Page 18

Chapter 17

Colin woke up to a warm, sexy woman plastered against his chest. It was about three in the morning according to the digital clock on the nightstand, but something had woken him and he wasn’t sure what it was.

His damn brain, more than likely.

Actually, it was Mari’s leg thrown over his middle as she wrapped her body around him. Her leg was tossed over his lower abdomen and oh, hell.

He shifted back slightly, making the bed squeak, and suddenly Mari’s eyes opened. The room was dim, with only the illumination from the digital clock directed at the bed.

“Everything okay?” she murmured, glancing around the shadowy room.

His gaze fell to her mouth, and god, he hated himself a little. They were sleeping in this bed together only because of the situation. He needed to keep his shit together. Not be fantasizing about— He froze as he realized something. “There’s no outside light,” he whispered. “And no fan in the bathroom going.” He’d left it on for white noise. Could be nothing, but he wasn’t taking that chance.

Eyes now wide, she lifted a finger to her mouth then reached over and grabbed the digital clock. “Batteries,” she whispered .

He eased out of bed and moved to the window where they’d eaten at the tiny table. And not for the first time he was cursing that he didn’t have a weapon with him. As he flattened himself against the wall by the window, he saw Mari putting her shoes on.

At least they were on the same page—if something was going on, they needed to be ready to run at a moment’s notice.

He didn’t see anyone lurking in the shadows but all the lights that had been illuminating the cottages before were off.

In the distance, however, he could see lights by the horse barn. They didn’t have a lot of options at this point for escape. And if someone wanted to strike at them now, they weren’t just going to sit back and do nothing.

Moving quickly, he put on his own shoes, shirt, then grabbed his backpack, leaving his dirty clothes behind.

He motioned to Mari to move with him and they both ducked into the bathroom.

“Should we call the police?” she asked.

“We can but it’ll take them forever to get out here.” This place was so far removed from town. And right now, he hadn’t even seen a threat.

Her eyes lit up. “Berlin is close by,” she whispered suddenly, as if just remembering. “She’s with two of the Redemption Harbor Security guys.” She had her phone out as she spoke but he knew before she said anything that she had no service by her disappointed expression.

He held out his own phone for her to see, the little screen the only illumination in the room now. No service. They might as well be on the moon.

“We’re out of options,” he whispered. “We can sit tight—”

“Hell no.”

Yeah, he hadn’t been planning on that either. “Or we climb out the back window and head out on foot. ”

She nodded.

“There’s a risk that someone will take us out so I’m going first. If something happens to me, shoot anyone you see with the flare gun. It might give you enough time to get away.”

It was clear that she didn’t like the sound of that, but she nodded. Then she ducked out of the bathroom before he could stop her and was back moments later, a wine bottle opener in hand. The old-school kind.

He lifted an eyebrow.

She shrugged and clutched it tightly in her hand. “Work with what you’ve got.”

Fair enough.

He grabbed a hand mirror from one of the drawers, then they both stepped into the shower together. He eased open the window inside it, grateful when it didn’t make much noise. After opening it, he waited a beat. Then, heart racing, he held out the mirror slowly to check in both directions.

He didn’t see anyone, though that didn’t mean a sniper wasn’t waiting for them. And yeah, maybe he was letting his mind run away with him, but he’d been under fire before and something was off. He felt it to his bones. There was no storm currently and only the cottages seemed to have lost power.

Walking into the unknown was a nightmare when you knew what could be waiting.

He slid off his pack and handed it to Mari. Then he motioned that he was climbing through and for her to pass it to him.

As he shimmied through the small opening, he swore he could feel a bull’s-eye on him, but as he landed on his feet he quickly took in his surroundings. Their cottage was at the end of the row, with the window facing the woods .

“Hold on,” he whispered as he took his backpack and set it down.

He moved to the edge of the building and held the mirror out again. The antebellum mansion was behind the cottage but from this angle he could see the rest of the cottages in the mirror.

No movement, but it was damn dark out so that didn’t mean anything.

By the time he turned back around, Mari was slipping through the window, butt first.

He moved fast, holding on to her hips as he helped her settle on her feet.

No one , he mouthed, pointing in the direction of the mansion.

She nodded and pointed toward the parking area around the front of their cabin. The horse barn was past the parking lot and he had a feeling their best escape option was that way.

He stepped in front of her, mirror out and barely slid it around the corner—and froze at what he spotted.

The two people they’d seen arrive in the Land Rover were at the cottage’s front door, weapons in hand. Both had silencers. One man, one woman. The guy was bending down, likely picking the lock.

Colin plastered himself to the back of the wall and held up a finger to his mouth.

Eyes wide, Mari nodded.

He was going to wait until they were inside, then they’d have to make a break for it and hope they weren’t seen. At least it was dark outside, with the half-moon and stars—which were a lot brighter out in the country—their main source of illumination.

He waited a beat. Two. Three. Then he held the mirror out again and saw the armed individuals slipping inside.

He leaned in close to Mari and whispered, “Two people from the Land Rover have weapons. We need to run for the barn, try to find a way to escape now. ”

Jaw tight, she nodded.

He stepped out from behind cover first, his heart racing. They’d shut the door behind them.

“Now.”

They sprinted full speed across the small parking lot toward the connecting path. He felt like they were as loud as elephants but there was no way around it.

They needed to put distance between them and those assassins, or whoever they were, and fast.

Sprinting flat out, they moved farther around the path toward the horse barn. Once they reached a fence line with a natural hedge of what looked like miniature Christmas trees, he ducked down, pulling Mari with him.

She was still clutching her wine bottle opener with the jagged corkscrew held out like a blade.

“Did you see anyone else?” he asked.

Breathing uneven, she shook her head.

He peered between two of the mini trees and spotted the couple by the back of their vehicle. Colin and Mari were too far away to hear, but the man pointed toward the woods and the woman took off. Then the man headed in the direction of the curving path, no doubt heading for the barn. Because where else would they go?

“In here,” he murmured, and they both ducked behind the hedges. “If I get a chance, I’m taking him out.” Because his hands were as much a weapon as anything else.

Mari looked like she wanted to argue, but nodded and ducked down.

He slid off his backpack and crouched low. The prickly foliage was the perfect cover, even if it jabbed through their clothes.

Colin heard the man approaching, his steps making quiet footfalls on the worn dirt path. The man moved past them .

“Should we follow?” Mari whispered once they couldn’t hear him anymore.

Colin shook his head. Though he’d love to take out the threat, he preferred they didn’t have any contact with either of the unknown targets. They could be working with others for all they knew.

And this way these assailants wouldn’t know when they’d left. Hopefully it would give him and Mari an advantage.

About five minutes later the man returned down the path, talking quietly. Maybe into an earpiece.

“They’re not at the barn, and the horses were undisturbed.” Then he paused and said, “They couldn’t have gone far on foot.”

Colin and Mari waited another sixty seconds, then cautiously exited the hedges. Once they saw it was clear, they raced toward the barn. Inside, there were a handful of horses, including Biscuit.

One of them snuffled slightly at their presence, but seemed otherwise unbothered by them. As Colin debated if they should take two of the horses and escape, Mari nodded at the final stall with an oversized door. No horse inside, but there was a side-by-side and a small ATV.

And bless these people, the keys were hanging on the hook by the door. He snagged both of them, then disabled the side-by-side as Mari, clearly understanding, slid onto the front of the ATV. It was smaller which meant they could go places the side-by-side wouldn’t allow.

As soon as he slid on behind her, she started the engine.

They’d just given away their location, but there was no way around it. And no time to lose.

Wind rushed over them as Mari revved the engine and they shot out of the open back door of the barn. He glanced over his shoulder as they raced along the wide pathway toward the tree line.

Right as they disappeared into the woods, he spotted the two gun-toting assholes racing toward the barn.