AllFreeNovel
Share Us
An eerie sound by the door jerked Malgor’s head back.
“What’s that?” Rosalie hid the hope in her voice. “Maybe it’s a wild animal coming to rescue me.”
Malgor lowered his head to hers again. “Nobody is coming to rescue you. My soldiers incapacitated your agents. An armored truck waits a mile out to transport us to a private helicopter. Assoon as we watch the inn blow, we’ll meet them and begin our journey together.”
Rock scraped against stone again. This time, she didn’t hide her smile.
Cannon scrapedthe pointy rock down the stone wall one last time. Gun drawn, praying Rosalie heard his arrival, he threw all his weight onto his shoulder and rammed the door. Old wood splintered as it swung off its rusty hinges. Pushing inside, he caught sight of Rosalie shoving Malgor to the ground. Rosalie followed and sprung to her feet beside Cannon. Pushing her behind, he trained his gun on Malgor’s forehead.
Malgor held up the detonator. “Lower the gun, Ford, or I’ll blow your friends to the heavens. I’m sure your sister told you all about the gift I left at the inn. But if you hand over Rosalie, I’ll stop the bomb and tell my men outside not to shoot your sister. Then you can go and live your life, and Rosalie and I can live ours.”
“Stop the bomb. Now,” Cannon growled.
Malgor stroked his finger over the kill switch. “Ticktock, Ford. Make a decision. Your sister and the rest of the annoying people in this stupid town that you love, or your snow angel.”
Cannon heaved an exaggerated sigh as let the gun slip from his fingers. “Take Rosalie and leave us alone.”
“You lying creep.” She shoved from behind Cannon and whirled to face him. “I thought you cared about me.”
Cannon stopped himself from grinning at her jilted lover portrayal. “I do, but I’m sorry. You’ve known from the start that my sister comes first.” He didn’t have to force tears in his eyes to finish his thought. “I can’t lose her.”
Malgor laughed. “First, you were willing to lose your money. Now, you’re willing to lose your woman. This is playing out better than I expected.”
Rosalie turned her head to Malgor. “Shut up. This is none of your business.” She snapped her gaze back to Cannon. “I thought we had something. I’m such a fool.”
Malgor laughed harder. “We all make mistakes, my dear. Take solace in knowing that you have me to spend Valentine’s Day with.”
Cannon reached for her. “I’m so sorry. You know my sister’s life is…”
“More important than mine?”
He couldn’t answer that question. Somehow, they’d become neck and neck, not in a race for his attention, but in how much he feared living without either one of the women he loved.
Cannon shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m so sorry, Snow Angel. Julia is my world.”
“Go to hell, Ford.” Raising her knee, she thrust it dangerously close to his balls. He doubled over like she’d hit her mark. Grunting her name, he absorbed her punch to his gut as he slipped Wulf’s knife from his pocket and pressed it into her palm.
FORTY
Rosalie knew without looking whose knife she held. A strange calm mixed with adrenaline filled her as she heard Malgor’s slow steps behind her.
“You dodged a bullet, my dear. Ford’s weak and useless. You’re better off without him.”
She smiled at the strongest, worthiest man she’d ever met before she spun and sank Anya’s knife into Malgor’s neck. As if she and Cannon had been partners forever, he grabbed the detonator. Malgor’s pained gasp sounded like angels. A demented, gleeful pleasure hummed in Rosalie’s muscles and her heart as he stumbled back. Even the pain from her injuries couldn’t subdue the fighting spirit Malgor had said he loved.
The same spirit that would be his demise.
She locked her gaze with Malgor’s before she lunged forward. He howled as he swiped out with his own knife. The tip ripped through her shirt and grazed her skin. She harnessed the burn, dropped her shoulders, and plowed into his torso.
He caught her around the waist as he stumbled back and fell into the fireplace. The crack of his head on the stone rang in her ears like church bells. As he crumbled to the hearth in an unconscious heap, she heard her father cheering with the angels.
She spun to find Cannon with a gun pointed at Malgor.
“Wow. Just wow.” His mouth spread into a grin. “I had your back the whole time, but I knew you needed to be the one to deliver justice.”
“Thanks.” She allowed herself a scant second to stare at Malgor’s inert body, but she couldn’t relish her victory yet. “We need to stop that bomb.”
“How? We don’t know the code.”
