Page 69 of Line of Resistance

Nate grinned, tipping his head toward the tiny woman peeking out from his other side. “We made a friend too.”

Tyson looked them over for a minute before pointing at Reggie. “Can you have your friend stop pointing a gun at me?”

Reggie dropped the barrel of her shotgun. “Sorry. It’s a habit.”

“Pointing a shotgun at people is a habit?” Tyson focused on Nate, matching his expression with a grin of his own. “She seems like she’s gonna fit right in.”

Nate rested his free hand on Reggie’s shoulder. “That’s good, because she’s coming with us.”

Eloise expected Reggie to argue, but the old woman didn’t bat an eye. “I’ll just grab my bag.”

It would seem Reggie might be a little lonelier than she let on.

As they collected all their stuff, more members of Alaskan Security filed in, each of them greeting Nate with a hug, their expressions full of warmth and relief. It was clear they loved him. Worried over him the way any good family would. Their concern also made it easier to understand why he was so scared of losing them. Why he kept pushing her away, afraid they would choose her over him.

Especially since he’d lost a family over less before.

But all Nate’s fears seemed to be a distant memory. He spent more time checking on her—making sure she was okay and holding her close—than he did preparing to leave. When they were finally ready, Nate slung as many bags over one arm as he could before wrapping the other around her, keeping her right at his side as they headed out.

It was impossible to get a vehicle to Reggie’s cabin because of all the snowfall, so the team had arrived on foot. They did have Reggie’s snowmobile, so she and Reed climbed on and took the lead with Reggie providing directions to get them to a pickup point as quickly as possible.

Everyone else moved on foot, trudging through the ridiculously high snow drifts.

Tyson filled them in on how they were found as they walked, and it was remarkably old school. Nothing more than leg work and luck. Apparently they’d been searching around the clock, covering as much area as they could before finally coming across Reggie’s cabin much the same way she and Nate had.

By accident.

And thank God they had because she was about over her impromptu outdoor adventure. Each step took a huge amount of effort and she was fading fast. After an hour of walking, Nate passed off his bags and loaded her onto his back, hauling her the rest of the way just like he had the day before.

When they finally had service, Tyson called in, letting Heidi know they found her and Nate safe before settling on a meeting point. By the time they reached the meeting point Eloise was exhausted and freezing and more than ready to be back in her own house and in her own bed.

Nate loaded her into the back seat of an idling Range Rover before sliding in next to her, keeping her close.

Reed climbed into the front passenger’s seat while a couple of other men loaded Reggie’s snowmobile onto a trailer and packed the older woman into a second waiting vehicle. The whole process took under two minutes and soon they were on the move. Safe and headed back to civilization.

Eloise closed her eyes, resting her head against Nate’s shoulder as her body started to relax. She’d just begun to drift off when she jerked awake, jolted by a realization. “Bryson.” She craned her neck to meet Nate’s eyes. “I need to make sure he’s okay.”

It’d been days since she initially went to check on the little boy. Days that he might have been just as alone and stranded as she was. Only he didn’t have anyone to help him.

He didn’t have someone like Nate telling him everything would be okay. Keeping him safe. Keeping him warm.

Nate leaned forward, giving the driver directions to the spot where they got stranded before leaning back. “You’ll have to get us the rest of the way there.”

Eloise nodded. “Okay.” Her stomach dropped as she realized something else. “I think I had his address programmed into the GPS on my phone. You don’t think whoever shot at our cars would go to his house, do you?”

They’d taken her car and everything in it, which included her cell phone. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to figure out where she’d been headed. And what if they assumed that’s where she would continue on to, trying to get there on foot after her car got stuck.

Nate held her gaze. “Do you know his actual address?”

Eloise deflated a little. “Not off the top of my head.”

He turned to the driver. “I need you to call Heidi.”

The man driving didn’t hesitate. He reached out and tapped across the screen. Heidi answered on the first ring. “You better not be calling me to tell me you lost them again.”

“Heidi, it’s Nate. I need you to get an address for me and send everybody available there.”

“Oooh. Sounds like things are getting interesting.” The sound of typing carried through the line. “I love it when shit gets interesting. Who am I looking for?”

---