Page 12 of Hunted

She looked defeated. Like he’d just let all the air out of her balloon. it would have been laughable if the situation hadn’t been so deadly. Turning, she dumped a jewelry box onto her dresser, pawing through a small mountain of trinkets. He saw the key as she dug it out of the mess, and before he’d even extended his hand for it, she’d tucked it into her jeans pocket.

The sound of doors slamming on the vehicle out front came loud and clear. “Oh, God,” she whispered. But she never stopped moving. She swooped down on a pair of sneakers that had been hiding under the bed, stuffed her feet into them. She was shaking again, breathing hard. She snatched the pill bottle from the dresser where she’d dropped it, crammed it into a handbag that she clutched it in a white-knuckled grip.

“Is there a back door?" Romano whispered harshly.

“We’d have to go back downstairs.”

He lunged for the window, shoved it open and stuck his head out. “No fire escape? Nothing?”

“How many log cabins have you seen with fire escapes attached?” She looked terrified when the front door opened audibly below. Then she blinked. “There are rope ladders in every bedroom.” She opened the closet and hauled a flimsy-looking rope ladder from an upper shelf.

Romano took the bundle from her, anchored the two end hooks on the window ledge and let the rest fall free.

“Come on,” he whispered harshly. “Hurry. Get out there.”

“I don’t want to leave my cat!”

“You’ll leave him on angel wings with a harp in your hands if you don’t get your ass in gear!”

She sent a desperate glance toward the bed, where the cat had been only seconds ago, but the beast had gone into hiding. She shook her head, staring at the open window, then at him.

Romano heard heavy footfalls on the stairs. Lexi bit her lip and awkwardly, she climbed through the window and made her way down the ladder.

It was not Lexi Stoltz climbing down that rope ladder in the middle of the night while killers invaded her home. The woman she’d believed herself to be would have been hiding under the bed with Jax.

But something had happened to her up there, something she hadn’t been aware could happen. She’d suddenly stepped out of herself, and stood calmly, watching events unfold like she was watching a scary movie. And something else had taken over. Something stronger and braver than she’d ever believed lived in her. She didn’t recognize that thing. It was like an alien presence, summoned to life by a strong pair of hands gripping her shoulders, and by blue-black eyes boring into hers. The confident, capable, kick-ass-and-take-names stranger had roused some new, unfamiliar part of her to life. She didn’t know how, but she was grateful enough that she almost felt guilty for lying to him about the safe-deposit box.

Oh, it had existed, once. When he’d asked about it, it had seemed like a gift—a distraction to toss his way just to get him to leave.

But then those others had arrived, and she’d realized she needed him to keep her alive.

The key in her pocket went to her PO Box in nearby Pine Lake. If he got a close look at it, he’d know that.

She just needed to get him out of here, and then find an opportunity to ditch him. She’d come back just long enough to grab Jax, and then she’d find somewhere safe to hole up while she dug into this nonsense and found the truth.

She needed to prove her father hadn’t done what he was accused of. God, if she’d been worried about what extreme end-of-life dementia would do to his legacy, what would this do to it?

Not to mention, to all his other work. Vital work. And to the university and to his team! And to all the victims of viruses who wouldn’t be protected if her father’s work came to a grinding halt.

She stood on the ground below her bedroom window, watching the man descend. She could hear the others, inside, shouting and moving through the place, and she felt no further hint of that brave woman she’d temporarily become.

The stranger jumped when he was still ten feet from the ground, rolled to his feet, gripped her arm and pulled her into the snowy pine forest beyond her back lawn.

She wished for boots. For a coat. For a hat. It was freezing outside.

He seemed to know where he was going, and that gave her a little confidence. Getting lost in the vast Adirondack preserve was a terrifying prospect.

He veered westward, cutting a diagonal path through the woods that would bring them around to the only road. She had to struggle to keep the pace he set, but at least the snow wasn’t as deep here where the pine boughs interlocked to form a canopy. Wintry night air rushed in and out of her lungs. She kept looking back over her shoulder as they ran, expecting to see an army of thugs chasing them. But there were none in sight. Not yet, anyway. They’d know where to look for them, though. The rope ladder was still hanging from the window.

Maybe Jax would find it and use it to escape. Or maybe he’d stay hidden until those men left. The poor thing.

Finally, he stopped at the edge of the woods near the winding dirt road. He wasn’t even winded, though Lexi panted like a racehorse and hoped no one could hear. She sank to the ground and its cushion of pine needles, watching him stare out at the road. Her heart was racing again, and she automatically pulled her pills from her purse and took another one. Two were okay. More than that, not so much.

He tilted his head, listening.

Then he turned to her and jerked his head. She rose, though she wanted to stay right where she was. He led her out onto the road. A car sat a few yards away, and that was where he took her, moving fast and silent. She tried to be as quiet as he was, but wasn’t having much success. He stopped beside the car, slipping a penlight from a pocket. Then he was on his belly, shining the light underneath. He got up, checked the car’s interior and opened the driver’s door. “Get in.”

“But—”

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