A Merciful Promise (Mercy Kilpatrick #6)(76)

Very, very worried.

“At least it’s not too deep,” Eden murmured. Their boots sank a good six inches with every step, and Mercy’s thighs burned from the unfamiliar, awkward stride needed to efficiently walk in the snow.

“Were they going to kill you?” Eden asked after several minutes of silence.

The blunt question startled Mercy. “I think so. Beckett said that’s why he was releasing me.”

“Was it because you helped Noah?” The teen’s voice hitched.

“No.” Mercy glanced at the girl. Snowflakes coated her eyelashes below her hood. Both of them wore knit caps under their coats’ hoods and had pulled their collars up over their mouths and noses.

“Then why?”

Lie to her.

There was no point. Pete already knew the truth. If caught, Eden would not be tortured to reveal what she knew about Mercy; Pete would simply do away with both of them.

She halted and faced the girl. “You need to know that I only wanted to help the people here,” Mercy started. “I knew the children in this compound were at risk. Noah proved that.”

“I don’t understand.” Eden frowned, her eyes searching Mercy’s.

“My name isn’t Jessica, it’s Mercy. I work for the FBI.”

Eden’s expression blanked, and she went still, her wide blue eyes stunned.

“Chad worked for the ATF. Two ATF agents were murdered during a robbery of a large number of stolen weapons which were tentatively traced to America’s Preserve. Chad and I were undercover to find the truth and the weapons.”

“That’s why you asked me all those questions about Pete and my dad?” Eden’s voice cracked, a hint of betrayed pain in her tone.

“It was. We were still fact-finding.” Mercy took Eden’s hands, squeezed them, and leaned close. “But how I feel about you and your brother is very real. You remind me of my niece—she lives with me, and I miss her very much.”

The teen was silent.

“I’ll give you another chance to go back to the compound now that you know the truth. Beckett’s instructions sucked. Especially for walking in a snowstorm. And I honestly don’t know how far I can walk. I’m dizzy, I hurt, and I’m fucking exhausted.”

I miss my family.

Tears dampened Mercy’s lashes, and pressure built in her swollen nose. Sympathy sparked in Eden’s eyes, and she dabbed at Mercy’s upper lip. “Your nose is bleeding.”

“It’s completely clogged and probably broken.”

“Your lip looks pretty bad too.”

Mercy inhaled. “Everything is bad right now,” she attempted to joke.

Her light tone didn’t fool Eden. “We’ll find that cabin,” the teen stated with the defiance Mercy had first adored about her. “Together the two of us can do it.”

Mercy almost believed her.



Their progress through the snow was hard going and slow. They took frequent breaks—primarily for Mercy—and eventually finished the food and water Beckett had packed. Eden had humbly admitted she hadn’t thought about packing food. Mercy understood. The girl hadn’t known they’d be walking in the snow for a full day. Or longer. Mercy hated to eat all the food, but her body desperately needed the fuel to heal and continue her pace in the punishing environment.

Eden had filled the empty water bottle with snow and tucked it under her coat, letting her body heat slowly melt the white fluff. At first Mercy had worried that the bottle would make Eden colder, but both of them puffed with exertion. Sweat beaded Mercy’s skin, and she alternated between chills and shivers.

Sitting down during the first break had been a huge mistake. Mercy’s body had nearly refused to get back up. After that, she simply rested against a tree or braced her hands on her thighs for several minutes, panting and fighting her dizziness.

She’d vomited twice and was angry with her body for purging the food she’d eaten for strength. A concussion was her suspicion. The kicks and punches to her head had rattled and bruised her brain.

The sun came up, creating a weak glow behind the white and gray of the cloudy sky. But at least they could see. Their eyes strained to stay open as the wind changed course and sandblasted their faces with tiny, hard snowflakes. Mercy preferred the huge, slow-falling flakes. And no wind. Their weather had frequently alternated between the two types and also included everything in between.

“I hate snow,” Eden muttered. “Never hated it before.”

Mercy said nothing. She was thinking about Beckett and wondered if anyone at the compound had noticed she was missing. Would Pete know he was the one who’d released her? Would Beckett be punished? It was unsettling. She had previously burned with hate for the man, and now she was concerned.

Or had Beckett deliberately sent her off into the wilderness in a storm? Was there really someone living in a cabin out here? Maybe letting Mercy die a natural death didn’t go against Beckett’s code of honor. She shoved the worry out of her thoughts; she had no strength to dwell on doubts.

They had little concept of time. Eden said it’d been three or four in the morning when she’d spotted Mercy and Beckett leaving the compound, and Mercy estimated the sun had risen around seven.

“Eden?” Mercy asked as a thought occurred to her. “What were you doing out of your cabin that early in the morning?” The fact that this question had just occurred to her told Mercy how slow and injured her brain might be.