By the time Vandy emptied her extinguisher, the flames had been dampened. The room was filled with smoke, however; it was choking her.
“It’s gonna get cold in here,” Sam said, “but I have to open the windows and get this smoke out of here.”
Sam had deftly moved from window to window, seeing if he could spot the men who had fired the shots.
“Don’t get near the window,” she said. “They’ll shoot you. I heard gunshots.”
“I heard them too,” he said. “But none of the shots were fired at the cabin.”
“Did they just fire into the air?” she asked. “What were they shooting at?”
Sam knew exactly where the shots were aimed, but didn’t want to alarm Vandy any more than she already was.
“I still don’t see anyone,” he said, looking out the window where the Molotov cocktail had come through. “I do see tracks—coming and then going. This was a hit and run.”
Sam opened his closet and pulled two floor standing fans from it. He opened one window on the south side of the cabin and one on the west side. He plugged in the fans and turned them on, facing the windows.
“Sorry, it’s going to get cold in here but these fans will draw out the smoke soon. I’ll get you an extra blanket. Wrap up in it while I am out.” Sam grabbed his pistol from the top drawer of kitchen counter. He looked at Vandy, “Can you make it back to the table?”
“You’re not going to leave me, are you?” she asked, panicked.
He slipped his massive hands around her arms as if to steady her. His touch gave her immediate comfort. She wanted nothing more than to slip her arms under his and squeeze him tight. He looked into her eyes. Vandy returned the gaze.
“I have you. I won’t let them hurt you, I promise,” he said, nearly in a whisper.
“Just don’t leave me,” she pleaded.
“I need to see if they’re still out there,” he said, slipping on his coat. “I won’t venture far.”
“Don’t be gone long, please,” Vandy pleaded. “I don’t want to be alone.” She watched him slip on his hat, scarf and left glove, presumably to leave his right hand free to handle the pistol.
“I won’t be long,” he said.
Sam opened the door carefully, sticking the barrel of his pistol out first, half expecting to hear shots ring out. He didn’t.
He slipped out onto the porch. The snow was still falling though the wind had slowed and seemed to be dying more and more. The storm had long ago reached record-level blizzard status and was also beginning to taper. Sam estimated the snow accumulation to be nearly twelve inches, not unheard of but certainly rare, even for this area of Montana.
The first thing he noticed confirmed exactly what he thought: all four tires on his vehicle were flat. That accounted for the four shots he heard immediately before the Molotov cocktail came crashing through the window. Any thought he may have had to take Vandy and make a break for it had vanished. They were stuck.
Their plan was simple, Sam thought. Burn the cabin to the ground. If he and Vandy died in the fire, all the better. If we made it out, we could go nowhere in a truck with flat tires. The men could slip down again and try burning the cabin down again, or perhaps take more direct, aggressive action.
From the northwest corner of the cabin he saw trenches in the snow made by the men who had tossed the Molotov cocktail through his window. He guessed there were at least two men. That made sense. The other two were wounded and not likely to trek it in the deep snow even if they were still helping out. He saw two distinct paths, which told him the men approached, launched the cocktail and ran.
The approach made sense to him. The area leading to the cabin from that angle was easy to approach by a vehicle built to drive in the snow.
He continued to circle the perimeter of the cabin. The snow leading to the cabin from all other angles seemed smooth and untouched. It was just the one area. He guessed that they might find a position to see his cabin with binoculars. They would want to see if the cabin burned to the ground or not, and if not, they’d want to keep a watchful eye on them.
He scanned areas where he thought they might be hiding out and watching. The wind and snowfall made it difficult to see, but that was good in a way. They would have to deal with limited visibility as well. He looked off in the distance. He saw what he thought was the most likely area the men would position themselves. It was a position about 450 yards out, elevated about 100 feet. There was a clear line of sight to the front of his cabin. A decent marksman with a high-powered rifle could pick them off, even in a moderate wind.
When they see the cabin is still intact and not burned to the ground, they might return, he thought. He looked at his watch; it was after 4:30 p.m. It would be sunset around 6:00 p.m. If they decided to approach again, it would be after dark, he was certain.
He slipped back into the cabin.
“You can come out,” he said. “They’re gone, at least for now. It looks like the smoke is clearing quickly. We’ll be able to get this place warmed up soon.”
Sam began scurrying around the cabin, turning off the fans and closing the windows.
“It stinks in here,” she said. “And I’m freezing my ass off.”
“Yep, the smell won’t go away and time soon, but I’ll get it heated up,” he said. “This poor cabin will have to have a serious remodel when all is said and done.”
“Can you call the police?” she asked. “Maybe we can get them out here sooner.”
“I’m afraid I have some more bad news in the regard,” he said, throwing logs into the fire place.
“Oh god, more bad news?” she repeated. “What is it?”
“My satellite cell phone was on the coffee table, right where that Molotov cocktail landed.” He lit the kindling in the fireplace.
Vandy looked at the burned and melted mess that was once a satellite phone.
“Oh shit!” she yelled. “We’re cut off completely from the outside world.”
“Stay wrapped in the blanket until the place heats up. In the meantime, I’ll figure out how to cover that window. Don’t worry, we’ll be toasty in no time at all.”
With the fireplace ignited, Sam walked to a closet and retrieved a large equipment box. He opened the box and began pulling equipment from it.
“What is that?” she asked. “What are you doing?”
“The men trying to get to you—I know what their approach is now,” he said. “I can’t imagine them coming from another direction, not in this weather. This is a camera with a wide-angle lens. I’m going to position it toward their approach area and plug it into the monitor over by the desk. If they come back, we’ll be able to see them.”
“We can’t stay here, Sam,” Vandy shouted. “We have to get out of here.”
“We don’t have a choice,” he said. “They shot out all four of my tires—that’s what those gunshots were. We are here until someone comes for us.”
“For fuck sake. Why didn’t they just come in after us?” she asked.
“Because they didn’t want to die. I took on all four of them earlier, and wounded two of them,” Sam said. “I suspect there was only two out there earlier. They realize I am a serious obstacle and were not prepared to deal with me. When they began this little adventure, they thought they were hunting down an unarmed, unprotected female. I was a big surprise to them. They’re not going away but they’re playing it cautious. They are not desperate enough to take me on directly—not yet anyway.”
“What is the plan now?” she asked.
“Staying put is still our best bet for now,” Sam said. “They have to deal with the blizzard the same as us. I think I spotted their vantage point. They are just now realizing the Molotov cocktail didn’t work. They’ll spend a little time planning their next move.”
“Which will be… what?”
“If they had the foresight to bring a high-powered rifle, they may just wait to see if we come out so they can pick us off. They will believe we have to m
ake a run for it sooner than later. It will be dark in a couple of hours. If we don’t emerge before then, they may come for us.”
“Why do you think that?” Vandy asked.
“Because it’s what I’d do.”
“Fucking blizzard,” she cried out.
“The blizzard may be keeping us alive,” Sam said.
“How do you figure that?”
“Easy. The twelve inches of snow limits their mobility. That’s why they ran. I could have picked them off one by one had they stayed. They would be freezing out there. Without a thick blanket of snow top of the cabin, they could loft a couple of Molotov cocktails on the roof and this place burns to the ground and all we could do is watch. The roof won’t burn with that blanket of snow up there, that’s why they tossed it through the window. This blizzard is keeping us from moving but it’s causing them problems, too.”
Vandy’s hands were shaking. It was still cold in the cabin. Tears were streaming down her face, “I—I—don’t want to be here. I want to go.”
“I understand,” Sam replied. “Look at our situation, Vandy. We have no vehicle and no communication. There’s a snowstorm raging out there and you can only walk on one leg. Our options are severely limited.”
“Dammit!” she screamed. “I know you’re right.”
“Listen, Vandy, please don’t panic. I’ve protected you so far, haven’t I?”
She nodded, still crying.
“Then trust me,” he said. “I won’t let them hurt you again—I promise.”
She nodded, extending her arms toward him, “Can you just hold me for a minute,” she said. “I’m so scared and cold.”
He hesitated for a split second and then embraced her. It had been a long time since he held a woman. She felt so tiny and soft in his arms. She was shivering, cold and scared to death. She held him for a long time.
“The fire will heat the place up pretty quickly,” he said. “It’s one of the few advantages of having such a small place.”
“Are we safe for the moment?” she asked, finally releasing him.
“I think it’s safe for you to get back in the bed,” he said, “under the covers. Do you want to do that? I know you’re cold.”
She shook her head, no. “You do think it’s safe, then?”
He nodded, “For the time being.”
“No, I don’t want to lay in the bed. I want to sit at the table with you,” she said. “If I have to freeze my tits off to stay near you, so be it. We never got our coffee. I’ll make it.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said. “Why don’t you sit and stay bundled up?”
“No, I need to be doing something,” she said.
Vandy draped the blanket over her shoulders and began to make coffee. Sam began to cover the broken window with cardboard and duct tape. Though the smoke had cleared, the smell of burned wood and kerosene still wafted through out the cabin.
He then set up the video camera through a window with a clear line of sight to the approach the men had used. Within minutes she could see a wide-angle view of the outside of the cabin on the monitor.
As she watched him work she realized just how lucky she was that he was with her. He had saved her life, not once but twice and nursed her wounds. He had treated her with nothing but comfort and kindness.
“What else can I do?” she asked.
“Hunker down, and wait for the cavalry to get here. The way I figure, we have until dark. That’s when they’ll make their move. If it’s a fight they want, I’ll be ready.”
“The wind is dying down,” she noted.
“I saw that,” Sam replied. “But the snow is still falling.”
“So…?
“We wait.”
“Just wait?” she said. “I’m not very good at that.”
“Well, you’ll need to learn,” Sam said. “I’ve been on many missions, Vandy. You might see all the action in the movies but in real life, there are a lot of times you have to sit quietly and wait, sometimes for a long time. This is one of those times.”
Chapter 14
“Come have your coffee,” she said. “You can’t do any more right now.”
“It’s getting really warm in here now,” he said.
“That’s because you’re working your ass off,” she said. “Come, sit with me. Have your coffee.”
Sam peeled off his shirt, damp with sweat, leaving only a sheer white tank top t-shirt covering him from the waist up. Vandy had also removed the blanket she had wrapped around her and folded it neatly, sitting it off to the side.
He checked the monitor—no activity could be seen.
“What is this icon?” she asked, pointing to the lower left of the screen.
“Motion sensor built into the camera,” Sam replied. “It’s great for people like me who live alone. An alert goes off if someone comes within 20 yards of the cabin.”
Sam sat at the table where he caught the aroma, “Oh wow, that coffee smells good.”
“It is,” she said. “I’m on my second cup.”
He took a healthy sip, “Ah, I needed that.”
“It’s a breakfast blend,” she said. “My favorite.”
“It’s good.”
She put her hand on his hand, “Thank you Sam. Thank you for saving me. Thank you for caring for me and protecting me. I’d have been so screwed if you hadn’t been here.”
He felt himself blushing, “It’s all part of the job.”
She shook her head, “That’s bullshit. You didn’t sign up for all this,” she said. “At times, I treated you horribly. I behaved so badly at first. I said horrible things; treated you so disrespectfully… I’m so ashamed.”
She began to tear up.
“There’s no call for that,” he said.
She looked at him, her eyes still moist. Sam met her gaze and smiled. When she didn’t avert her eyes after a moment, he finally looked away.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked tentatively.
“Yes.”
“You won’t get mad?”
He paused for a second, “Of course not.”
“Can I… touch your face?” she said.
The question froze him in his tracks, “If you’d like.”
She stood and leaned over the corner of the table. She reached out carefully and lightly touched his face, allowing her fingers to lightly move over the burns. Sam watched her eyes as she looked over his face. She leaned in to get a closer look. Her face was less than a foot away from his. Her eyes looked both curious and sad.
“Does it hurt?” she asked, continuing to run her fingers gently over the scar tissue.
“Those areas are more sensitive to hot and cold, but other than that...”
Her touch was sending sensations throughout his body. He had not had a woman touch him like that in a very long time. It didn’t feel like a touch from someone simply curious about his scars. It felt… caring… warm… affectionate. He swallowed and held in a breath as her fingers moved from his cheek to his lips. Her face had moved in closer to his; he could smell her hair; he could hear her breathing.
He glanced at Vandy’s body. Even through the thermal underwear he could tell she was beautifully shaped; tiny waist, beautifully formed legs, round natural breasts; full, luscious lips; silky brown hair; and the eyes… hypnotic… magnetic eyes. They were eyes that could stare right through him.
“You’re really a very handsome man,” she said softly, continuing to lightly touch his face. “You know that, right?”
Her right hand moved away from his face and down his chest. Her hand was moving gently across his pectorals. The sensations surging through his body at her touch were intensifying.
“I don’t think so,” he replied, touching her hand as it moved across his chest. “You should see how people look at me. I don’t think they believe I’m handsome.”
“You are,” she insisted, “and you’re so kind and gentle. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had a man sho
w me real kindness?”
“I can’t imagine any man not showing you kindness,” he replied.
“I’ve never had a man care so much to protect me like you have? No one has ever sacrificed some piece of himself for me?”
“That’s their loss,” he said.
“The men in my life always want something from me,” she reflected. “Money, position, influence…sex.” She chuckled lightly, “Actually, some of the women too.”
She looked down. Tears filled her eyes and began to roll down her cheeks. “I’ve been so lonely, Sam. So alone. I’ve never felt so alone. And to have you do what you’ve done for me… the risk, the sacrifice, the pain. It’s overwhelming to me.”
He placed his hand under her chin and lifted her face. Their eyes met. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her. He leaned in slowly, half thinking she might back away. She didn’t. She leaned in as well, her mouth opening slightly. It was then he noticed something.
“You’re bleeding,” he said.
“What? Where?”
“There,” he said, pointing.
Vandy looked down and saw that one of the cuts just above her left breast had opened. The blood stained her top.
“Oh, shit,” she said. “Do you think it’s serious?” She moved back to her chair and sat.
“Probably not,” he said, “but we should check it out. It probably reopened when you were helping me put out the fire. Here, let’s take a look.”
“What do I need to do, pull my top down over my shoulder?” she asked.
“I can’t re-dress the wound unless you pull the top down some to expose the cut,” Sam replied.
Vandy pulled the top off of her right shoulder, exposing the bandage and the top part of her breast.
“I’m going to peel the bandage away,” he said. “it means I will have to touch you.”
“At this point, modesty be damned,” she said. “It’s not like you didn’t get a long look at my tits earlier. You know there are magazines and websites that would pay a fortune to see what you’ve seen…”
“And it would be worth every penny,” he said. He froze for a second, realizing what he’d said. His face turned red. Vandy shook her head and chuckled.
Brotherhood Protectors: STEELE RANGER (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 10