Chapter 42
Chapter Forty-Two
Claire
“I’m going to take a look,” Vance whispered. The barrage of rocks had stopped and things had grown quiet.
But another shot rang out the moment he lifted his head above the rock protecting us.
I grabbed his shirt and yanked him down. “Don’t,” I whispered, desperate.
I couldn’t lose him. Not like this.
Grim determination settled onto his face. “He’s still at the top of the rim. The way I see it, we have two options. We can try to wait him out. Maybe he’ll get spooked and leave. Someone had to have heard those gunshots.”
I nodded. “Yeah. You’re right.” There was no way Rhett and Cheyenne would stay put if they’d heard them. I looked at my watch. “We’re due to check in again in just four minutes. If we don’t, Rhett and Cheyenne will come find us, if they’re not already on their way.”
“Waiting is the safest move for us, but it puts them in danger,” he said, weighing it. “They’re civilians. Can they handle themselves in a situation like this?”
I nodded, knowing it was true. “Cheyenne’s always armed and she’s a great shot. Rhett has some martial arts training. They can handle themselves. I still haven’t told you the story of what happened to them this past summer.”
“Save it for when we get out of here,” he said, attempting a grin. “You can tell me over a bottle of scotch.”
“Deal.” It hit me that we might be about to die. I grabbed his collar and kissed him on pure impulse. None of my worries about the pain of him leaving mattered anymore. If this was our last day, I didn’t want to die knowing I’d held myself back from him.
He gripped the back of my neck with his hand as he took the kiss deeper, somehow telling me that his feelings were as strong as mine without saying a single word. But the sound of movement above had him tensing and breaking away.
“I wish I could look,” he said, cursing.
“Here.” I dug into my backpack and pulled out a small mirror.
He grinned as he took it from me. “I didn’t think you were the type to carry a mirror into the wilderness.”
“It’s a cheap, easy way to signal a helicopter,” I said, returning his grin. “Use it on a clear day and it can be seen ten miles away.”
“I like you, Claire Hawkins.” His eyes twinkled with pure affection.
I shot him a wink, even though my heart squeezed with sadness. “It’s too bad I can’t stand you.”
He smirked, then used the mirror to look around the boulder. “He’s standing,” he whispered. “Looks like he’s on his cell phone, distracted…”
I could tell he was weighing something. Alarm went through me.
Then that grim determination came back on his face, and I could read his thoughts as easily as he could always read mine.
No.
I gripped his arm. Made him look at me. “What was option two?”
But I already knew what he was thinking.
He gave me a final look, one that was full of affection, regret, and longing. Then he placed his lips back on mine, gently this time.
He was kissing me goodbye.
When he pulled away, I grabbed his face and tried to pull him back to me.
But he took my hands in his, looking deep into my eyes. “You’re going to run, Claire. Leave your pack. Go sideways—out of his line of sight—while I have him distracted. Use your hands, crawl, do whatever you need to do. But get yourself safe. Don’t come back for me, okay? No matter what.”
“No, Vance.” I shook my head, lips trembling. “We’re partners. We get out of here together. You’re not going to sacrifice yourself for me.”
He brushed his thumb across my lips. “You sacrifice yourself for everyone else all the time. It’s my turn to do the same for you.”
“Vance—” My voice broke into a sob as tears flowed down my cheeks.
But he pulled away, took one more look with the mirror, then shoved it into my hands. With a sad smile, he winked, then pulled his service weapon and stepped out from the boulder.
I lunged after him, but he was too quick. Before I could stop him, he scrambled up the hillside toward the man who was waiting to kill him.
I bit back my cry and hid behind the boulder. My heart raced and throbbed at the same time, from fear and pain that threatened to overwhelm me.
No.
It wasn’t going to end like this.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself. Then I thrust the mirror out to get a look at what was happening.
Vance had made it halfway up the hillside, going faster than anyone should on the unstable rocks. At the noise, Trey spun around, dropped his phone, and reached for his rifle. In a horrifying moment that seemed to move in slow motion, he aimed at Vance and moved his finger to the trigger.
But Vance was faster. He pointed his pistol and fired, nailing Trey’s left shoulder without breaking stride.
Trey jerked back.
Vance kept charging.
And I moved.
I pulled my own weapon and ducked out from the other side of the boulder, ignoring Vance’s instructions to go sideways.
I went straight up, parallel to the path Vance had taken.
The terrain was even more unforgiving, with gravel that sent me falling to my knees.
But I grabbed onto the branches of a desert shrub that jutted out from the rocky surface and hauled myself to my feet again, forcing myself to move.
Vance had almost made it to the top. But as his hands gripped the flat ground at the surface, a swift kick to the face sent him careening backward.
My heart nearly stopped.
But Vance held on, grasping for leverage, then hauled himself up and over the ledge.
And I kept running.
Vance stayed low this time, tackling Trey’s knees. The men fell to the ground, locked in combat.
One final push. I hauled myself to the top and ran straight for them.
The men grappled, both stretching for the rifle that lay a few feet away from their outstretched arms. Vance punched Trey in the chin, then rolled and reached for the weapon.
But Trey yanked a hunting knife from his belt.
No.
I threw myself onto him, pinning his bicep with my knees. I grabbed his wrist with both hands and slammed it onto the rocks, knocking the knife from his hand. Trey wrenched his hand from mine and grabbed my neck, squeezing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
Then Vance delivered a blow that knocked Trey unconscious.
“Are you crazy?” Vance yelled as he grabbed me, pulled me to him. “You could have been killed!”
I gasped for breath, clinging to him as tightly as he clung to me. “We’re partners,” I croaked. “We get out of here together.”