Page 11 of Mountain Protector

Her eyes are huge in her pale face, her expression a terrible mix of terror and pain. Her long hair is a dark spill of red over her shoulders, and she looks so tiny in her pajamas?—

Wait. What?

Her pajamas?

Why the fuck is Lark running through the woods in her?—

She stops a few feet from me, hugging herself as she shakes. “Knox?” It’s almost disbelieving. “Is it… Are you…”

Double shit. She’s so cold her teeth are clattering.

“It’s me.” Cautiously, not wanting to frighten her, I put an arm around her shoulder to bring her closer to me. I wouldn’t normally touch her right away, but if there’s someone else out there… “What happened?”

Lark turns her tear-streaked face toward me. “I… Someone… Shot…”

Feigning a calm I’m not feeling, I ask quietly, “Are they out here?”

“Maybe.” She shudders. “I don’t know. I… ran. They were still alive. Shouting. But I couldn’t tell how far they came.”

“Still alive?” My tone is low and soothing, but I’m on high alert, my gaze moving between Lark and our surroundings.

A little sob escapes. “I shot him. Oh, Knox. Ishothim. But I didn’t know what else to do. He shot me, and?—”

Forget soothing. I bite out, “Heshotyou?”

And then I do what I should have done first, had I not been so desperate to protect her. I lean away from Lark, scanning her body quickly, hissing out a low curse when I see the dark liquid staining her sleeve.

“Shit, Lark. Why didn’t you tell me you’re hurt?” It comes out sharper than I intended, and she flinches, her gaze dropping to the ground.

“I’m sorry?—”

“No.” I’m pissed at myself. “It’s not your fault. I should have… shit. We need to get you to my place. Check you out.”

Glancing back up, she gives me a tiny nod. “Okay.”

Gathering her back to my side, I say, “Alright. We need to move quickly. Do you think you can walk the rest of the way?”

“Yes.” With another nod, she says, “I’ll do whatever you need.”

“Okay. Let’s get you in my coat first.” Not wanting to let go of my gun, but not seeing another way around it, I hand it to Lark while I shrug off my coat. Then I gently drape it around her while she stares at me, a look of utter trust in her gaze.

Once she hands me the gun back, I put my arm around her, tugging her into my side. “Tell me if you need to stop, alright?”

“I won’t,” she promises quietly. “Whatever we need to do, I’ll do it.”

But as soon as we start to move, her knees buckle and she nearly collapses. “I’m sorry,” she whispers. “I don’t know… my feet… dizzy…”

I scan the woods again, breathing a small sigh of relief to see nothing but darkness. “Your feet?”

Wait.

If she’s wearing pajamas… “Lark, sweetheart. Do you have shoes on?”

She stares at me for a second before shaking her head. “I was in bed when I heard a noise. I didn’t think?—”

Fuck.

Not only was Lark shot, she’s been running through the damn snow in bare feet.

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