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“My best guess? There’s no cell reception here. They’ve got to go back down a bit to get phone service. They’re going to need more men to help with the search.”
“They’re coming back?” she asked, her throat closing at the thought.
“Yes. But we won’t be here.”
She frowned. “Where are we going to be? Are we going to hike through the snow?” That was not going to be fun. She was already wet and her legs were frozen. Hiking through the snow would be a nightmare of epic proportions.
“No. We’re not hiking. Stay here until I signal you,” he mumbled. He put the backpack next to her and then went over the hill and down through the trees moving quickly and quietly.
Allegra grabbed the backpack and tucked it down beside her. She tried to watch Xavier but she quickly lost sight of him. What would happen to her if he got hurt or worse? It would be her fault. This was all her fault. The thought of him being hurt or dead because of her was too much. Her body trembled violently. She tried hard to stifle her emotions. It would be easier to find a diamond in a haystack.
She closed her hands into fists and directed her anger at the person who hired Simon and the killer below. This mess washisfault. And it had to be a man since she was the only high-rankingfemaleofficer at the company. Movement in the corner of her eye set her heart pounding. A deer walked among the trees.
She stared down the hill at the man with the gun. She could just barely make him out through the snow. If it wasn’t for his flashlight, he’d be totally invisible. He was leaning against the fuselage facing her, but she didn’t see Xavier anywhere. Had he left her? No, he wouldn’t do that. She put her faith in that. Looking around frantically, she tried to locate him but the search was fruitless. The snow was coming down in clumps now and shivers had set in. Where the hell was Xavier?
Wait…was that movement among the trees? Maybe. She couldn’t be sure. It could also be the deer. Or it could be the men who’d ridden in on snowmobiles returning on foot. Allegra held her breath, but the snow obscured everything.
Then suddenly Xavier burst out from the tree line and ran up to the gunman just as the man swung around. They seemed to be fighting. The flashlight landed in the snow and then the man landed beside it. The man was on top of Xavier, pummeling him. Then he appeared to try to swing his gun around but Xavier popped up and flipped the guy, giving Xavier the upper hand on top. He seemed to have trapped the man’s hands somehow or the man was still holding onto the gun because Xavier managed to hit the man without his fighting back. He hit him several times and after a moment, Xavier rose.
Hovering over the prone man, Xavier was doing something but she couldn’t figure out what. Binoculars or even a cell phone would’ve been good right about now. Xavier finally stood and pulled the gun off the man. Was he dead? She didn’t like to think about that because her first instinct was to go down and help him. That was her oath.Do no harm.
Xavier slung the gun over his shoulder and then walked over to the snowmobile and got on. He started forward. Wait, was he leaving without her? Deserting her here in this white hellscape? She half rose from her crouch but halted before she could cry out to him. No one would blame him for abandoning her. Because of her, he’d gotten into a fight for his life with Simon and then one-upped that with a plane crash. It was all her fault he had to fight with the man with the gun.
Xavier came to a stop directly below her. He stood and flashed the beam of the flashlight in her direction. Her knees went weak. She tried to scramble up the small hill but she tripped and slid back. Taking a couple of steadying breaths, she stood again, grabbed the backpack, made her way up the little hill and then headed down the hill on the other side. Why was the trip steeper going down than it had been coming up?Less adrenaline, I guess.Trying to hurry, she slipped and slid down about ten feet on her butt until she managed to catch a tree. She stood again and picked her way down the last little bit. On flatter ground, she ran the rest of the way through the trees to Xavier.
“Get on,” he said over the sound of the snowmobile as she came out of the trees. She went over and slid on behind him, putting the backpack over both shoulders. He swung the gun so it was in front of him and then turned slightly. “It’s going to be really fucking cold just so you know. Make sure your coat is done up and if you have gloves, now is the time to put them on. I’ll try and find us some help but it might be a while. There’s no path and I want to go in the opposite direction as the men did.”
She wanted to respond but she was already a woman-sized popsicle. Instead, she just nodded as she pulled her gloves and scarf out of her coat pockets. They were a matching set. She wrapped the red cashmere scarf around her neck and pulled it up over her ears, tucking the ends inside her coat. Pulling on the leather gloves, she wasn’t sure how the cashmere on the inside, which was perfect in Vienna, would do now. It didn’t matter; they were all she had and they’d be better than nothing. She adjusted herself to make sure her coat was underneath her and sat down gently. Her butt hurt from her fall. Glancing down at her legs, she cursed her decision to wear a skirt. It was long but still, it would’ve been better if she’d worn pants. Of course, when she’d dressed this morning she was more concerned with tracking down Damon than being in a plane crash.
Xavier had hauled on the man’s gloves. He gave one last check over his shoulder at her and then started forward. She jolted and quickly threw her arms around his waist then ducked low to hide from the wind. Xavier turned the snowmobile around, whizzing by the fuselage and then out into the meadow beyond it. The wind whipped the snow, lowering her body temperature even more. The collar of her coat was up as high as she could make it but the bitter cold made her ears tingle. Depending on how long they had to be exposed this way, frostbite was a serious concern.
They hit the trees again and Xavier slowed their pace. Without a path to follow, he had to be careful as they wound through the trees. Despite the fact they weren’t putting lots of distance between them and the plane crash, Allegra was overjoyed they were in the trees. The canopy blocked some of the snowflakes and the wind. Not that she was warm but she wasn’t nearly as cold as she’d been. Hugging Xavier was keeping her chest warm. It was also reassuring. He was so solid and strong. It was lulling her into a false sense of security. She knew they weren’t out of the woods.No pun intended. Holding on to Xavier just gave her the sense that she wasn’t alone.
She frowned. Was that the whine of an engine? She cocked her head trying to listen. Xavier suddenly came to a stop and killed the engine. The sound of another snowmobile met her ears. Xavier glanced over his shoulder and their gazes locked.Shit.The men with guns were back. Her heart slammed against her ribs. Now what the hell were they going to do?
CHAPTER7
Xavier cursed his luck.There was no way the guys with guns could’ve found them already. He would’ve heard them earlier. Did they go along some other path and were now coming back toward the crash site? It just didn’t make sense.Focus. Lean into your training.
It was possible they’d already called in reinforcements and had gone back to the crash site. He was sure they weren’t following his tracks because the snow was heavy enough to blot out the evidence of their exit by now, at least before they’d hit the tree line. But if they were doing some sort of patterned search then they could just stumble on them.Shit.
The buzzing changed pitch. “Hold on,” he said back over his shoulder and then started the snowmobile again. He steered cautiously through the trees. It was a damn good thing there was a lot of snow. There was no way to get the machine through otherwise. He was sure they were riding on top of a lot of small bushes.
He came to a stop and peered through the trees to his left. Jesus…was that… A cabin. He moved forward again but very cautiously, keeping parallel to the cabin. He steered through the line of trees until he was in front of the cabin. Turning off the engine, he listened. The sound of the other snowmobiles was fading. Going away from them.
Definitely some kind of grid or pattern search going on. The noise echoed back to him from various directions, as if they’d all separated to cover more ground. But that strategy also made it easier for Xavier to fight them off. It would be hard with his left arm not working well but it was a possibility. He’d done it twice today already. The guy back at the crash site had gotten off lucky. He’d knocked him out but hadn’t killed him. Too bad they’d fallen on his radio and busted it. He’d love to know what the hell the other gunmen were doing right now.
Turning to face Allegra, his breath clogged in his throat. Her eyes were huge and her teeth were chattering. Her lips were bluish in the beam of the flashlight. He needed to get her warm damn quick or she’d be in serious trouble. Hypothermia was no joke.
It could be a mistake to approach the cabin, but he didn’t really see another option. They could find the driveway and assume it led to a road that would take them down the mountain, but the snowmobile’s gas gauge read about a third of a tank. They wouldn’t make it down before they ran out. Being stuck outside in the storm for the night was the second worst option, first being caught by the men searching for them.
Glancing down at his left hand, he cursed silently. It was numb and he wasn’t going to get any feeling back into it anytime soon. He needed to work on it and he wouldn’t be doing that in the snow.
“We’re going to approach the cabin and ask for help. Our car got stuck in the snow and we got lost. We’re tourists. You understand me? Do not mention the crash or anything about it. We’re here on holiday from the US. We live in…Where are you from?”
“N-n-new J-Jersey.”
“We’re from New Jersey.”
