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I kissed Oz hard and held onto the back of his head. “Oz, please, go. If I have to worry about you, I won’t be able to focus.”
It was a low blow, but I knew it would work.
“I’ll get help, Jake,” Oz said, his voice shaking. “I’ll get help,” he cried, as he started backing away from me. I could see in his eyes that he knew it wasn’t as easy as that. But he was grasping onto anything he could that would give him the hope he needed.
“I love you,” I said softly. I held his gaze a moment longer, then he was turning and running, his moves hampered by the snow. His red coat stood out like a fucking beacon for a few seconds, but then the pine trees swallowed him up. I waited at the edge of the trees long enough for the large snowmobiles to appear over the ridge. There were two of them, but they were too far away for me to see if either or both of the machines had more than one person on them. I had to assume they both did, for a possible total of four assailants. When they sped up and headed right at me, I took off into the woods and headed north, away from Oz.
My lungs burned as I stalked through the snow and tried to figure out the best way to hold the men off. They wouldn’t be able to maneuver the snowmobiles through the densely packed trees, so they’d abandon them. That would put us on somewhat equal footing, but with only one bullet left and no backup ammo, the gun on its own wouldn’t do me much good.
I scanned the horizon as I stomped through the snow. My muscles protested, but I ignored the pain. I heard the engines cut out behind me. Fear clawed at me, but I pushed it back.
Just keep them away from Oz long enough for him to get away.
A tiny part of me reminded myself that I could end this whole thing by just turning around and giving myself up, but my instinct to survive was too strong. Even though I knew in my brain how all this would end, my heart wanted another chance.
To see my family and friends.
But mostly just to be with Oz one last time. Hear his laugh, see his smile, watch his eyes light up as he showered me and his crazy little dog with love that was so uniquely… him.
My eyes fell on a large outcropping of rocks, and I instinctively knew it was the place I’d make my last stand. I quickly rushed past the rocks enough so it would look like I’d gone right by them, then backtracked, careful to step into my own tracks until I reached the lowest boulder and pulled myself up. I climbed up to the top of the pile and dropped down to my stomach. The rocks didn’t give me a huge height advantage, but hopefully it would be enough.
I was relieved to see only three figures appear, but their guns were drawn as they scanned the woods around them, and the reality of their three weapons against my one bullet came crashing down on me. Unfortunately, they’d also been smart enough to split up.
At best, I’d only be able to take out two with my plan.
But two down still gave me a fighting chance.
As the men got closer, I was forced to drop my head so they wouldn’t see me. My heart was pounding in my chest, and it took everything in me to focus on the sounds of their footsteps as they moved clumsily through the snow.
“Where is he?” one of the guys muttered. “Fuck, it’s cold.”
“Here,” another voice said. “His tracks lead up this rise.”
As the footsteps began passing beneath the rocks below, I lifted my head so I could see better. Two men were directly beneath me. But where was the third?
“Above you! On the rocks—”
A gunshot whizzed past me, and I instinctively fired at the third guy who’d called out my location to the other two. I didn’t wait to see if my bullet hit its mark. A grunt a split second later told me it had. Before the other two guys could react, I launched myself off the rocks. One of the men pointed his gun at me, but my body slammed into his before he could pull the trigger. The gun flew from his hand and ended up buried in the snow. I was off the guy in a heartbeat. The second guy had gone down too, but he was still armed so I kicked at his weapon. I managed to disarm him, but he swept his leg out, taking me down, then he was climbing on top of me. His hands went around my throat and I instantly panicked, but between my need to survive and all the self-defense classes I’d taken over the years, my body reacted instinctively, and I went for the guy’s eyes. He cried out in pain. I managed to slam my fist into his side a few times. His weight fell off me, and I quickly scrambled to my feet.
