“Like I can see what I’m shooting at,” Niki screamed. The bastard, all he wanted was the woman. He was really good at just sitting on his ass and letting her do all the work, then telling her how to do it. She’d do better without him, and maybe, just maybe, the day was coming when she’d do something about that. Right now, though, she had to track some deer. She moved forward, her footing sturdier once she was entirely under the trees. She picked up the pace then, continuing in the direction she’d heard her deer take, sweeping her hand from side to side and pulling the trigger until the hammer just made a clicking sound and there were no more bullets left. On her right, Darwin was shooting, too, finally more concerned about not letting the two get away than he was about wounding or killing his prize.
Neither of them were trained shooters. Even on a good day, all they could do was point and pull the trigger; it wasn’t like they usually cared if they hit anything or not. Just the fear of a weapon, the fear of getting shot, was usually enough to make people do what they wanted, and when they did shoot someone it was always up close where there was no question of missing. They’d never before needed more than a bullet or two, maybe three, to get what they wanted.
Within seconds, Darwin was out of ammunition himself. They stopped, unsure what to do now. They flicked their flashlight beams around, but couldn’t see anything other than black tree trunks, underbrush, and ice. Well, wasn’t this great? Here they were, standing in the woods, cold, angry, and effectively disarmed. To top it off, that bitch Lorelei had gotten away again. While there were plenty of sounds in the forest, none seemed to be coming from the human deer.
A tickle of warning crawled up Niki’s spine. Without bullets she didn’t feel nearly as confident as she had just moments ago. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea. Besides, she was coming down from the last hit, and she needed another one pretty soon. She’d feel better then.
“Forget it,” she said angrily. “We’ll go back to the house and get warm, and in the morning when the sun comes up and melts the ice on the road, we can get out of here.”
“But what about Lorelei?” Darwin asked, whining like a kid who’d just dropped his ice-cream cone in the sand.
Niki tamped down her surge of jealousy. “Your bitch Lorelei and her friend are going to freeze to death out there.” With her useless gun, she gestured into the depths of the forest. It was so dark, and shit, now that the hunt had lost its appeal, the cold was starting to really seep through her coat.
“But …”
“You want to keep looking? Fine. Go right ahead. I’m going back to the house and I’m going to enjoy myself.”
“Just five more minutes of looking around and—” There was a faint rustle behind them. Darwin went still. The beam from his flashlight danced across the dark forest floor. “Did you hear that?”
Too late, Niki said, “Turn off that light!” She fumbled with cold gloved hands to press the switch on the one she carried to the off position, but it was too late. In the beam of Darwin’s flashlight, she saw the long, thick tree limb that came swinging from behind, like a baseball bat aimed at the side of his head.
Chapter Eight
Gabriel pulled them to a halt behind yet another big tree. “Stay here, and don’t move a muscle,” he whispered.
He moved away from her and she almost lunged to grab his jacket and hold him back. She didn’t deliberately go toward danger, she ran away from it; that’s what made sense to her. But Gabriel was military, and his training was not only to go to the danger, but to neutralize it. Her heart jumped into her throat and lodged there, knowing he was risking his life. Every instinct in her screamed for her to stop him, beg him not to leave her, to hold him there and keep him as safe as possible.
She bit her lip until the sharp coppery taste of blood touched her tongue. She had to do exactly as he said, or she’d be endangering him even more.
Gabriel stooped slowly and silently, his hands sweeping the ground around him. He picked up an old fallen limb that was about three feet long and hefted it, then silently discarded it and began feeling for another one. Lolly tried to keep an eye on Darwin and Niki for him, so she could warn him if they got closer. They had stopped, and from the sharpness of their voices, appeared to be arguing, though she couldn’t make out any individual words. She glanced back at Gabriel, and he was gone.
In a panic she looked in all directions, but she couldn’t see him. He had disappeared into the rain and darkness.
But if she couldn’t see him, then likely Darwin and Niki wouldn’t be able to either … except for those damn flashlights. Maybe she could draw their attention her way—No. She discarded the idea as soon as it formed. Gabriel had told her not to move. If she did, not only would he not have any idea where she was, in the darkness he wouldn’t be able to tell her from the bad guys. Gabriel McQueen was hunting, and she didn’t want to get in his way.
The shadows were deep there under the trees, but the icy coating on the trees and bushes seemed to give off a faint glitter, reflecting back the light from the flashlights that Niki and Darwin were waving around. The flashlights pinpointed their positions as exactly as if they were caught on stage by spotlights. There was a glow all around them, as if the air was full of tiny particles of ice. The scene would have been breathtakingly pretty if it wasn’t so breathtakingly cold, and she wasn’t so damn scared.
Then she caught sight of Gabriel, easing up behind Darwin, every step as slow and careful as that of a big cat stalking an antelope. Lolly remained frozen to the spot, afraid to move, afraid she’d make a noise that would distract him.