Page 41 of Holiday Hostage
I shook out a heavy coat with a winter camo design and held it out for her. “You need to bundle up. It’s freezing out there, and it’s a long walk to the snowmobiles.”
She shrugged into the coat and worked on the buttons while I eased her hair into a loose knot that wouldn’t interfere with the hood and tugged a knit cap over her head.
By the time I finished bundling her up and checked my weapons one last time, Mav was tapping his watch in warning. “One more minute.”
“Come on.” I hustled Payton up the stairs, jumping over every other one in my hurry.
The window Reed mentioned cut into the wall halfway down, the opening wide enough we shouldn’t have any trouble.
I peered through the thick glass before cranking it open and sticking my head through.
Two men at the corner of the ranger station faced away from us, their stances rigid and hands locked around assault rifles.
They eyed each other, then rushed around to the front of the house as an explosion rocked the entire structure.
Payton slapped a hand over her mouth and grabbed hold of my arm. “What was that?”
I chuckled and helped her out the window and onto the narrow stretch of rooftop.
The rough shingles held several inches of thick snow, making walking treacherous. “That would be one of Reed’s welcoming presents.”
A second, lower boom shook snow from the upper roof and sent it spiraling around us. “And that would be our friends breaching the front door. Hold onto me,” I instructed Payton as I slid out the window and made my way to the corner furthest away from the commotion.
Payton hugged my ribs as we sidled our way across the roof.
Her breaths came in shallow puffs, and when I released her to jump to the ground, she made a sound of protest and grasped my belt.
“It’s okay. I’m going to help you down.” I kissed her cheek and jumped, then spun and held out my arms. “Come on down.”
She eyed me, then the snow, and chewed her lip.
“I got you, Payton.” I motioned her forward. “Bend your knees and jump. Close your eyes if you need to.”
She sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes.
One second.
Two.
She jumped on the third, and I snagged her from the air before she hit the snowdrift beside me.
Shouts and curses mingled with a rash of gunfire. Payton flinched and shot a look over her shoulder.
“This way.” I took her hand and plunged into the woods, moving as quickly as I could with her stumbling behind me.
Once we broke through the tree line, I slowed to a walk.
Payton looked back, then stopped dead in her tracks. “We’re almost out of sight.”
“We have to keep going.” My heart pinched even before I took in her desperate expression. “They’ll be okay.”
“You can’t know that. What if they need you? We should stay here, out of sight, in case things go wrong and you need to go back and help them.” She sounded so certain of my abilities.
I knew my strengths. I could save them if I had to, but would I risk Payton for them?
My best option was for that question to never need an answer.
“Payton, I promised Maverick I would keep you safe. That means following the plan. Mav and Reed are counting on us to make it to the snowmobiles. You’re my responsibility.”
