Survive the Night

by Katie Ruggle

  As Otto steered the snowmobile toward her brother, Sarah whooped. “I love this town!”

  Aaron hit a deep drift and stumbled, floundering through the knee-high snow. Aaron had just made it through and was beginning to speed up again when Viggy reached him. The dog’s mouth closed on Aaron’s right forearm and jerked it down. The gun toppled out of his grip as Viggy pulled Aaron to the ground, the dog’s tail waving wildly with excitement. The crowd closed around Aaron.

  “Hurry!” Sarah said, bouncing in the seat with impatience as they headed back toward the action. “We’re missing it!”

  “Bloodthirsty,” Otto called back to her, but from the tiny bit of his profile that she could see, it was obvious that he was grinning. Reaching up, she squeezed his arm. It was the closest she could come to a hug on a moving snowmobile with a big dog between them.

  By the time they’d pulled up to the crowd, Aaron was lying on his belly with his arm cranked behind him and Theo’s knee on his back.

  Sarah jumped off the snowmobile and wobbled as her legs threatened to collapse underneath her. Otto stood and grabbed her arms to steady her. She gave him a shaky smile. “We made it.”

  “Yeah.” That slow smile was extra precious now. “We did.”

  “Thank you, Theo. I’ll take him now. Okay, everyone. Back up! Give us some room.”

  The sound of Lieutenant Blessard’s voice chilled Sarah’s blood, and she froze, her relieved smile slipping off her face. Her gaze met Otto’s, and the horror in his expression reflected her own.

  “No!” she and Otto chorused. He moved faster than her, his long strides plowing through the snow more quickly than she could manage. Blessard had moved everyone else back. He stood apart from the small crowd, holding Aaron’s arm—Aaron’s uncuffed arm. Her brother turned to look at her, and he smiled…a cold, cruel, bone-chilling smile.

  “Blessard is dirty!” Otto shouted, sprinting toward the lieutenant. “He’s Blanchett’s man!”

  Theo and Hugh looked stunned for a split second before they were lunging for Blessard. It was too late. Aaron grabbed the lieutenant’s gun from the holster. Yanking it out, he aimed it at Sarah.

  Everyone stopped moving.

  “Alice.” Aaron’s voice broke the silence. Despite his bloody, messed-up appearance, his voice sounded just the same as it always had. “Come here.”

  She couldn’t. She wouldn’t. After having a taste of freedom, there was no way she could return to whatever hell he had planned for her. Swallowing hard, she stared at the gun in his hand and forced out one word. “No.”

  “No?” He smirked, and Sarah’s stomach twisted. She’d forgotten that Aaron always got his way. Xena growled softly, and Sarah put a hand on the dog’s head to quiet her. There was no reason that Xena had to die today, too. Bracing herself for the shot, she stared at her brother, refusing to close her eyes. If he wanted to kill her, then he was going to have to look her right in the face when he did it.

  When he suddenly moved, she flinched, but there was no bang, no impact, no pain. He hadn’t shot her. Her immediate relief evaporated when she saw where Aaron was pointing the gun now: right at Otto.

  “Don’t!” The word was ripped from her as she stumbled forward. “I’ll go with you.” She’d rather die than return to Aaron, but she’d do anything to let Otto live.

  “Sarah, no! Run!” Otto shouted hoarsely, his gaze fixed on her rather than the gun pointed at his head.

  She just shook her head and mouthed I love you as she walked toward Aaron. The look in Otto’s eyes was so haunted that she had to look away. She stared at Aaron as she got closer, letting him see all the hatred she held for him in her expression. A strange look flashed over his face for just a moment before his sneer returned.

  As soon as she got close enough, he yanked her forward, turning her so that her back was against his front and his arm was hooked around her neck. He pressed the gun to her temple. Xena barked and snarled, making Aaron scramble back several steps, pulling Sarah with him. The painful pressure on her throat, the struggle to breathe, was horribly familiar. How silly she’d been to think she could escape this. She let out a hopeless, airless sob, and Xena charged.

  “Xena, no!” Sarah cried, terrified that Aaron would shoot the dog. Otto caught Xena by the collar. His arm strained from the effort of holding her back.

  “Let’s go.” Without waiting for a response, Aaron moved sideways toward the snowmobile, dragging Sarah along with him.

  “Think about what you’re doing,” Gordon said, surprising her. “This is how you fall.” He stared at Sarah, and she blinked at him, trying to figure out what was going on. Why was Gordon giving life advice to her brother? “First thing to do when you get yourself into a hole is stop digging.”

  Fall? Hole? The way he’d emphasized the words caught Sarah’s attention, but why was Gordon talking about holes, of all things, right now?

  Realization hit her so suddenly that her body jerked.

  “Watch it,” Aaron growled, pressing the muzzle harder against her skull.

  “Don’t, Xena!” she shouted, and Aaron dragged her backward several steps. He stopped when he saw that Otto still had a grip on the dog’s collar, and Xena wasn’t even pulling against him.

  “Whatever you’re doing, knock it off,” Aaron growled, tightening his arm. For a few terrifying seconds, Sarah couldn’t breathe. She tried to ignore the pressure on her lungs as she met Otto’s eyes.

  “Wait.” Otto took a step forward. “Let’s talk about this.”

  Aaron jerked Sarah back, farther away from Otto. “Come a step closer, and I will shoot her.”

  Otto hesitated before moving forward again a single step, causing Theo to grab his arm to hold him back.

  “I said, stay there!” As he stepped back, Aaron pulled the gun from Sarah’s temple and pointed it at Otto.

  “No!” She bit Aaron’s forearm hard, clamping her teeth into his flesh. His bellow of pain gave her grim satisfaction. Releasing her grip, she twisted in his loosened hold until she was facing him. “If I’m dying, then so are you.” She threw herself forward, using her weight to drive him backward that final, critical step.

  “What—?” His foot hit empty air, and his face flattened with shock. He started to topple backward, pulling Sarah with him, and she squeezed her eyes closed and pictured Otto’s beautiful face. Aaron released her, his arms flailing out to the sides to catch his balance, but it was too late. They were already falling.

  Until Sarah wasn’t. Something caught the back of her coat, and she jerked to a stop, dangling above the booby trap. Aaron tumbled down, falling twenty feet before he hit the ground with a solid crunch. She watched as his body bounced, his head snapping forward and back, and then he was still. Deathly still.

  She was hauled up, and her view was broken. Frantic hands turned her around and pulled her into a hard, wonderfully familiar chest. Otto clutched her close, breathing roughly but not saying a word. Wrapping her arms around him, this amazingly gentle man she’d thought she’d never see again, she held him just as tightly, just as quietly. She didn’t mind his silence.

  After all, that was kind of Otto’s thing.

  She smiled, closing her eyes. They’d done it. They’d all survived, and now could live happily ever—

  Whump-whump-whump.

  Her head jerked up as she searched the sky frantically. “Another one? I thought we got them all!”

  “Two was only an estimate,” Theo said as he and Hugh grimly handcuffed a struggling Lieutenant Blessard. “Everyone back in the bunker!”

  “No need.” Norman Rounds’s bland voice stopped everyone in their tracks. “It’s the FBI.”

  “The FBI?” Theo repeated. “How do you know? And how would they know we needed help?”

  “Because I called them.”

  “How?” Theo demanded. “All our communicati
ons are down.”

  “I used Gordon’s ham radio.”

  Hugh swore. “I knew you had a ham radio! I knew it!”

  “Norman!” Gordon said, turning a dark shade of red. “That is a secret of the brotherhood. I can’t believe we trusted you!”

  “I can’t believe you had a ham radio and didn’t let us use it to call for help!” Hugh shouted.

  “The feds aren’t help!” Gordon yelled back. “They’re just as evil as the rest of them—more, even!”

  Everyone started arguing as the helicopter got louder. Fighting the urge to bolt, Sarah watched the chopper carefully as it closed in. It did look bigger. The light placement was different, and it was a lighter color. She didn’t completely relax, however, until it landed in the field next to the workshop and a half-dozen people wearing jackets with FBI on the backs poured out of it.

  Finally, she leaned against Otto, and he wrapped his arms around her. She felt safe and warm for the first time that night. This was it. Her life in Texas was over. Now, she was truly free.

  Chapter 23

  “I knew it was a drone.” Jules was obviously trying to sound annoyed, but she wasn’t succeeding. “What did I say about y’all building a drone?”

  “It’s a model airplane,” Ty protested.

  “Well, a model airplane with a few additional features.” Tio was honest to a fault.

  “W-what’s the difference betw-w-ween a model airp-plane and a drone?” Sam asked.

  “Size, mainly.” Tio scratched his nose. “And those few additional features.”

  “So a drone, then?” Jules clutched her head with both hands. “I can’t believe I’m even considering this after y’all sent your little sister out onto a battlefield with it!”

  A chorus of protests from Ty, Tio, and Sam quieted when Jules waved her arms. “I know she snuck out.” She sent an admonishing look toward Dee, who was sitting on the floor, petting Xena with one hand and Mort with the other, while Turtle was curled in her lap. In pet heaven, Dee didn’t even catch the silent scolding. “But the only reason she was able to sneak out was because Sam was preoccupied with keeping the two of you from doing the exact same thing.”

  Ty put on his most innocent expression. “Everyone was arguing about what to do after y’all heard the helicopter. If we’d waited for someone else to come up with a plan, Sarah and Otto would’ve died. Besides, how were we supposed to know Dee’d do that? We didn’t even know she could fly it.”

  “Well, she had watched us a lot,” Tio said. “She picks things up pretty quickly, too, so—”

  “T!” Ty cut him off. “Not helping.”

  Sarah exchanged a look with Otto. They were sitting next to each other at the dining room table in Jules’s house, holding hands. Bob was sleeping on Sam’s chest. The cat had adopted Sam and followed him around like a dog whenever he was home. Sarah wasn’t sure that she and Otto would get Bob back when they moved home.

  The thought of home sent a pang through her. Although it was wonderful to be in the midst of the warm chaos and company of their family, she missed having alone time with Otto.

  Theo walked in, wearing his uniform, and crossed to Jules to give her a kiss. He, like Otto, looked exhausted. It had been two weeks since Aaron and the Jovanovics had sicced their private army on the town, but there was still a lot of cleanup to do. She’d barely seen Otto, even though they were both staying at Jules’s house until the pass was cleared. They were planning on living in the bunker until spring, when construction on a new house could start.

  The chief and the officers who’d been at training in the Springs had been helicoptered in, and they’d set up a temporary police station in the empty office building across from the viner. Lieutenant Blessard’s betrayal had rocked the small force—and the town—and everyone was still reeling. It helped that most of the TV crews that had descended on Monroe after the attack were gone. Monroe was slowly starting to get back to…well, not exactly normal, but it was getting closer.

  “Theo,” Jules said, refocusing after the peck turned into something longer and more intense. “Is building a drone legal? The boys want to build another drone, and I’m pretty sure that’s a bad idea, even if Dee did use it to bring down the helicopter and save the day—or maybe because she brought down a helicopter? Why do I get the feeling that parenting isn’t this hard in normal families?”

  Theo hugged her against his side as he looked at Tio. “Will it weigh more than half a pound?”

  “Maybe?” Tio said, looking at Theo expectantly.

  “If it does, you’ll need to register it with the FAA.”

  Jules gave Tio a stern look. “You will not be registering a drone with the FAA.”

  “Then I’ll make it under a half pound.” Tio gave a small nod.

  Ty grinned. “Dude! A mini-drone! So awesome.”

  “Should I allow this?” Jules glanced around the kitchen, as if looking for advice from any quarter, and Sarah raised her hands in a shrug. She was biased, since she was hugely grateful to Tio for creating his drone and to Dee for flying it into the tail rotor of the helicopter and saving their lives. Also, she agreed with Ty. A mini-drone would be awesome.

  “Good news,” Theo said, distracting Jules. “West pass is open.”

  They all cheered, and Sarah squeezed Otto’s hand hard with excitement. They could finally go home. As the kitchen filled with happy chatter, Otto stood and leaned over to speak in Sarah’s ear. “Want to take a walk?”

  She was about to mention that it was very, very cold outside, but Otto looked unusually excited about something. Curiosity had her agreeing, and they headed for the front entry where they pulled on their winter gear.

  The first step onto the front porch took Sarah’s breath away, and she regretted agreeing to a walk. Turning to Otto, she planned to ask if they could just stay inside, when he grabbed her hands.

  “The pass is open,” he said.

  She waited a moment before answering. “Yes…?”

  “That means… Would you… Uh, do you want to—” He broke off, and she stared at him. Otto hadn’t been this incoherent since the first—and second—and maybe third—time they’d met. He looked down for a moment and then met her gaze again, his jaw set with determination. “Let’s get married.”

  Shock was quickly swept aside by a rush of joy. “Okay. Yes.”

  “Now.”

  “Now?” She blinked. “As in now now?”

  “Yes. The pass is open. It’s not supposed to snow for a while. Let’s go to Vegas.”

  “Vegas?” Sarah knew she sounded like a not-very-bright parrot, but those were not the words that she’d expected to come out of always-patient Otto’s mouth. Not married, not now, and certainly not Vegas.

  “Yes. I love you. I want to be married to you as soon as possible.” He paused, looking uncertain. “Unless you want a big wedding?”

  “God, no.” A big wedding was not one of her dreams. It would only bring back memories of when she thought she’d be stuck marrying Logan Jovanovic. That would’ve been a big wedding. A huge wedding. A huge, miserable mistake of a wedding. She shook off the thought. That hadn’t happened, and now she had her wonderful, gentle, kind Otto right here, proposing to her, asking her to go to Vegas to get married. “Yes. Okay. Let’s go. Now.” She laughed, her happiness spilling out all over. “But what about Bean and Hortense and the others?”

  “Gordon said he’ll keep watching them. He’s built some stalls, fenced off a paddock for them, and bought more hay.”

  “Wow. How generous.”

  Otto scowled. “He knows he has to make up for lying about his ham radio. Besides, he’s jumped bail. He’s in a legal mess, and he needs our help to get out of it.”

  “He did let everyone stay in his bunker,” Sarah said, feeling a little bad for Gordon. “Plus, that booby trap saved us.” She blocked out th
e image of Aaron’s broken body.

  “I know,” Otto said. “But he can take care of my animals for a little longer. The dogs and Bob can stay here. When we get back, I’ll begin working with Xena again. The chief gave me the go-ahead to start training.”

  She squeezed his hands with excitement. “K9 training?”

  “Yep. She’s been so much more confident the past couple of weeks,” he said proudly. “Xena’s going to be Monroe’s next K9 officer.”

  “That’s great!” Sarah hugged him, squeezing hard. After everything that had happened, it was hard to believe that things could ever get better, but they had—so much better.

  The sound of an engine made her reluctantly pull away from Otto. Hugh’s new pickup bumped over the driveway and pulled up to the porch. Grace climbed out of the passenger seat.

  “Brrr!” Grace gave an exaggerated shiver before pulling the puppies’ carrier out of the cab. “What are you two doing outside? It’s freezing out here!”

  Too excited to hold it in, Sarah blurted out, “We’re going to Vegas to get married!”

  “Congratulations!” Handing the carrier over to Hugh, Grace hurried up the steps and hugged Sarah. “When?”

  “Now.”

  “Now?”

  At the echo of their previous conversation, Sarah laughed. “Yes, now. The pass is open, so we’re leaving while Gordon is still willing to watch Bean and Hortense.”

  “That’s great.” Hugh shook Otto’s hand and gave Sarah a one-armed hug as the puppies yipped in their carrier. At four weeks old, the pups were getting big—and even more adorable.

  “We could go, too.” Hugh gave Grace a hungry look. “Have a double wedding.”

  She made a big show of pretending to consider it and then shook her head. “I’m having too much fun dating you.”

  “C’mon, then, girlfriend.” Hugh ushered Grace into the house. “Let’s leave the lovebirds alone.”