Welcome to the continuation of Eva and Jack’s story set in the world of The Deniable Unit series. You can see Part One here.
Eva pulled her hood close around her face as they exited the bothy safe house. The blizzard was a wall of white, making it nigh on impossible to see more than a meter ahead. The whine of the snowmobiles drew closer even above the wind. They needed to move. She called out to Jack, “Where’s the entrance?”
Jack huddled close behind her, his arm stretched before her, pointing the way. “I checked it out two days ago. It’s overgrown, but we can get through.”
As much as Eva was a stickler for protocol, she hated what they had to do. “Is it set?”
He nodded, his lips in a hard line.
“Do it.”
Jack pulled the tiny detonator from his pocket and clicked the button with his thick, gloved thumb. Without fanfare or any noise that could be heard above the weather, flames licked up the walls of the bothy, the fire cleansing all trace of them and the Deniable Unit. “Ready?”
She gave him a quick smile before heading in the direction he’d pointed out.
The entrance to the cave system was buried behind a dense thicket of whin. Luckily, Eva’s gloves protected her from the jaggy thorns as she made quick work with her knife, careful to leave enough to conceal their escape route.
Easing by the thicket, Eva ducked into the narrow passageway. Darkness closed in around her, a stark contrast to the blinding white of the snow mere moments ago. Damp, earthy air settled on her as she waited for her eyes to adjust. “Do you know where this comes out?”
“Nae idea.”
She jumped at how close he was, letting out a hiss of air. “Jeezo, Jack. Not a smart plan when I’ve got a knife out.”
He chuckled. “I’d love to hear you explain to Harvey that you stabbed me because I gave you a wee scare.”
Now that her eyes had adjusted to the lack of blinding light, she could see him. The hint of mischief in his eyes. The quirked-up mouth. If they weren’t on the run, she wouldn’t mind those lips on hers again. She gave herself a mental shake. “Let’s just get going.”
Deeper into the cave, the passage opened up a bit, but it wasn’t safe to walk anywhere but in the middle. Water dripped from above, soaking the slick stone that edged their dirt path. Up ahead, a pinprick of dim light. “Do you see that?” They’d been making such slow progress that Eva couldn’t be sure it was real or her mind screwing with her.
Jack gripped her shoulders from behind as he eased around her for a better view. “Thank fuck for that.”
“I don’t know what kind of distance that’ll put between us and them, but I think it could be enough to keep us out of reach.”
He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Let’s get out of here. This place gies me the creeps.”
Eva upped her pace. The echo of Jack’s footfalls confirmed he was right at her back. Though the light wasn’t bright, it grew until it was clear it was the way out. She edged closer to the mouth of the cave, not wanting to alert any possible Consortium agents whose knowledge of their escape could be waiting for them to exit. “Shite.”
“What is it?” Jack drew up beside her and looked down at the cliff face that dropped into a snowy abyss. “You don’t have any climbing gear in that sleeve beside the file?”
“We’ll hold up here until this blizzard dies down.”
“Fine.”
A loud flapping sounded all around them. “Fuck!” Jack barreled into Eva, sending her off balance.
Eva stumbled, and as she struggled to stay upright, her feet found the slick rocks and lost their purchase. The unforgiving cliff face clawed at her shins as she slammed her hands onto the passage floor. She screamed for Jack.
Rough hands gripped her forearms. “You’ve got to help me, boss.” The strain and fear were clear on his face.
With each attempt to gain traction with her feet on the cliff face, she seemed to slip further from safety. The grip was no longer on her arms but on her gloved hands. She wasn’t going to die like this. She’d worked too hard and sacrificed so much for it to end when she was so close. Squeezing her eyes shut, Eva tried one last time. Her foot slid, sending her crashing into the solid behemoth.
“No! Don’t you fucking dare give up.” His voice cracked on the last bit.
With tears in her eyes, she watched as a raven bounced along the edge of the cave, settling beside Jack. It let out a loud caw. They were messengers, weren’t they? Maybe he was there to tell her it was over. The wind buffeted around her, pulling her down. Fire burned in her arms, and Jack’s grip wasn’t enough to get her back up. “I’m sorry.” And with that, she let go, falling into the swirling snow below.
Next Episode: Eva & Jack (Pt 3)
This post is my entry for Kevin’s awesome No Theme Thursday challenge, where Kevin shares some of his artwork to inspire us to create!
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it!
Stay awesome,
Susan x
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