And so it continues….
Chapter Ten: Down the Mountain Side
Lily's POV
It had seemed that she had just gone to sleep in Aaron's warm embrace when she was awakened again. Maybe it was the absence of the howling wind, or the fact that the gray darkness in the sky had lessened. Whatever it was she silently wished it hadn't woke her. She felt safe, secure and happy. Happier then she had been in a long time. She didn't want it to end but the truth was they were still in danger. She was glad he remembered, so glad in fact she cried like a baby. Relief was more like it, relief that they were together. She could almost forget the last eighteen months had even happened, almost. She looked up into Aaron's sleeping face. He seemed relaxed and content as if he didn't have a care in the world. This is how it should be waking up next to the person you love. Too bad all their time together had been spent running and getting shot at. It had to end soon, somehow or other it just had to end.
As if sensing her watching him, he slowly opened his eyes and gave her a smile.
"Now that's something I like waking up to." He then gave her a long lingering kiss. "So as much as I like this we really do need to get going." He said a few minutes later.
"I know. I'm just not ready to move yet." She said hugging him tightly. She could feel his hand in her hair as he gently stroked it.
"I know sweetheart. Tell you what, when this is all done, I'll take you on vacation, anywhere you want."
"Anywhere?" She said with a mischievous grin. He looked down at her questionably.
"I don't like that look. What does that look mean?"
"Oh nothing I was thinking maybe skiing in Aspen, you know with all the snow." She said barely able to control a giggle.
"Skiing she says, Aspen she wants. You would think she had enough of all snow, I've given her plenty. And as for skiing I think I can arrange that." He said with a smile. She laughed at him before she continued.
"I know how much you love the cold." She said sarcastically. "So how are we going to get out of here? I don't know as if the car is going to make it down."
"Well I thought we might give it a try and then we will have to go on foot from there. The good news is we left Alex on the other side of the river." He said as they climbed back into the front seat. "The bad news is he is still out there and I want to put as much distance as I can between us." Aaron started the car and it lurched forward. It was going to be very slow going. The snow was rather deep but the sun had come out casting a glow over the freshly fallen blanket of white. They were able to make it to the seasonal road and had started to ease their way down the mountain. Aaron had gotten them stuck a few times but with a little maneuvering, he was able to get them out.
After a bit of silence he finally spoke up to ease the tension.
"So where would you go?" He asked her. She looked at him questionably.
"What?" She asked him which earned her on of those weak-in-the-knee-grins.
"On vacation, where would you go?" He asked her looking over at her as she tucked a strain of her hair behind her ear.
"Oh, well I've always thought about going home. I haven't been there since my parents passed and I really don't remember much about it."
"So where is home exactly?" He asked. "I don't think we ever talked about that.
"Shannon Ireland in County Clare. My parents owned a small cottage there. It was the one thing my uncle could never get his hands on."
"Sounds really nice. Whatever did happen to your parents?"
"I don't know really. My uncle never talked about it and I was so young I don't really remember." She suddenly seemed to have a far off look on her face and before he could ask she continued. "My sister loved Ireland, everything about it but she was never able to go. I never felt right going without her so I never made the journey." He reached over a squeezed her hand. She grasped it and squeezed back.
"Well maybe it's time. Time to live your life." She gave him a smile and knew in her heart he was right. She turned her head to look back out at the scene before her. It truly was beautiful here. She was just about to tell him so when she noticed something ran in front of the vehicle.
"Aaron!" She shouted and she could feel the tension fill the air as he spiked the break. This was a big mistake because it caused the vehicle to fish tail and slide on the ice. The momentum kept the car sliding forward. Aaron struggled to get the car under control but couldn't. The impact wasn't as hard as she expected but jarring none the less. The airbag deploying in her face was more painful. When the car finally had stopped moving the front was resting against a tree with half of the windshield and front end in their laps. She turned to look at Aaron.
"Are you alright?" She asked him concerned. He had hit is head and a trickle of blood was running down the side of his face from a cut above his eye.
"Yeah, you?"
"I think so. What was that?"
"I'm not sure but I don't want to wait around to find out." Just as she started to answer the car door was jerked open and she was pulled from the vehicle roughly. She saw Aaron's face twist with fury as she was being dragged toward the ditch in the road. That was when she heard the helicopter hovering in the air above them. She saw Aaron run to her, felt her captor throw her in the ditch just as the car exploded in a hail of bullets.
Yeah I know another cliff hanger. It's what I do best. Enjoy and please review.
