Again, he pulled her downslope, away from the tango and now there was a thick patch of woods with several large trees between them. The shots hadn’t been wasted; they’d served the purpose of providing cover so they could put distance between themselves and the tango.

With his mouth next to Audrey’s ear, he whispered, “We need to get out of here. Without NVGs, we’re screwed. They’ve got night vision and assault rifles. We need to find a safe place to hole up.”

“The blacksmith shop?”

“Too close. We need to leave the lodge complex. Maybe go to a campground or, better yet, a cabin.”

They crawled along, the rain covering the sound of their progress as they burrowed through the woods.

“The Jamison place,” Audrey said. “It’s on the lake, a few cabins over from the yurt. We’ll have to go back to the trail that runs behind the command center.”

He knew the cabin she was talking about. It was a good choice, with thick log walls. Bulletproof. They could break into the cabin, and he could tuck her safely away while he figured out what to do next.

Chapter Seven

It was slow going at first, but finally, they’d put enough distance between themselves and the encounter with the tango for Xavier to use his red light to find their way through the woods. Without his NVGs, it was just too damn dark.

Rain filtered through the evergreens, but they were more protected than not by the dense growth in this section of forest. Branches dumped water on his head and back as he brushed against them, but he didn’t pay attention to the chill that penetrated his camouflage rain gear. He was more concerned about Audrey. She was an avid hiker and knew this forest, but hadn’t been prepared to be in the woods in the dark during a winter storm. Her boots were light hikers, and her raincoat was more fashionable than rugged.

“You okay, Aud?” he asked softly as they reached a small but rapidly flowing stream they’d have to wade across. There was a footbridge on the main trail, but they couldn’t risk the easy route, and there were no culverts away from the road.

“I’m better than Jeb. That’s all that matters.”

He nodded and stepped into the stream. They didn’t have time for sentimentality here. Just knowing she had the strength to keep going was enough. He was impressed by how well she’d held it together so far.