Vance’s grip loosened and his body trembled. Gideon gasped in a full breath, bucked Vance to the side, and threw a punch to the man’s chin. It just grazed him, and Vance came back at him, his fist aimed at Gideon’s face. Gideon ducked and Vance’s punch landed on the ground. A howl came from his throat, and Gideon rolled, but the man reared back and came at him once more with a chunk of ice gripped in his right hand.
“Vance, no!” Maya’s shout came just before she swung a log into Vance’s upper shoulders.
Vance turned to look up just as she swung again and connected with his head.
Vance cried out and slumped over. Unconscious. On top of Gideon.
Gideon didn’t move, simply lay there, trying to regain his breath, knowing he needed to protect Maya. Screams came from his left.
“Maya!”
He started to push Vance off once more.
“Everyone stay down!” Lila’s voice rang out, and Gideon froze for a brief second, then he lifted his head. The last gunshot he’d noticed coming from a different direction had been Lila’s, and herbullet had caught Ellie in the shoulder. The woman lay writhing on the ground, her screams still echoing around them.Herscreams. Not Maya’s.
Oh,thank you,God.
Ellie’s weapon lay next to her, but even in her pain with two gunshot wounds, she still fought back, her fingers grasping for the butt of the gun. Maya ran over and kicked it away while Lila got the squirming woman under control and pulled her arms behind her. She zip-tied them in spite of the wound in her shoulder.
“Stop!” Ellie’s screech was earsplitting. “You’re hurting me! I need help!” Her cries would have been heartbreaking if she hadn’t just tried to kill him and Maya.
Gideon grunted and shoved Vance off him and onto the snow. The man was out cold. Gideon drew in ragged breaths, his throat aching. Maya’s hands were on his face, checking him over. “I’m okay,” he managed to rasp.
“Nice swing you got there,” Lila said to Maya, not taking her eyes off Ellie. “When I saw what was happening, I waited for an opening. Didn’t want to risk hitting any of you in the scuffle.”
More sirens were almost on them now. Vance remained unconscious, a momentary reprieve from his life and what was to come.
Maya moved from Gideon to kneel beside Vance. She checked him over, then looked up. “He has a pretty severe head wound. He needs medical attention immediately.” She chewed her lip and a tear slipped out. Just as Gideon started to go to her to pull her into his arms, she swiped the tear away and sniffed. “I didn’t mean to hit him in the head, but he moved and—”
“It’s not your fault,” Gideon said, his voice sounding hoarse and rough. He could only pray Vance hadn’t done any lasting damage to his vocal cords. But he’d worry about that later. “He brought this on himself.”
“I know, but still...” She shook her head and cupped a hand over her shoulder with a grimace. “He and Ellie both need a hospital, but let’s get them to the clinic where I can treat them as bestas I can. Then we can get a chopper on the way to transport them to the nearest hospital.” She raked a hand over her hair. “And I suppose we’ll have to alert the authorities and make statements and all that.”
“Sounds about right,” Gideon said. He retrieved the weapon he’d taken off Vance and passed it to one of the other officers.
“They’ve managed to dig through the entrance,” Lila said, still holding on to the more subdued Ellie. “Anyone who wants to leave can get out now. And local police can get in. You can give your statements to them, and we can get Mr. and Mrs. Harland to a hospital.”
Gideon nodded and finally couldn’t stop himself. He went to Maya and pulled her close.
It was over.
Thank you,Lord.
Fourteen
FourMonthsLater
MAYA STEPPED OUTSIDEonto the deck that overlooked the rolling hills for miles. The mountains in the distance sent her memories back in time to the weekends when she and her grandfather, along with her cousins Sully, Miles, Trent, and Deb, went hiking. She loved this time of year. While she enjoyed winter and the snowy winter sports, summer never came soon enough for her. The warm days were here to stay for a while, and she was all for it.
The past four months since she and Gideon had escaped the mountain tunnel had been healing and productive. The ranch was now fully staffed and ready for its first vet.
Thank you,God.
A prayer she couldn’t seem to stop saying.
A rumble in the distance caught her attention. A different kind of rumble than an avalanche, thank goodness. Gideon’s truck needed a new muffler, and it was starting to be an inside joke with them. Something that warmed her right to her very soul.
Like Gideon’s presence in her life. And yet ... something held her back. Something they needed to talk about.
