Page 29 of Dirty Gambit

“Safety first, science later,” she cut in. “We need to get out of the mud. We need a tow truck.”

“I’ll go.”

She scoffed. “And bring the cops with you? No thanks.”

“What’s stopping me from screaming and alerting the person you bring with you to being kidnapped?”

“Nothing,” she agreed simply. “You could definitely do that. In fact, it would be very stupid of you to waste the opportunity, but here’s where that would be a mistake.” She pulled the gun free and held it up for him to see. “You’re not heartless enough to put another person’s life in jeopardy, especially given that no one would find him for days while his family, his pretty wife, and adorable little girls will be forced to sit by the phone, waiting for answers that might not come fast enough to save him from the wild animals that would find him first. Then they’d have to have a closed casket funeral to protect the girls from seeing their father’s mulled face … the empty eye sockets where the crows—”

“Oh my God, stop! What’s wrong with you?”

Lena shrugged. “Just making sure you get the whole picture.”

Returning the gun to its proper place, she reached for the door handle. She paused once to peer into the backseat, at the man and baby only there because of her. She said a silent prayer that she hadn’t royally fucked them for her own selfish reasons. Then, she said another, asking to find someone for help without getting lost.

“Okay,” she murmured. “Take care of her.”

“Lena, wait.” He shot forward, freehand extended to stop her. “If you go out there, you’re going to get lost, or worse. You have no idea what the layout is like. You could fall off a hill, break your ankle and become some raccoon’s meal.”

“What hill?” Her hand bounced off the window with her wild gesture. Pain sparked up her knuckles, amplifying her annoyance. “There’s nothing out there but flatlands.”

“And possibly a happy family of inbred cannibals,” he grumbled in return.

“Well, becoming someone’s new skin dress has always been an aspiration of mine.”

Jaxon recoiled. “I’m really beginning to think there’s something wrong with you.”

Lena chuckled. “It’s just coming to you, is it?” She didn’t wait for his response. “Okay, I’ll be back.”

“Damn it, Lena! Just wait until morning.”

A burst of lightning cracked across the sky, illuminating the high grass and downpour. The sound echoed through the cabin, rattling the frame and spooking Jessie into releasing a whimper that quickly escalated into a riotous scream of terror.

Lena jumped at the sound. Her knee struck the underside of the wheel, a bang that was muffled by Jessie’s shrieks.

Jaxon immediately turned to soothe the child. His large hand stroked her cheek and hair in a rhythmic motion. He murmured something Lena didn’t hear, but Jessie went still again, giving only the occasional whimper. Lena couldn’t help agreeing with the child. Her fortitude vanished with the crackle of thunder not far into the distance. She remained rigidly in place, no longer certain she wanted to go out in that chaos, but knowing that she had to.

“Jaxon,” she heard herself murmur. Her head turned over her shoulder and her gaze searched the darkness until she spotted the glimmer where his eyes were. But what could she say? She was leaving him and Jessie knowing there was a huge possibility something could happen to her and no one would find them for possibly days. That terrified her, but there wasn’t a single other solution she could think of; Jessie needed shelter.

With that, she took a deep breath and plunged out into the night and cold. The assault was immediate and intense, dousing her in a violent hammering of frigid ice and devouring her cry. Overhead, the black wall of angry clouds clashed and roared, screaming at her even as she tucked her chin down and sprinted around the car to the trunk. Fingers fumbling, she pried open the hatch and snatched up Jessie’s baby bag. She pulled it close against her abdomen as she slammed the lid closed and trudged through the ankle-high mud to Jessie’s other side. She wrenched the door open and stuffed the bag inside.

Not knowing when, or if she would return, the bag had enough food and water, plus diapers and clothes for a few days.

“I’ll be back!” she shouted over the crack of lightning in the distance.

Not waiting for him to change her mind, she shut the door and stumbled her way forward, determined to find someone who could help them. Jessie was too important not to. Not to mention Jaxon. She would never forgive herself if anything happened to him.

Mindset, she plowed onward. Her feet sank and slipped in the sludge seemingly climbing further up her legs. Her ill preparation had her wishing for a coat, even a sweater, but knowing there was no turning back. The best she could do was wrap her arms around her own shivering middle, clench her chattering teeth and squint through the steady stream of rain blinding her, praying she wouldn’t get lost.

She couldn’t have gone far when she spotted it, the leaning bulk barely illuminated by a sudden flash of lightning. It sat not fifty feet to the south, a welcoming, but the creepy sight that had her moving apprehensively forward.

Chapter Six

JAXON

She’d been gone too long.

It was all Jaxon could think from the moment the darkness had swallowed her. It didn’t matter that the glowing digits on the dashboard declared only a mere few minutes, she hadn’t returned and that was all he could focus on.

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