“There’s more activity,” Levi announces. “The female has just left the house on foot. She’s carrying a flashlight and judging by her speed, I’d say she’s running.”
“In what direction?” I ask. I will Quinn to head for the main gates, but running away isn’t her style.
“She’s cutting across the woodland, heading straight for you.”
“Keep your eyes on her,” Mace tells him.
I take my cell phone from my pocket. “Send me the feed from the drone, Mace.”
He knows immediately what I’m planning. “Reid, we’re not separating.”
“Then you’re going to have to leave Jake here alone, because I’m going after Quinn. Either I run around the woods completely blind, or you can help me track her movements.”
Mace snatches my phone as he issues fresh instructions. “Jake, circle towards me and we’ll regroup,” he says. “Levi, keep following Quinn, but zoom out so we can track Reid’s marker when he's close. He’s going to intercept her.”
“Thanks,” I say when my brother hands me back my phone.
“When you get to her, keep your weapon drawn,” Mace says. “Until we have irrefutable proof that she isn’t a Russian asset, through recruitment or coercion, you can’t let your guard down. Promise me, Reid.”
I unholster my Glock. “I’ll keep my gun in my hand at all times.”
It’s an easy enough promise to make, but pulling the trigger would be an entirely different proposition. Quinn’s pulled a gun on me enough times to know that she wouldn’t shoot me either. I’m just glad Mace doesn’t know she held my dick at gunpoint the last time we met, or he wouldn’t be so keen to let me go. Not that he is keen. But he lets me go and I set off at a sprint.
My strides are longer than Quinn’s and I have the benefit of night vision, so I’m confident I can stop her before she gets anywhere near the stables. I stay close to the roadand eventually my marker shows up on the drone’s feed. I fix my location relative to Quinn’s and adjust my trajectory.
Twigs snap underfoot and branches tug at my jacket. The bulletproof vest stops my chest expanding as much as I’d like, but I don’t care if I run out of breath. Nothing will stop me reaching Quinn.
Unfortunately, I’m so determined to keep running that I don’t check the drone feed nearly enough.
“Reid, you’ve overshot the target,” Levi says. “You need to head north.”
“Fuck,” I mutter as I gasp for breath. Quinn’s closer to the stables now. Not near enough to be of concern yet, but…
“The Russians are on the move,” Mace says. “They’re complaining about having to go out on patrol when the site isn’t active yet. Reid, you’re going to have to find Quinn fast. We’ll tail Ilya’s men, but the last thing we need is a confrontation. We don’t want Ilya finding out we’ve been here.”
“Understood,” I say as adrenaline floods my veins. Considering what they wanted to do to Quinn earlier, if they catch her spying, they’ll show no mercy. She’s running straight into danger.
It kills me to slow, but I can’t risk missing her again. I keep checking my phone and my heart is in my throat when two new heat sources show up on screen. The Russians have separated and Quinn is on a collision course with one of them.
My lungs burn as I crash through the undergrowth until I finally spot the sweep of Quinn’s flashlight. She isn’t moving as fast as I am, but she isn’t exactly strolling through the woods either. I shove my phone into my pocket and wipe my clammy hands on my sleeve so I can hold my gun firmly.Quinn must hear my approach because she spins in my direction. She has both arms out in front of her, taking aim with her flashlight and the gun I’m intimately familiar with.
A beam of light sweeps over my body. I raise my hands but I keep advancing. Unfortunately, she can now see I’m armed, and because I’m wearing my night vision goggles, I don’t know if she’s worked out it’s me. What’s more, I can’t shout and identify myself because that’s going to alert the Russians. Quinn takes aim at my head.
Fuck.
If I stop in my tracks, there’s a chance she won’t shoot. But while she’s trying to figure out who I am, one of the Russians could be advancing on us. He’ll see the flashlight. If he hasn’t already.
I have to keep walking, but her flashlight is blinding me. I pull off my goggles, and blink hard against the sting of light. I need to see that look of recognition on Quinn’s face, but my vision is too slow to clear. I hear the unmistakable click of her gun’s safety catch being released.
What if she hasn’t recognized me yet? What if she has and she’s going to shoot anyway? Quinn had promised to pull the trigger the next time I came after her. And now that I’m armed too, she might think she needs to defend herself. She won’t know that my gun is next to useless. Even if I could see clear enough to aim, I’m not going to shoot Quinn. I won’t do it.
“Quinn, it’s me,” I say in a loud whisper.
Mace barks an order in my ear.
“Reid, drop to the ground! Now!”
I react without thinking because Mace might be a pain in the butt, but I grew up being bossed around by all my brothers. When Mace uses a certain tone, I don’t questionhim. I drop down and bury my face in rotten leaves as a shot rings out.
