“Three…”
She looked back once, finding my eyes. No goodbye in that look. Just fierce determination. A promise that she’d fight.
“Two…”
I nodded. She was stronger than these bastards knew.
“One.”
She ran into the darkness, the burgundy dress disappearing into the predawn shadows. But this wasn’t the panicked flight of prey. Her stride was measured, controlled. She was thinking, not just running.
The door swung shut with a definitive bang. At least Oliver wasn’t cheating by allowing us to watch which way she was going.
“Gentlemen,” Oliver announced, checking his Rolex, “you have exactly forty-five minutes to prepare. Appropriate footwear and clothing. Of course, I trust everyone will respect the traditional spirit of the hunt—man against prey, as nature intended.”
So no night vision goggles or thermal binoculars that detect surface temperature heat. That was good. More fair.
But then again, I didn’t trust Oliver any more than I could bury him.
The crowd began filing toward their quarters, excited chatter filling the air. Diesel lingered near me.
“Better get ready, Coop,” he said, those dead eyes studying me. “Your ten extra minutes won’t mean shit if you’re not prepared.”
As the room emptied, I stayed where I was, watching Oliver descend from the stage with Bishop flanking him. He paused beside me.
“You know,” Oliver said conversationally, “the last man who looked at me the way you are right now ended up in several different zip codes. Literally.”
“Noted.”
He smiled that cultured smile. “May the best hunter win.”
That was damned well going to be me.
I turned to find Snake still there, leaning against the doorframe.
“She’s got nice legs,” he observed, lighting another cigarette. “Shame they’ll be all scratched up by the time someone runs her down.”
I moved before thinking, crossing the distance in two strides. My hand closed around his throat, slamming him back against the wall hard enough to rattle the windows.
“Touch her and I’ll kill you.” The words came out calm, matter-of-fact. “Not eventually. Not cleverly. I’ll rip out your throat with my bare hands.”
Snake’s scarred face showed no fear, just amusement. “Better hurry and catch her yourself, then.”
He was an asshole, but he was right about one thing: I needed to fucking get going to meet Mia at the deer blind. I released him and walked out, heading for my cabin. Behind me, his laughter echoed through the empty hall.
I was going to kill every last one of these motherfuckers. But right now, I needed to focus on getting Mia out of this or making damn sure I won this hunt—by any means necessary.
Chapter 18
Coop
The ladder rungs were slick with dew as I hauled myself up to the deer blind, my lungs seizing up like I was underwater. The space looked empty—just shadows and rotting wood—and for one terrible moment, my heart forgot how to beat.
Mia had already run. I was too late. They’d find her, catch her, and then?—
Mia moved from where she’d pressed herself into the corner where the blind’s frame met the tree. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps that sounded like she was drowning on air.
“Thank God.” The words scraped out of my throat.
