Once the clamp was half undone, Catriona quickly repositioned the pipe, and they worked at it for a few more minutes. When the piece of metal finally fell to the ground, Catriona almost let out a victory cry.
Keeping the pipe in her hand, she helped Lucas pull the chain and get to his feet. He was wobbly, but a few steps steadied himself enough. His pants were torn at the knees, and his sweater was stained, but he looked good enough to walk. At least he still wore socks. With her bare feet, running in the snow wouldn’t be fun at all, too bad there was no other choice.
Lucas wrapped the chain over his forearm to keep the noise to a minimum, and with one last sharp nod, they made their way up the stairs. At the top, Catriona pushed the door open and came face to face with Hazel. The shock blocked her scream, and the older woman’s face contorted with rage. She barely comprehended the knife in her grasp when Lucas passed her in a yell and tackled Hazel. The shock was brutal as her body slammed into the wall. Catriona was fixed in place until Lucas stood, grabbed her hand, and started running, pulling her behind him.
It took at least a yard until she registered the burning cold under her feet that transformed into a searing pain, and still, she ran.
Lucas turned his head back a few times and kept her hand firmly in his. The neighborhood was sleeping, Christmas lights twinkling, and the street was empty.
“Wait, Lucas. We need to call the police, anybody.”
Her breath almost morphed to frozen crystals in the winter air, and Lucas slowed down and stopped.
“She isn’t following us but make it quick!”
They were now both shaking from fright and cold. Her fingers were almost as numb as her feet when she finally unlocked her phone and started to dial 911.
“Shit! No!” Lucas’s panic made her look up and she saw a car speeding in their direction.
The boy retook her hand and pulled, but her legs felt like they were fused to the icy road. Survival made her move even though she started feeling sluggish.
A second car came behind the first one at the same speed, and as she and Lucas were about to jump into a snowbank, a voice sounded.
“Catriona!” The male shout registered immediately.
Before she could yell back, Liam was out of his vehicle, Cary on his heels. The boy was in her arms before she had time to react. In the second car, she saw Aleksei exiting his vehicle, gun in hand, and scanning the area while another man jumped out of the car and yelled Lucas’s name. The young man let go of her hand and ran into the man’s embrace.
Completely lost, Catriona closed her arms around Cary. “I’m fine, Cary. What are you doing here? How did you find me?”
Liam touched Cary’s shoulder. “Hey, buddy, we need to go. She’s barefoot in the snow. Go open the passenger door for me.”
Craving some heat, she forced herself to take the few steps to round the car when Liam scooped her into his arms. It was only for a few seconds, but when his warm breath fanned her cheek, her body collapsed as it was unconsciously certain it was safe again.
Once settled in the passenger side, Cary scrambled into the back, sitting on the edge of the back seat to remain as close as possible to her. When Liam sped away, Catriona looked behind and could’ve sworn she saw a silhouette in the middle of the street looking at the two cars before vanishing in the shadows and the snow.
