A loud shout sounded behind her, and she almost stumbled.
Focus kept her on her feet. Focus to get away. Focus to find help.
CHAPTER 33
Lock gripped the Glock firmly in his lap.
Too slow. They were driving too damn slow. But then, any speed would be too slow, even the thirty miles an hour over the speed limit Eastern was driving.
Jesse sat in the back, and deputies were heading to the same location. They had backup, but it didn’t stop the fear from crawling around his chest. Fear that they’d be too late. Fear that Antwan would do something to Callie that couldn’t be taken back.
“He’s not going to hurt her,” Eastern said as if reading his mind. “He took her because he’s infatuated with her.”
“He’s unstable,” Lock growled. “He’s killed two people and tried to kill a third, and that’s the people we know about. There could be more. What if Callie doesn’t comply? What if she pisses him off and he loses control?”
“He wants her too badly to lose control,” Jesse said from the back. “He won’t slip up.”
Fuck, he hoped Jesse was right.
He leaned his head back. He needed to calm the hell down. He’d done a hundred missions like this before. Successfullyextracted hostages and taken down more bad guys than he could count.
But this bad guy was a man he’d trusted. Fought beside. Cared about.
The gun felt heavy in his hand. Would he even be able to shoot Antwan?
Yes. The answer was a shout in his head.To save Callie, yes.
Eastern turned right onto a dirt road. “I’m going to park in the mountains, a mile from the house. We move toward it from different directions, and when we find Callie and Antwan, we radio each other.”
“Got it,” Jesse confirmed.
When Lock didn’t answer, his brother glanced at him. “I need to hear you say you’re going to call for backup, Lock.”
“Getting her out safely is my priority.”
“And it should be.” Eastern looked at him again. “But if Antwan wants her as badly as we think he does, he won’t hesitate to shoot to kill those who threaten him—even you.”
Lock’s fingers tightened on the weapon. He wanted his brother to be wrong, wanted to believe Antwan would never shoot him, let alone shoot to kill…but Antwan wasn’t the man Lock had thought he was.
Eastern pulled off the road and parked the car, nestled it between trees. Once they were all out, Eastern pulled up a map on his phone. “We’re here, and the cabin’s there. I’ll approach from the east. Jesse, you go from south, and Lock, you’re west.”
Jesse nodded, and Lock was about to move when Eastern grabbed his arm. “Remember, you see them, you call us.”
His jaw clicked but he nodded. The second Eastern let go, Lock was running. Sprinting into the forest, feet sinking into the dirt. Callie was all he could think about. Her smile. The way she touched him. Suddenly, the air in his lungs moved with a bit more ease.
He couldn’t lose her. He’d been without her for two long years, and they were the hardest of his life.
He sped up, feeling the sting of the air on his face. The snap of branches beneath his feet. When the cabin came into view, he slowed, even though every part of him wanted to speed up. He needed to enter the small house as covertly as possible. Antwan was well trained and could shoot with accuracy from anywhere.
He scanned the windows, not seeing any movement. He kept low as he jogged toward the door, Glock raised and ready to shoot.
He tried the door, not surprised to find it locked.
He was about to pull a pin from his wallet to pick it when the door opened.
He aimed his Glock—only to frown when he saw Jesse. “You got in quickly.”
“A back bedroom window was open.”
