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Only when he pressed his finger against her lips did she realize she must have made a sound. She nodded against his warm finger, her lips tingling.

Brody squeezed her tight for one moment, then carefully withdrew his arm and edged away from her toward the door. Jenna pressed her lips together and bit down on them from the inside. She couldn’t protest or make any noise. He depended on her to remain calm.

When he pushed the shed door open a few inches, Jenna clapped both hands over her mouth to halt any protests. Brody knows what he’s doing. She told herself. At least, she hoped he knew what he was doing.

He pressed his face against the door and peered out. Whatever he saw, must have convinced him that it was time to move on.

Brody reached back and grabbed Jenna’s hand. He slowly urged the shed door open. Just wide enough for them to slip through. He tugged on her hand, silently directing her to trust him and leave the relative safety of the shed.

Jenna sucked in a deep breath and held it as she crept out sideways through the opening, her bag scraping against the side of the structure.

Another clang rang through the cold night air. Jenna stiffened, every muscle quivering. She jerked her eyes to the left.

Lights were flashing and moving in the closest cattle barn.

Now she understood what she’d been hearing. And she also knew the urgency. They’d come and search the shed next. If they remained where they were, within minutes, both she and Brody would be dead.

Brody’s warm hand gripped hers.

It was time to go.

But where?

She expected him to lead her back to the road. He didn’t. They crept through the graveyard, hiding behind one large marker after another. Unlike modern cemeteries with small headstones that were level with the ground, many of these headstones could easily disguise the presence of a person. Some were four or five feet tall.

All her life, Jenna had thought cemeteries were creepy places to be avoided. She’d never voluntarily walk through one later than dusk.

And now she was playing hide and seek in one with a handsome man she barely knew against two trained killers.

The voices faded, but she didn’t make the mistake of thinking they were gone. Danger delayed didn’t mean it wouldn’t return.

They reached the last row of headstones. Brody peered around the sculpted rock. When he glanced at her again, she could barely make out the glint of his eyes.

It terrified her, being this vulnerable out in the open.

When Brody tugged her hand again, she had no choice but to follow. They left the relative safety of the cemetery and ran across the road.

Brody kept them moving through the deep drainage ditch at the side of the road. Snow piled into her boots.

Within minutes, her feet and legs were frozen.

Jenna doubted she’d ever feel warm again.

They walked for so long, her legs hurt. Her hips began to ache. Her upper body strength didn’t wane, but her thinking became muddled from exhaustion and the freezing temperature. The snow thinned. Visibility improved, but it remained too dark to see much of the ground they walked on.

After what felt like hours, they entered a small town. Jenna’s spirits lifted. She could already taste a hot meal. And maybe there’d be coffee. Or even a bed.

But Brody didn’t lead her to any of those things.

He began to text someone.

Jenna walked along beside him, her stomach growling.

Who could he be communicating with? Immediately the answer came. Sergeant Dawson. That made sense.

Finally, he put the phone into his pocket and faced her. Under the streetlamps, she finally had a view of his face.

“So, what’s next?”