by Lucy Lennox
It was a low blow, but I knew it would work.
“I’ll get help, Jake,” Oz said, his voice shaking. “I’ll get help,” he cried, as he started backing away from me. I could see in his eyes that he knew it wasn’t as easy as that. But he was grasping onto anything he could that would give him the hope he needed.
“I love you,” I said softly. I held his gaze a moment longer, then he was turning and running, his moves hampered by the snow. His red coat stood out like a fucking beacon for a few seconds, but then the pine trees swallowed him up. I waited at the edge of the trees long enough for the large snowmobiles to appear over the ridge. There were two of them, but they were too far away for me to see if either or both of the machines had more than one person on them. I had to assume they both did, for a possible total of four assailants. When they sped up and headed right at me, I took off into the woods and headed north, away from Oz.
My lungs burned as I stalked through the snow and tried to figure out the best way to hold the men off. They wouldn’t be able to maneuver the snowmobiles through the densely packed trees, so they’d abandon them. That would put us on somewhat equal footing, but with only one bullet left and no backup ammo, the gun on its own wouldn’t do me much good.
I scanned the horizon as I stomped through the snow. My muscles protested, but I ignored the pain. I heard the engines cut out behind me. Fear clawed at me, but I pushed it back.
Just keep them away from Oz long enough for him to get away.
A tiny part of me reminded myself that I could end this whole thing by just turning around and giving myself up, but my instinct to survive was too strong. Even though I knew in my brain how all this would end, my heart wanted another chance.
To see my family and friends.
But mostly just to be with Oz one last time. Hear his laugh, see his smile, watch his eyes light up as he showered me and his crazy little dog with love that was so uniquely… him.
My eyes fell on a large outcropping of rocks, and I instinctively knew it was the place I’d make my last stand. I quickly rushed past the rocks enough so it would look like I’d gone right by them, then backtracked, careful to step into my own tracks until I reached the lowest boulder and pulled myself up. I climbed up to the top of the pile and dropped down to my stomach. The rocks didn’t give me a huge height advantage, but hopefully it would be enough.
I was relieved to see only three figures appear, but their guns were drawn as they scanned the woods around them, and the reality of their three weapons against my one bullet came crashing down on me. Unfortunately, they’d also been smart enough to split up.
At best, I’d only be able to take out two with my plan.
But two down still gave me a fighting chance.
As the men got closer, I was forced to drop my head so they wouldn’t see me. My heart was pounding in my chest, and it took everything in me to focus on the sounds of their footsteps as they moved clumsily through the snow.
“Where is he?” one of the guys muttered. “Fuck, it’s cold.”
“Here,” another voice said. “His tracks lead up this rise.”
As the footsteps began passing beneath the rocks below, I lifted my head so I could see better. Two men were directly beneath me. But where was the third?
“Above you! On the rocks—”
A gunshot whizzed past me, and I instinctively fired at the third guy who’d called out my location to the other two. I didn’t wait to see if my bullet hit its mark. A grunt a split second later told me it had. Before the other two guys could react, I launched myself off the rocks. One of the men pointed his gun at me, but my body slammed into his before he could pull the trigger. The gun flew from his hand and ended up buried in the snow. I was off the guy in a heartbeat. The second guy had gone down too, but he was still armed so I kicked at his weapon. I managed to disarm him, but he swept his leg out, taking me down, then he was climbing on top of me. His hands went around my throat and I instantly panicked, but between my need to survive and all the self-defense classes I’d taken over the years, my body reacted instinctively, and I went for the guy’s eyes. He cried out in pain. I managed to slam my fist into his side a few times. His weight fell off me, and I quickly scrambled to my feet.
The first guy managed to recover and came at me. I dodged the first punch, but the second caught me in the jaw. My head glanced off the rock behind me, but I was able to stay on my feet. I heard a gunshot go off and realized it was the third guy, the one I’d taken the shot at. Clearly, my bullet hadn’t done enough damage to keep him down. I lunged forward and grabbed the guy I’d been fighting and turned both of us so his body took the next shot. I fell backward, the injured man lying on top of me, but his buddy had hit him square in the chest. The guy on top of me jerked again when another shot went off. I could tell by the sound that the shooter was moving closer to me and I knew I had just seconds to do something.
My eyes fell on the ankle holster of the guy on top of me. I managed to shove him off me and grab the gun in one move. The shooter was in the middle of reloading when I aimed at him and pulled the trigger. The bullet hit him in the leg and he went down screaming in pain. I climbed to my feet, intent on taking another shot at him, when another gunshot pierced the air. I expected to feel a bullet rip through my body, but there was nothing, and I quickly realized why.
Because it wasn’t any of my three attackers who’d taken a shot at me.
And there’d been no actual shot at me.
No, the fourth man hadn’t aimed his gun at me at all. He’d simply shot into the air to get my attention. And then he’d lowered his gun back down.
To the temple of the man he was holding in front of him.
Oz.
My eyes met Oz’s big blue ones as he whispered, “I’m sorry, Jake,” and then a single tear slid down a huge bruise forming on his cheekbone.
Chapter 31
Oz
Jake dropped his gun even before the guy holding me ordered him to. Between my shoulder and the blow to my face, it was hard for me to focus, but I managed to take in the sight before me. One of the guys was clearly dead, because he was lying at Jake’s feet, eyes open and sightless with blood draining into the snow from several gunshot wounds. The guy just behind Jake was rousing, and I saw him reach for a gun as he stumbled to his feet. He viciously hit Jake in the head with it.
“No!” I screamed, but the guy holding onto me used his free hand to pinch my injured shoulder hard, and I groaned as the pain nearly sent me to my knees.
“Shut the fuck up!” he snapped. “Lyle, knock it off! The boss needs him alive,” the guy behind me said as the man hit Jake again. Jake fell to his knees as the guy, Lyle, kicked him one more time.
“Fucker,” he bit out, then stepped back as he ran his fingers over his jaw, presumably to check his own injuries. Jake was bleeding from a wound above his eye. The third guy–the one Jake had shot–climbed to his feet.
“Just fucking shoot him, Cass. Barton will buy that we couldn’t take him alive.”
“Shut up,” Cass, the one holding me, muttered.
“Please, I’ll do whatever you want. Just… just let him go,” Jake said, his voice sounding strangled. He spit out a mouthful of blood. I couldn’t stifle my sob. It was my fault he hadn’t gotten away. As I’d been running toward the cabins, I’d been so focused on trying to look over my shoulder to see where Jake had gone, I hadn’t noticed the figure step out behind a tree in front of me until his fist had connected with my face. The blow had knocked me backward, and then I’d been dragged to my feet and had a gun put to my head. Boo had struggled in my coat, but I’d managed to keep my hands over her to keep her still so she wouldn’t give away her presence. I had no doubt the guy would have killed her and tossed her aside like garbage.
I’d panicked when I’d heard the gunshots in the distance. But as we’d cleared a cluster of trees and I’d seen Jake standing there, alive and well and gun in hand, I’d wanted to die. If I’d just been more
careful. If I’d just run faster…
“Jake, no,” I said softly.
“Please, you don’t need him,” Jake implored as he put out his hands. “Tell Barton he won.”
“Your little friend isn’t going anywhere,” Cass sneered. “He’s insurance.”
“For what?” Jake snapped, his despair turning to anger. “He’s not part of this!”
There was a crackling sound, and then one of the guys was talking into what looked like a walkie-talkie.
“You have him?” came a heavy voice.
“Yeah, boss,” the guy named Lyle said. “Picked up a stray too. Figured you could use him as insurance like you wanted,” he added as his eyes shifted to me.
“No need for that anymore,” the voice that I could only presume was Barton’s responded. “Change of plans. Bring him down and meet me at the secondary location.”
“What do you want us to do with the guy he’s with?” Lyle asked.
“Kill him.”
“No!” Jake screamed as he lunged to his feet. Lyle kicked at the back of his knee, sending Jake crashing to the ground. “No, please,” Jake cried out as his eyes met mine.
I wanted to tell him to close his eyes, but I knew he wouldn’t. I felt Cass move so he was standing next to me, but his gun was still at my temple. “Don’t worry, pretty boy,” Cass said as he leaned in to whisper in my ear. “Your boyfriend won’t be far behind you.”
I turned my head slowly to look the man square in the eye. “Fuck you,” I muttered, then I spit in his face.
His shock lasted all of two seconds before he backhanded me. I couldn’t stifle my cry of pain. He snagged me by the hair and shoved the gun against my head again. “I’m going to enjoy this,” he bit out. I hated that I couldn’t see Jake anymore, but part of me thought maybe it was better that way.
I closed my eyes and waited for the bullet to pierce my brain, but all of a sudden there was this low rumble and then a flurry against my chest. I suddenly remembered Boo at the exact moment she lunged out of the neck opening of my coat and latched onto Cass’s wrist. He yelled in surprise and jerked his arm back, but my little princess hung on.
“Son of a bitch!” Cass screamed as he shook his arm back and forth several times. But Boo refused to release him. He was forced to lower his gun hand so he could grab her with the other. My dog yelped as he ripped her away from his wrist and flung her several feet. Her little body hit a tree and she went still. Rage tore through me, and I launched myself at the man. I began pummeling him with my fists, but while I managed to get a few blows in, it took next to nothing for him to get me on my back. I saw him raise the gun and point it at my head, but I didn’t care.
He’d hurt Boo.
He was going to hurt Jake.
I lashed out at him, but he just laughed at me.
But when a loud snarl tore through the air, he went still. Then a flash of black appeared in my peripheral and Cass’s heavy weight was gone a second later. Chaos erupted around me as I heard shouts and gunshots. I managed to roll enough to see that it was Bear who’d attacked Cass, and the huge dog had his jaws wrapped around Cass’s arm. The man had lost the gun at some point, but he’d been able to get to his feet.
“Get it off me!” Cass screamed.
I looked to see that Jake had managed to get the upper hand on Lyle in the confusion, and they were fighting for control of Lyle’s gun. The third guy was looking between Cass and Lyle, seemingly having no idea who to defend. He chose to aim at Bear.
“No!” I screamed and began looking frantically for Cass’s dropped gun. I shouted out a denial when I heard a gunshot go off, but when I looked up, it wasn’t Bear who’d been shot.
It was Cass.
And the bullet hadn’t come from Jake or any of the other men.
“Bear, release!” I heard someone shout. Bear immediately dropped Cass’s arm and darted away from the man. Another gunshot had Cass stumbling backward and falling into the snow as blood sprayed from his chest. Gunfire erupted around us and I felt a heavy weight fall on top of me.
“Stay down!” Jake yelled in my ear.
I was so glad to hear his voice that I let out a sob of relief. But from the way he was covering me, I couldn’t hang onto him like I wanted.
When the flurry of bullets eventually stopped, I could barely breathe from the fear and pain consuming me.
“Oz, Oz, talk to me,” Jake said urgently as he eased some of his weight off me.
“I’m okay,” I said. He helped me sit up and I tried to process the scene around me. Three of the bad guys were lying dead in the snow, including the fucker Cass and the man Jake had shot earlier. The other one was gone. “What… what—?”
“Jake! Oz!” I heard someone shout and I realized it was Xander.
“We’re okay,” Jake shouted. He put a hand to his side and when I saw it come away with blood, I gasped.
“Oh god, were you hit?” I asked.
“It’s okay,” Jake said. “I think the bullet just grazed me.”
Xander appeared by our sides. There was a rifle in his hand and he was panting, probably from running to get to us. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah,” Jake said, as he cupped my cheek. “Yeah, we’re okay.”
He helped me to my feet and I automatically began patting down my coat to make sure Boo was okay.
“Boo!” I cried as everything came back to me all at once. “Where is she?” I screamed.
“Here,” someone said, and I looked over my shoulder to see a man I didn’t recognize bent over my dog, who was huddled in a ball at Bear’s feet. Bear was licking her and whining. The man carefully picked Boo up and held her to his chest. I didn’t miss the sight of the gun in his hand, but I didn’t care.
I hurried to him. “Boo,” I whispered. She whined but wagged her tail. I gently took her from him and ran my fingers over her. Bear was nuzzling my hands. “I think she’s okay, buddy,” I said to the big dog as I lowered myself to my knees so the dogs could sniff each other. Boo perked up and began wiggling her body happily as she alternated between kissing Bear’s muzzle and licking my nose. Relief went through me.
“Is she okay?” Jake asked as he dropped down next to me.
“I think so,” I said. Then his arms went around me.
“Thank god you’re okay,” he whispered in a broken voice as he clung to me.
I had the same exact feeling about him, but as it sank in that we were safe, my body began to crash as my emotions took over. “I’m sorry, Jake, I tried to run—”
That was as much as I got out before he kissed me. “Don’t care,” he breathed against my mouth. “You’re safe. That’s all that matters.”
In the distance I heard the sound of a snowmobile, but since none of the men around me reacted, I could only assume it meant the escaped gunman was using the machine to make a run for it.
Jake held me for a moment longer, then helped me to my feet. It wasn’t until we were standing that I felt him go stiff with tension. When I looked at him, I saw that he was staring at the man who’d picked Boo up.
He was a bit younger than Jake, with short dark hair and a slightly heavier build. But other than that, the resemblance between the two men was uncanny, and I knew why long before Jake spoke.
“Zach,” Jake said in disbelief.
Jake’s brother was staring at Jake like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing either. But he seemed incapable of speech. Jake stepped around me, and then the brothers were in each other’s arms.
Xander stepped up to my side. “You okay?” he asked as we watched the two men embrace. Neither seemed in any hurry to let go, and I felt the tears I’d been trying so hard to hold back finally begin to fall.
I didn’t know the how or the why of any of it, but I knew enough.
And as I watched my man get another piece of his life back, I gave Xander my answer, which was one hundred percent true.
“I’m perfect.”
Chapter 32
&nb
sp; Jake
“Hold still,” my brother reminded me as I once again turned to check on Oz. He was asleep on the couch, Bear lying across his lower legs and Boo curled into a ball on his chest. I’d urged Oz several times to go lie down in the bedroom, but he’d refused, saying he was fine and that he just needed to sit down for a few minutes. He’d passed out five minutes later. I hated that I’d have to wake him up as soon as Zach was done stitching me up so I could check his shoulder to make sure his own stitches were holding.
“Sorry,” I murmured and averted my eyes back to Zach.
“Do we need to switch seats so you can keep an eye on him?” my brother asked with a small, knowing smile.
“Shut up, brat,” I responded. I let my eyes sweep over my little brother, who wasn’t so little anymore. The last time I’d seen Zach had been nearly five years ago when he’d left for his first deployment overseas. I’d been in Colombia when he’d finished the first deployment and he’d already left for his second by the time I’d gotten back to the States. So for me, he’d gone from an average twenty-five-year-old who’d just started a stint in the army after graduating from college to a beefed-up thirty-year-old tank.
A tank who was about to stitch me up.
My little brother, who used to pass out at the sight of blood.
Jesus.
“You sure you can do this?” I asked.
Zach shook his head and chuckled. “A lot’s changed, Jake.”
“Clearly,” I murmured.
His eyes held mine for a moment, then focused on the task at hand. The wound wasn’t bad, but like Oz’s, the stitches would keep it from bleeding too much. And, of course, it hurt like hell. But I didn’t care.
We were alive.
I found my gaze searching out Oz again.
My brother chuckled but didn’t say anything. After a few minutes, Zach covered the wound with a large bandage, then his hand came up to cup my neck for a minute. “Thank fucking god,” was all he said. Then he stood and began cleaning up the supplies. He returned a moment later and put his hand around my upper arm and pulled me to my feet. I winced at the pull on the wound on my side. “Sit there,” he said firmly and pointed to his chair… the one that had a perfect view of Oz.
