The fire in the hearth had faded into a pile of grey ash and a few glowing orange embers. The cabin was freezing cold, the kind of mountain chill that seeps into your bones. Isabella woke up first. She was tangled in the fur rug and Jaxson's heavy muscular arm. She felt safe, but then she heard a sound.
Crunch.
It was the sound of a heavy boot stepping on a dry twig outside the window.
Isabella sat up fast, pulling the rug to her chest. "Jaxson," she hissed, shaking his shoulder. "Jaxson, wake up. Someone is outside."
Jaxson was awake in a second. He didn't yawn or stretch; he just rolled out of bed and reached for his jeans. He grabbed a heavy black handgun from the nightstand that Isabella hadn't even noticed was there.
"Stay behind the bed," Jaxson commanded in a low whisper.
He crept toward the window and moved the moth-eaten curtain just an inch. His face went pale. "Damn it," he cursed. "How did she find us?"
"Who?" Isabella asked, her teeth chattering from fear and the cold.
"Vanessa," Jaxson said. "And she didn't come alone. There are three black cars out there. They must have put a GPS tracker on the SUV back at the docks."
Suddenly, the front door of the cabin didn't just open—it exploded inward. Two men in tactical gear stepped in, holding flashlights that blinded Isabella. Behind them walked Vanessa. She was wearing a white fur coat that looked very expensive and very out of place in the woods. She held a small, elegant pistol in her hand, pointed right at Jaxson's heart.
"You always were a romantic, Jax," Vanessa said, her voice sounding like ice cubes rattling in a glass. "Picking a cabin with no back exit. It's almost like you wanted to be caught."
"Let the girl go, Vanessa," Jaxson said. He didn't lower his gun. "She doesn't know anything. She thinks I'm just a guy with a fast bike."
Vanessa laughed. It was a mean, high-pitched sound. "Oh, I think she knows plenty now. She saw the gold. And she saw you kill Marco. The Boss is very upset about his nephew, Jaxson. He wants blood. But I told him I could get the gold back first."
Vanessa looked at Isabella. "He didn't tell you, did he? About the tracker? I put it on his bike weeks ago. I knew he was getting soft. I knew he'd run eventually."
Isabella looked at Jaxson. "You knew they were following you?"
"I thought I lost them!" Jaxson yelled.
"You never lose me, Jax," Vanessa said. She stepped closer, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. "Now, give me the key to the locker at the docks. The one with the rest of the shipment. Do it now, or I'll have my boys show the girl what happens to people who meddle in Syndicate business."
Jaxson looked at Isabella. His eyes were full of pain. He looked like he was making a choice. He slowly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silver key on a leather string.
"Here," he said, tossing it at Vanessa's feet. "Take it. Take everything. Just let her walk away."
Vanessa picked up the key and smiled. "You really do love her. How pathetic. You were the greatest thief I ever knew, and now you're trading millions of dollars for a girl who smells like old books."
She looked at the men behind her. "Kill him. But keep the girl. The Boss wants to talk to her personally."
"NO!" Isabella screamed.
Everything happened at once. Jaxson dived toward Isabella, tackling her to the floor just as the men started shooting. The sound was deafening. Wood splinters flew everywhere. Jaxson grabbed a small wooden chair and threw it at the nearest flashlight, knocking it out of the man's hand.
"Run, Isabella!" Jaxson yelled. "There's a cellar door under the rug! Go!"
Isabella scrambled under the bed, her fingers fumbling for the handle in the floorboards. She found it and pulled. It was heavy, but her adrenaline gave her strength. She dropped into a dark, dirt-smelling hole just as another bullet hit the bed frame above her head.
She heard Jaxson fighting above her. The sound of punches hitting skin and the heavy thuds of bodies hitting the floor. She wanted to stay and help, but she knew she was just a distraction. She crawled through the narrow dirt tunnel, her red dress getting ripped and covered in mud.
Finally, she popped out of a hole behind a large pine tree fifty yards away from the cabin. She looked back. The cabin was glowing with light. She saw Vanessa standing on the porch, looking frustrated.
"Find her!" Vanessa was screaming at her men. "She can't have gone far in those shoes!"
Isabella looked at her feet. She was barefoot. She had left her heels in the cabin. She turned and started to run into the deep, dark woods. She didn't know where she was going, but she knew she had to find help. She had to save Jaxson.