Page 30 of ELITE Protection
“Oh, thank God!” Hannah was digging with her hands and removed the snow in front of his face. “Are you all right?”
“I am now.” He shifted and cried out in pain. “My leg.”
It took fifteen minutes for Hannah to remove enough snow to pull him out. Every time he shifted, he fought back the blackness that threatened to close down his mind.
“Take my wrists,” she ordered.
Bracing himself against the pain he knew would come, she managed to drag him to the surface.
While digging him out, she had been talking with Karl at the Atlanta Operations Center through the communication unit in her ear. A local search and rescue team had already been dispatched and was on their way to evacuate him.
Another team, this one from Homeland Security, stealthily headed toward the cabin. Only a few people would ever know of the carnage that had happened there.
Thankful to see the sun again, Isaac dragged in a deep breath. When he lifted his head to look at his leg, he almost passed out. He recognized he had a concussion.
Hannah’s face filled his view when he opened his eyes. “I was so worried I wouldn’t get to you in time.” Surrounded by snow and unconscious, the body could freeze within twenty minutes. Simply breathing was another way to die in an avalanche—from carbon dioxide poisoning.
She then bent and touched his cold lips with hers. His whole body warmed from his heart outward. She was his, and he wanted to make sure she knew it, but he was fast falling off the adrenaline high. Darkness was encroaching the edges of his mind. He had to say the words, now.
“I love you.” The last thing he saw before he passed out was her beautiful smile.
“I love you, too.” Hannah’s words carried him into blissful darkness.
EPILOGUE
“Well, you’re looking better today,”Pete said as he stepped into Isaac’s hospital room, Mark right behind him. They set a white paper bag and foam cups on the tray. “You couldn’t leave Montana without having a buffalo burger.”
Hannah smiled and chided, “You’d better have brought one of those for me, too.” She released Isaac’s hand and dug into the bag.
Pete slung an arm around her shoulders. “I would never forget you.” He looked at Isaac. “You have yourself one special little lady here.”
“That I do,” he admitted. Except for during surgery, she had never left his side. She’d been there through the helicopter ride to the hospital and every minute since he left the recovery room.
She laid out their meal and dug in.
“So, you ever going to tell us why there are at least half a dozen big black SUVs running around the area?” Pete asked for what had to be the fifth time. “You can’t turn around in Big Sky without bumping into feds in suits and sunglasses.”
Isaac shrugged. “I’ve been sworn to secrecy.”
“So, how exactly are you going to get home?” Mark asked, changing the subject. “I hope they will at least put you in first-class so you can stretch out that leg. You are damn lucky the bullet only went through the muscle.”
Isaac chuckled. “Tell me that when I start rehab next week.”
He couldn’t see who walked through the door, but instantly knew who it was when Alex spoke. “You ready to get out of here?”
Isaac felt the need to sit up straighter in his boss’s presence. “Yes, sir.”
Alex slapped him on the shoulder then leaned in to sniff the burgers. “You think we can get some of those to go? They don’t look like any hospital food I’ve ever seen.”
“They’re buffalo burgers,” Hannah explained and held out her hand. “Hannah Kader. Nice to meet you.” She set the burger down and then threw her arms around Alex. “I can’t thank you enough for everything you guys did for me.”
Awkwardly, Alex patted her on the back. “That’s what we do.” When he turned, Isaac noticed the gorgeous blonde. “I’d like you to meet my fiancée, Katlin Callahan.”
With confidence, the woman strode to Hannah and shook her hand. “We need to talk, but unfortunately, I’m the one flying the plane back to Atlanta, so it’ll have to wait until I get the two of you home safe.”
“Isaac, I promised I’d introduce you to Guardian Security’s other partner. Meet Katlin Callahan.” When her stunning blue-on-blue eyes met his, he understood what Alex had said days ago about never underestimating a woman.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.”
