Chapter 21
There were more. Lev knew it, but as he slowly walked around the cabin, he didn’t find anyone. Then he realized where they were.
He hurried back to the front of the structure as quietly as a ghost and checked the remaining bullets in the rifle.
There was only one, so he set it aside and grabbed for his pistols.
Ducking beneath one of the windows, he heard the faint thud of a standard-issue military boot on the wood.
Without a doubt, he knew they were after Reyna. He never should have left her alone.
Lev flattened his back against the cabin and listened. He picked up two distinct sets of footsteps. They were quick and efficient. Lev didn’t like waiting for them to appear, but he couldn’t chance walking in and firing, only to hit Reyna.
He could stay where he was and take his chances when they exited the cabin. But anyone with training would suspect that he’d be right where he was. He might get a shot off, but they’d gun him down quickly.
And if he were going to take Reyna back from them as well as survive, he needed to come up with a better plan.
Lev’s gaze moved to the forest. The coming twilight made it easy for him to hide. No doubt the men had night vision goggles, but it wasn’t dark enough for them yet. He pushed away from the cabin and darted to the side until he was safely behind a tree.
Methodically and carefully, he moved from one tree to the next until he was in front of the house. No sooner had he reached his destination than a man in solid black gear appeared, his rifle trained at the spot where Lev had been.
The shooter quickly switched sides and looked around for Lev before he motioned to his comrade inside the cabin. The second man appeared. He was in the same gear and had Reyna slung over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry.
Lev’s jaw clenched when he saw blood staining her bandage and spreading rapidly. The men had their guns lifted and moved them right to left and back again, looking for Lev as they jumped from the porch and started running.
Without hesitation, Lev lifted his gun and shot the first man. He went down without a sound and didn’t move again. The second soldier ran faster, even carrying Reyna. Lev sighted down his gun and fired.
The man let out a strangled cry that was cut short as he toppled to the ground. Reyna fell from his shoulders and rolled, unmoving, a few feet away. Lev kept his gaze on the downed man as he stalked toward him, gun aimed and ready to fire.
He reached the soldier only to have a rifle raised at him. Lev kicked the weapon, and the bullet went wide, striking a tree. Lev hadn’t felt such fury in many years—not since he’d gone after those who killed his mother.
The man smiled up at him. “You won’t kill me.”
Lev heard the Swedish accent. It confirmed that the Saints had suspected their choice of direction and had men waiting. It was a setback, but one Lev could work with. But first, he had to get Reyna and get out.
“Why not?” Lev asked.
The soldier laughed, though lines of strain formed around his mouth from the bullet in his thigh. “I have information you’ll want.”
“Then give it to me.”
“Give me some incentive.”
Lev had come up against all sorts of men while working for Sergei. He also knew that those working for the Saints didn’t switch sides for fear of death.
The man had his hand over his wound as blood seeped between his fingers. “I have a wife. A newborn son.”
“Then you chose the wrong side,” Lev told him.
“Let me live,” the man begged, the smile now gone.
Lev kept his gun aimed. “Give me the information.”
The soldier lunged forward with his bloodied hand to grab a gun holstered on his calf. Lev fired two quick shots into the Saint’s heart, killing him instantly.
Without another look, Lev rushed to Reyna. She had abrasions on her arms and chest from falling with nothing but her bra on, but his bandages held. He carefully lifted her and hurried back to the cabin where he worked quickly to re-stitch one of her wounds and then bandage her again.
Lev couldn’t take her out without some kind of shirt. He looked in her pack and found a black, long-sleeved tee that he put on her. Then he consolidated everything into one bag before he gathered the weapons and ammunition from the dead men.
By the time he returned, Reyna’s eyes were open. He smiled as he acknowledged the relief that surged through him so rapidly that he was suddenly lightheaded.
“Hey,” he said.
She smiled lethargically. “Hey.”
“How do you feel?” he asked as he walked to the bed and sat on the edge.
She licked her lips and swallowed. “Thirsty.”
Lev got a bottle of water and helped her lift her head so she could drink her fill. It was a good sign that she was awake and wanting a drink.
Her gaze moved past him to the dead bodies. “I missed the action.”
“It was nothing.”
“It was recent,” she said with a lift of a brow. “We need to move, don’t we?”
He wished he could tell her no, but he couldn’t. “Yes.”
“It’s getting dark, we don’t know the territory, and I’m wounded. We won’t get far.”
“We’ll be fine.”
“You should leave me.”
He looked askance at her. “No.”
“I’m only going to slow you down.”
“I got you here and tended, didn’t I?” he argued. “I took care of the men.”
Her hand moved to rest on his leg. “Thank you for all of that. However, the truth is that they know where we are. You’ve wasted too much time already. I’d leave you behind.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” He’d come to know Reyna, and he knew without a doubt that she would’ve done for him what he did for her.
Her dark gaze moved away. “It won’t do for both of us to get killed.”
“The Saints don’t want us dead.”
Her brows snapped together as her gaze returned to him. “What?”
“In the attack, I went looking for more men. While I did, two came for you.”
“What?” she asked in shock.
Lev nodded. “They had the chance to kill you, but took you instead.”
“But they shot at us earlier. I was hit.”
“Nevertheless, they were taking you.”
She gritted her teeth and tried to sit up. Lev knew better than to try and dissuade her, so he helped her instead. Reyna was breathing hard, and her face was pale again, but she managed to stay sitting on her own power.
“You need the night to rest,” he told her.
She shrugged one shoulder. “That’s not an option. We go together now, or you leave on your own.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Then we go now.”
Lev briefly thought about arguing with her, but she was right. They needed to get on the move. He rose and put the backpack on as well as the night vision goggles. Then he looped two of the rifle straps over his head while Reyna gradually moved her legs over the side of the bed.
She met his gaze when her feet were on the floor and smiled. “I can do this.”
“Have you been shot before?”
She shook her head.
He had, so Lev knew exactly how painful it was. “You lost a lot of blood. The bullet went through the meaty part of your side, thankfully.”
“In other words, I’m going to be weak.”
“You need to rest to regain your strength.”
“Something I’d gladly do if I was able, but I’m not. You continuing to tell me that doesn’t help,” she replied testily.
Lev knew she wasn’t angry at him. She was frustrated with the situation and the fact that her body wouldn’t do what she wanted it to. He’d been in that same position before, which was why he didn’t take her words to heart.
Reyna blew out a breath and set her hands on either side of her hips. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need.” He held out a palm to her.
She looked up at his hand. He could see that she wanted to refuse it, but thankfully, she accepted his offer. After she was on her feet, he shot her a smile.
“Where do we go?” she asked.
Lev walked to the open door and looked out. “I studied the map earlier. We’re less than forty minutes from the border. There’s a town five miles away. We can get a car there, or at least I’d planned on it before we were attacked.”
“The Saints will be there,” she said with a shake of her head. “We walk across the border just as we did in Poland.”
Lev looked back at her. “It’s a long walk.”
“And they’ll likely be searching the forest.”
“We’ll take as many breaks as you need.”
She nodded and took the first tentative step toward him. She winced but took another. And another and another until she was even with him.
Reyna met his gaze. “I can do this. I don’t want to fall into their hands, Lev. I can’t.”
“I won’t let them touch you,” he vowed.
She then took his hand and squeezed it before she stepped onto the porch. Before Lev followed her, he got the blanket. With her blood loss and the night temperatures, he didn’t want to chance her getting chilled and catching a fever.
He flipped the goggles down to bathe the area in green light. The terrain wasn’t easy for Reyna to traverse, but he was there to help her whenever she needed it. Many times, it was by sheer determination alone that she remained on her feet.
Their slow-going cost them three hours before they reached the border to Norway. Reyna was just about out of energy. She was breathing hard, and she favored her left side more and more. Lev needed to find a place she could rest.
He set her up against a tree with one of the rifles as he went to have a look around to see if any Saints were nearby.
Lev crossed the border and slowed his steps.
There was someone near, he knew it. He palmed his handgun and listened to the night, trying to pick up on the location and how many were out there when he heard something close.
Lev stepped around the tree and lifted his gun, only to come face-to-face with the business end of a rifle.
The old man had tufts of white hair and bushy white eyebrows. He said something in Norwegian that Lev couldn’t understand.
“I’d love to answer whatever it is you just said,” Lev replied, “but you’ll need to repeat it in English.”
“I said, what the hell are you doing on my land?” the old man stated angrily in heavily-accented English.
Lev lifted the goggles and held the old man’s gaze in the dark. He could get off a shot as he dove to the side. There was a chance the old man might miss, but the way he held his rifle told Lev that the man used it often enough that his reflexes might be better than Lev thought.
“I don’t have a choice,” Lev said.
There was a good chance the man was a part of the Saints. He could lull Lev into believing that he wanted to help, only to call in the Saints as soon as he had both Lev and Reyna. And yet, Lev needed to get Reyna to safety.
The old man raised a brow. “There’s always a choice, son. I’ve had men on my property for two days now, and I’m not going to have it anymore. If the authorities won’t help, I’ll do it myself.”
“I’m not part of the others,” Lev told him. Then, he made the decision to take a chance. “They’re after me.”
“And the woman with you.”
Lev frowned.
The old man snorted as he lowered his gun. “I saw you two an hour ago. She’s hurt.”
“Yes.”
“Then you best lower your gun and get her before the others find you.”
Lev hesitated, his weapon still trained on the old man. If he made the wrong decision here, it could be the end of them.
The old man sighed. “Son, I’m too old for this. If you want my help, you have it. But you’re going to have to trust me.”
Trust. The very thing Lev had told Reyna she needed to do. That had worked out well. He only hoped this did, as well.
“Thank you,” he said as he dropped his arm to his side.