“Yeah, but then I couldn’t have paid off my credit cards.”
“Damn bills,” I mutter, shaking my head in agreement. “They’re why I put my stuff in storage and split.”
He chuckles, then quiets. “Funny, isn’t it? We survive war zones, broken marriages, toxic jobs… but it’s the damn bills that break us.”
“I understand the appeal, believe me.” He sighs. “If not for my niece, I’d probably go full Reacher.”
“Only a toothbrush? Bit spartan for my taste.”
“You’re not so different, Miss Lives-Out-of-My-Tent.”
“True. Too bad our families don’t appreciate real freedom.”
The trail narrows.
We fall into single file, boots crunching dried earth, the trees closing in. A hush settles around us, broken only by the distant call of a jay.
For a while, we just walk. No talking. No pretending.
Then a boulder rises ahead, half-swallowed by moss and shadow.
“We found it.” I run to the packed earth, arms wide. “My tent was here. He stood about… right there.”
Raising an imaginary rifle to my cheek, I take aim. “Bang.”
Kade follows my line of fire, drops to his knees, and scans the ground. Moments later, he snaps a few photos. Gloves on, he digs out a small, faintly gleaming slug.
“Tell her what she’s won, Johnny.” Part game show host, part lawman, he slips the prize into a plastic bag.
As he drops it into his pocket, Becca barks—urgent—incessant.
“Shit.” Kade tackles me to the ground.
I take the lead, crawling along the same path I did that fateful night. Behind the giant rock’s cover, he pulls out his notepad, then shares the drone’s screen.
Becca’s infrared signature glows first. But what stops me cold is the second shape—upright, two-legged—closing in.
When the dog bursts into the clearing, Kade whistles her to his side.
Energy hums between us as we wait.
I’ve got my pistol—the sheriff, his rifle.
Maybe this ends here.
For no apparent reason, the orange blob stops, pivots, and bolts the other way.
As I spring to follow, Kade grabs my wrist. “Let him go. We got what we came for. It’s a trap. He wants us to follow.”
Pausing, I nod. “You’re right. Let’s get this bullet to forensics.”
Chapter 29
Kade
By the time we get back, it’s too late to haul ass to Burlington. Frustrated but wiped out, we crash for the night and wait till morning to hand over the evidence.
Still buzzing from last night, Bree and I sit thigh-to-thigh in Hunt’s new Burlington office. Under the table, Becca yawns with her head on my foot.
