Chapter 34
Chapter Thirty-Four
Harry
Toby and I spend the next hour devising the fine details of our plan.
It’s not perfect. In fact, it’s so far from perfect that it could almost be mistaken for a Labour Party policy.
But I see from the grim determination etched on Toby’s face that he knows, just as I do, that this is our only chance.
We have much to accomplish before nightfall.
We seamlessly divide the tasks between us. After forty-two days, we have become adept at working together.
“Good luck.” Toby gives me a hard kiss before we head in different directions.
“Stay safe,” I reply.
I watch for a moment as his curly head recedes into the forest, trying to swallow the lump in my throat.
Then, I set about completing my assigned tasks. Because I am definitely not going to be the one to let the team down.
As darkness starts to fall, I arrive back at the rocks to await Toby’s return.
I’m using the knife of the multitool to shave off the top of the stick I’m holding to a fine point.
Sharper.
Sharper.
I will go into this armed with a sharpened stick in my hand.
And if someone tries to harm Toby, I will be ready for them.
The feeling welling up inside me is frightening. I thought I was civilized, refined. But after forty-two days in the wilderness, I’m not. Apparently I’ve acquired feral tendencies from the wild animals we’ve been surrounded by.
Because I will use my bare hands to tear the fucking limbs off anyone who tries to harm Toby.
Someone approaches through the undergrowth, and I immediately raise my head, my heart rate increasing.
But it’s just Toby. Unscathed, unharmed, smiling.
Relief courses through me, and before I know what my legs are doing, I’ve stood and closed the distance between us, kissing him ardently.
Toby kisses me back with equal fervor.
“Is everything in place?” I murmur against his lips.
“All set,” he assures me.
I take a deep breath as I step back from Toby to focus on the last logistics we need to discuss.
It is going to be a long night.
We wait until night has fully descended before setting off down the hill.
The full moon is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we don’t have any other light source, so the light shining from it makes it easier to navigate the now-familiar trails. But it also means we can’t use the cover of darkness to help our plan. We will have to be careful.
We creep cautiously closer to the clearing where we earlier discovered Kade and his two friends have set up camp.
Three small pup tents are clustered in a semicircle because our friendly terrorists obviously don’t understand the benefits of huddling together to stay warm.
The eerie light from the full moon casts a ghostly pallor over the scene.
One man is sitting on a stump, a gun propped up against the base. But as we watch him for a few minutes, it becomes glaringly apparent he’s nodded off.
“Should we be offended they don’t think we’re dangerous enough to need good sentries?” Toby’s breath is a whisper against my cheek.
“Feel free to complain afterward if necessary,” I whisper back.
Toby sends one more glance at the still camp.
“Right. I’m going to go practice my fire-lighting skills,” he says with a quick grin, clutching the multitool in his hand.
My chest suddenly seizes in panic. Because this is it. There might only be three of them, but those men all have guns. If something goes wrong, it could be all over for one or both of us. Permanently.
“Toby…” I urgently whisper.
He turns towards me. “What?”
How can I express everything I want to say to this man? I stare at the familiar lines of Toby’s face.
“Stay safe,” I say instead.
“You too,” he whispers.
Then it’s him closing the distance between us. It’s him who initiates the fervent kiss.
He rests his forehead on mine. “We’re a formidable team, remember?”
A choked, wet laugh boils up from deep in my throat.
“Yes, we are,” I say.
I stay still as Toby creeps away. It’s bitterly cold, reminding me why we’re taking this risk. The odds of us surviving out there without supplies and shelter are remote.
From my vantage point, I see the flicker of Toby’s first fire. Then his second. All the firewood we spent so many hours chopping, Toby spent the afternoon secreting from the lean-to and creating small piles scattered around the forest. It’s nice to know it hasn’t gone completely to waste.
His third fire flickers to life.
That’s my signal. Time for action.
Moving from tree to tree, I slip closer to the camp. Just as I reach the end of the clearing, a dry twig snaps under my foot, and I freeze.
But the sentry doesn’t even flinch from his slumber.
Toby’s right. It is a bit offensive they’ve underrated us so much they haven’t contemplated the idea we might come after them.
Hopefully, they won’t underestimate us for much longer.
I pause behind a tree twenty feet from the dwindling fire, then rummage in my jacket pocket to pull out a pinecone.
This is not any kind of pinecone though. It’s a pinecone coated with pine resin. It was one of the tasks I spent the afternoon doing. Cutting into the trunk of the pine trees to drain the sap.
Arching my arm back, I lob the pinecone straight at the campfire.
It lands with a thud on the ground just to the right.
My breath leaves me.
Bollocks.
I need to do this.
Our whole plan depends on me being able to throw a bloody pinecone into a fire. Surely, we’re not about to be thwarted at the first hurdle.
Luckily, the sentry doesn’t even twitch at the sound of a pinecone landing near him.
What would Toby say if he were here? For a moment, I can almost hear his voice in my head.
If at first you don’t succeed, chuck another pinecone.
I take a deep breath and throw the second one at the fire, landing it right in the middle.
BOOM.
It goes off like a bomb, sparks flying and the fire roaring to life.
I throw another one in for good measure, listening to the explosion with satisfaction.
The sentry is on his feet, and seconds later, the two other guys come stumbling out of their tents, torches blazing.
“Shit. Fire!”
There’s panic in their voices as they see not only their sparking campfire but all the other fires Toby has lit, which make it appear a wall of fire is descending towards their camp.
And they do exactly what Toby and I hoped they would. They run in the opposite direction of the fire, towards the lake. Only two have guns, and only one grabs his pack from inside their tent.
As soon as they’re out of sight, I’m in the campsite, rummaging in their tent, frantically trying to see if they left behind the item we need.
“Holy fuck, is that a wolf?” I hear a voice yell in terror.
Looks like us leaving the carcasses scattered around has worked to attract our furry friends. Which is hopefully driving the men to the exact place we want them.
My breath comes in ragged gasps and my heart pounds in my ears as I rummage through their gear. A spare headlamp. A sleeping bag. All useful things, but not the holy grail, not what we so desperately need.
Then, in my frantic searching, the side of my hand hits something.
I pull it out.
A satellite phone. Our ticket out of here.
I grab the phone and put it in my pocket. As I emerge from the tent, screams tear through the air.
I can’t help grinning.
Bingo.
That was what I spent the second part of my afternoon doing. Repurposing the net from the lake by placing it across the ravine Toby fell into and covering it with branches and twigs to disguise the fact it was not solid ground.
By our calculations, men distracted by wolves wouldn’t spend too much time double-checking to ensure each of their steps was secure.
Talking about the ravine, it’s time I headed there.
I race through the shadowy forest, my makeshift spear clasped in my hand. Brambles snag at my clothes, but I barely feel them. I have to get to Toby, have to make sure our plan worked, that he’s safe.
I arrive at the ravine and skid to a stop at the edge, my breath coming in sharp gasps.
Peering into the ravine, I see two lights shining down there.
Two of them. Two of them.
My heart races frantically. Because two is not three.
And we need three.
Either the third terrorist’s light was knocked out by the fall, or they are still out here somewhere.
Where the hell is Toby? The ravine was our rendezvous point, and he should have been here ahead of me.
I slip back from the ravine, heading in the direction Toby would have come from after he lit the last fire. The forest seems to hold its breath as I creep through the undergrowth, my heart pounding so loudly I’m sure it will give me away.
I’ve never moved so silently, so carefully. The night is alive with terror, the dreadful certainty rising inside me that something has gone wrong.
Then I hear it—a muffled grunt, the unmistakable sound of a struggle.
I creep to the next tree and stare into a moonlit clearing.
I recognize one of the dark figures even though the last time I saw him, he was in a pilot’s uniform.
Kade.
Holding a knife to Toby’s throat.
I can’t breathe.