Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(70)

Avalanche.

One of the snowmobiles raced before the steamrolling wave of snow. She was no longer the man’s aim. Survival was. He raced in front of her as they both stayed barely ahead of the rumbling crush.

She leaned forward and let loose. She surged past the other snowmobile, her lights dancing over the snow like a drunken ballerina. Trees, rocks, bushes bounced up and down, puppets on stiff strings. She rocked over inclines, nearly thrown free of her seat.

She looked again just in time to see the other snowmobile go under the rolling white death. The machine flipped and then rolled end over end, the man’s body bouncing with it before finally being thrown clear and quickly buried under several feet of snow.

Her heart sank. She couldn’t outrun it.

Not wanting to become entangled in the snowmobile, she made a quick decision. Closing her eyes, she dove right, hitting the ground with a bone-jarring crunch. She rolled as both she and the snowmobile were swallowed whole. White descended and all went silent inside her icy tomb.

***

Eli simmered through the air, a thin plume of smoke, and streaked toward where Tits had fallen in the snow. Blood, brilliant red, stained the pristine white on the ground as the snowmobiles bounced by in pursuit of Katie.

“I know you’re there, you crazy bastard,” Tits grunted out. “Leave me and go after her.”

When he was certain the snowmobiles had passed, their engines echoing in the distance, he came to form beside Tits, his hands already going out to staunch the flow of blood from Tits’ shoulder.

“Why’d you let her go?” Tits asked in halting stutters.

“Because she was right,” Eli said grimly. “Ian and Braden are our priorities, and they’re lying in the cabin out cold.”

“Why’d she go crazy?”

“Hell if I know. She could have shot us both. She could have left Ian and Braden to die.”

“But she didn’t.”

“She didn’t,” Eli agreed.

Holding his palm to Tits’ bleeding wound, he pushed at the larger man, helping him to his knees. “Come on man, let’s get you into the cabin before you bleed to death.”

“It’s not bad,” Tits said as he hoisted himself to his feet. “I’ve had worse.”

Still, he stumbled as they started for the cabin, and Eli dug his shoulder under Tits’ arm to support the larger man.

They slowly climbed up the steps, and Tits paused for a long moment, catching his breath before they headed for the door.

Eli maneuvered it open with his free hand and started to haul Tits forward when a loud rumble had them both turning around. The entire porch shook. The sounds of breaking glass came from within as plates fell from the counter and splintered on the floor.

“What the f**k?” Tits demanded.

“Oh hell,” Eli muttered.

He and Tits exchanged looks of horror as the realization hit them both.

“Avalanche!” Tits yelled.

“Get in, now!” Eli shoved Tits forward just as the spray of snow hit him in the back. He fell to the floor but kicked at the door with his foot and prayed like hell it would hold.

Chapter Thirty-Six

“Getting out of here should be a snap for a man of your means,” Tits said darkly.

“I never said it wouldn’t be,” Eli returned.

The two men sat in the dark with only a penlight to illuminate the interior of the cabin. The door had miraculously held. The windows had not. Broken glass littered the living room along with piles of snow and ice.

It was cold but not unbearably so.

“I need to check on Ian and Braden. Are you going to be okay?”

Tits waved the penlight in a dismissive gesture.

“I’ll make sure they’re all right, and then I’ll see if I can use the satellite uplink to reach Jonah. I’d prefer they got here before any local rescue effort. If I can’t raise him that way, I’ll shift and go out the chimney. I’ll go to the village and get word to them that way.”

Again Tits waved the light, and Eli got to his feet and made his way to the bedroom.

There was only one window, and it too was busted out. Snow was steadily dribbling and shifting onto the floor from the strain. Ian and Braden were sprawled on the bed, out like a light. Damn, but he needed them awake and aware.

“Hey Tits, can you come back here, man, or are you too weak?”

Eli almost laughed at the snarl that followed. A few seconds later, Tits thumped into the bedroom holding his shoulder with one hand.

“Thought that would get your ass in here,” Eli said.

“Hey, f**k you. What the hell do you want, anyway? I was comfortable.”

“I need you to see if you can wake up the sleeping beauties while I raise Jonah.”

“I could always stick their faces in the wall of snow at the window,” Tits said with a shrug.

“Do what you have to do. I’ll get Jonah on the way.”

“They ain’t going to be happy about what happened to Katie,” Tits said quietly.

Eli grimaced, knowing full well that surviving the avalanche on a snowmobile was next to impossible. “I’ll let you tell them,” he muttered.

“Gee thanks. You’re all heart, man.”

Eli turned away and then dug into his pack for the satellite transmitter and tiny keyboard. No, he didn’t want to be the one to tell Ian and Braden about Katie. She was a lot more to them than just an assignment. He didn’t want to break the news that she was dead.