She didn’t say a word as her muscles tensed in preparation. She’d do what he said and hope she didn’t fail him. She wanted to survive. She needed to.
Without further delay, they were off. After only a few paces, she heard shouting to her right and then Shane lifted his gun and began shooting. Gripping his belt for all she was worth, she focused on putting one foot in front of the other as she ran behind him. She knew he could move faster, that he was slowing his pace for her. As much as she wanted to leave, she was going as quickly as she could. She was grateful he seemed aware of her limits.
They made it to a wire fence as more shots were fired. She didn’t look behind her, but just focused on Shane’s back as he opened the fence and thrust her through. She stumbled to the ground and looked behind her as Shane kneeled, holstering his handgun and quickly raising his rifle and firing several shots.
The gunfire had alerted Gianni’s other men that there was trouble, and soon doors were opening and more men ran around the house, intent on taking both her and Shane out. Now, they didn’t care about information they could obtain from her; they cared only about stopping her escape.
“Run straight ahead!” Shane yelled without turning, still firing as two more men came into view.
She knew she was moving slower than he was, knew she couldn’t help him, so she stumbled to her feet and began running as hard as she could. She tried to inhale through her nose so the breath wouldn’t freeze in her lungs, but she couldn’t help but gasp in her desperation for oxygen.
She didn’t know how long she ran, but it seemed each time one foot hit the snow-covered ground, another shot fired off. If something happened to Shane, she wouldn’t be able to forgive herself. Maybe she should turn back around and help in some way.
No. That would end up getting him killed because he’d be focused on her, not on the enemy. She staggered forward, face-planting into the snow, but she refused to stay down. She rose again quickly as she told herself to just keep moving, keep heading in the direction he’d told her to run.
“You’re almost there,” Shane said as he suddenly came up behind her and lifted her up, cradling her to his chest as he kept running.
“Are they dead?” she gasped.
“Not all of them,” he replied. The two of them were in the shadows, safe from a direct hit, but a stray bullet could still find them. They weren’t safe yet.
Just as they reached his snowmobile, there was a loud explosion, the night lighting up and making her jump as Shane put her down on the seat before climbing on in front of her.
“It’s not over, Rachel. We have to move. Hang on to me.” Shane started the engine and threw the machine into gear, snow flying out behind them as he jolted them forward.
Rachel held tightly to Shane, though she couldn’t help but turn around and look at the mess behind them. The house she’d been held in for two days was nothing but a great ball of fire, and it lit up the night sky, making it easy to see the remaining men scrambling from the windows and flailing about on the ground.
She was safe.
“I’m getting you out of here,” Shane yelled over the scream of the whipping wind.
“Thank you, Shane,” she whispered, more to herself than to him. She leaned into him as they sped away.
It was almost over.
Chapter Forty-Nine
Adriane approached the compound with Rafe right behind him. Looking in all directions, they spied Shane rushing through the yard with Rachel clinging to his belt.
Adriane immediately jumped up, ready to run to her, catch her up in his arms and take her away from here — far away. Rafe snatched his coat and pulled him back.
“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” Adriane snarled, prepared to throw a punch.
“Look!” Rafe growled, trying to keep his voice down.
That’s when Adriane saw two men come around the corner of the house and spot Shane and Rachel. His breath caught in his throat as the men lifted their weapons, aiming them directly at the woman he loved.
Before the men were able to get off any shots, Shane fired, nailing both men, while he continued moving rapidly toward the safety of the fence.
“We need to help them,” Rafe hollered, no longer trying to be quiet as shots rang out in the cold winter night.
Adriane and Rafe raised their weapons and charged forward as Shane and Rachel reached the fence. They were too far away to help in the actual escape, but they could take out the men trying to shoot the pair. Adriane breathed a sigh of relief as Rachel slid through the opening and began running. Then he lost her to the night as he faced the house again and shot a man in a second-story window who was aiming straight in the direction Rachel had just run. The man went down, screaming as he fell into the snow, his blood turning the ground red.
Just as Rafe and Adriane moved through the fence, there was an explosion, the blast so powerful that the waves hit them both, sending them flying backward in the snow as the sound echoed through the mountains.
“What in the hell was that?” Rafe shouted as he staggered to his feet.
“I don’t know,” Adriane replied, also struggling up.
They looked toward the house, which was now up in a ball of flames, and looked for the source of the blast. They hadn’t launched any explosives. Had Gianni destroyed his own place?
Creeping forward, they noticed the propane lines.
“A bullet must have hit the propane tank,” Rafe said as he cautiously looked around, searching for any more threats. It seemed the explosion had taken care of the rest of the men.
The next several minutes seemed endless as the house burned bright and the screaming of the enemy men who were still barely alive filled the air.
As Rafe and Adriane, who could count about fifteen men, dead and dying, scoped out what was left of the building, Adriane was torn. He wanted nothing more than to follow after Shane right now, to get ahold of Rachel and never let her go, but he had to make sure the threat was gone.
He couldn’t stop until he saw Gianni’s cold, dead face.
“Move cautiously,” Adriane said; the two of them stood up and crept forward.
They moved through the yard, the house now fully engulfed in flames and casting an eerie glow on the night. Adriane searched the faces of each of the men, frustration mounting when he didn’t see his brother among them.
“Gianni! Where in the hell are you! Come out and face me like a man!” Adriane called, his voice echoing through the mountains.
“Careful, Adriane,” Rafe warned.
“Time for being careful is long over,” Adriane replied, his eyes almost wild.
“I understand, but it doesn’t look like he’s here. Maybe he never was.”
“No. He’s here. I can feel it. He’d never have sent Rachel here alone. He trusts no one, not even those he hires. Rachel means less than nothing to him; she is merely a means of getting his way. But still, he wouldn’t leave her in the hands of these guys — not until he’d gained his objective.”
It had been a long time since Adriane had been with his brother, but he knew the man hadn’t changed that much in their years apart. Gianni used those he could and condemned the world as a pack of fools. But this time he was the fool, for he never should have pushed Adriane to this point.
“Come out now, Gianni!”
Only silence greeted him.
“We need to get back to the meeting place,” Rafe said, a new urgency in his voice.
“He couldn’t have gotten away,” Adriane said, frantically searching the yard, not ready to give up. Gianni had to be there.
“What if he did? What if he ambushes them?”
Adriane halted at Rafe’s words and turned to face him. “Let’s go,” he said.
