Kruze kept an eye out for flashes or reflections off a scope or binoculars that might be behind him or off to the side. If he were the hunter today, he’d settle on his belly in a blind built high in one of the trees. He’d take time to sight his scope, and he’d send others to brush his prey toward him. He’d make his prey go where he wanted them. Where he could kill them without being seen.
But Kruze didn’t think anyone from NYC would be familiar enough with this part of Maine or smart enough to track him and Bree. It was more likely Vick had relied on maps to get him here. Problem with that thinking was most maps were one-dimensional images of topography and geological features. Even the computerized versions left out significant details, like this rock face in the middle of nowhere and how steep it was. Real hunters, on the other hand, knew the characteristics of the lands where they hunted, because they’d actually put boots on the ground, followed deer trails and tracked animals. They knew where to look for bear scat, tree bark bruised by moose antlers or raked by bear claws. But now, some guy from New York City thought he could hunt Bree?
We’ll just see about that. Kruze grabbed onto the protruding edge of the rock above her, then settled over her while she clung panting to this vertical face of basalt. Further up, the basalt turned into wider columns with deeper crevices and cracks. It’d be easier to climb. But Bree was wearing out, and they still had a ways to go.
He wrapped a solid arm around her waist and bowed his forehead between her shoulder blades while they rested. He was damned near dead on his feet, and she needed to catch her breath. Not that the altitude was high or thin, but more because she was running scared. She hadn’t planned on rock-climbing or falling out of the sky. He was proud of her. She was so much stronger than he’d realized.
Kruze prayed his stamina held out until he got Bree to safety. The pain in his side had become a nagging brand that lanced all the way through his gut now. When they’d started climbing, he’d been running on adrenaline, pissed that Harvey Lantz had the gawddamned nerve to send an assassin after Bree. And Robin! A three-year-old baby, for fuck sakes! Just thinking about that bastard Vick riled Kruze again.
But the euphoria that came from that initial blast of adrenaline was long gone, and he was hurting. “Slow and steady,” he told Bree, keeping his tone calm. “We’re ahead of the game. Just a couple more miles once we’re over the top, sugar. We can make it.”
She nodded, her fingers dug into the dirt and her knee wedged in the crack between two rocks. “I’ve never rock climbed before,” she admitted.
“Easy, isn’t it?”
She barked out a sarcastic, “Yeah, sure. Easy. Unless we fall.”
“Don’t look down. You’re doing great. Once we get up top, we’ll be home safe.”
“What if Damon catches us before we get there?”
Kruze ignored her question. No sense borrowing trouble. “What’s he look like? Is he tan and rugged, or does he shave his junk every day and drink over-priced mocha latte bullshit out of a paper cup called a venti?” Kruze tweaked that last word with a healthy shot of sarcasm.
“Shave his junk?” Bree chuckled. “Mocha latte bullshit?”
“You know what I mean. Is he a real man or another wannabe tough guy with a big mouth? Has he done any military service? What pictures are on his office walls? Fancy art or—?”
She put her head down.
“Bree, are you okay?” he asked, twisting his upper body to see her face.
“I’m okay,” she murmured breathlessly. But she was still looking down between her and the basalt she was clinging to. “What if I fall?”
His arm tightened around her waist. “Simple. I’ll catch you.” He looked down and to his right, where he suspected Vick would show, if he’d even tracked them this far. Way down there, a deer trail ran along this basalt face for miles. Some parts of that trail were clearings wide enough that a hunter could easily see him and Bree—if he were smart enough to look up. To Kruze’s left, the same trail ran in the opposite direction, but without offering the same visibility.
“But Kruze…” Bree was breathing through pursed lips now. “If I don’t make it, if I die out here—”
“Kee-rist sake. You’re not going to die out here, not with me on your six.” He was damned sure of that.
“Listen to me,” she whispered to the cold, rock wall. She was shaking now. “Please, I need you to hear me. If something happens, if I don’t make it back, promise me you’ll raise Robin. Please. Tell her I never stopped loving her, but I need to know you’ll always be there for her. My mom and dad love her, but she needs her daddy. Please. Never let her forget me.” Bree’s forehead tipped into the stone, and Kruze knew she was crying, that she didn’t want him to see.
Burrowing his nose between that soft fragrant part of her neck and the collar of his leather jacket, he huffed out a warm breath. If she married him or not, he’d always love this woman. “Tell our daughter you love her yourself, sugar. That little girl’s waiting for both of us, not just me. Now get your ass up this hill.” He kneed Bree’s backside very gently to get her moving, also to make it clear he would kick that ass before he’d let her die.
“Okay,” she said a little too quietly.
“Don’t you dare give up on me, Banks,” he growled.
“That’s what I told you yesterday, when you passed out.” Her voice wavered.
And Kruze wanted to kick his own ass. Bree had worked her backside off yesterday, then stayed awake all night guarding him. He’d been driving her too hard. But not once had she complained during this forced march. She’d kept up and, like him, she was carrying a full load. Bree hadn’t lost her nerve. The poor thing was simply worn out.
“Change of plans, sugar,” he whispered into that same warm spot in her neck. “Let’s take a break.”
“Up here? No. Uh-uh. Let’s keep climbing. I can do it, honest.”
“You’re tired. When you’re ready, we’ll move, but we’re not going to make it to my place. I’m taking you somewhere else.”
“Will we still be safe?”
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely.” He kissed the side of her head. “You’ll always be safe with me, and we’ll be out of sight. Would you like that?”
A giant sigh breathed out of her. “Oh, yes.”
“Deep breaths now.”
She leaned into him, just a tiny bit, not letting go of her grip completely, just straightening her arms enough to press her back more fully against his chest. “I love you. I kind of hope we’re pregnant again, too.”
He hadn’t expected that. Hope bubbled to life in his foolish heart. If she wanted to be pregnant again, maybe she wanted him in her life, too. Two people raising two kids. Made sense. “That’s the spirit. Think of all you’ve got to live for, Bree. Think of Baby Bean tucked deep inside your body. He needs his mom. Think of Robin. Hell, think of me.”
“He needs his mom?”
“Hell yes, he.” Kruze nuzzled Bree’s neck again, so damned happy at the tiny ray of light she’d just given him. “We all need you, Bree. Me, Robin, and Baby Bean. Now get your ass moving. My ass makes a big target. I’ll bet even a city boy like Vick can hit it from wherever he is.”
Bree breathed out a quiet chuckle and reached for another handhold. “I happen to love your ass.”
Kruze arched forward, bumping his thigh against her backside again. “Just keep moving. Slow and steady will win this race.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bree was fairly certain they were close to the top of these freezing cold pillars since they were now bathed in bright sunshine. Once they’d left the shadows of all the trees behind, they’d been out in the open. She had no idea what time it was. Despite what Kruze said, she was still in a race to get out of sight. She was a few feet ahead of him when her foot slipped. All at once, she was hanging by her fingertips, her feet pedaling the smooth stone column for traction. Panic flooded her brain. Robin, Kruze, and Baby Bean! They neede
d her. She didn’t want to die. Not like this.
She’d no more than lost her nerve, when a big, wide hand slammed up under her backside, holding her firmly in place, as if she’d simply landed in her office chair.
“I’ve got you.” Kruze’s calm voice was just what she needed. “You’re not going anywhere. You’ve got a solid foothold just left of your right foot. About three inches over.”
Blindly, she kicked at the rock, searching for that toehold. At last. Got it!
“There you go. Wedge your toes in nice and tight. Trust me. It’ll hold you.”
“Th-thanks.” Her heart was flipping out, but Kruze was right. The tip of her shoe fit in that narrow crack; she wasn’t going to fall. Bree closed her eyes and hugged the stone face.
Whew! That was close.
“Okay, now that you’ve had another damned coffee break,” he drawled as if she really were a slacker, trying to lighten the tension, poking at her to let her know he had her six. “Start moving sideways, Bree. Not up. We’re only going about ten, fifteen more feet, so take it slow. Baby steps.”
She did as he said.
“That’s it. You can do it. I’m right behind you, moving with you. No way can you fall.”
Her heart was still throwing a fit, but Kruze had a solid hold of her backside, just like a father might do with his daughter, while he was teaching her to ride a bike. The comparison humbled Bree. She could clearly see Kruze running beside a pink, little bike with training wheels, holding the back of Robin’s seat or maybe her pants pockets. Maybe even her little butt, while the bike teetered from side to side. Robin would be grinning, just because her daddy was teaching her how to ride.
The tender picture brought tears to Bree’s eyes. Lord, she loved this man so much that it hurt. She needed him in her life. Robin needed him, too.
She saw it then, a much wider crack, rising up between the columns to her right, wide enough to crawl into. At least, she could catch her breath there, maybe eat another tasteless protein bar. Maybe even warm up an MRE or two—or three.
“Is that where we’re going?” she asked, nodding her chin at what looked more and more like a small cave.
“Yeah. It’s perfect, right?”
“It is.” Bree swiped a quick hand over her eyes, and carefully made her way to her next coffee break. It was essentially a hollowed-out hole, a bubble in the basalt column. It was deep enough they’d both fit. Crawling in as far as she could without bumping her head on the narrow, rounded ceiling, Bree pulled her knees to her chest to make room for Kruze.
As soon as she’d wedged herself in the farthest corner, a wave of brain-numbing claustrophobia struck, strangling her. Damn it. Suddenly, she was back in that cold, narrow hole. She had to get out of there. She needed sunshine and air and—
“Hey, sugar. You got room for me in here?” Thank God! It was Kruze blocking the entrance. Not Josephus. Not his mean women. Just Kruze. The light around and behind him made him look like a grizzly bear with a crazy halo. She wasn’t trapped. He was her very best friend. Her lover.
Bree was so frazzled, her heart all but tap-danced on her ribs. “Okay, okay, I can do this. I can.”
He settled beside her. “Nice digs you got here.”
She bowed her head so Kruze wouldn’t see the panic in her eyes and think she was a complete lunatic. “Yeah. It’s all the rage, shabby chic, caveman style. I k-k-knew you’d like it.”
For heaven’s sake, she’d come undone over nothing. This was no hole in the ground, and Kruze would never let anything happen to her. She forced her head up. The smart man had fastened his gear bag on his back somehow. But when he looked at her, Bree’s heart fell. The whites of his eyes were a bleary red, and his forehead was slick with sweat.
“You’re sick.”
“Yeah, I’m a little warm. Where are those pills you rescued for me?”
“Here, in my, err, your jacket pocket. Get all the way in first,” she scolded, scooting out of his way as much as she could. “Then I’ll give them to you.”
This hole in the basalt wasn’t a crack, as much as a big, rounded sphere, possibly the remnants of a bubble that had formed inside molten lava in prehistoric times. It wasn’t deep, but it was wide enough they could either sit or lay side-by-side. Its ceiling narrowed into darkness, limiting headroom, but the floor was comprised of small stones and black sand, almost comfortable. They were out of sight. That mattered the most.
Kruze slouched out of his gear bag, while Bree offloaded her backpack. His bag ended between them, while she put hers at her right, out of the way. Bree unzipped his bag and pulled out two bottled waters. “Here’s the antibiotic. I’ll fix something to eat.”
For once, he was obedient. Kruze gulped the pills and emptied the entire bottle, before wiping the back of his hand over his mouth and stuffing the tiny bottle into his jeans pocket. “Is this a good hideout or what?” he asked wearily, his wrists on his bent knees.
Bree nodded. “It is. Do you have any hand warmers?”
“Sure. They’re in my bag somewhere.” Tipping back, he leaned his head to the stone wall behind him. “Kee-rist, I’m beat.”
Rummaging through his bag, Bree unzipped pockets as she went. Of course, the hand warmers were in the last pocket. “Found them. Glad you didn’t forget.”
“You didn’t forget me.”
Bree rolled her eyes at that cheesy come-on. “Yeah, well, you are kind of unforgettable.”
“I’m the real deal.” He was breathing hard, his chest heaving. “And I’m hot.”
“That’s because you’ve got a fever.”
“Damn Bruce.”
Bree warmed a couple prepackaged MRE’s as quickly as she could.
By then Kruze’s breathing was even, but he’d bowed his chin to his chest.
“Breakfast is ready,” she said loudly, in case he’d fallen asleep.
He lifted his head, cleared his throat and winked. “Do you know how long it’s been since anyone’s fixed breakfast for me?”
“It’s no big deal. Here, eat up.” She handed the pan over. Yes, snuggling with Kruze would soothe her ragged nerves, but if she did, she knew she’d give into him. Again. She simply had no restraint where he was concerned.
When he took the pan’s handle, his much larger hand settled over hers. “Thanks.”
The air between them crackled with so many unspoken words. “It’s all yours,” she said quietly. “When you’re done, I’ll warm up some more and eat.”
He magically produced two of those darned metal sporks out of nowhere, a feverish sparkle in his eye. “That’s not how it works. We eat together, then we’ll warm a couple more MREs if we’re still hungry. Understood?”
“But you’re the one who’s sick.”
Kruze waved her worry aside. “I’ve been dinged up before; I’ll get dinged up again. Lucky I’ve got you looking out for me, which is more than I’ve had a few other times. Plus, Vick can’t find us here. We didn’t leave a trail, and this hole-in-the-wall isn’t visible from below. The only way in is the way we came. Now…” He held out a spork. “Are you with me?”
She accepted his rules and the spork. “Yes, I’m with you.” Bree couldn’t deny the comfort those words brought to her poor heart. It stopped its relentless hammering. She could breathe again, and she did love this man. But was love enough? She was beginning to think it was.
Together they emptied the pan. Bree warmed another batch of MREs. After that was gone, they each ate a protein bar. Kruze cleaned their eating utensils and the pan with antiseptic wipes, while she tugged the rolled-up blankets out of her pack. Since she was still wearing his jacket, Bree handed the blankets to Kruze.
“Uh-uh,” he growled instead of taking them. “We sleep together, Bree. Get used to it.” He laid down with his back to the opening. Bree settled in beside him, her back to his front. Kruze rested one arm under her head for a pillow, the other around her chest while they spooned. �
�I love you,” he whispered, as he pulled the blankets over them. “No matter what happens between us, I hope you’ll always know that.”
“I do know you love me,” she whispered back, snuggling into the delicious warmth of his body. “I should’ve checked your bandage before we laid down, though.”
“It can wait. I’m fine,” he growled. “I’ve eaten. I’ve got you in my arms. What more does a man need?”
“To be home in his own bed?”
“Tomorrow, sugar. We’ll be home tomorrow. Maybe later today. You’ll see.”
She fell asleep with Kruze telling a story about a log home with fantastical safety features, moose grazing in the back yard, and windows with metal shutters that kept the bad guys out and the good guys safe inside. If only fairytales came true.
Chapter Thirty
Kruze lay awake after Bree dozed off, content to hold her. Chance had yet to make contact, a damned concerning development. He should’ve been onsite hours ago. There was no way to warn him about the active shooter prowling the woods, not from inside this stone cave. Not that Chance couldn’t take care of himself; he could. But it didn’t make sense that Vick was even here. If he were gunning for Bree, who else was working with him? It was time to do a little reconnoitering.
Quietly and carefully, Kruze eased away from Bree, then wrapped the blankets around her to keep her warm while he was gone. With practiced ease, he armed himself with the two Glock 17s that went in his holster, plus the extra magazines in his pockets. A subcompact Ruger LCP, slid easily into the holster on his thigh. Next, his eight-inch serrated hunting knife went inside the sheath of his right boot.
Silently, he retrieved his rope and gloves, then tied off one end of the rope at the cave’s opening. Sliding his hands and fingers into the gloves, he grabbed the rope and kicked away from their hiding place. He wouldn’t be gone long.
Damned (SOBs Book 4) Page 23