My entire body was strung tight as the video came into focus—a figure wearing a black hoodie prowling around the tree line of the forest. My jaw locked. “Call 9-1-1, then Law.”
“Who is it?”
“I can’t tell.” I slid the phone back into my pocket and then pulled the gun from the holster at the small of my back. “I want you to stay here. Where would you feel safest?”
There weren’t enough good options. I didn’t give a damn what Wren had to say about it, I was building a safe room in this cabin as soon as this nightmare was over.
Wren lashed out, grabbing hold of my shirt. “You’re not going out there.”
My free hand came up to cup her face. “I have to. He’ll run the second he hears a vehicle. This is my chance to end this. To give us that freedom.”
Tears brimmed in those gorgeous hazel eyes. “I can’t lose you either.”
I ducked down, bringing us eye-to-eye. “You’re not losing me. This is me making sure of that.”
Because I was done. Whoever had been terrorizing us and this town would be stopped tonight.
“Holt…”
There was so much in Wren’s eyes. Words she hadn’t said but that I’d never stopped feeling. Those faint whispers of her that lived in me no matter where I went.
I squeezed the back of her neck. “Tell me when I get back.”
“But—”
“When I get back.”
Because I wanted those words freely, not in a moment when Wren thought she might lose me.
“When you get back.” Her words were soft but filled with steel.
I kissed her quickly. “Go in your bedroom. Lock the door. Call Law.”
“Okay.” But she didn’t move.
“Wren.”
More tears filled her eyes. “Come back to me.”
“Couldn’t keep me away.”
Wren turned, Shadow on her heels as she pressed the phone to her ear. I waited until I heard the lock to her door click and then started for the entryway. I checked the camera. The same figure hovered just inside the tree line.
I didn’t see a weapon in the person’s hands, but that didn’t mean they didn’t have one. The front door to the cabin was hidden from the figure’s view. If I could make it down the incline to the lake without being seen, I could loop up and around and sneak up on them from behind.
It was a risk, and it meant leaving Wren here alone. Unprotected.
I glanced down at my phone. The figure didn’t show any signs of movement. They simply stared at the house. Waiting.
I had to hope they were waiting to make their move until someone left. All the curtains in the cabin were drawn, and the broken window was still boarded up. There was no way for anyone to see inside. They’d have to wait.
My ribs tightened around my lungs in a brutal squeeze as I shoved my phone back into my pocket and slipped out the front door. Flipping the lock, I closed the door behind me as quietly as possible. The quiet snick of the latch sounded like a cannon in my ears.
I stood on the stoop for a moment. Waiting. Listening. There was nothing but the expected night sounds and faint breeze in the pines.
It was time. I lowered myself to a crouch as I rounded the side of the cabin. It would be my best chance of cover—that and moving quickly.
Luckily, I’d donned a dark flannel and jeans today. It would help me blend in with the darkness. I moved across the back deck and hopped down into the grass. I made my way across the yard, over by the firepit and chairs, and down the embankment to the lake below.
This would be a happy place for Wren again—her haven. Just as soon as we had this asshole in hand.
I jogged down the beach until I’d put enough distance between us that I didn’t think whoever was hanging around would see me. With a quick look at the trees, I ran across the open space. I didn’t breathe until I’d made cover.
Pulling out my phone, I checked the camera. Whoever it was, they were still there, and they’d lit a cigarette. I tried to make out any features in the glow. The hands were masculine, but that was all I could tell.
I put my phone back and adjusted my grip on my gun. Moving slower this time and careful to avoid any downed branches that might give me away, I started around to whoever was lying in wait.
The path I carved brought me up behind the cabin and the lurker. As they came into view, everything in me tightened. They were average-sized, their hoodie making them seem broader than they actually were. And they seemed human—not like the monster they were.
I took a step, too distracted with whoever I was about to face, and my foot came down on a twig. The sound was deafening.
The person in front of me whirled around. I caught sight of the side of a face, but it wasn’t enough to identify them, and then they ran.
I let out a stream of curses and took off after them. They were fast, jumping over logs and darting around trees.
“Stop!” I yelled.
Like that did any good. I needed backup.
I pulled the phone from my pocket again as I ran, yelling out a voice command to call Lawson. He answered after half a ring. “Where the hell are you?”
“Woods in back of the cabin. Heading northwest on foot. In pursuit of a man in a black hoodie. I need backup.”
Lawson cursed. “You’re not a damn cop.” But then he barked out an order over the radio, and I knew help was coming.
The figure in front of me whirled for a split second, and I saw the flash of metal in the moonlight. I ducked as they fired, the shot going way wide and hitting a tree a few feet away.
“Tell me that was you,” Lawson growled.
“I’m afraid not.”
“Take cover until backup gets there.”
“Can’t do that.” I raised my gun to return fire, but the figure was too smart, running in a haphazard zigzag that I couldn’t pin down.
Instead, I pushed my muscles harder, the burn turning to fire. But I pictured Wren scared and hurt. Let myself feel the terror we’d all experienced since discovering that a shooter was back.
It lit something deep inside, and I charged up the hill. The person in front of me cursed. He pointed his gun in my direction again but wasn’t even aiming as he ran. The bullet hit a tree at least ten feet from me.
I was gaining. Just a little bit more. Wren’s hazel eyes flashed in my mind—the green in them that shone like emeralds. How she looked up at me with all the love in the world, even if she wasn’t ready to say it.
I launched myself at the man, taking him to the ground in a hard tackle. He struggled beneath me, giving me an elbow to the jaw. I cursed but answered with a swift punch to the cheek, stunning him enough for me to wrestle the weapon from his hands.
Pressing my forearm against his throat, I struggled to keep him in place. “Don’t move.”
The hoodie slipped from his head, and Joe Sullivan stared up at me with fury in his eyes.
