When he was fairly certain that Purdy and his partner were concentrating on reaching the back of the property under cover of darkness, Kye stepped out beyond the safety of the building. He was exposing himself, especially if there was a third partner watching. But if he didn’t act quickly they’d get away with Gunnar. He was certain the doctor had no chance of staying alive after they’d delivered him to whoever had promised a bounty. Acknowledged and disregarded. Neither fact slowed him down.
He put the safety on and tucked his weapon into his waistband. No way to distinguish among the three dark forms moving away from him. He could no longer even tell exactly where they were, or how they thought they’d scale the slope with a man who couldn’t stand on his own feet. That wasn’t his problem. He needed to get to their escape vehicle first and disable it.
He’d promised Yard that he would protect her. It was a promise he intended to keep. That also meant protecting the man she loved.
He took off at a ninety-degree angle to the building that shielded him. The bunkhouse blocked most of the security lamp’s light, giving him a protected path to the embankment. The snow slowed his sprint across the darkness but it also muffled the sounds of his movement. With a little luck Gunnar’s would-be kidnappers would never know he was on to them until he was in place. He came to a sudden halt as the earth rose up before him. About fifteen feet over his head a swath of light cut across the snowy slope at a narrow angle and was then lost in the tree line. For the precious seconds it took him to traverse that lit space he’d be vulnerable.
Hell of a thing.
Back in his vehicle were gloves and a balaclava, two things that would make the job ahead easier. He could feel his scalp tingling where snow had gathered in his hair and was beginning to melt from body heat. It could be worse, he thought in grim humor. It could be raining. Or Yard could be following him.
He glanced back but saw nothing in the shadows. At least she wasn’t following. He hoped.
He grabbed handfuls of a sturdy-looking snow-covered limb and hoisted himself up. After the first six feet, the angle became less steep but the underbrush provided a fright-house funfest of raking branches that swiped at his face and gnarled roots lying treacherously across this path to trip him up. Not possible to move quickly. His only comfort came from the distant swearing of the two men he was trying desperately to outmaneuver.
Had they momentarily forgotten about him? Or thought he’d turned tail and run away with Yard? Or were they too intent on delivering their prize to care any longer that they might be heard? It didn’t matter. He couldn’t get to them any faster because they were making noises. His path was fixed.
His fingers were getting stiff with cold and his lungs felt like they’d been scoured with steel wool. Any second he expected to be back-whipped by a branch that would knock him off balance and back down the slope.
Finally, the treacherous stretch of exposure due to the narrow band of light from below was before him. Crouched just below the swath of illuminated ground, he took a moment to breathe and scan the whereabouts of his targets. As soon as he saw them he looked away before they could catch the gleam of eyes in the dark.
The men were ahead of him, already climbing past the lightened ground. But he saw enough to know why. They were using tactical climbing ladders. And they were hauling Gunnar up on some sort of harness between them, one going fore and one aft.
Kye brushed the snow off his hair and blew into his cupped hands. So they weren’t just some hire-by-the-hour mercs. Someone had taken the time to learn the terrain and equip himself for this enterprise. Had this all happened between Purdy’s entrance into Yard’s home and the arrival of his buddy? No, probably before. Once he’d lost Gunnar early this morning, Purdy would have had to learn where to search for him. Someone had given him Harmonie Kennels.
The damn wonders of the Internet. Douchebag Number Two had probably Googled Harmonie Kennels, aerial view, and found both the property and road on the ridge. Maybe even had the trajectory and angle of the slope he was clinging to like a damn sheep, or Lily.
He spared a thought for his K-9 companion, knowing her absence was not a good sign. Lily had the agility of a mountain goat. Under other circumstances, she would have been up and over this hillside like a gazelle. Poor Lily. He hoped she was hidden well and tight. He’d make it up to her somehow.
He looked over again. Had they even expected they might be hauling a body? Maybe the bounty was for dead or alive.
That thought acted like a kick in the gut. But no, Gunnar had to be wanted alive. Or his captors would just have dragged him any kind of way up the hill. Someone wanted to interrogate Gunnar. Then his life would be worthless. That thought reinvigorated Kye.