"Go! I'll be right behind you."
Brooklyn spares one last look at the ruined door before pelting toward the window. In one smooth movement she gets a leg up on the shallow lip of the window ledge and vaults through the space provided. She rolls in the grass and comes up a little muddy but otherwise unscathed.
"Keys are in the jacket!" I call as loudly as I dare. "Start the Eagle!"
I don't get a chance to say more. The door caves inward and a man spills into the room, brandishing a 9mm handgun at me. I rush him, coming at him at an angle. It's my best chance to keep myself from getting shot. Thankfully, the man has frozen, clearly expecting to find a skinny blonde in my place. It knocks him off guard long enough for me to snatch the gun. He howls as I wrench it away, breaking the finger trapped in the trigger guard.
In another swift move I've whipped the gun across his face, knocking him silly. He goes down, groaning and clutching his face. I can't see anyone else in the doorway, but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Time to get the hell out of Dodge while I still can.
Flicking the safety on the weapon I shove it into the waistband of my pants. It's the best I can do on short notice. If I get a chance, I need to steal a holster for this bad boy. Holding it like I am is a good way to get shot in the ass.
I'm out the window in seconds, cutting my hands on the few shards that remain when I clutch the sides for leverage. Then I'm out in the frigid night, the rain soaking my shirt through in seconds. Brooklyn is waiting for me sitting astride the Eagle. She slides obligingly to the back when I approach. The moment I'm on we're in motion, hurtling into the night like death is nipping at our heels.
6
Brooklyn
Though we've put our attackers at least ten miles behind, I can't quell the terror that pulses hard in my veins. It slams into me with every beat of my heart, threatening to crush me flat. My tongue is tied, flattened to the roof of my mouth, but the wind screams for me, whipping my hair into a frenzy around me. I wasn't able to put my helmet on before our hasty departure.
The only thing that grounds me, keeps me from giving in completely and letting the panic take me, is Kase. He's a rigid line of tensed muscle in front of me, a shield against the worst of the wind. He's always been my shield, stepping between me and whatever is coming, even at the risk of his own life. When men burst into our hotel room, he acted without hesitation, defending me, even though I haven't been his to claim for a long time. He hasn't changed one bit in the intervening years. I find some comfort in that, though I don't relax.
He puts miles upon miles of slick black pavement behind us before I'm able to unglue my lips and ask the only question that springs to mind. I have to shout over the roar of the wind and the Eagle's engine to be heard.
"Where are we going?"
I hope he has a better solution than I can come up with, because my mind can't conjure a single place we'll be safe. It had taken my pursuers all of a day to find me. They are armed and they're either brave or stupid enough to enter Spade territory to do it. They'll be looking for us in hotels and shelters, so the best thing we can do is avoid being predictable. And Kase is always full of surprises. He'll have a plan. He has to.
"We're going into Fairvale forest."
The answer is unexpected and I slide away from him on the seat, trying to gauge his face to see if he's serious. His stunning profile is as stoic as I've ever seen it. He's as serious as a heart attack.
"Why? What good will it do? Sure we might lose them, but we'll die of exposure before they're done looking for us."
"Trust me. We'll be safe there."
And he doesn't elaborate further, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead, searching for our turn off through the sheet of icy rain we're riding through. The clouds are a roiling gray and black mass up ahead, signaling there's worse to come. I hug him tighter, clinging to the one thing that makes any damn sense anymore. Kase is here and he's going to protect me. The rest I'll have to take on faith.
Too bad I've never been much of a believer.
* * *
I'm convinced that every sharp corner taken in this muddy terrain will be the end of us both, sending us careening into the wide trunk of one of the spruce trees that surround us on every side. The one saving grace is that this trail is mostly grown over, with an archway of tree branches stretching over the path we're taking through the woods. It is a buffet against the rain, which I can only be grateful for. I'm soaked to the skin and the wind scrapes me raw. We've been riding for an hour or more. If we don't stop soon, I'll keel over from exhaustion and cold, and not even the warm press of Kase's body against mine will be enough to bring me back.
Just when I think there's no end in sight, there's a break in the trees up ahead. It's a thin crescent of blue and gray, but it’s so beautiful after the monochrome blur of green that I almost burst into tears. Kase slows as we approach and when he finally comes to a stop, his tires sling mud onto the lush green grass. I blink several times in the light, my eyes having grown accustomed to the shade the trees provided. My vision swims alarmingly and I sway on my seat. Kase has to steady me before I slide off the bike.
A squat building is tucked into another grove of spruces. It seems to be half-swallowed by its surroundings and clinging vines are beginning to creep along its face.
"W-where is t-this?" I manage through chattering teeth. I can't stop the tremors that rock through me. I feel like I'm being shaken to pieces.
"This cabin was my Uncle Rocco's," Kase explains. "I come here sometimes to get away when my brother manages to surpass his own dickishness. You'd be surprised how often he outdoes himself."
At another time, that comment might have made me laugh. But at the moment, it's all I can do to stay awake. Kase props his bike up and turns to help me off the bike and goes still, face spasming in sudden horror.
"Fuck. Your lips are turning blue, Brook. Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?"
Because the cold is making it hard to think. Because there was no safe place to stop. Excuses rise to the tip of my tongue but I'm too tired to expel them. Kase lifts me off the bike, gripping me under the arms like I'm a child. He gathers me up and sprints toward the entrance to the cabin. The door sticks and Kase eventually kicks it open, slinging us both inside.
The interior of the room is sparsely decorated. Uncle Rocco had definitely been a fan of minimalism. There's a bed, what looks like a solar powered lantern on a short nightstand, a kitchenette and not much else. Only the pale gray light diffusing through the window provides enough illumination to see by. In three long strides he's crossed the room and stands beside the flat mattress. There's not even a pillow, and only a thin blanket. I'm still shivering as he places me on the mattress, though I'm grateful to be out of the wind. It lessens the suffering just a little.
