Gina drove the knife into George’s leg. He roared, his grip loosening just enough. Gina wrenched herself free and stumbled forward.
Joe didn’t hesitate. The stream of bear spray hit George square in the face. He clawed at his eyes, bellowing, staggering unsteadily as he moved.
Above them, one of the massive beetle-kill trees swayed dangerously, its dead trunk no match for the storm.
“Move!” Nick shouted and charged at Gina.
The tree came down like the hand of God, its enormous trunk crashing directly on top of George. Nick tackled Gina, rolling them both out of the way as branches exploded around them.
When the noise stopped, George was pinned beneath the massive trunk, unmoving.
Nick pulled Gina against him, both of them shaking from cold and adrenaline. She pressed her forehead to his shoulder, her breath coming in shuddering bursts.
He didn’t say a word as he tightened his hold. After everything, words felt unnecessary. The only thing that mattered was that she was still breathing.
“Is everyone okay?” Brooke called out.
“We’re alive,” Joe answered, his voice shaky but relieved.
Kelsey was staring at George’s body, tears streaming down her face. “It’s over,” she whispered. “It’s finally over.”
Looking down at Gina in his arms, Nick saw exhaustion and trauma in her eyes, but also relief. They were alive. Against impossible odds, they were alive.
The storm was still raging. They needed to get back inside, get warm, and figure out how to get down the mountain safely. But for now, holding Gina while the snow fell around them was all that mattered.
George was dead. They weren’t.
Everything else could wait.
Chapter 15
Gina
The silence after the tree fell was absolute except for the howling wind. Gina sat in the snow, lungs burning, her body trembling with leftover adrenaline. Nick’s arms were still around her—solid, anchoring—but she couldn’t seem to make her breath slow. The fallen tree had missed them by inches.
George was completely still beneath the enormous tree. No movement, no sound. Just stillness that felt final.
“Is he . . . ” Brooke’s voice was barely audible over the storm.
Gina pulled herself up slowly, Nick’s hands steadying her. The tree had to weigh several tons. There was no way anyone could survive being crushed under that much weight.
“He’s dead,” she said, taking in his open eyes and the blood trickling from his mouth and ears.
Joe made a sound somewhere between relief and shock. “I can’t believe it. He was going to kill us, and now...”
“Now it’s over,” Kelsey whispered. She was standing a few feet away, staring at George’s body with tears freezing on her cheeks. “It’s really over.”
Gina looked at her friend, who had put them in such danger. They might have escaped George’s murderous intentions, but it wasn’t over for Kelsey. Not by a long shot.
The storm raged around them, and Gina realized they needed to get back inside before they all froze. But something about the moment felt too important to rush past. They’d all just witnessed a man die, even if he’d been planning to murder them.
“We should go back in,” Nick said, echoing her thoughts. “Sort this out where it’s warmer.”
Gina nodded, but her legs felt unsteady. The adrenaline was wearing off, leaving behind exhaustion and shock. When Nick put his arm around her waist to help her walk, she didn’t pull away.
They stumbled toward the hotel, supporting each other against the wind. The broken window in the dining room was still letting snow blow in. “I’ll grab the jackets,” Nick offered. “Stay in the hall and warm up before we try and sort things out.”
Jackets on, everyone slumped against the walls, too drained to speak for several minutes. Gina sat next to Nick, close enough that their shoulders touched. The heat from his shoulder seeped through her sleeve, grounding her in a way words couldn’t. For the first time in several hours, she felt like she could breathe.
