Page 115 of Surrender to Me
Another round punches through the cowling, showering us with fiberglass shards that glitter in the sunlight like deadly snow.
“Stay low.” His voice is urgent against my ear.
I fumble inside my jacket, fingers numb and useless until they close around the grip of the gun.
The weight of it is familiar, an old friend I never wanted to need again.
Fighting back panic, I look at the clearing.
It’s wide open, and we have no cover except the snowmobile and the truck that’s at least thirty yards away…a lifetime as a bullet flies.
Then…
Fuck.
Black shapes melt from the tree line. Four men. Five. Rifles up, muzzles flashing.
Remy’s breath rattles, wet and labored. “On my mark, you run for the truck. Don’t look back.”
“No—” The word rips out of me, raw and desperate.
“Now!”
He surges up, firing wild with his one hand, the other clamped to the wound.
Damn it.
Damn him.
“Go!”
I scramble on hands and knees, snow burning my palms, my knees, my shins.
A bullet kicks up a geyser inches from my boot, showering me with ice.
Another slices fire across my forearm—hot, shocking, a line of pure agony that makes me cry out.
Finally, thankfully, I reach the truck and try to yank the door open. But nothing happens.
It’s locked, even though it’s not supposed to be.
Frantic, I spin back toward Remy.
He’s on his knees now, blood oozing into the snow. His eyes find mine across the distance, steady even as his body fails.
“Save yourself!” The words are almost lost under the gunfire, but I hear them in my bones.
One of the bad guys nears Remy, and he fires in a desperate attempt to save himself and buy me time.
But the man keeps coming.
I raise my gun with both shaking hands and squeeze off one desperate shot to protect Remy. The recoil slams up my arms, the sound echoing sharp and final.
The would-be assassin staggers, clutches his thigh, and goes down cursing.
All the other assailants fan out, muzzles flashing like deadly fireflies.
Despite my efforts, Remy is hit. I scream as he falls forward, face in the snow, red blooming beneath him in a grotesque starburst, jagged and violent.
