“Yeah.” Thank goodness for cotton batting.
His breathing evened out and soothed me, but I couldn’t sleep. My back hurt a little, and my face hurt a lot, and there was too much going through my mind to really relax. Finally, my eyelids started to close, and my body began to relax into the warmth created by him.
The first explosion had me jumping right out of the bed.
Chapter 38
Istaggered on my feet, shoving my hair out of my face and nearly doubling over as pain slashed through my back from my earlier fall.
Aiden leaped from the bed, drawing his gun from the bed table, his phone already in his other hand. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” I yanked my weapon from my nightstand and followed him into the living room, where smoke was already billowing toward the kitchen. It looked like the front door had been blown open, and the sofa was already engulfed in flames.
An alarm blared high and loud, piercing the sound of the fire.
He grasped my arm and drew me back into the bedroom, locking the door. “Get dressed. Now.”
As I hustled to draw on jeans, a sweatshirt and boots, he called in the explosion and then called his team. Afterward, he drew on jeans and his boots, his face set in brutal concentration.
The smoke puffed beneath my door and I coughed, heading toward him. The smoke burned my eyes and they teared.
“We can’t wait for backup. We have to go out the sliding glass door now. Stay behind me.” He nudged open the door and looked outside, both ways, before stepping onto the snowy deck.
I followed, my gun at the ready, my heart thundering so hard my teeth rattled.
He moved swiftly and gracefully, positioning his body between me and any threat. “Keep with me,” he grit out. “Side of deck and then to the trees. We’ll evaluate from there.”
I nodded, looking out at the darkened lake, illuminated by a high moon that peaked through the clouds as they lazily dropped snow. I blinked flakes out of my eyes and edged along with him, reaching the end of the deck and the stairs. The wind blew like frigid blades against my exposed skin, and my eyes chilled.
He strode down, his gun sweeping the area.
I followed quickly, keeping to the house and then measuring the distance between the cottage and the forest.
Aiden didn’t move. The moon glistened across the sparkling fresh snow, lighting the area with an ethereal glow, even though lower clouds still managed to drop snow. “We’re too exposed. Keep to the cabin and the far side of the garage. Follow me.”
Gulping, I nodded, the cold seeping into my bones and already aching muscles. My legs shook, but I followed him to the edge of the house. Smoke curled into the sky and fire crackled eerily. Something crashed. We moved along the garage to the front, and Aiden paused, leaning around the side to look at the driveway.
Gunfire erupted around us, pinging up snow and ice.
He pivoted and took me down to the ground, his body unforgiving muscle over me. Ice smushed up my back and the wind blew right out of my lungs. My ears rang and my body pulsed in renewed pain. “Stay down.” He lifted up to a crouch, turned, and fired toward the nearest spruce trees. Snow crashed down from the boughs. A man yelled and then turned, becoming visible as he started to run toward the road. “Stay here,” Aiden said, jumping up and running after the guy, firing rapidly.
The guy jerked and fell to the snow, his legs kicking up.
Aiden hit the area between the driveway and the trees, and suddenly, everything around him exploded. He flew through the air and smashed into a tree, falling and hitting the ground hard.
“Aiden!” I screamed, leaping up and running toward him as fast as I could.
Somebody tackled me from behind and took me down. Snow blew up all around us. I landed hard, and my chin bounced off the ice beneath the snow. My gun spun out of my hand and I scrambled for it, coughing and trying to concentrate, my nails scraping the frozen ground.
The attacker flipped me around, straddling me.
I punched up as hard as I could, trying to find purchase with my boots to roll him off of me. His entire head was covered by a ski mask, and I fought him, my feet sliding on the ice and my head ringing. He tried to punch down, and I blocked by crossing my arms and taking the blow, my body shaking with the impact. I screamed and clawed for his face beneath the mask.
Ice and snow rippled up my back and my hips protested, but I didn’t stop.
He tried to punch again, and I blocked, only slowing his hit this time. The impact smashed into my injured cheek, and my vision blurred. Pain flashed behind my eyes and deep into my skull.
I punched him back, hitting him in the neck.
