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Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

" S mells like something's burning up ahead," Styx whispered. "You think he stopped to build a fire?"

Dodger kept following the deep tracks in front of them, dodging low-hanging branches from evergreen trees. Besides the smoke, everything smelled like Christmas trees. "Maybe. Probably more like he's got a cabin up here somewhere."

"We should've just gone back to Norton and got a room for the night. Not like this guy's going to go anywhere." Styx's complaining was interrupted by a chuckle. "Especially after we trashed his SUV. Ain't going nowhere in that useless piece of metal."

The smell of burning wood was growing stronger and the path through the woods ahead was widening.

"We're getting closer, stop talking," he whispered back at his partner.

Just as they made a turn in the path, moonlight shown on all the snow and showed the shape of a cabin in front of them, an old pick-up truck sat half-buried in the snow beside it. Styx started to move forward. Dodger pulled him back, motioning him to be quiet and stay put.

Up ahead, four shadows moved closer to the cabin, while the person they'd been tracking moved nearer to the cabin and the other group from the opposite direction.

Dodger motioned for Styx to follow him, and sticking to the trees to shadow their presence, he carefully inched his way close enough to get off good shots.

Suddenly the biggest shadow grabbed another and slammed him up against a porch beam. The others attacked the bigger shadow.

Styx raised his weapon.

"Wait," he said putting his hand on his partner's arm.

As they watched, another shadow moved into the light. Their target.

Dodger raised his weapon and took aim. "Now."

?

Ranger One signaled his men to fan out.

They'd found the turn-off from the main road, followed it in until they were behind two parked vehicles—an old sedan and a newer SUV, which had been disabled. The first team's work, no doubt. Not that it was needed. No one but his team was leaving this valley. Those were his orders.

"Move out," he said quietly into his com mic.

Only his team would hear those orders in their earbuds. The silence around them was eerie. It wasn't just the loss of city traffic noise. He'd served in the Army for years and was used to being out in nature, whether in the forests or in the desert. Even then there was noise from animals, rivers, birds, and humans. Here? In the woods after a blizzard? Everything was muffled by the snow, even the footsteps of his team.

"Yes, sir," the two men who'd descended the mountain earlier replied in his ear as he and the three men with him moved forward. They all wore night vision goggles to see anyone moving in front of them.

As they slowly closed the distance between them and their quarry, the two men from the first team came into view.

"Halt," he whispered just loud enough for his men to hear.

Beyond the pair was a cabin. Four people were in front. One was off to the side out of vision of the others. The pair they'd been tracking started inching to their left, keeping to the camouflage of the evergreens. They were lining up their shot trajectory.

Someone in that duo had training.

"Two and Three, flank their left. Everyone, hold your fire. Let's see what they do."

"Aye."

Movement at the cabin. The big guy slammed another guy up against the porch post, his feet off the ground. The others tried to pull him loose. The man hidden to one side, stepped out a gun pointed at the big man.

Gunfire shattered the near silence. Two people at the cabin whirled around and fired in the direction the idiot pair from team one were, while the others dove into the cabin. Team one kept firing at the cabin, only hitting the wood.

"Two. Three. Take them out."

Moments later silence came from his left.

Gunfire continued from the cabin.

"Hold your fire. Let's let them think it's done."

He counted to fifty after the last shot from inside the cabin. No one exited.

"Close in."

?

"Move!" Matt slammed into Connor's side.

Jerked back into the moment, Connor moved inside, his vision scanning the room. Where the hell was Zoe?

Dave fired into the shadows again and hurried inside. "Get the door shut!"

Connor slammed the door, then headed to the hallway. The door to the bathroom at the end of it was closed. "There's an exit beyond the pantry," he said pointing the opposite direction. "Windows in both the bedrooms back here." He kept moving assuming the others would take up defensive positions at those spots. He needed to find her.

Gunfire continued outside as he cleared the hallway in four strides. His heart beating wildly, he paused a second before opening the door.

"Zoe."

"Connor."

Her voice calmed his panic as he opened the door.

There she sat on the toilet, one hand holding the gun in her lap, the other stroking Duke's neck.

"You're here," he said, his gaze taking in every inch of her.

"I am," she said, staring straight at him.

"You're unhurt?"

"Yes. I didn't want to be a sitting target in the bed. Who's out there?"

"I found some of your family."

"My family?"

Someone tapped him on his back. Looking over his shoulder, he found Katie standing behind him, holding her backpack. "Oh, right, you want to check her out."

He stepped aside.

"Katie?" Zoe said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Luke and Abby got concerned when you never arrived at the EIS headquarters in Columbus on Sunday," she said, coming to squat down in front of her cousin-in-law. "So we came to find you."

Tears filled Zoe's eyes. "You came to find me?"

Connor wanted to pull her up into his arms and hug her close. She seemed surprised that her family would come in search of her. Wasn't that what family was supposed to do?

Katie laid her hand on her shoulder. "Of course we did."

"Gunfire's stopped outside," Luke said, coming up beside Connor, his voice sounding hoarse. "Any idea who it was?"

"No one I know," he answered, swinging his attention back to Zoe who was getting her blood pressure checked by Katie.

"It's Markus Louden," she said.

"You remembered?" he asked.

"Yes. All of it."

"All of it?"

She nodded. "The shooting and why." Then she stared straight at him, something tender in her eyes. "I'm not married, either."

He wanted to say something. To let her know that news pleased him.

"Luke, get back up here," Dave called from the front room. "They're moving in."

"Shit." Luke turned and hurried up the hall. "How many?"

"You two stay here." Connor grabbed the bathroom door and started to close it.

"Connor." Katie stopped him, holding out the gun she'd holstered earlier.

"I can't."

"Yes, you can," Zoe said, her cheeks flushing with anger. "It's self-defense. An ax isn't helpful in a gun battle."

"Zoe," he said, not wanting to argue.

"Please?" she asked with concern in her voice.

If she'd grilled him or nagged him, he would've been able to refuse. Instead, he held out his hand and took Katie's gun. "Stay in here."

Gunfire sounded at the front of the cabin as he closed the door. It had been years since he'd used a gun, but it was like riding a bike. He checked the weapon to be sure the safety was off and headed to the front to help the others. Whoever this Markus guy was, his henchmen were going to have to go through him to get to Zoe.

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