Page 91 of Edge of Desire

“But what if ...”

“Stop thinking about the what-ifs. One more thing. Whatever you do, don’t fall. When you get to the chute, relax and go with it.”

“Right.”

I hated the idea of her being in the back, vulnerable to whoever was shooting at me, but she did have a valid point. We got off the lift and she took off like a slingshot. I followed her as best I could, but the girl had speed for a middle name. She zoomed to this opening in the ski boundary and sailed right through it. I followed her, not bothering to check behind me. When we got off the beaten path, at first the snow was great. Until it wasn’t. It turned to solid ice, which was impossible to control your speed on. From watching Avery though, you would’ve thought she was on the most pristine groomed slope. She looked like a professional.

I followed her as close as I could, but then she dropped back a bit, letting me pass. After that, I had no idea of what was happening behind me. My mission was to get out of there as fast as I could, so my focus was on my skiing because a fall could cost us our lives.

Every now and again, she would shoot in front of me, turning direction and I’d follow. We came to one section that resembled a giant slide as it followed a creek we had to cross. Shortly after, we ended up in the little town of Minturn and had about a couple hundred yards to hike to The Saloon. My legs were shaking like crazy.

“You really did great back there,” Avery said.

“Thanks, but my legs feel like noodles. Let’s get out of here. I need to call Pete because we can’t go back to your apartment. It’s too risky.”

“Right. Let me talk to my friend at The Saloon who can probably give us a ride back to the village.”

“Well, let me make that call while we walk.”

I called Pete and he told us to go directly to Slopeside Condominiums, Unit 100A, in East Vail.

We headed to The Saloon, and sure enough, when we walked in, Avery headed straight for the bartender, who hugged her. I felt a stab of jealousy shoot through me as I stood back and watched. Turning to me, she introduced us. The bartender’s name was Duke, and he called for Mary, one of the other employees to fill in while he walked us out back to his car. We loaded up and he drove us to the East Vail condo.

I slipped him fifty bucks for driving us. A man I hadn’t met before opened the condo door and asked us to identify ourselves. I gave him our names and he let us inside. Avery headed to the nearest couch, dropped down and unzipped her jacket. The dark stain that was spreading across her white shirt made me stumble.

“Oh, fuck no!”

I was by her side in a second. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“Because we didn’t have time to waste, plus I was afraid.” She struggled to get the words out, right before she fainted.

I snatched my phone and hit Pete’s number. He answered on the second ring.

“We’ve both been hit. Avery and me. She needs a medic. Stat. We’re at the address you gave us,” I all but shouted at him.

I tossed my phone aside and checked her pulse, which was strong. Pulling off her jacket, I pulled her shirt out of the way so I could see her wound. It appeared she’d been shot in the side, but my first impression was that it might only be a flesh wound. At least that was my hope. The bullet had passed clean through her. The bad news was it had been a large caliber, so it had torn quite a bit of tissue. I yelled at the man to grab some clean towels and made a compression bandage to help stop the bleeding.

“Avery.” I gently rubbed her cheeks. “Avery, baby, wake up.” Her lids fluttered open, and she moved to sit up, but I stopped her. “Stay put, sweetheart. Just sit tight.”

“What’s going on?”

“We’re waiting for help to arrive.”

“What about your shoulder?”

“It’s fine.” I kept pressure on her wound and asked, “Do you hurt much?”

“No.” She grimaced.

“Hey, that lying thing goes both ways, you know.”

“Okay. I’ve been shot. What do you think, Preston?” she sassed back at me. Her tone lifted my spirits a bit.

I should’ve noticed how ashen her skin was. How could I have missed that? Her eyes glazed over, and she began to slip again. “Avery, stay with me, baby. Help is coming. Focus on me. I need you to stay with me.”

“Yeah. Okay.” She nodded. “I’m scared, Preston.”

“Don’t be. I’ve got you, babe. I’m not gonna let anything happen to you.”

---