BOOM!
BOOM!
The second one followed the first. Screams of the men who’d been taken out by the explosives echoed in the mountains. Dresden was hitting them from both points.
Ella sprinted to the trees, feet sure in the snow. She hit the edge of the forest before Jude.
A bullet gouged out a slice of snow to his right. Jude turned, went to a knee, lifted his rifle, aimed in the direction the shot had come from, and fired.
A shout rose as the shooter fell. Jude eyeballed the scope and got off two more shots, two more kills, before he slung his weapon over his back and took off after Ella.
More shots peppered his path.
“Run, Ella. Keep running,” he called out.
Then he heard a sound that froze his heart. Ella cried out, the sound cut off as fast as it had split the air.
Jude pumped his legs, chasing that cry. Behind him, Dresden and his men fired at will on Jude’s location. In front of him loomed a small drop-off that Jude feared Ella had gone over.
He slid to the edge and peered down. Ella had landed on a tree trunk about three feet below him. She was sprawled over the trunk, her weapon and bag falling off her back. Her eyes were closed, and she was squeezing the trunk with her arms and legs.
“Let the bag and weapon go, Ella,” he said.
“I don’t want to drop Chica,” Ella called back.
“Ella, do you trust me?” he asked.
Behind him, hell was being unleashed. Dresden had indeed come prepared for a war.
“Yes,” she replied instantly.
“Drop the damn bag. Do it now.”
She dropped the bag with a soft cry.
“Now slither off that trunk and get on the ground, woman,” Jude demanded.
She did as he asked and looked up at him in confusion. She’d only fallen about a foot to the ground.
“Run, Ella,” he told her. “Run and don’t stop until King gets here.”
“Where are you going?” she asked, fear a tremor in her voice as she grabbed her pack and gun. No way was his woman going to leave that damn cat.
“Talk later, baby,” he said as he ducked the shots coming through the trees. “Run!”
He didn’t look to see if she’d done as he asked. He rose, turned, and began firing, reloading, and firing again.
“Don’t die,” she pleaded over the ear mic.
He couldn’t respond. He ducked behind a rock and prayed that King got there soon.
Just then, the night exploded, the sounds of men crying out in pain echoing in the air around Jude. Another explosion, and the trees in front of Jude toppled, fire ripping through the night.
Jude didn’t question it. He just slithered down the small rise and followed Ella’s path. He ran until he reached Ella and then they both ran, down the mountain, through the creek, and through the trees.
In the distance the whump-whump-whump of helicopter blades broke the silence of the lightening sky. Jude pushed Ella down behind some boulders and pulled out his satellite phone.
It was ringing.
“Goddamn it, Keeper. Where the hell are you?” King demanded.
“Heading south, down the mountain. I’m heading toward a shed that’s about five miles from my current location. Head southwest of the coordinates I gave you, and you’ll find the shed. Is that you in the chopper?”
“No, that’s Black. I just blew Dresden’s men to kingdom come. No sign of Dresden yet. There’s no sign of any more men, Jude.”
“We’ll be at the shed,” Jude said and disconnected.
“Let’s go, Ella,” he called. “Follow me, baby. The cavalry’s arrived.”
“Thank you, God,” she breathed out as she stood.
It took them about an hour to reach the shed. Ella didn’t falter, and Jude was so proud of her resilience. The shed rose out of the foggy morning, a silent emissary offering safety. He urged her to the back of the shed and put a finger to his mouth, shaking his head.
She nodded. She wouldn’t move.
Then he stepped around the side of the shed and whistled.
An answering whistle rent the air. King stepped out of the trees. Jude almost went to his knees.
Instead, he reached deep, adrenaline close to failing him, and went back to Ella.
He pressed her body against the shed. “You’re safe, baby.”
She gazed up at him, the low light of a snowbanked morning kissing her features. “I never doubted it, Jude.”
“King’s here. He’s going to get you home,” Jude whispered at her ear.
She grabbed his shoulders. “Where are you going?”
“Hunting.”
He looked to his left and saw King approaching. He didn’t look at Ella again, afraid he’d go with her. He knew now, more than ever, that he had to eliminate Dresden. Ella wouldn’t be safe until that bastard was ashes in the wind.
“Don’t leave me.” She whispered the plea.
Jude didn’t respond, just pulled away and stepped to King, who reached out. Jude clasped the man’s forearm.
“Don’t be brave,” King commanded.
“Be accurate,” Jude responded immediately.
“Hooyah.” King stepped around Jude and walked to Ella.
“Damn it, Jude!” Ella cried out behind him.
“Let him go, Ella,” King said softly.
Jude began walking, shedding her pleas, shedding most of his humanity. He was about to hunt down a man and do his best to kill him. That required a level of animal Jude couldn’t affect if he didn’t drown out Ella’s voice.
“Dresden is mine,” she demanded on a shout. And then, “Come back to me.”
Jude walked away into the trees, blending seamlessly. He’d track Dresden, but he had a feeling the man was running even now. Jude didn’t care how far he had to travel or how long. Ella would be safe with King.
And contrary to what Ella thought, Dresden was all Jude’s.
Chapter 19
“It’s good to see you again, Ella.”
Ella glanced at the hand held out in front of her face and reached for it. She was encased in ice, but she could do this—look at the woman she’d helped Dresden and Savidge go after. She could do it and act like she wasn’t ashamed to have confirmed the other woman’s identity to a monster. An act of desperation,
