Cold. Hard. Unforgiving.
But down there—ripping through the ice and snow—Jay tore up the trail, the tires of the dirt bike he’d commandeered barely holding any traction as he blazed over the bumpy path with reckless speed.
A man on a mission, he gunned the throttle like a champion motocross racer a half mile from the finish line. Shoulders hunched, he leaned into the bike, throwing himself into every uneven curve with high-speed abandon and a back-end wobble that tested the integrity of the shock absorbers every time his wheels went airborne.
Adjusting his body to accommodate for each bucking attempt to send him flying ass first over the handlebars, he managed to stay seated as the steep pitch continued to hurtle one challenge after another his way.
“Who the fuck is that?” Grant shouted, pointing the barrel of his rifle toward a second rider, closing the gap fast.
“Nikolai!” Rebecca screamed, still fighting the harness keeping her safely strapped to her seat. “Don’t shoot!”
“Nikolai Volkov?” Zander clarified, leaning forward to get a better look.
“Yes! He won’t hurt Jay, I swear. He needs?—”
Grant let loose with a burst of bullets, the high-velocity metal raining down and hitting the ground with a rapid succession of smacks, spraying snow and ice toward the relentless pursuer.
“STOP. Please, stop!” she begged.
“He’s getting too close,” Grant shouted in reply, aiming another couple of rounds between bikes. “We need to slow him down, or it’ll be too risky to land for a grab-and-go.”
Grip tightening on his weapon, thumb hovering over the trigger, Cody cursed under his breath. His job was to keep Jay alive. Protect the inhabitants of the helicopter. Not play nice with the enemy. He didn’t give a fuck about Volkov. Getting his teammate on board was the only thing that mattered.
A short distance ahead, the trail steepened. The final climb toward the small plateau they were all aiming for. As he neared the top, Jay pushed the bike harder. Forcing the wheels to eat up the treacherous terrain and gaining some distance in the dangerous race to the finish.
They cleared the ridge first, the helicopter blades frothing the loose snow into a billowing haze, momentarily obscuring visibility. Without any natural buffers, the wind whipped through the open door, the cold blast a frozen fist to the face, making Cody’s eyes water.
He blinked. Blinked again. One rapid eyelid squeeze after another until his vision cleared, right in time to witness Jay crest the top of the plateau. Bike flying sideways. Chassis six feet off the ground. Until the fucknut decided to throw his weight around and the machine righted itself, landing with a bone-crushing bounce.
Dead ahead, the cliff’s edge loomed. Then the world spun, and Cody saw nothing but a rough-looking surf as Ryder banked the helicopter in preparation for a fast landing and an even faster exfil.
“Brace for impact,” she ordered, and three seconds later the wheels thumped down. Three seconds after that, a single bullet punched a hole in the open metal door right next to Grant’s head.
“Sniper,” Cody shouted. “Pull up! Pull up!”
“Where the fuck is he?” Grant hollered, gun barrel tracking over the terrain as the helicopter climbed. “Give me a target!”
“Three o’clock!” Chase barked.
“Where?” Cody raked his gaze over the mottled ground. “I don’t see anyone!”
“He’s not stopping!” Rebecca cried.
“What the fuck!” Jamie said, his voice bordering on panic. “He’s not going to?—”
“No. No. No. Jay!” Rebecca screamed at the same time Jamie yelled, “Stop. Stop. Stop!”
“It’s Tak!” Zander shouted, and Cody didn’t know where to fucking look as a chunk of scrub rose from the ground while Jay refused to let off the throttle.
His heart hammering in his chest, he choked on his own spit, watching in absolute horror as the distance between the bike and the edge dwindled to nothing. Any second now. Any second, Jay would slow down. Hit the brakes. Swerve to the left. Or the right. Didn’t fucking matter, so long as…
He launched himself off the side of the cliff, shoving the bike away as he went. It flipped through the air, knocked back into him, and together they fell, taking Cody’s heart along for the ride.
Down. Down. Down.
Free-falling forever.
Straight into the Bering Sea.
