had fired the shot? The other man in the cabin? Liam turned around and spotted him on the other side of the sofa, holding a gun. Liam scrambled over to him.
His lips twisted into a weak grin, and his hand went limp, dropping the gun.
Liam recognized him—Enzo Astor’s bodyguard. Jack Anders. Kelvin said he was an undercover agent. “Stay with me!”
Liam found the gunshot wound at the agent’s side and put pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Jack’s hands were covered in blood too. He must have been trying to stop the bleeding. Maybe his efforts would be enough to save his life. With one hand pressing the wound, Liam tried with his other to call for help on his cell, but he couldn’t get a signal.
Even if he could, out here in the middle of nowhere during this raging blizzard, he worried the response would be delayed too long to save the agent’s life. Liam put away his cell and used the comm in the helmet to contact Ivan. “He’s gone. Malcom Fox is dead. But we still need emergency services here. An agent is down too. Please get help!”
“I’m turning around,” Ivan said.
“No. You get Rae back to safety.”
“I can help whoever has been shot. My pack has a medical kit. Gunshot wound powder too. I’m coming back.”
Liam wanted Rae safe, but he also needed to save Jack Anders’s life. “You’re going to make it,” he said to the man as he kept pressure on his wound. “You saved me. I’m going to guess that you were trying to save Rae too. So you’re not going to die on me.”
Anders squeezed Liam’s hand. “I’m too stubborn to die.”
The snowmobile returned. Light blazed into the cabin, illuminating the room. The door swung open as Ivan ran in and dropped next to Liam with his pack. Rae ran in behind him, shutting the door, and began building a fire in the fireplace.
“The power’s out or I’d turn on the lights for you,” she said.
Probably had a generator, but he wasn’t going out in that storm to get it started.
When Ivan had dressed Anders’s wound, he looked at Liam. “With all the backcountry wilderness stuff, you never know what’s going to happen, so I have all the certifications. I have a medical emergency kit on me at all times.”
“That includes gunshot wound powder?”
He grinned. “We have hunters around here. People like that. I’m always prepared.”
“I can’t thank you enough for what you did tonight, Ivan.”
“No thanks required. Now, I think it’s okay to move him. Let’s get him onto a bed, and I’ll start an IV. He needs fluid.”
They moved Anders into one of the rooms. Ivan pulled more supplies from his ample kit and started an IV.
“You really do have everything,” Liam said.
“I’m glad I am able to help him.” He crossed his arms, satisfied with his work.
Anders grinned up at Ivan. “Thanks, man.”
Liam stood on the opposite side of the bed. “We owe you. You came here to protect Rae, didn’t you?”
He nodded but appeared too weak to elaborate.
“Rest now,” Ivan said. “Save your strength. I have no idea how long we’ll have to wait out this storm.”
Rae stood in the doorway hugging herself.
“At first, I thought you were the one who drugged me,” she said to Ivan. “When I woke up here, I remembered that you’d given me a protein bar, which I ate right before I started feeling funny. But then I found Wayne in the cabin, and I remembered that he’d given me a bottled water. He brought me here. I heard him telling someone on the phone that he was done moving cargo and doing the man’s dirty work. It sounded like he’d been blackmailed.”
“We figured some of it out,” Liam said.
“Ivan told me that Zoey is safe.” But the fear in her eyes remained.
Liam slowly approached and took her in his arms. “It’s going to be okay. It’s over, Rae. This time it’s over, once and for all.” Liam would never have to save Rae from Malcom Fox’s grip again.
As he held her, relief infused him. Rae had survived and was no longer in danger. Zoey was safe now too. Nothing else mattered.
But Liam couldn’t help himself. A new fear rose up in him.
Realization dawned—without Rae, Liam was lost.
He feared that Rae would go back to her world and leave him here alone in his.
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR
Monday, 8:45 p.m.
Jackson Hole Mountain Ski Lodge
Maybe I can live up to your reputation, after all, Dad.