped as the wind got knocked out of me.
“Oz? Oh god, Oz!”
I wanted to tell him I was okay because he sounded like he was freaking out, but I was having trouble commanding my mouth to move. I heard more popping sounds. Boo scrambled in my arms, but I instinctively hung onto her. I felt fingers close around the collar of my parka and then I was being dragged backward into the cabin.
The front door slammed, then more popping sounds.
“Oz, talk to me,” Jake shouted as he hovered above me. He kept ducking every time there was a popping sound.
“I’m okay,” I said, though I didn’t really know if that was true.
Jake pressed something against my shoulder and agony tore through my body.
“Baby, I need you to put pressure on it.”
On what?
Jake took my fingers and pressed them against the spot that was causing pure pain to shoot through every cell in my body. I cried out as I tried to see what was happening. When Jake’s fingers came away red, understanding dawned.
I’d been shot.
“Oz, where’s your phone?” Jake asked as his hands scanned my body. I could feel tears leaking from my eyes and tried to stem them. I needed to calm down.
For Jake’s sake.
“In the Jeep,” I croaked.
“Fuck,” Jake said. “My radio’s in the truck,” he muttered. I watched in disbelief as he eased up enough so he could shoot out one of the windows. “Baby, we need to run or they’ll surround the cabin and block us in.”
I had no clue what he was talking about, but there was no missing the fear in his voice. “I’m okay,” I said, even though my shoulder hurt like a motherfucker.
“Give me Boo,” Jake said. He quickly stuffed my dog into his jacket and then got his backpack on. Then he helped me turn over so I was on my hands and knees. I was forced to release my hold on the wound. “Stay low,” Jake ordered. We crawled toward the back of the cabin where there was a mudroom and a door leading to the back yard.
Everything moved both slow and fast at the same time. More shots rang out, but I wasn’t sure who was firing, Jake or whoever was after us. Then we were plunging through the knee-deep snow. The cold along with the adrenaline kicking through my body made it easier to keep up with Jake as we darted for the woods.
“Try to keep pressure on your wound,” Jake called. He’d moved so he was behind me, but I didn’t dare look back. The gunshots had finally stopped. Jake took my free hand and began zigzagging through the woods. Within a minute, I lost sight of our cabins. The pace Jake set was brutal, but my fear for his life and mine kept me putting one foot in front of the other. At one point we hit a small creek that hadn’t completely frozen over. Instead of us crossing it, Jake had us walk through the water for what felt like miles before he slowed down and got us back onto land. The cold was starting to sift through my entire body. Luckily, my boots had kept the water out, but my limbs were starting to feel heavy and sluggish, and I was reminded of the day I’d gotten lost in the woods while I’d been searching for Boo.
“Just a little farther, baby,” Jake said. His arm went around me, careful not to hit my shoulder.
“So cold,” I whimpered. As much as I wanted to be brave, the adrenaline was starting to wear off and I could feel my body shutting down. Even the warm blood that had been seeping through my fingers had turned cool.
“I know,” Jake said. “Just a few more minutes, Oz.”
I nodded numbly. “Are you okay?”
I asked.
“What?”
“They,” –my teeth wouldn’t stop chattering as I tried to get the words out– “they didn’t… didn’t…”
“No,” Jake said. “They didn’t get me. I’m okay.”
“Good,” I stuttered.
I wasn’t sure how much more time passed, but by the time Jake gave me a little shake, presumably to get my attention because I was having trouble focusing on anything but putting one foot in front of the other, I was leaning heavily against him. “We’re here,” he said.
Here was a small shack that looked like nothing more than a few walls held together by some nails and wishful thinking. The thing wasn’t much bigger than the bathroom in my cabin.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“It’s an old line cabin,” Jake said. “Trappers used to use them to sleep in when they were checking their traps.”
Jake opened the door and ushered me inside. There was nothing in the cabin except snow and tree debris that had fallen through a large hole in the roof. Jake helped me sit down and began tearing at his backpack.
My eyes grew heavy, but the second I closed them, Jake shook me. “No, Oz, need you to stay awake.”
“Mmm, tired,” I murmured drowsily. Blessedly, the pain was almost completely gone, but somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that wasn’t a good thing.
“I know you are, but I need you to stay with me for a little bit, okay?” He sounded so desperate that I nodded. But even that took too much effort. I wanted to protest when Jake eased my parka off my wounded shoulder, but all the pain rushed back in that instant. I let out a whoosh of air and stifled a cry.
“Sorry,” Jake whispered, his voice cracking just a bit. “I’m so sorry.” His lips skimmed my temple, even as his fingers worked to expose my shoulder.
“’S not your fault,” I mumbled.
“Here, hold Boo,” Jake said as he took Boo out of his jacket and tucked her into my shirt so her skin was against mine. I welcomed her heat along with her wiggling body as she happily licked my face.
“’M okay, baby girl,” I assured her.
Jake covered me with the same kind of blanket he’d used when he’d found me in the woods when I’d gotten lost. It looked like aluminum foil, but I knew it would heat me like no regular blanket could.
“Bleeding’s slowed,” Jake said. “Three-inch laceration… missed the bone,” he added. I didn’t know what that meant, but I was too tired to ask. “Oz, baby, I have to stitch this to stop the bleeding. It’s going to hurt. I’m sorry.”
“’S okay,” I said in as strong of a voice as I could muster. I hated how upset Jake sounded.
“When I’m done, I’m going to go out and cover our trail while you rest, okay?”
I wanted to argue because that sounded dangerous, but the words escaped me. All the questions I wanted to ask would just have to wait, because I could feel the darkness of sleep threatening to take me.
Up until the very second something sharp penetrated my skin and I buried my mouth against Boo’s small body to keep from crying out in pain.
Chapter 28
Jake
His muffled cries were like a knife being thrust into my body over and over. Thankfully, my training made it possible for my fingers to work independent of my emotions, and I managed to keep a steady hand as I quickly stitched up the wound that was just below his shoulder. Fortunately, the bullet hadn’t hit the joint itself and the bleeding had nearly stopped on its own, so the injury wasn’t as serious as it could have been. But I knew it hurt like a son of a bitch.
After all, it was something I’d experienced firsthand myself. Thank god I’d had the sense to pack my medical bag in my backpack instead of my duffel.
It took just minutes to cover the wound and give Oz a shot of antibiotics as well as some ibuprofen. I kept talking to him the whole time about absolutely nothing, but by the time I got his parka back in place and the thermal blanket wrapped around him, he was out. I put my fingers to his throat and breathed a sigh of relief at how strong and steady his pulse was.
As much as I wanted to stay with him, I knew I needed to get moving. I needed to buy us enough time to get to the nearby weather station, which meant I needed to throw off our attackers for as long as possible. If I was really lucky, I’d get us lost enough that they’d give up completely.
But I doubted it.
“I’ll be back,” I assured Oz, though I knew he couldn’t hear me. Chances were, he’d sleep for the time it took me to cover our tracks. I gave Boo a quick pat. “Watch out for him, sweet girl,” I said softly, then hurried from the cabin. The air was cold, but not bitter, so that was something that would end up working against us. Dangerously cold temperatures would slow our assailants down or turn them back altogether. But with the temperature only slightly below the freezing mark, the fuckers would likely keep coming for us.
Barton was that desperate.
And now that he’d finally found me, I knew he wasn’t going to let me get away.
Fuck, how had I let this happen?
But I knew the answer to that. I’d let it happen because I’d been too weak to do what needed to be done.
Give Oz up.
None of it would have happened if I’d just followed my instincts and never touched him. But I’d wanted those few weeks where I could just pretend I was a normal guy falling in love with a terrific man and dreaming of a future together.
The falling in love with Oz part had been so very easy, but I’d been a fool to think for even one second that I could go back to the life I’d once had.
I forced myself to focus on working my way back to the creek and creating several false trails for the attackers to follow. They’d probably eventually figure out my ruse, but it would hopefully buy us the time we needed. My hope was that the weather station had a working radio, but I knew it was probably unlikely since the station was undergoing repairs and had been for the better part of a year. At worst, it would give us a place to hunker down for the night, since I didn’t want to risk the treacherous terrain in the dark. Not with Oz being both inexperienced and injured. My ultimate goal was to get to the vacation cabins on the other side of the pass. Even though they weren’t occupied over the winter, they had working landlines and I’d be able to call for help. The road leading to the cabins would be deep in snow, but not impassable.
My eagerness to get back to Oz had me working quickly. I kept scanning the woods around me, fully expecting to come under attack, but there was only the silence of the forest settling down for the night to keep me company. When I was satisfied that I’d covered our trail as best I could, I rushed back to the line cabin. Thankfully, Oz was still out. I shook him awake and felt tears sting my eyes when he let out a soft little cry when the pain in his shoulder hit him all over again.
“Jake?” he asked in confusion.
“I’m here,” I said. “Need you to drink this for me, okay?”
I had him drink a little water, then dug out a protein bar and some more ibuprofen. I wished I could give him something stronger for the pain, but I needed him to have his wits about him.
“What… where are we?” he asked as he looked around. “What happened?”
I stroked his cheek and said, “You got shot. Do you remember the guys showing up at the cabin?”
He stared at me in confusion for a moment before the sleep cleared from his eyes and he came completely back to me. He nodded and said, “But you’re okay, right?”
I let out a strangled laugh. Leave it to Oz to get shot and chased through the woods by a bunch of gun-toting assailants and be worried more about me. I kissed him softly. “I’m better now,” I admitted. “I’m sorry, Oz, but we need to keep moving.”
Instead of questioning me, Oz nodded and said, “I’m okay. Let’s go.”
His unfailing trust to follow me so blindly made my heart hurt. “God, Oz, I love you,” I said softly as I put my hand at the back of his neck to hold him still so he’d loo
k me in the eye. “I thought I’d lost you.”
He shook his head. “Never, Jake. You’re never going to lose me.”
I dropped my head to his chest and received a lick from Boo. I smiled and then eased my arm around him to help him stand. I felt him press his mouth against my shoulder, presumably so he wouldn’t cry out. I held him until he was steady on his feet, then quickly cleaned up our stuff. I put my arm around him, careful not to put any pressure on his shoulder. I needed to get his arm in a sling, but more than anything, I had to get him out of harm’s way, so with that thought in mind, I got us both moving.
Chapter 29
Oz
The weather station was only a slight improvement over the cabin. But it got us out of the cold, so I didn’t really care. And unlike the cabin, there were a couple of things we were able to make use of, including a foldable cot and a few blankets. My shoulder hurt like a son of a bitch as Jake helped me sit down on the cot and covered me with blankets. My mind was a little clearer than it’d been earlier in the day, but I still had trouble keeping my eyes open. I didn’t even realize I’d dozed off until sometime later when I woke up in Jake’s arms. We were lying on the cot with Boo snuggled between us. Between the regular blankets and the thermal one, I almost felt warm.
“How are you feeling?” Jake asked.
“Okay,” I said. Despite the pain in my shoulder, I reached out to touch his cheek. I hated that I couldn’t see his eyes in the darkness. I knew he had a flashlight, but it was stupid to waste the battery just so I could see his face for a little bit. “How are you?”
He shook his head. “I’m so fucking sor—”
I covered his mouth with my hand. “Don’t you dare apologize to me, Jake,” I said. “This is not your fault.”
I really wasn’t even sure what this was, but fuck if I was going to let him take the blame for me getting shot. Only ones to blame were the assholes with guns.
Jake pressed a kiss into the palm of my hand, so I took that as a sign he wasn’t going to argue with me and removed my hand. He leaned in and kissed me. “I was so fucking scared, Oz,” he said in a strangled voice. “I saw you go down and then the blood…”
