Page 82 of Survive the Night
Blood streaked his face, but he was smiling as he aimed. Her own brother was about to shoot her with a smile on his face. Otto pushed down on the accelerator, but it wasn’t going to be fast enough. Sarah knew they were still within range of Aaron’s gun. He loved target shooting, and he was good at it. Her brother was not going to miss. Sarah felt a shot of pure fury jolt through her. She and Otto had gone through so much, survived despite the craziest odds, and now she was going to die because her brother was a dickhead?
Oh, hell, no.
“Fuck you, Aaron!” she yelled. “Fuck you and your stupid rules and your stupid fucking face! I’m going to live! I’m going to live, and it’s not going to be with you in your prison!”
That startled him. She saw his head jerk up before he took aim again. It wasn’t enough of a hesitation, though. They were still too close to the crazy man with a gun—and good aim.
There was a roar. Sarah didn’t know how else to describe it. It sounded like a whole bunch of very angry people, all shouting together. When she saw the crowd stampeding toward Aaron, Sarah laughed with amazement and delight. That was, in fact, exactly what it was.
Jules and Theo and Viggy, Hugh and Lexi and Grace—with her crossbow—were rushing toward Aaron. Mort and Gordon and Steve were also there, and Ty and Tio and Sam and even little Dee bringing up the rear. They trampled through the snow, the dogs surging ahead, all three barking with the excitement of the chase.
“Look!” she yelled to Otto, slapping him excitedly on the shoulder. “It’s the villagers! And they’re pissed!”
Otto slowed the sled abruptly, circling around to head back toward the downed helicopter. Aaron, his face switching from smug glee to horror, turned and started to run across the snowy field. The crowd of people followed, quickly closing the distance between them and a fleeing Aaron.
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.
