Her Mistletoe Protector

“Rachel?” Nick’s voice was weak. “Are you and Joey all right?”

Her head shot over to the right, her eyes trying to pierce the darkness. “Yes, we’re fine,” she called back. “But where are you?”

“Over here.” Nick’s voice was definitely lacking strength—she could barely hear him over the roaring of the fire. “I’ve been hit.”

* * *

Nick kept his eyes glued to where Gerry Ashton’s body lay sprawled on the ground. If the man so much as twitched he’d shoot him again.

His eyes blurred and he blinked in an effort to bring the world back into focus. The smoke was getting thicker and he knew he couldn’t stay too long. His left arm felt like it was on fire, and the loss of blood was making him dizzy. Figured he’d got hit in the same area as when they’d saved Joey during the money exchange.

Only this time, the injury was much worse. Propped against the tree, he tugged on the string from the hooded sweatshirt he wore, until it came free. Using the string like a tourniquet, he awkwardly wrapped it around his arm and used his teeth to tie it tight. He wanted to drag himself over to make sure Gerry was really dead, but on the off chance that the guy was only pretending in an effort to draw his prey closer, Nick decided it was safer to stay far away.

Where were the cops and the firefighters? He’d heard Rachel calling 911, so he knew reinforcements had to be on the way. Wally’s cabin wasn’t going to survive the fire, but he was more concerned about the fire spreading through the woods. Drought conditions had hit hard the previous summer, and despite the thin layer of snow covering the ground, he thought the trees were burning too fast.

As if on cue, a large pine tree to the right of the outhouse went up in flames, the tiny needles glowing red as they burned. Knowing they didn’t have a lot of time left to get somewhere safe, he forced himself upright, using the tree for support.

“Nick!” He was caught off guard when Joey came running toward him. He opened his mouth to yell at the boy to stay down, when he realized that Gerry hadn’t moved, not even an inch despite the fire growing closer.

Joey’s second bad guy was finally dead.

“Hey, it’s okay,” he managed when Joey flung his arms around his waist, burying his face in his stomach. “I’m okay.”

“I thought you were dead,” the child sobbed.

Rachel looked upset at Joey’s statement. “Where are you hit?” she asked.

“My left arm same as before, but never mind that, now. We need to get as far away from the fire as we can. It’s been so dry up here that the fire will soon burn out of control.”

“Lean on me,” Rachel offered, slipping her shoulder beneath his injured arm and sliding her other hand around his waist.

He didn’t like the fact that he was so weak that he had little choice but to allow her to help him. Surprisingly, Joey went around on the other side of him, and together they moved as quickly as possible away from the fire.

“Joey, can you find the gravel driveway?” he asked, since his vision was blurry again.

“I think so,” Joey said. “This way!”

The three of them stumbled toward the direction of the driveway with a deep sense of urgency. Nick refused to look back over his shoulder, too afraid he’d see the fire nipping hotly at their heels.

There was another loud whooshing sound, and he knew another tree had gone up in flames. They had to get out of here, and fast!

When the gravel crunched beneath his feet, he let out a sigh of relief. Joey’s sense of direction had been perfect. They continued moving as fast as they could, putting more distance between them and the raging fire. The smoke was still hanging thick between the trees.

He coughed and a spear of pain shot down his arm. He ignored it, more concerned when he heard Rachel and Joey coughing, too. How much time did they have before they succumbed to smoke inhalation?

Dear Lord, show us the way to safety.

“Come on, Nick, don’t give up now!” Rachel urged in a raspy voice. Obviously the smoke was getting to her, too. And what about Joey? He was so young that Nick was afraid it wouldn’t take long for the smoke to damage the boy’s lungs.

He hadn’t realized his steps were lagging behind, and he forced himself to move faster for both Rachel and Joey’s sake. They deserved a chance to get out of here, alive.

Within five minutes, Nick practically fell over the hood of the car, and he slumped against the metal frame gratefully. For the first time in hours, he allowed himself a flash of hope. “Maybe we can drive out of here,” he proposed, fumbling in his pockets for the keys. He found them and tugged them free. “Think you’re up to it?”