Page 70 of Survive the Night
Hugh made a choking sound.
“Don’t you dare laugh.” Despite her words, Grace looked as if she was fighting a smile. “If you want someone who knows everything about weapons, then you shouldn’t be dating me.”
“Please.” Hugh snorted. “As if I could date anyone else. You’ve ruined me for all other women.”
“Really?” Her grin broke free. “Good. That means you need to mind your p’s and q’s. If you drive me away, you won’t have any other options.”
Instead of getting offended, Hugh chuckled as he hugged Grace against him again. “I love it when you sound like an old-fashioned librarian.”
She laughed, too, although she pretended to try to push him away.
As the post-scare adrenaline rush subsided, Otto realized something. “Why aren’t you in Dresden?”
“My check-engine light came on.” She grimaced, leaning into Hugh. “Sarah let me use the fax machine in Grady’s office. Sarah and then Grady left, but I was still waiting for a return fax when the line went dead. After the first explosion, I tried to call Hugh, but my cell didn’t have service. I figured it’d be safest to wait here until I could reach someone, but then I heard an explosion that sounded really close by. I started to get pretty freaked out, but the thought of going outside was scarier—for a while, at least. When I couldn’t take waiting for a bomb to drop on my head anymore, I decided to chance it. I was looking for something I could use to defend myself when I heard you and hid.”
As Grace told her story, Otto’s stomach drew into a tighter and tighter knot. “Where’s Sarah?”
“She went home to your place after she let me into Grady’s office.” Her eyes widened. “Is she there by herself? Poor Sarah! She must be terrified.”
Otto turned, intending to run out of the store and not stop until he reached his place and saw that Sarah was unharmed. Blood rushed noisily through his head, making him deaf to anything the others were saying. Cleo’s voice from earlier echoed through his brain, saying that helicopters had been spotted in the vicinity of his house. What if Sarah was hurt or trapped or killed? Bile rose in his throat, making it burn.
Hands on his arms brought him to an unwilling halt. “Let go!”
“Otto.” Hugh’s voice cut through the red haze that blanketed Otto’s mind. Hugh had hold of his left arm, and Theo silently gripped his right. “Listen. You need to do this right. No sense in running out into the snow and getting shot or freezing to death, especially since everything you need is right here. Think, buddy. You don’t even have gloves on.”
Otto’s heart rate slowed slightly as reason sank in. Hugh was right. He could move a lot faster with the right gear. “Fine.”
“We’ll go with you,” Grace said, but Otto gave a short shake of his head.
“No. You’ll slow me down.” She flinched, and he knew the words had been too harsh, but it was the truth. He needed to move quickly, without worrying about anyone else keeping up. As much as her friends loved Sarah, they weren’t driven by the panicked need to find her like Otto was.
Theo and Hugh released him, and Otto surged forward. He grabbed a hiking pack and snowshoes. The others helped, filling the pack with insulated coveralls, gloves, and a balaclava. Jules ran to grab bottles of water from the cooler, and Otto switched out his boots for warmer ones.
“We’ll go as far as the pass,” Theo said, tossing in some waterproof matches. When Otto took a breath, ready to argue, Theo’s look shut him down. Biting back his objections, Otto gave a short nod.
The guns and ammunition were locked up, and none of the keys Grady had given them worked on the case. Hugh offered to pick the lock, but time was ticking away, and Otto didn’t want to stay in the store any longer than he had to. Otto had his loaded 9mm Glock, as well as a spare magazine.
“Are you carrying?” he asked the others.
“Of course,” Hugh said.
Theo just jerked his chin up in his typical short nod.
“Yes!” Jules pulled up her coat and hoodie to show the gun in a belt holster at her waist.
Otto blinked in surprise.
“Theo’s been teaching me to shoot.” Jules allowed her hoodie and coat to drop back into place, covering the gun. “He said I’m a natural.”
“She’s a good shot,” Theo said without looking away from the display. He picked up several folding knives and handed them out. Even though Otto already had his, he accepted another. He had a feeling that it would be a good time to carry a spare.
Unfolding her knife, Grace examined it before closing it again and slipping it into her pocket. “I’m not. I’m terrible. Hugh, tell Otto how terrible I am at shooting.” There was an underlying tension to her voice, to all their voices, that told Otto they were eaten up with worry for Sarah. Grace’s attempt at joking sounded forced, and he knew she was trying to distract them from the dangers they were all facing.
“She’s bad,” Hugh agreed.
“I’m not getting better, either,” Grace admitted. “Every time we go to the range, I get fewer and fewer holes in the target. It’s a little annoying, especially with Straight-Shooter McGee over there.” She jerked her thumb at Jules, who gave a tight smile.
Otto felt tension building inside him. He needed to move, or he’d explode. Hooking the snowshoes to his pack, he swung it onto his back and buckled the straps. “Do you have what you want to take?”
