“Don’t puke, don’t puke,” she admonished herself out loud. It felt weird to hear her own voice. She’d stopped talking to herself shortly after entering the bunker. But somehow, it gave her strength. She wasn’t dead yet, and she’d fight for her future with everything she had.
Putting her hand on the wall, she felt the metal shelves that lined one side of the bunker. She vaguely remembered what the space looked like from when Riggs had shown it to her the first time, and slowly, she made her way toward the end where the ladder was located.
That was when she heard it again—Riggs’s voice for sure.
“Carlise? Are you in there? It’s me, Riggs. Unlock the door. You’re safe. The avalanche is done . . . Susie?”
She opened her mouth to reply, but suddenly, she couldn’t speak. It felt as if there was no oxygen left at all.
For a moment, she panicked. If she didn’t get to that door, she’d die. And she was so close to seeing Riggs again! To feeling his arms around her.
She had to move. She couldn’t come this close to being rescued, only to fail now.
She started to stand with the help of the ladder, her shoulder aching. It felt as if it took every ounce of her strength just to lift her leg to the first rung, but determination rose within her. She could do this. She had no choice.
Carlise thought about her mom. How strong she was. How she’d survived for years in an abusive relationship. She wanted to make her proud. Wanted a chance to tell her how much of an inspiration she was.
Her shoulder screamed in pain as she stood a couple of rungs up the ladder and stretched her arm toward the lock. She couldn’t quite reach. She’d have to go up one more rung. She braced carefully, giving herself the leverage she needed to slide the lock.
She grasped the dead bolt and attempted to move it, but her arm was so weak and sore, and she was so light-headed. She couldn’t move it.
“Riggs,” she whispered, almost overwhelmed with despair. He was so close. Just on the other side of that door, and yet he might as well be miles away.
She wasn’t sure if he’d heard her weak voice or not, but she could hear him as easily as if he was standing right next to her, without a bulky door between them.
“Open the door, sweetheart. You can do it. I know you can! All you have to do is move that piece of metal a few inches. I’ll do the rest. The guys are all here, and Baxter. He led me straight to you. You’re safe. Do it, honey. For me. For our kids. For our friends. Please.”
Feeling as if she was two seconds from passing out, Carlise didn’t think she had the strength to try again. But her hand moved without thought from her brain.
And just like that, the door was unlocked.
The second the dead bolt moved, Riggs was there. The sunlight was blinding after she’d been in the dark for so long, and Carlise immediately slammed her eyes shut. She felt herself falling for a split second, then Riggs had her. Holding her so she wouldn’t fall backward, his arms clasped around her upper chest.
She inhaled deeply, blessed oxygen filling her lungs.
Then she cried out as Riggs lifted her up and out of the bunker, her shoulder screaming in pain.
“Fuck, where’s the blood coming from?” JJ asked.
“I don’t know. What hurts, honey?” Riggs asked, sounding frantic.
But Carlise couldn’t speak. She was too busy trying to get as much air into her lungs as she could.
“Turn her. Her back’s covered in blood,” JJ said in a calm tone, which somehow reassured Carlise, despite his words. She could still be bleeding to death, but his even, soothing tone kept her from panicking.
“Riggs,” she croaked.
“I’m here, sweetheart.”
She opened her eyes into slits so she could see him. The worry and love in his gaze almost stole her breath again. “I wasn’t leaving you. She made me pack and write that note.”
“What note?” Bob asked from somewhere above them.
But Carlise kept her gaze on the man she loved. She wouldn’t have blamed him for doubting her when he read the note, but she could admit that it would be a blow.
“I didn’t see a note,” Riggs told her. “But even if I had, I would never think you’d just leave me like that.”
Carlise took another deep breath and nodded.
“Hand her up so we can get a look at that shoulder,” Cal said from above them.
“Hang on,” Riggs said.
Before Carlise could even brace herself, Riggs was clutching her waist and lifting her.
“Careful,” JJ warned as she was suddenly airborne.
Before she could process what had happened, she was standing on top of a huge snowbank in the sunlight, supported by Bob and Cal. Her eyes began to adjust, and Carlise looked around in awe. The area looked nothing like it had when she’d gone into the bunker. It looked like a snowy, rocky wasteland. The trees she did see were sticking out of the snow at odd angles, as if they had been snapped at their bases as the snow roared down the mountain.
When Riggs emerged from the hole, he immediately pulled her into his arms, holding her firm and steady.
“I’m gonna lift her shirt to take a look at her back,” JJ said quietly.
“Eyes on me, honey,” Riggs ordered.
She braced as she felt JJ carefully grab the hem of her shirt, but she did as Riggs asked, looking into his beautiful eyes.
“I love you. You’re amazing.”
It was obvious he was trying to distract her, but she was keenly aware of the cold breeze against her skin as JJ lifted the shirt high enough to examine her shoulder. “Did you find Susie?”
“No. She didn’t go into the bunker with you?”
Carlise dropped her gaze, but he wasn’t having that. “Honey, please . . . look at me.”
She did.
“What happened?”
“It was her. She was my stalker. I told her a little bit about Newton, and that was enough for her to find me. She said she asked around town about your cabin and got directions. I guess she was jealous of me . . . or . . . something? I don’t really even know. But apparently, she loved Tommy, and they started dating after I broke up with him. She somehow got it in her head that I needed to be punished for leaving him, for telling people he was abusive. It makes no sense, Riggs . . . If he was hers now, why would she care that I left him?”
She inhaled a shuddering breath and shook her head. “Anyway . . . she had a gun. Was going to shoot Baxter. Made me write a note saying I was leaving. I knew I couldn’t get in the car, so I ran. I figured you’d find me in the woods, even if I got lost.”
“Damn straight I would,” Riggs said.
Carlise cried out when JJ probed the bullet wound in her shoulder.
“Be careful!” Riggs growled.
“Sorry. Looks like the bullet’s still in there. It’s gonna have to come out.”
Carlise began to struggle. “No. Not here! Please! It hurts—”
“Easy, sweetheart. He didn’t mean he was going to take it out. We’ll take you to the clinic in Newton. If they can’t do it, they’ll send you to a bigger hospital. You’ll have the best drugs, and you won’t feel a thing. I promise.”
Carlise nodded and tried to calm down. Of course JJ wasn’t going to perform surgery in the middle of the woods. She’d simply panicked.
“Can you carry her?” Cal asked. “We can take turns to get her out of here.”
“I’ve got her, but thanks,” Riggs said.
Before Carlise could protest and try to be brave, tell them that she could walk—even though she wasn’t at all sure she could—Riggs had carefully lifted her into his arms. She rested her head against his shoulder and wrapped her good arm around his neck. The other lay limp in her lap as she tried not to move it much. Every jostle sent pain shooting down her back.
JJ draped his jacket over her, and Cal and Bob stood on either side of Riggs, clutching his arms and helping him climb down the steep mountain of snow from the avalanche.
Baxter barked, and Carlise jerked. “Was that Baxter? Is he here?”
“Yeah, it’s him. He led me straight to you,” Riggs told her.
“I had to put him in the bathroom because he was acting really aggressively toward Susie. I didn’t understand then, but I guess he was trying to warn me. I didn’t listen,” Carlise said sadly.