Page 8 of Zin and Celeste: A Fortis Family Christmas

hapter 4

Zin may have resisted,but now he was out here he was glad he’d come. The views were spectacular from the ridge on this side of the mountain. The fresh powder so perfect it was almost blinding, and he knew without his glasses the bright white snow would give him a headache. The air was crisp, reminding him of Russia, but he could see a storm coming in from the north, dark clouds heavy with more snow.

He glanced at K, who was his brother through his marriage to Roz and saw the glint of competitive excitement on his face. “We doing this or what?”

“Want to make it interesting?”

Zin cocked his head. “What do you have in mind?”

“Your sister has decided I need to play Santa and dress up in this god damn costume for the kids tomorrow.”

“And?” Zin didn’t like where this was going.

“If I set a faster time down the slope, you play Santa.”

“And if I win?”

K shrugged. “What do you want?”

“If I win, you help me build the crib for the baby. Celeste wants to help, and I don’t want her overdoing it.”

K grinned. “Done, and for the record, you’re going to make a wonderful Santa.”

“Ladies first.” Zin held his hand out for K to go first.

Will and Aubrey were already at the bottom of the run waiting. K stepped up and readied himself before pushing off with a smooth glide. Zin watched as K navigated the turns with finesse and ease, his speed picking up as he flew past the furrows, dodging trees. As he came to a stop at the bottom, Zin knew he needed to pull something special out of the bag if he didn’t want to end up in a fucking red suit tomorrow night.

Pulling his goggles down, he adjusted his poles, feeling the first flakes of snow begin to fall on his face. Readying his position, he pushed off, picking up speed quickly as he felt every turn and dip beneath him. A pine branch was coming up, and he ducked to avoid it just as the sound of a weapon being discharged echoed around the mountain. Recognising the sound, he instantly looked to the others and saw Will on the ground, Aubrey above him as K looked around for the shooter.

Picking up his speed, Zin sped down the mountain. He needed to get to the bottom and help them get under cover. He knew the slightest thing at this altitude could set off an avalanche, and he wanted them all clear of that and the gunman. They were sitting fucking ducks, and he didn’t like it one bit. Adrenalin pumping, he was almost to the bottom when he felt the searing agony of a bullet rip through his right thigh.

Knocked off course he fell, his skis getting tangled as his leg gave way and he went head over heels down the mountain, losing his poles as he tried to protect his head from rocks and debris underneath the snow.

Coming to a stop with an oomph, Zin took a second to suck in some much-needed air and get his bearings, mentally cataloguing his injuries as he did. His breathing seemed okay, if a little winded, his body ached, but nothing felt broken, which just left his leg. He knew it wasn’t good, but the bullet had missed anything immediately life-threatening—he hoped.

The sound of feet running towards him, alerted him to Kanan, who dropped down beside him, his face tense but calm. “You good?”

Zin nodded, and Kanan didn’t hesitate to shove his shoulder under Zin’s armpit and hauled him upright. With a low groan of pain, Zin skied to some trees where Aubrey was sitting with Will. The tech geek looked pale, but his eyes were focused. Clear blood covered his left shoulder, near his collar bone, but they had both been relatively lucky. The clothing that was so thick to protect them from the cold had also worked as minimal protection against the bullet, but it meant that neither of them had exit wounds, and bullets still in situ was never a good thing as they could move and cause further damage.

“What the ever-loving fuck happened?” Zin asked the group quietly, knowing the shooter was still out there somewhere.

Kanan shook his head. “No clue. One minute we were fine, then Will took a bullet. I turned to warn you and the next thing I know you’re barrelling towards me doing cartwheels.” As he spoke K was using a strap from one of the poles to tie around Zin’s leg to slow the bleeding.

“Did you see the shooter?”

“I caught the glint of a rifle scope when I spun to look at you. Whoever it was, was up on the east ridge near the tree line.”

“We need more cover and to radio in some help!”

Aubrey was always cool under pressure and now was no different, it was why Zin liked the woman. No bullshit or drama, just straight talking.

“Agreed. Let’s head for that crop of trees and call it in.”

He stood, hating that he needed help to do so and unclipped his skis as they would only hinder his progress in this state. He glanced at Kanan and saw he was thinking the same thing as he was. Aubrey was wearing a bright pink snowsuit, his was bright blue, Kanan’s was black and yellow, and Will had blue and fluorescent green. They were practically wearing flags that said, ‘come get me’. Coupled with the fact the shooter had injured two of them, it would be almost impossible to outrun anyone.

Thank god he and Kanan at least had training in this field and growing up in Russia would certainly help but whether it was enough, he didn’t know. As they moved slowly, keeping low to the ground, he thought about Celeste. She would lose her mind when she found out, and he hated that, especially with their son’s arrival in a few weeks.

She didn’t know it, but he’d read every book he could find on childbirth and pregnancy. Needing to be prepared for every eventuality he’d even spoken to Lucy, his partner when they worked a job and asked her what he could do. Zin hadn’t liked her answer at all when she’d said just being there for her was enough.