by Maya Banks
Eli put his hand on Braden’s shoulder. “We’ll keep her safe, Braden.”
Tits nodded his acknowledgement. Then he held up his fist to Braden’s. “We’re going to get on out of here and wait for Esteban to do his thing. Check you later.”
Braden bumped his fist. Eli and Tits climbed onto the snowmobiles and roared off over the snow, leaving Braden there standing there in the cold. He turned and slowly climbed the steps to the cabin.
In theory, the idea of using Katie to draw out Esteban was sound. In reality, it sucked. When she was a faceless entity, he had no compunction about using the sister of the man who’d betrayed them to flush out a rat. But she wasn’t a faceless, unimportant factor anymore. He didn’t want her at risk. He didn’t want her here at all. He wanted her someplace safe. He wanted her to have the security she’d never experienced.
Katie had posed the question. What happened after Esteban was no longer a threat? It was something he’d asked often enough himself. Only now he had the answer. He wasn’t letting her go. Her future was inexorably tied to his and Ian’s.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Tension she couldn’t ascribe to her own feelings had permeated the cabin. Katie glanced warily in the direction of Ian and Braden. Both men sat at the small table next to the window, eating in silence.
She’d done an admirable job of pretending complete ignorance. She’d been flirty, casual and relaxed while Ian and Braden had both been quiet, withdrawn and moody. And more protective than ever. She couldn’t piss without one of them hovering. If she hadn’t heard directly from the horse’s mouth what their plans were, she’d still be floundering in ignorance, accepting whatever they doled out and begging for more.
She shook her head in disgust. Time was running out, and now she was going to be forced to make her move.
Without a glance in their direction, she slipped into the bedroom. She pressed her hands to her pants to stop the trembling and to dry the sweat from her palms.
She touched the two syringes full of the sedative and placed them on the dresser. Then she made sure her bag was packed, her cards, money and passport on top of her clothing. An earlier check outside had yielded two snowmobiles, both with keys in the ignition.
She could see lights of a distant village further down the mountain from the cabin deck. She’d head there and then get what transportation she could. By the time Ian and Braden regained consciousness, she’d be three countries away.
New life, fresh start. A chance at redemption.
Without Gabe. Without Ian and Braden. Pain sucked the air from her lungs. She closed her eyes and held back the dismay clogging her throat. Without Ian and Braden. Nothing had ever hurt so much.
* * *
Ian closed the satellite receiver and glanced up at Braden. “Esteban is moving in. Personally.”
Braden’s gaze sharpened and a light of anticipation flared in his eyes. “Arrogant son of a bitch.”
“He’s moving with a small band of men. If the Falcon secondary can get a bead on him, they’ll eliminate his team and take Esteban alive. Eli and Tits are on their way here. If Esteban makes it all the way to Katie, we want to be sure she doesn’t get caught in the crossfire.”
“We need to tell her what’s up,” Braden said.
Ian nodded as he pushed away from the table. His own brand of anticipation singed along his skin. “How are you feeling?” he asked Braden as he paused outside the bedroom door. “We need to be at our best, and our best is not drugged.”
“I’m good,” Braden said. “Other than the fact that I’m looking forward to kicking some serious ass, I feel pretty calm.”
Ian blew out his breath in relief. So far so good. Now to stash Katie somewhere she would gain the least amount of exposure.
The two brothers walked into the bedroom to see Katie sitting on the bed, her hands tucked underneath her legs. She looked up with wary eyes, and Ian couldn’t blame her. He and Braden hadn’t exactly been warm toward her for the last two days.
He approached her with Braden and cupped a hand to her cheek. “Katie, we need to talk.”
She launched herself forward, her hands flying out in a blur. Ian felt a stab of pain in his arm even as he stared dumbly at her.
“What the hell?” Braden roared just as realization of what she had done hit Ian full force.
Ian staggered back and yanked at the needle still stuck in his arm. She’d pushed the stopper to its limit and injected him with a full dose of the sedative.
She shot up but Braden grabbed her arm and tossed her back onto the bed. She scooted backward on the mattress, her eyes wild.
“Katie, what the fuck?” Ian demanded, and then he shook his head. He didn’t have time to ask questions. He had to make her understand what was about to take place. That danger was coming, and now he and Braden would be out of commission.
Braden staggered and braced himself against the bed. “What have you done?” he whispered. “Why?”
“I’m not expendable,” Katie said quietly. “My life may not be important to you, but I’m not giving it up that easily. I’ve run too hard for too long to give up now. I won’t be used as bait for Esteban. I’ll no longer be used by any man.”
Ian’s muscles twitched and seized as the predator locked within the man fought for freedom, fought against the sedative coursing through his veins. Beside him, Braden lunged for Katie. He landed on top of her but she lay there calmly, waiting for him to succumb.
Ian held his hands to his ears to dim the roaring. He shook his head, trying to shake off the sluggish lethargy stealing over his body.
“Katie,” he whispered. “You don’t understand. Esteban…coming.”
“Yeah, I know,” she said bitterly as she stared at him with hard, glittering eyes. “He’s coming for me. I just don’t plan to be here when he arrives.”
Panic surged, and for a moment he thought the adrenaline would overpower the sedative. “No,” he slurred. “You can’t go. Dangerous. He’s out there. Stay where safe.”
He felt himself falling, and then Katie was over him, shoving him until he faced the ceiling. Her face loomed close to his. And then she kissed him. Lingeringly. With regret. Soft. A goodbye. He tried to reach for her, to hold her against him but she pushed aside his hands as if they were nothing.
Darkness clouded his periphery and still he fought. She didn’t stand a chance on her own. She thought he and Braden had betrayed her.
“No,” he croaked out.
* * *
Katie hurried to the dresser to collect her bag. She pulled on Ian’s heavy sweatshirt and snagged a jacket from the floor. After she’d donned the heavier clothes, she chanced one last look back at the two unconscious men.
The knot grew tighter in her throat. For just a little while, she’d allowed herself to become ensconced in the fantasy of having these two men care about her. Worse, though, she’d allowed herself to care about them. Men and sex were her biggest weaknesses, apparently. The fact that she clearly hadn’t learned her lesson with Paulo told her she was as careless as ever when it came to jumping into a situation.
But she’d survived, and this time she was getting out on her own terms. She squared her shoulders, collected her bag and grasped one of the assault rifles. Slinging the strap over her shoulder, she walked briskly toward the cabin door.
She stepped into the cold night. The chill was a slap in the face in a good way. An awakening from her morose thoughts and regrets. Her survival was all that mattered right now. Ian and Braden would be just fine.
Unless…
She stared back, indecision wracking her cluttered mind. Had she left them completely vulnerable to Esteban? If he came here looking for her, he’d find two unconscious men.
For a woman who’d had only herself to consider for so long and no compunction about doing so, it was extremely unsettling to realize that Ian and Braden could die because of her. No matter that they’d callously used her for their own purposes.
She didn’t want them to die.
Her fingers tightened around the rifle, and then in the distance, roaring closer, the sound of snowmobiles shattered the still of the night.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lights nearly blinded her as two snowmobiles roared up to the cabin. As soon as they stepped clear, she could make out their outline in the pale moonlight. Eli and Tits. And then Eli simply disappeared.
Tits started for her, his expression fierce. Indecision tormented her for all of two seconds. An eerie sensation wrapped around her body, her neck and her wrists, momentarily paralyzing her.
And then she remembered that Eli could shift to smoke or mist.
Her hands shook as she warred with the need to hold onto the rifle while Eli exerted steady pressure on her wrists.
“Drop it, Katie,” Tits ordered as he trained his gun on her. “Where are Ian and Braden?”
A shot cracked the night, and Tits staggered then fell to his knees. He squeezed off a series of shots into the trees before he fell face-forward into the snow.
Esteban was here.
Fear, cold like the snow, trickled down her spine. She thought of Ian and Braden inside the cabin and knew she couldn’t allow them to be killed.
“I know you can hear me,” she whispered to Eli. “Don’t shift back. Ian and Braden are unconscious in the bedroom. You have to protect them. I’ll lead Esteban away.”
“No.”
She felt more than heard the faint whisper as it trailed over her ear.
“You know I’m right,” she hissed. “Let me go. You have to cover Ian and Braden. They’re defenseless right now. At least give me a chance to live, Eli. Give us all a chance.”
The pressure lessened at her wrists, and she didn’t waste any time. She leaped off the porch and threw herself on the still-running snowmobile. She gunned the engine and spun the machine around, sending a spray of snow arcing into the air.
As she headed around a clump of trees, she saw a group of four snowmobiles headed straight for her. She had always loved a good game of chicken. And it wasn’t like she had anything to lose.
She yanked her rifle up with her right hand and gripped the wheel with her left. She gave it everything she had.
The snowmobile lurched forward and flew toward the oncoming lights. When she was impossibly close, she laid down a line of fire and aimed straight for the middle.
At the last second, the one on the far right spun out and turned end over end into the trees. The second and third split right and left to avoid her, and she skimmed past, kicking up snow in her wake.
She lowered her head, blinking against the stinging wind and the water forming in the corners of her eyes as ice pelted her face.
She hit a soft patch of snow and the snowmobile bogged for a moment. She gunned it, fishtailed and finally broke free. A glimpse behind her told her that she had at least three men on her tail.
She turned in the direction of the village and prayed she’d be able to find her way in the darkness. The headlight bounced off the snow but didn’t give her much lead time to avoid pitfalls.
Lights reflected off the snow in front of her. They were getting closer, flanking her as they closed in. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the one on her right creep up. She veered sharply in front of him. His machine clipped her back end as she cut him off.
It yanked her right but she recovered while he careened wildly into the path of one of the other snowmobiles. A loud crash splintered and then an explosion rocked the night. A ball of flame shot upward, bathing the area in an orange glow.
She jumped a rise, becoming airborne. She hit the ground with a resounding jolt and skidded sideways, bogging down in the snow. She yanked the wheel, gave it some gas and righted herself. As she chanced a look over her shoulder, her spirits sank. How many more were there?
Four sets of headlights bore down on her. Did they reproduce like bunnies? Every time she took one out, two took its place.
And then a loud rumble reverberated over her ears. The ground shook, causing the snowmobile to vibrate wildly. She looked behind her again only to see a wall of white envelope the headlights like a suffocating cloud.
Panic welled, fierce and nauseating.
Avalanche.
One of the snowmobiles raced before the steamrolling wave of snow. She was no longer the man’s aim. Survival was. He raced in front of her as they both stayed barely ahead of the rumbling crush.
She leaned forward and let loose. She surged past the other snowmobile, her lights dancing over the snow like a drunken ballerina. Trees, rocks, bushes bounced up and down, puppets on stiff strings. She rocked over inclines, nearly thrown free of her seat.
She looked again just in time to see the other snowmobile go under the rolling white death. The machine flipped and then rolled end over end, the man’s body bouncing with it before finally being thrown clear and quickly buried under several feet of snow.
Her heart sank. She couldn’t outrun it.
Not wanting to become entangled in the snowmobile, she made a quick decision. Closing her eyes, she dove right, hitting the ground with a bone-jarring crunch. She rolled as both she and the snowmobile were swallowed whole. White descended and all went silent inside her icy tomb.
* * *
Eli simmered through the air, a thin plume of smoke, and streaked toward where Tits had fallen in the snow. Blood, brilliant red, stained the pristine white on the ground as the snowmobiles bounced by in pursuit of Katie.
“I know you’re there, you crazy bastard,” Tits grunted out. “Leave me and go after her.”
When he was certain the snowmobiles had passed, their engines echoing in the distance, he came to form beside Tits, his hands already going out to staunch the flow of blood from Tits’ shoulder.
“Why’d you let her go?” Tits asked in halting stutters.
“Because she was right,” Eli said grimly. “Ian and Braden are our priorities, and they’re lying in the cabin out cold.”
“Why’d she go crazy?”
“Hell if I know. She could have shot us both. She could have left Ian and Braden to die.”
“But she didn’t.”
“She didn’t,” Eli agreed.
Holding his palm to Tits’ bleeding wound, he pushed at the larger man, helping him to his knees. “Come on man, let’s get you into the cabin before you bleed to death.”
“It’s not bad,” Tits said as he hoisted himself to his feet. “I’ve had worse.”
Still, he stumbled as they started for the cabin, and Eli dug his shoulder under Tits’ arm to support the larger man.
They slowly climbed up the steps, and Tits paused for a long moment, catching his breath before they headed for the door.
Eli maneuvered it open with his free hand and started to haul Tits forward when a loud rumble had them both turning around. The entire porch shook. The sounds of breaking glass came from within as plates fell from the counter and splintered on the floor.
“What the fuck?” Tits demanded.
“Oh hell,” Eli muttered.
He and Tits exchanged looks of horror as the realization hit them both.
“Avalanche!” Tits yelled.
“Get in, now!” Eli shoved Tits forward just as the spray of snow hit him in the back. He fell to the floor but kicked at the door with his foot and prayed like hell it would hold.
Chapter Thirty-Six
“Getting out of here should be a snap for a man of your means,” Tits said darkly.
“I never said it wouldn’t be,” Eli returned.
The two men sat in the dark with only a penlight to illuminate the interior of the cabin. The door had miraculously held. The windows had not. Broken glass littered the living room along with piles of snow and ice.
It was cold but not unbearably so.
“I need to check on Ian and Braden. Are you going to be okay?”
Tits waved the penlight in a dismissive gesture.
“I’ll make sure they’re all
right, and then I’ll see if I can use the satellite uplink to reach Jonah. I’d prefer they got here before any local rescue effort. If I can’t raise him that way, I’ll shift and go out the chimney. I’ll go to the village and get word to them that way.”
Again Tits waved the light, and Eli got to his feet and made his way to the bedroom.
There was only one window, and it too was busted out. Snow was steadily dribbling and shifting onto the floor from the strain. Ian and Braden were sprawled on the bed, out like a light. Damn, but he needed them awake and aware.
“Hey Tits, can you come back here, man, or are you too weak?”
Eli almost laughed at the snarl that followed. A few seconds later, Tits thumped into the bedroom holding his shoulder with one hand.
“Thought that would get your ass in here,” Eli said.
“Hey, fuck you. What the hell do you want, anyway? I was comfortable.”
“I need you to see if you can wake up the sleeping beauties while I raise Jonah.”
“I could always stick their faces in the wall of snow at the window,” Tits said with a shrug.
“Do what you have to do. I’ll get Jonah on the way.”
“They ain’t going to be happy about what happened to Katie,” Tits said quietly.
Eli grimaced, knowing full well that surviving the avalanche on a snowmobile was next to impossible. “I’ll let you tell them,” he muttered.
“Gee thanks. You’re all heart, man.”
Eli turned away and then dug into his pack for the satellite transmitter and tiny keyboard. No, he didn’t want to be the one to tell Ian and Braden about Katie. She was a lot more to them than just an assignment. He didn’t want to break the news that she was dead.
