alive, when—or if—you’d return, I’d go out of my fucking mind.”
He palmed the back of her head and let his forehead fall against hers, sighing a foggy puff of surrender. “Okay.”
He could tell himself she’d be safer with him than stuck alone in the wilderness as a novice camper. He could make a convincing case that he might need her help with Megan, or to act as a lookout. He could argue that JJ’s men might find her here alone and unprotected and do…things he couldn’t even bring himself to ponder.
But ultimately, he just wanted them to stay together.
He had this—probably misguided—feeling, superstition maybe, that they’d be safer with each other than alone. Honestly, there were no great options. Might as well keep her close as long as possible.
She pressed her cool, dry lips to his and he fell into the kiss, buoyed by her touch, her taste, the hunger that coursed through him. If they survived, he was going to beg her to go someplace where they could be naked for a week, nonstop.
Their tongues wrestled desperately. He wanted to strip her bare and lay her in the snow and love her until neither of them could see straight. Instead, he gave her one last hard kiss before releasing her, both of them catching their breath as they stared into each other’s eyes.
Ten minutes later, he finished stashing everything in the tent and looked at her, more afraid for someone else than he’d ever been in his life. “Ready?”
Steady. He couldn’t afford to lose focus now. The stakes were too high.
She nodded, looking a little goofy wearing the cut-off sleeves of his yellow rain jacket as gaiters to keep the snow out of her boots. The snow pants he’d presciently shoved into his bag at the last minute now protected him. The cold was bad enough. Getting wet would be worse.
Lindsey nodded and they tromped toward the trail.
Todd had been right about the difficulty of walking through the snow long distance. Unlike sand—which was hard on the calves, shifting under the feet with each step—the snow required Lindsey to lift her knee with each step. Thirty minutes in, her hip flexors starting protesting, but she stretched a bit and kept going.
The tree boughs lining the path hung low, laden with their frosty bounty, dripping under the sun’s increasing glare. Small animal tracks, branches, and leaves marred the otherwise pristine white ground.
Their shoes squeaked through the snow, almost obliterating the sounds of their harsh breaths. How were they going to sneak up on the compound? Between the noise and full daylight, they had little chance of a stealth approach.
Todd had located a different path on his map to avoid the section of trail that had disintegrated. By the time they could see the cluster of trees surrounding the small cabins, they’d been walking for nearly ninety minutes. Sweat trickled down her sides and snaked along her spine, her body finally warm from their exertion. And nerves.
Lindsey’s blood surged in her ears as they slowed and crept toward the collection of small cabins, carefully lifting their feet with each step to keep their noise level below that of the wind in the trees. She winced with every crunch.
Was Megan still here? Still alive?
Todd led her through the forest, somehow sleek and silent as a leopard. Next to him, she felt about as covert as a hippo.
When they reached the fence at the edge of the open space that had been cleared around the cabins, he crouched behind a tangle of bushes. She followed suit, her breath loud in her ears, and they watched the main cabin unable to see into the high windows.
Two oversized pickup trucks sat on a gravel drive out front, sunlight glinting off their chrome grills.
Footsteps sounded from their left and Lindsey gripped Todd’s arm, freezing like a startled deer.
A man appeared out of the trees, a large rifle held close to his chest in that universal way of military and law enforcement that always made her worry about carpal tunnel syndrome. He wore black from head to toe, like some kind of commando, his pale face a harsh contrast.
He passed slowly, eyes alert, expression bored as he trod a circular path that had been dug out of the snow.
Time ticked by at glacial speeds as she and Todd held position. Quiet. Unmoving.
Brave birds resumed their chirping.
Lindsey tried to become one with the forest, and it was almost peaceful.
Her legs tingled from lack of circulation, limbs shaky as