Jake
I yanked Emma flat against the granite shelf the split second that infrared beam cut the mist.
"Down," I breathed, wrapping my arm over her back and shielding her body with mine.
The searchlight swept the high ridge, its invisible wash glinting faintly against the wet limestone three feet above our heads. Down in the hollow, the black SUV’s doors swung open. Two men in unmarked tactical gear stepped out into the hemlocks, carrying suppressed carbines at low ready.
Emma’s breath was warm against my collarbone, her fingers digging into the heavy leather of my cut. She didn't tremble. Even pinned against freezing rock with armed mercenaries seventy yards below, her pulse beat in a steady, determined rhythm against my chest.
"They're not climbing," she whispered, her mouth inches fro
