Page 47 of Holiday Hostage
Knowing why he turned back and ended up shot didn’t make it right, but it helped me understand. “Come on. We’re almost there.”
“Almost.” Reed hustled forward a step. “I almost had a shot at him, Mav. Almost had him dead and out of our lives once and for all.”
Once and for all. It was a nice idea. “Reed, he’s an asshole and a horrible commander, but I don’t want you to put yourself in danger for me. Not for this.”
“It’s justice.” Reed had his mind made up.
I could talk all night and into the next day, and I wouldn’t change his mind.
Reed might be the most stubborn of all three of us. Once he locked onto an idea, nothing deterred him.
The danger to himself didn’t matter.
The court-martial never bothered him the way it did me.
Sunlight cut through the trees and glittered on the heaps of snow all around us.
I changed our angle of approach and stopped to check behind us.
“They’re not going to find us.” Reed winced and tried to move his shoulder.
“We’ll take a break once we reach the snowmobiles. Tarron will take care of that shoulder when we catch up to him and Payton.”
A hitch in my heartbeat sent a tremble into my fingers. I clenched them around Reed’s jacket to stop the shuddering feeling.
“They’ll be waiting for us.” He sounded so certain that I grinned.
We continued forward, every step taking us closer to safety. My stomach twisted. Jack Wilson was behind us. What if…
No.
I couldn’t leave Reed behind and go back to do exactly what I told Reed not to do.
Payton was counting on us to meet up with her and Tarron.
She deserved to have all of us protecting her.
“We can’t stay much longer, Payton.” Tarron’s words were so low I almost missed them.
The last of the light faded from the trees, leaving us in a perpetual gloom. I longed to rush forward and shout that we were almost there.
“I’m not leaving.” Payton’s voice had a tone I already recognized.
I imagined her squared off with Tarron, arms crossed and eyes flashing.
The thought brought a grin that pinched my frozen cheeks.
My orders to get her to safety took precedence over everything else I might want.
“I have orders to get you to safety,” Tarron tried. Bless him, the poor man tried to use reason.
Payton was having none of it. “You’ll have to knock me out and kidnap me all over again.” A crush of steps gave away her location as she moved in the snow. “Are you willing to do that, Tarron?”
Reed and I shared a look. Tarron would die before he did anything to hurt a woman. Especially a woman like Payton.
My heart thundered, the swelling appreciation for Payton making my coat stretch taut over my chest as I tried to breathe.
“Give them a few more minutes.” Payton cajoled with a quiet and watery plea that tore at my heart. “Can we go back to check on them?”
