Free The Perfect Hostage (A Super Agent Novella) (Entangled Edge) by Misty Evans Page B

kidney.”
    A pause. Zara spoke with her hand over the phone. Probably to Lawson.
    Lucie located John’s boots and coat, headed back out to the lake where John now stood. Lucie smiled. He was standing on his own.
    In the background, Lucie heard Lawson swear on Zara’s end.
    “Luce?” Zara came back on the phone. “Lawson said he’s going to need emergency surgery. They’ll take him directly to the medical center. Lawson and I will come get you and take you there.”
    John’s phone quit ringing and started again. The noise of the helicopter blades echoed over the lake. Lucie raised her voice. “I’m going with him.”
    She disconnected before her sister could say anything. Picked up John’s phone and answered it. “Who is this?” a male voice demanded.
    “Lucie Morgan. Who are you?”
    “Conrad Flynn. Might remember me from your last stint in Europe.”
    She didn’t. His name, yes. He was director of the spy group and Zara’s boss, but the only person she really remembered from her so-called stint was John. Everyone else was a blur. “Before you tell me I can’t go with John on that helicopter, let’s get one thing straight. I’m calling the shots here, not you.”
    Silence. Then, “How bad is he?”
    “He’s hurt…” Her voice wobbled. “I’m not sure how badly.”
    Across the expanse, John started walking toward her. More of a shuffle, and he was holding his side, but the fact he was walking was a good sign, right?
    Flynn sighed on the other end. “He’s one tough SOB, so don’t give up on him.”
    She would never give up on him. “He saved my life. Again.”
    John raised a hand, reaching for her as he drew closer to the edge of the lake where the ATV had hit. “I have to go, Director.”
    “Keep this phone on you. I’ll call you again in fifteen minutes.”
    The line went dead.
    Lucie shoved the phone into her pocket and started forward.
    CRACK!
    John froze, looked down, then up at Lucie, his eyes widening.
    Panic grabbed her by the throat. No. “John! Don’t move!” The ice…the lake…it had to be frozen solid. Why was it cracking? “Don’t—”
    Another crack echoed across the lake, and w hoosh , just like that, John was gone.

Chapter Nine
    One second, John was hobbling toward her, the next, he was gone.
    She dropped the boots and ran, screaming his name. Water rose from the jagged hole where he’d disappeared and a large crack jutted east, like a finger pointing at her.
    She yelled his name again and his head bobbed to the surface. One arm flung out and he grabbed onto an icy mound of snow, spewing water and gasping. Lucie flopped onto her stomach, shimmied forward opposite the crack, and reached out with both hands.
    His other arm emerged and he clutched her forearm. Locking both hands on him, she tugged, digging her toes and knees into the snow and scooting backward as she heaved.
    He was too heavy. She tugged again, gritting her teeth.
    His teeth chattered so hard, she could barely understand him when he spoke. “Careful. Ice…may…break…again.”
    “I won’t let you fall!”
    He met her eyes. There was admiration there. Even a little awe.
    Overhead, the approaching helicopter appeared from behind a grove of aspen trees, its noisy blades kicking up snow and blinding her. John used the mound of snow and her counterweight to heave his upper body out of the water, but that seemed to tax the last of his energy. He flopped facedown onto the ice.
    Tremors shook his body and Lucie was afraid he’d slip back in. She was shaking, too, her body numb with cold and fear. Still, she dug in her toes and held on tight.
    The helicopter landed on the boat dock and three men spilled out, one of them zipping up a bright orange suit. Another, dressed in military attire, stomach-crawled to her, wrapping strong hands around her ankles once he made contact. The third man stood near the dock, securing one end of a yellow harness around a beam. The man in the orange suit carried the harness