Once Upon a Time in Bliss

by Lexi Blake

  “John, she’s alive.” It was like Bill could feel his anxiety over the line. “If we haven’t found her body, then she’s alive. We need to figure out where he would take her.”

  Bishop didn’t know the land. He didn’t have any idea where the hell the fucker would go. And he needed a goddamn piece. He wasn’t carrying. He’d locked his SIG away back at the resort because he didn’t want Nell to catch him with a gun. He didn’t even have a knife on him.

  Mel was suddenly beside him, the older man moving almost silently. “Is everything all right? You went real pale there for a second. Are you remembering a past alien experience? It happens to me all the time. I got some tonic that helps.”

  “I don’t need tonic. I need a gun.”

  “Shotgun, handgun, stun gun? You’re going to have to be more specific.” Mel straightened his trucker hat, the tinfoil crinkling. “Do you know the nature of the creature we’re hunting?”

  The guy was a nut, but maybe he had some guns. And he probably knew the area. “It’s not a creature, just a giant asshole. He’s got Nell Finn, and I’m worried he’s going to kill her.”

  “Come with me,” Mel said. “I’ve got a kit in my truck and a radio. I’ll get the crew on this. How long’s she been gone? Do we know what type of vehicle she was taken in? The snow’s been coming down hard all afternoon, so they wouldn’t get far on foot.”

  Now the man suddenly sounded competent. He strode back to his antique pickup and opened the bed as Bishop followed along. He could already see a full gun rack through the back window. He counted a shotgun and a rifle. Maybe this Mel guy could track more than fake aliens. “Bill said she was likely in someone named Kelly’s car. I don’t know her.”

  “Kelly Hansen. Nice girl. Crappy car. It’s going to struggle in this snow, especially coming down off the mountain. I’ve been out here for about forty minutes trying to make sure the order to MI17 had gone through before I threw the Sibalian out.” He pointed at the place where the road from the resort met the highway. “Unless they tried going down the other side, this is where they would have come out and I’m telling you, Kelly’s brakes wouldn’t make it down the other side. Once you get past my place and the Harpers’, the grade is too steep. I haven’t seen anyone come off the mountain so they’re either still up there or they’re at the bottom of the other side.”

  Fuck. It seemed like there were a whole bunch of ways for Nell to die tonight. “Can you get me up there? We should be able to follow the tracks in the snow. Most people around here drive trucks and SUVs. If this Kelly’s car is smaller, we should be able to tell where she’s gone.”

  A large tool kit sat in the back of Mel’s truck. He worked a lock and then flipped it open, and Bishop’s eyes widened because he wasn’t even sure what half that shit was. The tinfoiled man had guns of all kinds, knives, a short sword, what looked like a medieval mace, some hair spray, and several items that Bishop was pretty sure he didn’t want to touch. But there was a very staid-looking semiautomatic, and Bishop felt better the minute the weight hit his hand. He checked the mag. The gun was in perfect order. It would blow a nice hole through Warren Lyle’s head.

  Reality settled on Bishop as Mel opened his driver’s door and started talking on a radio. He’d been in too many fucked-up situations to honestly believe that this would go well. His brain worked through all the scenarios and almost none of them played out in his favor. Almost every single one ended with Nell dead in the snow and with Bishop seeking revenge.

  He loved Nell Finn. It was stupid. It was wrong. It could only end in complete disaster, but he was in love with Nell, and he suddenly understood that if he allowed Nell deep into his heart, she would change him forever. It had probably already happened. He was probably ruined for any other woman, but then it didn’t matter because he wasn’t the kind of guy who got married and settled down in a small town. He was a killer. He was a tool, and the United States government wasn’t going to allow an asset like John Bishop to ask for a mulligan and walk away. They would come after him, and Nell would get hurt.

  If Nell was even alive.

  “I just got some info on the radio. Max is on the case. He’s talking to Rye, says they have confirmation that Nell got into Kelly’s car and they started back down the mountain. He’s calling some people he knows on the other side to see if they remember Kelly’s car rolling by. Bill Hartman is going to send some of his folks out on snowmobiles to see what he can find.”

  So everyone was looking for her. He wasn’t alone. There was an odd comfort to that, but no one would look for her the way he would. No one else would keep going until they found her. Even if it took forever because the world was suddenly utterly meaningless if one brunette with soft eyes and a softer heart wasn’t walking around in it.

  Bishop took a nice-looking hunting knife out of the box and pocketed it, too.

  “Are you ready to go? I figured we would drive to the base and see what we can find from there.” Mel slapped at the side of the truck. “Let’s get going.”

  A buzzing sound came from the highway, and in the distance, Bishop could hear his fake name being called.

  “Henry! Henry! Stop!”

  Not Nell. Bishop looked out and saw a single headlight breaking through the twilight. Was that a motorcycle? It was too small. Dirt bike, maybe. And it had at least one too many people on it. He counted two heads as the dirt bike turned into the parking lot.

  Seth Stark hopped off the back and started running toward Bishop. Logan parked the bike and slid the helmet off his head. The lanky teen had a hunting rifle strapped to his back. “Please, Mr. Flanders…”

  Bishop growled. He didn’t need this distraction. “I won’t tell your moms. What is it Seth? I have to go. Lyle has Nell.”

  Seth had his own version of a weapon in his hands, a state-of-the-art laptop. He opened it, the light glowing from the screen. “I know. I overheard the sheriff and Rye Harper talking on the police radio. I figured she probably had her phone. Almost no one walks around without their phone out here, and Nell’s been really careful since her mom got sick. She always carries it.”

  A spark of hope lit through him. “You talked to her?”

  Seth shook his head. “No. She’s not answering, but I think I got something better. I hacked into the cell company’s computer and I have a signal on her. She’s up on the mountain.” He frowned. “The signal’s not moving. We need to hurry because any minute the company’s going to realize that someone else has control of their satellite and the feds are probably going to come after me again.”

  “I won’t tell Logan’s moms about that either. Ditch the dirt bike. Get in the truck.” They could all squeeze in. He needed Seth, but he had a feeling Seth wouldn’t leave Logan behind and besides, an extra gun never hurt.

  They piled into the truck, and Seth started giving instructions on how to get to the signal.

  Mel turned the truck down the highway.

  He’d worked with the top SEAL teams and with the best intelligence operatives from across the globe. God, what he wouldn’t give to have Tennessee Smith or Taggart backing him up. No, he was stuck with an insane alien hunter, a kid who would either take over the world or spend a lot of time in jail, and Logan, who just didn’t want his moms to find out anything. This was his team.

  He prayed they had what it took. John Bishop wasn’t a man who prayed. He figured God had left him alone a long time ago, but for the first time since he was a child, he reached out to whatever was out there in the universe.

  Just let her be alive. God, just let her be alive.

  Chapter Eleven

  The cold hit her first and then the pain.

  Confusion ruled her brain. Where was she? What had happened? Why was her head pounding?

  But it was the cold that got to her. She’d been warm before with Henry’s arms wrapped around her. All she had to do to get warm was to look at him, to remember how he kissed her, like she was the only woman in the whole world. She’d been toasty wa
rm in the hot tub, his skin as hot as the water.

  Now everything was cold. It invaded her bones. She was shaking and it was so, so quiet that she could hear her teeth chattering.

  The accident. She’d been in an accident.

  It came back in flashes, small scenes that brought Nell back to reality.

  Kelly crying as she drove. Lyle spitting bile. The horrible sound the car had made as it began to roll.

  Kelly had tried to tell him that she couldn’t make it down the far side of the mountain. Her hands shook even as she tried to steer. Nell had been sitting beside her, trying to keep everyone calm even while Warren Lyle told her all the things he planned to do to her.

  You cost me everything, bitch. I’m going to make you pay.

  He’d pulled her hair, yanking at it, and she’d had to stifle a scream. She couldn’t give in to her fear. She had to stay calm. No matter what happened, she wouldn’t go out in fear. She would go out doing what she always did. She would try to make things better. She would use reason.

  Warren Lyle had been one of the vilest cases she’d ever had the privilege of working. He’d owned a firm that specialized in dealing with medical waste and was about to be handed a deal to store waste for one of the biggest nuclear plants in the country. His firm had been going places, but Nell had discovered he was exceptionally sloppy about his storage techniques. He’d already had a resounding effect on the ecosystem by the time Nell called in the EPA.

  It’s a fucking desert. No one gives a fuck about the desert.

  Nell did. She’d tried to explain to him that it wasn’t just the desert he was polluting. There were underground rivers that connected all the way through the country. His radioactive waste could have gotten into drinking water. It could have hurt a lot of people. It could have hurt his own children. She’d kept calm, though tears had been streaming down her face.

  Lyle had slapped the side of her head. His wife had left him. He didn’t see his kids anymore, and it was all Nell’s fault.

  And then the world had upended and gone black.

  An accident. Yes, she was clearer now. They had been in an accident. The car had careened off the road. There had been screaming and terror, and all she’d been able to think about was Henry. They’d had so little time together. How could she lose him now? She’d prayed that her mother was right and that soul mates found each other again and again because she’d found her home and now she was dying.

  Home wasn’t necessarily a place. It was a heart that mated to her own.

  She forced her eyes open and a wave of nausea hit her gut. Something was wrong. She couldn’t see and something was floating around her eyes. She reached up. It was her hair. Why was her hair hanging like that?

  Now she could feel the seat belt cutting into her chest. She flexed her hands, moved her toes. She was freezing, but everything seemed to work. She took a long breath. She needed to get out of here. She had to get help.

  There was a low moan that came from her left.

  Nell forced her head up despite the pain. She was upside down, suspended by the seat belt. She needed to get out, but if she did it too fast and the car was on the edge of a cliff, her weight dropping could shift the car and cause them to roll again. Patience. She couldn’t panic. She had to stay calm.

  “What happened?” Kelly asked.

  “Shhh. We need to be quiet. I think he’s still out.” Above all else, they needed to get out of this car and away from Warren Lyle. They couldn’t be too far from the main road. She could make her way back up the mountain to the resort or around it to the Harper Ranch or Mel’s place. She had to find some help, but she couldn’t do that if the jerk face was shooting at her.

  And she had to find a way to help Kelly. Kelly hadn’t done anything to draw Lyle’s anger. She was completely innocent.

  “I hurt really bad, Nell. I’m scared.”

  There was no way to figure out where they were without getting out of the car. She forced her legs to straighten, pointing her toes until she could almost touch the roof of the car. Luckily, Kelly was a considerate driver. She drove a compact that was fairly earth friendly if one ignored the whole fossil fuel–use thing.

  She reached across her chest and let her hand find the cool metal of the seat belt. Pressing the button, she let her feet find the roof and stopped her fall by shoving her hands out and bracing against the ceiling.

  “Can you move?” Nell asked quietly.

  “I think so. Are we upside down?” Kelly whimpered as Nell reached across her body. The lights were still on, but the top of the car was buried in snow. A spark of illumination shone out over the bank they had rolled into. The driver’s side door was crushed inward, glass coating the roof. It was hard to see, but she thought it was a tree they had banged into. It had likely stopped their roll down the mountain and saved their lives. So much for deforestation. It was always bad. There was nothing at all good about it.

  “We are. I’m going to unbuckle you. You’re going to fall. I don’t want you to hit the steering wheel so I’ll leave my arms here, okay? I’m going to catch you.” Nell clicked the buckle, and Kelly’s body slumped forward. Her slight weight hit Nell’s arms.

  Kelly moaned, a deep sound that came from her chest. “I can move.”

  “I’m not going to leave you.” She’d gotten Kelly into this mess. She had to get her out.

  “I’ll be okay. I can definitely walk, maybe even run. We need to go.” Kelly started to move. “Damn, it’s so cold.”

  Kelly was wearing a parka. She shouldn’t be complaining. Nell was in a robe and it was a flipping satin robe. She was wearing a pair of boots, but her legs were uncovered. Her knees were knocking together in a vain attempt to stay warm.

  “Yes, it is cold, but we need to move. I don’t think he’s awake yet.”

  Even as Nell said the words, a low groan came from the back seat. It made all the hair on her arms stand up straight screaming danger.

  They had to get out of here and now.

  She pushed the passenger’s side door open using her right leg to force it. A blast of cold air filled the small cab of the car, threatening to freeze her lungs. How far away was she from the resort? They had driven away from the resort, but she’d been concentrating on talking to Warren, on making him understand that what he was doing wasn’t logical. She hadn’t been paying attention to how far they’d gone.

  The door squeaked as she threw it open.

  Another low groan came from the back seat. Panic threatened to overtake her. She had to get them both out. She thought about looking for the gun, but if he woke up, he could get it first, and she wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway. She wasn’t sure she could pull the trigger, but she could definitely run. She could run fast.

  If she could get the feeling back in her legs.

  She crawled out of the car, her skin protesting when her hands hit the snow. It was deep up here on the mountain. Every instinct told her to stay where it was warm, but she had to ignore them. She forced her way, her knees sinking into the snow. The moon had risen early, shining off the pure white of the powder. She couldn’t tell exactly where she was. A labyrinth of aspens and evergreens surrounded her. Which way should she go? Once she started, she would be easy to track. There would be no way to cover the prints her boots would leave in the snow. She needed to get somewhere safe and fast.

  “What the fuck?” A low voice groaned.

  She reached back into the car and grabbed Kelly’s hands. They had to go. They had to get out of here. She pulled and Kelly managed to crawl through, her teeth chattering.

  Kelly got to her feet, shaking. There was a big bulge coming up on her forehead where she seemed to have hit the steering wheel. A trickle of blood was coming from a cut lip, but Kelly seemed to be able to move.

  “Which way should we go?” Kelly’s blonde hair hung limply around her brutalized face.

  “I don’t know where we are. I think we’re about halfway down the west side. If we head around
to the north side, we should find Mel or the Harper ranch. Max has a barbed wire fence up,” Nell whispered as she adjusted her robe. God, she was so cold. Her boots were supposed to be cruelty-free, but it seemed they were definitely cruel on her feet right now. They did next to nothing to keep the cold out.

  She’d talked to Max about that fence and how it was wrong to put up barricades, but now she would use it to find help. If she could get over that fence, all she would have to do was run until she caught sight of the house.

  The car shook, the back door rattling as something from the inside started to pound away. Both women jumped back, their hands tangling together.

  “Go,” Nell said, pointing down the mountain. “Run that way. It should take you to the Harpers. If Max is there, tell him where we are. If he’s not, find a way into the house and call the sheriff.”

  “I shouldn’t leave you.” Kelly clasped her hand. They were running out of time. The back door was starting to open. Kelly kicked out, viciously shoving the door back. There was a thud and a groan, and it seemed like Kelly had also managed to hit Lyle’s skull. “Motherfucker.”

  A shot shattered the glass and pinged by Nell’s head.

  “Go!” She pushed Kelly the way she should run.

  Kelly looked back once more, a frown on her face, and then took off, her boots leaving prints in the snow.

  Nell’s whole body shook. She wanted to run, but she had to make sure Lyle followed her and not Kelly.

  Another shot fired out of the car, keeping her away. She thought about grabbing a branch and trying to clock him, but he could easily fire again. She inched away, trying to give herself a good head start, but leaving no way to mistake where she’d gone. Tears filled her eyes, nearly freezing to her skin. She had to wait. Just a minute. This was her problem, not Kelly’s. She couldn’t sacrifice the young girl to save herself.

  Lyle emerged, his eyes on her. He lifted his gun even as he lay half in and half out of the car.

  Nell took off as the shot sounded through the air, booming through the forest. She forced her legs to work, moving mechanically, almost without feeling. She ran, the snow up to her ankles, pristine as far as she could see, covering whatever lay beneath it.