Page 93 of Shadowed Hearts: Frost
Perfect ambush points. I pull Vanessa behind me with one hand, keeping her in my protection zone while my other hand hovers near my sidearm.
"Stay in my footsteps. Touch my back if you need to stop." My voice echoes flatly against concrete walls. Each word measured, each syllable controlled, opposite of the chaos inside my head.
Vanessa's breathing sounds too loud, her wet sneakers squeaking against the stairs. She clutches her damaged laptop against her chest, water dripping from both of them.
"If you'd just let me explain—"
I silence her with a hard gesture, pausing to check the landing below. Clear. I descend three more steps, positioning my body to shield her from potential sight lines through the narrow windows.
"You were reckless," I finally say, the words scraping across my throat. "Inexcusable."
"I was following the data trail." Her voice trembles slightly, from cold or adrenaline, I can't tell. "We need that transmission pattern to track where they're moving the girls."
My comm crackles. "Frost, two more vehicles arrived. Looks like a transfer operation. Black SUV and what appears to be an ambulance, unmarked."
Fuck.
Exactly what we need to document. My jaw clenches so tight I taste copper where my teeth cut into my cheek.
Vanessa tries to open her laptop. "I can still salvage the—"
I snatch it from her hands without discussion, tucking it under my arm. "Not here."
"That's my equipment!" Her voice rises, bouncing off concrete walls.
"Lower your voice," I hiss, scanning the next landing before continuing down. Water drips from my hair into my eyes, but I don't wipe it away. Both hands stay ready.
"I was getting crucial data—"
"You were getting yourself killed." The words come out razor-sharp, slicing through the air between us. "Six inches. You were six fucking inches from a fatal fall."
My blood surges through my veins at the memory. Her body sliding toward the edge, the lightning illuminating her face. The flash of certainty that I was about to watch her die.
"But I didn't fall. You caught me." Her hand touches my shoulder, light as a breath.
I shrug it off, continuing down the stairs with mechanical precision. Each footfall calculated, each turn anticipated. The training kicks in, pushing the emotion down where it belongs, locked away, irrelevant.
We reach the ground floor when my phone buzzes with Jax's text.
Possible hostile surveillance north side. Black sedan, two occupants.
I freeze, immediately reassessing. Original extraction plan compromised.
"Change of plans," I murmur, pulling Vanessa closer to my side. "We've got company."
I pull Vanessa into the narrow alley behind the building, rain hammering against us. Lightning flashes, briefly illuminating the brick walls and dumpsters. Two seconds later, thunder crashes overhead, masking our footsteps.
"East exit compromised," I mutter into my comm. "Moving to extraction point Delta."
The wind whips rain against my face as I scan both ends of the alley. Movement at the north entrance, a shadow shifting.
Shit.
I press Vanessa against the rough brick wall, shielding her with my body. Water streams down my face as I position myself between her and any potential threat, one hand on my holstered sidearm.
"Stay still," I order, my voice barely audible above the storm.
Vanessa's chest rises and falls rapidly against mine, her breath warm against my neck. "I can help if you—"
