her gently. “Campbell, you’ve got to wake up. We need to get out of here.”
After several attempts, Alex was on the verge of slapping the woman into consciousness when she heard Maggie begin to moan.
Grinning slightly, Alex said, “Campbell…come on, darling, you need to wake up.”
“Don’t call me that,” Maggie mumbled as the fog in her head faded away. Leaning slowly back in her seat, she moved her head from side to side to work out the stiffness before finally opening her eyes.
“How do you feel?” Alex asked. “Is anything broken?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Maggie replied as she slowly moved in her seat.
“Good, because we need to get out of here, and we need to do it right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We landed on a lake…or a pond…or some other fucking piece of frozen water, but the point is, we’ve broken through the ice, and we need to get our arses out of here before the plane sinks.”
Achy and feverish, Maggie had resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die. With a sigh, she said, “You go…I’ll stay.”
“Not on your life, darling,” Alex snapped, grabbing their luggage and tossing it out the door. “Now, either you get out of here on your own, or I’ll pull you out. Your choice!”
“Please, just let me—”
Grabbing Maggie’s chin, Alex forced their eyes to meet. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. I will not leave you here! You got that? The pilot told us to travel north, and that’s exactly what we are going to do.”
“The pilot—”
“He’s dead, so it’s just you and me. Now, come on, get out of that seat and let’s go.”
“I’m going to die regardless,” Maggie explained. “I’ll only slow you down.”
“Jesus Christ! I don’t know what kind of life you’ve got…maybe it’s shit…I don’t know, but you are not dying on my fucking watch! Now get out of this bloody plane right now !” Carefully climbing outside, Alex waited as Campbell began to shift across the seats to the open door.
Grimacing in the darkness, Maggie closed her eyes for a few seconds to allow the pain to pass. She had no clue as to the extent of her injury, but as she felt warm blood leak from her body, she knew that she’d be in God’s hands soon. Pulling her coat tightly around herself, Maggie climbed out of the plane and allowed Blake to guide her north.
***
They methodically plodded through the forest for over an hour, trying their best to brace themselves against the wind that whipped through the pines, but it was impossible. The squalls of winter’s fury had become so strong that both were knocked to their knees more than once. Ice and snow pelted their faces until they were raw and chafed, and fingers and feet protected by gloves and boots simply didn’t have a chance against the rawness of Mother Nature at her fiercest.
If there was one word in the English language that described Alex Blake, it was tenacious. When she set her mind to do something, it would be done. From graduating with honors, to tracking down criminals in the bowels of London, most of her achievements could be directly attributed to just one thing…her stubbornness. Tell her no, and she would find the yes. Tell her impossible, and she would prove you wrong. So, as Alex trudged through the snow, she knew that death was trying to wrap its icy tentacles around her, but she had other things on her mind. Fuck death.
Alex stopped and glanced over her shoulder, watching as Maggie struggled to follow in her footsteps. Slogging through the ever-deepening snow, Alex had slowed her strides in order for the shorter woman to keep up, but as each minute passed, the snow grew deeper and Maggie was falling farther and farther behind.
The frigid temperature helped to keep Maggie’s fever in check, but just barely. She was rapidly reaching the point of exhaustion, and after stumbling several times, Maggie knew that her life’s
After several attempts, Alex was on the verge of slapping the woman into consciousness when she heard Maggie begin to moan.
Grinning slightly, Alex said, “Campbell…come on, darling, you need to wake up.”
“Don’t call me that,” Maggie mumbled as the fog in her head faded away. Leaning slowly back in her seat, she moved her head from side to side to work out the stiffness before finally opening her eyes.
“How do you feel?” Alex asked. “Is anything broken?”
“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Maggie replied as she slowly moved in her seat.
“Good, because we need to get out of here, and we need to do it right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“We landed on a lake…or a pond…or some other fucking piece of frozen water, but the point is, we’ve broken through the ice, and we need to get our arses out of here before the plane sinks.”
Achy and feverish, Maggie had resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die. With a sigh, she said, “You go…I’ll stay.”
“Not on your life, darling,” Alex snapped, grabbing their luggage and tossing it out the door. “Now, either you get out of here on your own, or I’ll pull you out. Your choice!”
“Please, just let me—”
Grabbing Maggie’s chin, Alex forced their eyes to meet. “I’m only going to say this once, so listen carefully. I will not leave you here! You got that? The pilot told us to travel north, and that’s exactly what we are going to do.”
“The pilot—”
“He’s dead, so it’s just you and me. Now, come on, get out of that seat and let’s go.”
“I’m going to die regardless,” Maggie explained. “I’ll only slow you down.”
“Jesus Christ! I don’t know what kind of life you’ve got…maybe it’s shit…I don’t know, but you are not dying on my fucking watch! Now get out of this bloody plane right now !” Carefully climbing outside, Alex waited as Campbell began to shift across the seats to the open door.
Grimacing in the darkness, Maggie closed her eyes for a few seconds to allow the pain to pass. She had no clue as to the extent of her injury, but as she felt warm blood leak from her body, she knew that she’d be in God’s hands soon. Pulling her coat tightly around herself, Maggie climbed out of the plane and allowed Blake to guide her north.
***
They methodically plodded through the forest for over an hour, trying their best to brace themselves against the wind that whipped through the pines, but it was impossible. The squalls of winter’s fury had become so strong that both were knocked to their knees more than once. Ice and snow pelted their faces until they were raw and chafed, and fingers and feet protected by gloves and boots simply didn’t have a chance against the rawness of Mother Nature at her fiercest.
If there was one word in the English language that described Alex Blake, it was tenacious. When she set her mind to do something, it would be done. From graduating with honors, to tracking down criminals in the bowels of London, most of her achievements could be directly attributed to just one thing…her stubbornness. Tell her no, and she would find the yes. Tell her impossible, and she would prove you wrong. So, as Alex trudged through the snow, she knew that death was trying to wrap its icy tentacles around her, but she had other things on her mind. Fuck death.
Alex stopped and glanced over her shoulder, watching as Maggie struggled to follow in her footsteps. Slogging through the ever-deepening snow, Alex had slowed her strides in order for the shorter woman to keep up, but as each minute passed, the snow grew deeper and Maggie was falling farther and farther behind.
The frigid temperature helped to keep Maggie’s fever in check, but just barely. She was rapidly reaching the point of exhaustion, and after stumbling several times, Maggie knew that her life’s
Similar Books
