Way of the Shadows (Shadow Agents 8)

The truck hit them again. Only this time, the railing broke. Glass shattered. Metal crunched. And the wooden barrier splintered.

Thomas grabbed tightly to Noelle, and he lunged forward with her, hurtling them toward the woods near the edge of the bridge. They hit the snow and rolled down the ravine, tumbling again and again as they flew toward the bottom.

The SUV crashed into the frozen lake, sending chunks of ice into the air.

Thomas and Noelle finally stopped. They were about two feet away from that lake. Noelle was on top of him, and he quickly reversed their positions, holding her tightly. He could hear the growl of the other vehicle’s engine, and then...

“He’s leaving,” Noelle whispered.

Yes, he was. Because he thought he’d gotten his prey?

The engine’s snarl grew softer as the truck drove away.

The snow kept falling.

Noelle pushed against his shoulders. Thomas rose slowly, and he pulled Noelle to her feet. Their SUV was partially submerged and sinking fast. Damn it.

“Are you all right?” Thomas asked her as his eyes swept over her. He didn’t see any injuries, but he wanted to be sure she was all right.

“He just tried to kill us!” She sounded incredulous.

She was also shaking.

Because it was cold out there. He shouldered out of his coat and pushed it toward her. When she tried to refuse, Thomas just wrapped it around her shoulders. “Senior agent,” he snapped at her, still remembering the flash of fear he’d felt in the SUV. “That means you do what I say. Right now, I’m saying...take my coat.”

She pulled the coat closer. Thomas yanked out his phone. They’d rolled a good twenty feet from the road. A heavy darkness was already sweeping over the area. He lifted the phone—and realized it had been smashed to hell and back during the tumble.

“Tell me your phone’s working,” he said.

“I...I think it’s in the SUV.”

Hell.

The temperature was too low. It was getting too dark. No one was going to see them down there, and if anyone did happen to come along that lonely stretch of road again, it could very well be the same jerk who’d just tried to kill them.

Noelle started to climb back up toward the road. He caught her arm, stopping her. “Was your gun in the vehicle, too?” Thomas demanded.

She gave a grim nod. “Yours?” Noelle asked softly.

“You know I don’t need a gun to kill.” She was still shivering. They had to get to safety, fast. “But I’ve got the weapon.”

“Stay to the shadows as much as possible,” Thomas told her, keeping his voice quiet, too. In this area, any noise would carry easily. “He could come back, but we have to travel close to the road because running through the wilderness sure isn’t an option for us.” Not unless they wanted a slow death.

“I thought I saw a turnoff, a mile or so before the bridge,” Noelle told him. When she spoke, a small cloud appeared before her mouth. It’s too cold out here. “Maybe there’s a cabin there. Someone who can help us.”

Maybe. Right then, that turnoff sounded like their best chance. He kept his hold on her arm, and they started walking through the darkness.

Chapter Two

“You need to strip.”

The cabin door slammed closed behind Noelle. At Thomas’s growled words, Noelle stiffened. “Excuse me?”

They’d been walking for what felt like an hour. They’d taken the turnoff from the main road and slogged ahead until they’d found this place—a rundown, one-room cabin, which looked as if it hadn’t been used in years.

It was as cold inside as it was outside. Noelle couldn’t stop the shivers that rocked her body.

“Your core temperature is too low,” Thomas told her flatly. “We have to get warm. The snow wet our clothing, so we have to ditch it.” He was leaning over what looked like one very ancient fireplace. “Lucky damn night,” he rasped. “There’s some old wood here.”