The climb was more difficult than she’d thought, but Hannah didn’t complain. She barely felt the fatigue sinking into her bones, the threat of morning sickness seesawing in her gut, or the cold numbing her fingers and toes. The only sensations reaching her brain at the moment were pain and grief and a stark sense of loss.
Damn John Maitland and his twisted sense of honor, anyway.
She knew exactly what kind of man he was. Courageous. Heroic. Too damn honorable for his own good. He’d proven it to her a hundred different ways in the last few days. And because she knew him so well, she knew he would keep his word and walk away from her when all was said and done.
The thought broke her heart.
But Hannah knew there was nothing she could do. She might know what kind of man he is, but John didn’t. Until he realized that the mistakes of the seventeen-year-old boy he’d been didn’t define the man he’d become, until he came to terms with his past—including the conviction for domestic violence—there was nothing she could do to change his mind. It might not have hurt so much if she hadn’t fallen crazy in love with him.
After ten minutes of climbing, they reached the ridge. Neither of them spoke as they took a few minutes to catch their breath. The terrain was rugged and steep. The pines scattered about were sparse and gnarled from mountain extremes. She’d expected the landscape to be familiar, but it wasn’t.
John raised his hand and pointed. “The ravine where you were rescued is about twenty yards that way.”
The scene flashed in Hannah’s mind. John swooping down from the helicopter. Wind and snow flying. His hands gentle and reassuring. His voice smoothing away her terror. “Even if I live to be a hundred, I’ll never forget that moment.” She risked a look at him. “I’ll never forget that you saved my life.”
He gazed back at her, his jaw set, his eyes as blue as the alpine sky. “I was doing my job, Red.”
She couldn’t help but wonder how he could look at her like that and know in the back of his mind he was going to walk away. The sense of loss staggered her. She wasn’t going to be able to reach him, she realized. And though he stood less than a foot away from her, she sensed him slipping from her grasp.
Unable to speak for the emotions spiraling through her, she walked to the edge of the road and stopped. Beyond, she could hear the rush of wind through the trees, the crackle of aspen leaves, the call of a bird from the top of an ancient pine.
“That was a tough climb,” he said after a moment. “Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m okay.”
“You’re pale. Why don’t you sit down and rest for a few minutes while I have a look around?”
She was about to decline when a glint of silver in the snow twenty feet away snagged her attention. A swirl of remembrance danced in a corner of her brain. A silver buckle. Soft leather. The flash of memory made her heart pound. Without speaking, she started toward it, first at a walk, then she was running. Something dark lay just beneath the snow. Dropping to her knees, she brushed away the snow and reached for a leather strap.
“Hannah, wait.”
Ignoring John’s voice, she tugged on the strap. A small leather handbag materialized. Navy, not black. Inexpensive. The familiarity of it jolted her. “Oh my God.”
Hannah started when John laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Yours?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Plucking off his gloves, he eased the purse from her grasp. “Easy, Red. Let me.”
“I need to see what’s inside.”
“Okay.” He unzipped the closure with trembling fingers and dumped the contents into the snow.
The memories tangled inside her like barbed wire, cutting her. Even before he reached for the wallet, she knew. “My name is Beth Montgomery,” she said.
John went perfectly still. His gaze met hers. “Beth,” he repeated.
“Hannah is a client. The note you found was for her.” She pressed the bag to her chest, let the memories wash over her. “I own an antique shop in Boulder. Hannah was trying to match some china her grandmother had given her. I was going to meet her at the shop.” She looked down at the bag. “This is my purse. I dropped it the night my ex-husband tried to kill me.”
“Do you remember his name?”
“Richard Montgomery. He’s a Boulder police officer. A detective. Vice.”
“That explains a lot. The son of a bitch.”
Beth stared at him, her heart beating out a maniacal rhythm in her chest. Tears stung her eyes, clogged the back of her throat. She looked down at the contents of her purse spread out on the snow. “He tried to kill me that night,” she said. “I ran, but I knew he was going to catch me. All I could think about was the baby—” Her voice broke. Pressing her hand to her abdomen, she struggled on. “I threw my purse down in the snow, hoping someone would find it. He wasn’t armed. I’d…taken his gun. But I knew he would use his bare hands…”
“Easy, honey.” Grimacing, he touched her shoulder. “Why was he trying to kill you?”
“I saw…” A violent shudder wracked her. “I saw him murder a man in cold blood.”
John swore, scrubbed his hand over his face. “Tell me.”
“Richard was under investigation by Internal Affairs. It had been going on for a while. He’d been involved in a high-profile arrest several months back. The case was about to go to trial, but some evidence had disappeared from police evidence—a briefcase full of cash and a couple of kilos of cocaine. The defendant—Joseph Peretti—was going to walk. IA claimed Peretti paid Richard to steal the evidence.”
“Did he?”
“Richard never talked to me about it. I always believed he was innocent. A few weeks after the divorce, I went to the storage warehouse where he kept some of his things. I was looking for some photographs of my parents that had gotten mixed in with his things when we split. The next thing I knew Richard walked into the warehouse with Peretti. There was a third man with them. He’d been beaten. He was gagged. His hands were bound behind his back.” The vividness of the memory made her shudder. “I’m not sure how I had the presence of mind to hide, but I did. Behind some old furniture about ten feet away from them.” The images rushed at her with frightening clarity. The shuffle of shoes on concrete. The terror in the man’s eyes. The pitiful sound of his voice as he cried out behind the gag.
“There was a roll of plastic against the wall. Richard spread it on the ground. Peretti forced the man to lie down on the plastic.” Her stomach roiled when she remembered what happened next. It was an image she would never forget. One she would take with her to the grave. “The bound man was screaming into his gag. I covered my ears, but I couldn’t shut out the sound. I’ll never forget the sound of his screams. I closed my eyes, but I couldn’t block out what happened next.” She looked up at John. “Peretti shot that man in cold blood.”
The muscles in John’s jaws flexed. Simultaneously something dark and unpredictable flashed in his eyes. “You witnessed a murder.”
Because she was unable to speak, she just nodded.
“Aw, honey…”
“I remember everything,” she choked.
“Come here.” He reached for her and Beth stepped into his embrace and let herself be held.
“Did the men find you?” he asked after a moment.
“I was so shaken, I knocked over a box. Peretti went crazy. He wanted to…” She could barely bring herself to say the words. “He wanted to kill me right there. Richard talked him out of it. Said he’d…take care of me.” Pulling back slightly, she looked up at John. “I thought Richard was going to let me go. I thought maybe he was working undercover or something. I didn’t want to believe he could do something like that. But after he got me in the car, he started screaming at me, telling me it was my fault. That I’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. That Peretti would kill him if he didn’t shut me up.
“Richard had hit me in the past—that was what ended our marriage—but I didn’t think he’d kill me. By the time we reached the mountain road, he was sobbing.” She pressed her hand to her abdomen. “I tried to talk to him, but he was hysterical. We struggled. I don’t know how I managed, but I got his gun. Then I threw open the door. He grabbed my coat, so I slipped out of it and ran. Somehow I lost my shoes. He came after me. I could hear him running, shouting. I knew he was going to kill me. When I reached the ravine, I jumped.”
John cursed and an uncomfortable silence ensued.
“It’s going to be okay.” Holding her with one arm, he worked the cell phone from his coat.
“Who are you calling?”
“Buzz.”
Closing her eyes, she pressed her face against his snowsuit, let his essence surround her. A moment later, John snapped the phone closed and cursed. She looked up at him. “What is it?”
“We’re out of range. I can’t get through.” His jaw flexed. “We’re going to have to hike it back down to the snowmobile. You up to it?”
“Of course, I am.”
He grinned at her, but she knew the grin was only a facade to put her at ease. She wasn’t the only one who was scared.
“You’d say that even if you were in labor.” Taking her hand, he started toward the path from whence they’d come. “We’re going to have to hurry—”
John’s body jolted, faltered in midstride. “What the…” Cursing, he reached down and clutched his right thigh. An instant later, a rifle retort shattered the silence. Beth saw blood come through his fingers on his thigh. Terror zinged through her.
“John! Oh my God. John!”
She watched him fall as if in slow motion. He went down on his knees then rolled onto his side. For a horrible instant, she thought he was dead.
“Get down!” he said.
Beth dropped to her hands and knees, crawled over to him. “You’ve been shot!”
“Dammit.” Pain contorted his face. She saw fear in his eyes as he quickly scanned the surrounding woods, the high ridge overhead and to the north. “Crawl over to those rocks,” he said between clenched teeth. “We’re sitting ducks here.”
“Not without you.”
“Do it, dammit!” Clutching his leg, he rolled onto his stomach. “I’m right behind you. Go!”
Another bullet zinged off a rock less than two feet away from his head. Adrenaline sent her scrambling toward the rocks. Looking over her shoulder, she saw John a few feet behind her. His face had gone pale. She tried not to notice the bloody trail he left in the snow. She didn’t want to think about who was shooting at them. She didn’t want to think about why. But she knew. And she knew if they didn’t come up with a plan quickly, Richard Montgomery would kill them both.
* * *
John reached the outcropping of rock an instant after Beth. Pain blazed like fire in his thigh, alternating hot and cold, numbing his leg all the way to his toes. Nauseous, sweating beneath his snowsuit, he rolled onto his back and closed his eyes.
“God, John, you’re bleeding,” Beth said. “Tell me what to do.”
Gritting his teeth, he risked a look at the hole in his snowsuit, felt a rise of bile in his throat. The wound was bleeding profusely, but not enough so that he feared a blood vessel had been torn. Still, if they didn’t get it stopped soon, he risked going into shock. He wouldn’t do either of them any good if that happened.
He struggled out of the snowsuit. “Tear the jeans,” he said. “I need to see the wound.”
Never taking her eyes from his, Beth gently put her fingers into the hole and ripped the material. Even through the pain, John saw that her hands were shaking, her face had gone as white as the snow. “Easy. It’s just a flesh wound. Don’t panic on me. I’m going to be okay, all right?”
She choked out a laugh. “I think those are supposed to be my lines, aren’t they?”
Despite the pain and the rise of fear, a wave of affection rolled through him. She was so kind. So brave. Raising his hand, he touched her cheek. “You’re doing fine,” he said.
“It looks bad, John.”
“Hey, I’m a medic, remember? Piece of cake.” Even so, his stomach clenched when he looked down and saw the blood. John wasn’t squeamish. He’d seen all kinds of injuries in his time as a medic—compound fractures, head injuries, motor-vehicle trauma—but to look down and see his own blood pooling in the snow sent a cold wave of fear rolling through him.
The flesh was bruised and already swollen. There was no exit wound, so he assumed the bullet was lodged somewhere near the bone. “Whoever said bullet wounds don’t hurt was really full of it. Damn thing hurts like hell.”
She shot him a worried look. “Can you walk?”
“We need to stop the bleeding first,” he said through gritted teeth. “Need to apply direct pressure.”
She looked at him helplessly. “Tell me what to do.”
“Your scarf. Wad it up and press it hard against the wound. Use both hands. Don’t be afraid to hurt me. You won’t.”
Never taking her eyes from his, she unwound the scarf from around her neck, folded it and pressed it against the wound.
“Harder,” he said.
She swallowed, increased the pressure by putting her body weight into it.
John closed his eyes against the pain, rode the wave of dizziness. “Good girl,” he said between gritted teeth. “You’re doing great, Red. Just keep up the pressure.”
“Don’t you pass out on me, John Maitland.”
“Just resting my eyes.”
“Open them, damn you. We’ve got some unfinished business.”
“I’m not going to touch that one.”
He sensed her nearness an instant before he felt the gentle warmth of her mouth against his. Even through the pain, his body responded. He marveled at the sensation and kissed her back. He wanted more, opened his mouth to taste her more fully, but she pulled away.
He opened his eyes, would have smiled if he could have managed it. “Ah, Red, that was cruel.”
“It got your eyes open, didn’t it?”
“I’m not sure if I’ve told you this, but I really, really like you.”
“In between all the nonsense about you being a violent man, I sort of gathered that.”
Grimacing, he looked around the small clearing where they were pinned. “I wish I hadn’t let you talk me in to bringing you up here. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry—”
“It was my idea. Don’t try to take responsibility for something I did, okay?” She tossed a worried look over her shoulder. “How did he know where to find us?”
“I called Buzz before we left. If Montgomery is in vice, he could have an illegal tap on the phone at RMSAR headquarters.”
She continued pressing the scarf against his thigh. “What are we going to do?”
John didn’t like the dizziness swooping down on him every few seconds. He didn’t think he’d lost that much blood, but his head felt fuzzy, his thoughts disoriented. He was having a difficult time concentrating. “He’s going to try to take out me first, because I’m a bigger threat.” He looked at her, felt a wave of longing and regret tangle in his gut. “We need to split up,” he said.
“No—”
“You make a run for the snowmobile. I’ll keep him off you—”
“John, I’m not leaving you. Even if it’s the smart thing to do I can’t leave you in this condition, for God’s sake.”
“Beth, this isn’t the time for you to play hero. Think about your baby.”
She flinched, set her hand against her abdomen in an unconscious gesture that told him she knew he was right. The pain etched into her face nearly undid him, but John resisted the urge to reach for her. He would say or do whatever it took to get her to safety—even if he had to manipulate her. “If we split up, and you make it to the snowmobile, there’s a chance we can get out of this.”
“All right,” she said, but she didn’t look happy about it.
“Good girl.” He reached for the cell phone, groaning when an ice-pick stab of pain shot from his thigh all the way down to his toes. “Take this.” He handed her the phone.
“I don’t want to leave you without communication—”
“I’m going to run for the ravine. Chances are, he’ll come after me first. If you stick to the line of trees along the trail, he won’t be able to sight you on the riflescope. Once you reach the snowmobile, get moving and don’t stop.”
“John, you’re in pain. You’re bleeding. How can you—”
“Hey, I jump out of helicopters for a living, remember?”
She made a sound that was half laugh, half sob. “You’ll say or do anything to keep me safe.” Her gazed locked with his. “That’s what kind of man you are.”
Shoving back emotions that would do nothing but distract him, he pressed the phone into her hand. “When you get a safe distance away, try the speed dial again. Call the sheriff’s office. Then call RMSAR. Tell them we’re on Elk Ridge.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she shoved the phone into her pocket. “I don’t want to leave you like this.”
“It’s the only way, Red. Come on. I’m counting on you—”
His words were cut short when she leaned forward and kissed him hard on the mouth. Despite the pain in his thigh and the blood loss playing with his concentration, John kissed her back, responding not only physically, but emotionally. For an instant the pain and fear melted away, and it was just the two of them, mouth to mouth, heart to heart, soul to soul.
Beth pulled away first, her eyes fierce and wet. “I love you,” she said. “I don’t care if you want to hear it or not.”
John stared at her, wanting to say the words so badly his chest hurt. But he couldn’t do it. The ensuing burst of emotion jolted him all the way to his soul. He’d wanted to send her off by saying something cocky. Wish her luck. Tell her to be careful. But for the first time since the day he’d left Philly, tears burned behind his eyes. He blinked rapidly to clear them, and an instant later, she was gone.
Too late, hotshot.
He sat there for several agonizing seconds, watched her disappear down the trail, the ache in his chest so powerful he couldn’t move.
I love you.
Ruthlessly he forced her words from his mind. He couldn’t think of her in those terms now. Couldn’t bear the thought of something happening to her. Losing her. God, this was making him crazy.
Getting to his feet, he looked up at the ridge overhead, the line of trees, the jagged rocks. Hell or high water, he had to find a way to distract Montgomery, keep him off Beth long enough for her to reach the snowmobile.
He looked down at the crimson snow, felt the warmth of fresh blood run down his calf. Damn, he was in a bad way. The pain was yielding to numbness. That was good. The bleeding had slowed, but it hadn’t stopped. He figured he had another twenty minutes or so before he passed out.
Tying the scarf tightly around his thigh, he leaned against the cold rock and waited for his head to clear. Once he started for the ravine, he would be in plain sight if Montgomery wanted to take a shot at him. He had to be ready. He had to move fast.
He figured he was as ready as he would ever be.
Stepping out from behind the rock, he raised his arms and waved. “Come on, Montgomery! Here I am! Come get me, you cowardly son of a bitch!”
The retort of a rifle answered. Gritting his teeth against the pain, John broke into a lumbering run toward the ravine where he’d found Beth. Montgomery had taken the bait. John had bought Beth a few extra minutes to get away. Now all he had to do was come up with a plan to stay alive.
* * *
Beth ran as she had never run before. Arms outstretched, animal sounds tearing from her throat, terror egging her on. She tried not to think about John up on the ridge, alone, bleeding and in pain. She tried not to think about his crazy plan, or that he just might be heroic enough to pull it off.
But she’d seen the amount of blood he’d lost and the glassy look in his eyes. She’d seen the way he’d had to grit his teeth against the pain just to get the phone out of his pocket. How was he going to sprint twenty-five yards, dodging bullets the entire way, when he barely had the strength to stand?
The only consolation was that he would have cover in the ravine. It was the very same ravine where she’d taken cover the night Richard had tried to kill her. If John made it into the ravine safely, there was no way Richard could get to him. What worried her was the twenty-five yards of open ground he had to cover to get there. He would be a sitting duck for a crazy man with a rifle.
She was midway down the path when the scream of an engine shattered the silence. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement, a flash of color. An instant later, a man on a snowmobile broke from the tree line and headed directly for her.
Richard.
Heart hammering, she picked up speed and changed direction. The engine behind her whined. So close she could smell the exhaust, hear the track shoes scrape against exposed rock. An instant later, the solid weight of a body crashed into her. She saw the dark silhouette of his rifle. A glimpse of sandy hair. Then strong arms wrapped around her, knocking her off balance. Beth screamed, felt her legs tangle as he took her down in a full body tackle. She rolled with the momentum, but he rolled with her, overwhelming her, smothering her. And she knew with a dreadful sense of inevitability that he was going to kill her if she didn’t think of something quick.
* * *
John dangled from the end of the rope, listening to the sudden, stark silence all around, a fresh sense of horror raging through him. Montgomery had done the unthinkable. When he’d realized he wasn’t going to be able to get at John, he’d turned the snowmobile around and gone after Beth.
John sweated profusely beneath his snowsuit. Once he’d reached the ravine, he uncoiled the length of safety rope at his waist and used it to rappel down. The rope had saved his life, but it wasn’t long enough, and now he was stuck halfway down. He needed to reach the gun Beth had dropped, then somehow get back up and reach her before Montgomery did.
Pain from the bullet wound echoed through his body with every beat of his heart. But the pain in his body was nothing compared to the fear exploding in his heart.
Beth was too kind, her heart too generous for her life to be wiped out at the hands of a violent man like Montgomery. The world was a better place with her in it. She filled his life with goodness. His heart with love. His soul with hope for tomorrow. All John could think of as he dangled from the rope was that he hadn’t had the guts to tell her he loved her. Lord knew he did. He loved her with all his heart and soul. Had since the moment he’d laid eyes on her at this very spot. But he’d been so caught up in his past, so determined to do the right thing, he’d let something precious slip away.
And now a madman was going to kill her.
He couldn’t let that happen. Not to the woman he loved more than life itself. “Hang on, Red,” he said. “Hang on sweetheart. I’m coming for you.”
Gazing down at the rock and scrub twenty feet below, he studied the terrain. It was a long drop, but the scrub would break the fall for the most part. Hopefully he wouldn’t come out of this with a broken leg, to boot. Hopefully he’d be able to reach the ravine floor, get the gun and get back up before Montgomery hurt her.
Saying a silent prayer, he let go of the rope.
* * *
Beth fought him with every ounce of strength she possessed. She fought for the child growing inside her, for the kind and gentle man who’d risked his life to keep her safe. She fought because she didn’t want Richard Montgomery to win. Not this time.
But her strength was no match for his, and in seconds, he had her trapped beneath him, her arms pinned above her head. For several terrible moments, they stared at each other, their labored breaths spewing a white cloud of vapor into the frigid air between them.
“Don’t fight me, Beth. You can’t win,” he said.
“Let go of me!” When she looked into his cruel eyes, the full force of her terror ripped through her. She saw death in his eyes, knew his heart was cold and black enough to wipe out her life along with the life of his own unborn child.
Beth did the only thing she could and screamed.
“No one’s going to hear you up here,” he said when she finished. “Just like the last time. You remember, don’t you?”
“I don’t remember anything,” she lied. “I don’t know who you are.”
He clucked his tongue. “You’ve never been a very good liar, Beth. You’re still not.” Removing his glove, he touched her face gently with the backs of his fingers. “I can feel you trembling beneath me. I see the truth in your eyes. I can see how terrified you are. You know exactly who I am, don’t you?”
She turned her head, but he set his weight more squarely on top of her and continued caressing her cheek. “I didn’t want it to come to this.”
“Don’t take this any further,” she said.
“I know you’ll have a hard time believing this, but I really didn’t want to have to hurt you.”
“Then don’t. Let me go.”
“I can’t. Not after what you saw.” He swore viciously. “If only you hadn’t been in the warehouse that day. Looking for photographs of all the stupid things. But you always did have a penchant for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“I don’t remember what I saw.”
“Angel, it’s not what you saw. It’s the person I was with who saw you.” Something cruel and unnerving glinted in his eyes. “Joseph Peretti isn’t the kind of man to tolerate a witness to a murder. Especially if the witness is a cop’s ex-wife.”
Joseph Peretti. The name terrified her. She’d seen it in the newspaper too many times to discount what he was capable of. Organized crime. Extortion. Murder for hire. “I didn’t see his face,” she whispered.
“I wish that mattered.” For a moment he looked regretful. “I really do.”
Beth’s heart pumped pure terror though her veins. The fear was so intense, she was dizzy with it. Oh Lord, where was John? What could she do now? She knew she had to fight, had to win this time. But how was she going to best a man who outweighed her by a hundred pounds?
“Peretti wanted to kill you himself that day in the warehouse,” he continued, “but I talked him out of it. I’m not sure why I brought you up here that night. I knew what I had to do. But I’ve always liked you, Beth. Even if I didn’t love you, I knew killing you wasn’t going to be easy.” He sighed heavily. “I didn’t want it to work out this way, but Peretti said he’d kill me if I didn’t get rid of you. I don’t want to die simply because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Easing off of her, he rose, then, holding the rifle aside, offered his hand to help her up. For an instant she considered running, but knew he would catch her. Time was what she needed. Time to come up with a plan.
Struggling to stay calm, she took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. “You can tell him I’m dead. I’ll disappear—”
“I considered that. Until I saw you with that young stud of yours.” Something cold and dark played behind his eyes. “Seeing you with him…well, that changed everything.”
Jealousy, she thought, and dread billowed like a roiling thunderhead inside her. John. Her legs went weak. Oh, God, he was going to kill John, too. She couldn’t let that happen. Not John.
“I’ll bet you think you got yourself a real hero, don’t you? A man who makes his living saving Boy Scouts and little speckled pups. I’ll bet you think he’s the next best thing to a superhero, don’t you, angel?”
“I barely know him. We—”
“Don’t bother denying it. I saw you together. I saw him touch you. I saw the way you look at him. The way he looks at you.” The muscles in his jaw bunched. “You know what that does to a man, angel? To see another man put his hands all over his wife? That’s my child you’re carrying inside you. My seed that put it there. That doesn’t make any difference to you, does it?”
Nausea rose in her throat as the meaning of his words registered. “Let me go, Richard.”
His lips pulled back in a snarl. “A lowly cop isn’t good enough for you, is that it? I was never good enough, was I?”
“Stop it—”
“Let me tell you a secret about lover boy, angel. Your hero has a record. Assault. He couldn’t even make the police academy.” A cruel smile twisted his mouth. “You’ve got a habit of falling in love with losers, don’t you?”
“He’s nothing like you,” she said.
She knew an instant before he moved that he was going to strike her. The old fear coiled, but she didn’t shrink away. Instead she sidestepped, heard the whoosh of air as his fist missed her temple by less than an inch.
“Bitch.” Montgomery’s eyes went flat and dark as he started toward her. “I’m going to make you sorry you ever set eyes on him. Then I’m going to make him pay for touching you.”
Beth raised her hands, backed up in an effort to keep distance between them. “Stop it.”
“The divorce has only been final a few weeks. You couldn’t even wait for the ink to dry on the decree before you jumped in bed with another man, could you?” Lips curling, he drew back to strike her.
A gunshot shattered air.
“What the—” Montgomery spun.
Beth jolted, and looked up to see John level a pistol at Montgomery’s chest. “If you touch her, I’ll drop you,” he said.
Her heart staggered in her chest. Relief and joy and sudden fear for him rioted inside her. “John.”
“Are you all right?” he asked, never taking his eyes from Montgomery.
Unable to speak for the emotions coursing through her, she nodded.
“Step away from—”
Montgomery grabbed her so violently, she was nearly knocked off balance. She choked out a single cry as his viselike hand went around her arm and pulled her against him like a shield.
“What are you going to do now, lover boy?” Montgomery taunted. “I got what you want, don’t I?”
Beth knew immediately John was in no condition for a confrontation. He was still bleeding badly. Blood had soaked the denim all the way down to his boot. His face was nearly as pale as the snow. The gun trembled in his hand. But his eyes were as cold and dangerous as the pistol he clenched in his hand. “Let her go,” he said.
Beth knew that if they were going to get out of this mess alive, she was going to have to act quickly and decisively.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Montgomery’s grip tighten on the rifle. Her heart did a sickening roll when she saw the muzzle jerk, rising. John’s gaze zeroed in on the other man. “Don’t do anything stupid, Montgomery. I’ll put you down.”
“And risk hitting her?” He laughed. “I don’t think so.”
Beth’s heart pounded like a drum against her ribs. Her hands were free. The rifle barrel was less than a foot away. She could picture herself reaching for it, wresting it from him, swinging it like a bat…
“Drop it, Montgomery, or I’ll tattoo your shins and you’ll never walk upright again,” John warned.
“That’s my revolver.” Montgomery’s mouth opened, fluttered. “How the hell—”
“She took your gun the night you tried to kill her.”
“I came back for it,” the other man said. “I searched—”
“You didn’t look in the ravine.” John’s jaw flexed. “The ravine she jumped into to get away from you.” He pulled back the hammer with his thumb. “Toss the rifle over here.”
“Screw you. You slept with my wife, you bastard.”
“Ex-wife,” John corrected. “And no other woman is ever going to have to worry about that temper of yours again. Now toss the rifle, or I’ll make sure you walk with a limp the rest of your lousy life.” Grimacing, favoring his leg, John moved forward but he stumbled and went down on one knee.
Beth knew that was her only chance. Pushing away from Montgomery with all her might, she grabbed for the rifle. Vaguely, she felt the cold steel of the muzzle against her palms. He yelled something obscene, and she saw the murderous light in his eyes when he turned to her.
But Beth had taken him by surprise. Yanking the rifle from his grasp, she staggered backward, then swung it like a bat as hard as she could. She heard the whoosh of air. Saw shock on Montgomery’s face. Then the sickening crack of the solid wood stock against his knee.
Montgomery fell forward, howling in pain. His murderous gaze landed on Beth. “You’re going to pay for that!”
Knowing he would make good on the threat, but unwilling to let him hurt her or her unborn child ever again, Beth stepped back, aimed the rifle at the ground next to his foot and pulled the trigger.
The force knocked her back a step. Montgomery scrambled to his feet, dancing away from where the bullet had hit the ground.
“Don’t test me!” she cried. “I’ll kill you.”
Fear permeated his eyes as he stumbled toward the snowmobile and slipped onto the seat. “I won’t let you get away with that,” he snarled as he started the engine. “I’ll get you. If it’s the last thing I do, I’ll make you pay.”
Angry now, Beth jerked the rifle toward the snowmobile engine cover and fired twice in quick succession. The engine sputtered and died, two dime-size holes in the cover smoking like the muzzle of a recently fired gun.
Montgomery gaped for a moment, then slammed his fist against the snowmobile’s steering wheel. “You bitch!”
A fresh wave of anger swept through her. Choking back a cry, she pointed the rifle at him. “I’ll kill you if you ever touch me again,” she said.
Raising his hands, fear showing plainly on his face, Montgomery slipped off the seat. “I’ll be back for you. That’s a promise.” Favoring his injured knee, he took off at a lumbering run down the trail.
Beth kept the rifle leveled on his retreating form. Her finger curled on the trigger. The rifle trembled in her hands. She blinked back tears.
“Let him run.”
John’s voice washed over her like cleansing rain, smoothed out her anger, and the residual fear.
“He’s getting away,” she whispered.
“He won’t get far. In five minutes this place is going to be swarming with ticked off search-and-rescue guys.” Strong hands went to her shoulders, and squeezed reassuringly. “Easy, honey. It’s over.”
“You can’t be certain…” Beth’s heart stopped dead in her chest when John’s knees buckled and he crumpled to the snow. “John!” Forgetting everything except the man she loved, she dropped the rifle into the snow and fell to her knees beside him. With trembling hands, she eased him onto his back.
He looked at Beth, one side of his mouth hiking into a half smile. “Now might be a good time to call the cops,” he said.
Working the phone from her coat, she hit the speed dial button with shaking fingers. Relief trembled through her when the sheriff’s office dispatch answered. “This is an emergency,” she said. “I’m with John Maitland of Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue. He’s been shot. We’re up on Elk Ridge. We need a medic and the sheriff’s department right away. Buzz Malone knows the location.”
When she looked down at John, his eyes had closed. “John?” Fear coiled and sprang free inside her. “Stay with me, Maitland. Don’t you pass out on me.”
“Just…tired.”
“Tell me what to do to help you.”
“Just don’t stop touching me.” A wan smile touched the corners of his mouth. “I love it when you touch me. I love it when you worry about me. When you kiss me.”
Beth choked out a laugh. “How can you joke around at a time like this?”
“Who’s joking?”
“You’re seriously hurt.”
“I’m not worried. The men of Rocky Mountain Search and Rescue are the best of the best, Beth. They won’t let a scumbag like Montgomery get away. And they’re sure as hell not going to let one of their own die up here.”
A noise off to her right made her jump. Just when she was certain Montgomery had returned for the rifle she’d usurped, a man on horseback took his mount up a small incline and halted twenty feet away. Beth recognized him as Jake Madigan, the man she’d met at headquarters the night John had taken her there.
Raising his hand, Jake waved at John. “Maitland,” he said. “How bad are you hurt?”
John raised his head and squinted. “Jake?”
“You okay, partner?”
“Thigh wound. In and out. No arterial bleeding, but I’ve lost a good bit.”
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” Beth added. “Please send someone to help us.”
Without preamble, the man jerked a radio out of his saddlebag. “This is Coyote zero five three. I’ve got a code red. Team member down. I repeat, team member down. Code red.”
Another voice crackled over the radio. Jake was too far away for Beth to hear the details, but he spoke into the radio again. “Elk Ridge. Rough terrain. You’re going to need to swoop and scoop. Female companion uninjured. Do you roger that, Eagle two niner?”
A second later, the man on horseback sheathed the radio. Pulling a flare from his saddlebag, he popped the cap, struck the flare against it and tossed it on the ground. Red smoke billowed into the still air. “Chopper will be here in about two minutes. You two just hang tight.” The horse wheeled, but he looked over his shoulder. “Which way did the perp go?”
John struggled to a sitting position. “He’s on foot, Jake. Headed south down the path toward our snowmobile.”
Jake grinned. “I reckon I ought to go round him up.” The horse tossed its head impatiently, the bridle jingling. Jake touched the brim of his black Stetson. “Ma’am.” Then he left the same way Montgomery had.
Beth looked questioningly at John. “He got here fast.”
“Well, we’re fast, but not that fast. Buzz probably called him and asked him to ride up here. Jake was probably already in the area.”
“I remember meeting him.”
“He’s a good cop.”
She looked down at his leg, felt a trickle of worry. “How are you feeling?”
“Faint. I think I need a little mouth-to-mouth. Think you can handle that?”
Beth rolled her eyes. How was it that he could make her smile even when she was scared out of her wits? “You’re impossible.”
“I’m just crazy about you.”
Snuggling closer, she leaned forward and pressed her mouth against his. “Better?”
“Mmmm. I’ll let you know. A little more pressure would be good.”
In the distance, the rat-tat-tat of a helicopter broke the silence. As it drew nearer, the treetops shivered in the gale. Leaning back slightly, John glanced down at his watch. “Six minutes,” he said. “They’re slipping.”
“I’m sure it’s because you weren’t there to keep them on their toes.”
“Probably.” He grinned. “I’m not sure if I’ve told you this, but I’m damn good at what I do.”
“You have. More than once, actually. But you’re right. You are damn good at what you do. Not to mention pretty good at kissing, too.”
“Honey, I’m just getting warmed up.”
“Not too warm, I hope. In case you’ve forgotten, you’ve been shot.”
“Minor inconvenience.” He looked down at his leg. “The bleeding stopped. Thanks to you.” His hand covered hers, tightened. “You saved my life.”
She choked out a laugh. “I figured it was the least I could do.”
“Things might have worked out differently if you hadn’t…” His voice trailed off.
The intensity of his gaze told her he understood fully how close they’d come to dying today. Her chest constricted with emotion. Tears stung her eyes, but she didn’t care. “John, I thought—”
Her words were cut short when he pressed a kiss to her mouth. Closing her eyes against the burst of joy that came with knowing he was safe and alive and so close she could feel the steady drum of his heart against hers, she melted against him. “I couldn’t shoot him,” she said. “Even after what he did to us.”
“It’s okay, honey. You’re not a killer. But you’re very, very brave.”
“I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see you again.”
“I couldn’t let that happen.” Raising his hand, he laid it gently against her cheek. “Not without telling you how much I love you.”
The words fell upon her like laughter on sorrow, rain upon a place of draught, sunlight upon frozen tundra. Joy, as golden and bright as daybreak speared through the darkness, lighting her soul. “I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say that.”
“I’m saying it now, and I mean it.” He blinked to clear his vision. “I love you, and I love that child growing inside you.”
She stared at him, her pulse quivering like a butterfly. “I love you, too.”
“I’ve never loved anyone before,” he said.
“I’ll make sure you get plenty of practice.”
Overhead, the chopper hovered, kicking up snow and small debris. John looked up, saw Buzz about to disembark the cage. He figured he had about a minute left before it got crowded. He had a few things to get off his chest.
“You showed me how to trust my heart, Beth. You taught me to trust myself.” Reaching out, he thumbed a tear from her cheek. “I was wondering if you might want to take a chance on me.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she managed to smile. “Do you think you could be a little more specific?”
“Will you marry me?” He pressed his hand flat against her abdomen. “Will you let me be the father of your child?”
He hadn’t expected his voice to break, but it did. He felt tears on his cheeks, but he didn’t care. “I want to spend the rest of my life loving you. Both of you.”
“Yes.” She kissed him gently on the cheek. “My hero.”
Happiness washed over him, as soft and warm as morning on the mountain. In that moment, John knew he’d found something precious and rare that came once in a lifetime. As the chopper hovered overhead, he lowered his mouth to hers and sealed the promise of forever between them with a kiss.
* * * * *