A vehicle was coming. Black SUV, moving fast down the gravel road, dust kicking up behind it. I had no idea if it wasCoop’s friends or strangers who worked at the mine. I didn’t care. That vehicle was my only chance.
I ran into the middle of the road, waving my arms like a madwoman. A mud-covered, bloody, wild-eyed woman in a destroyed silk dress, screaming at a vehicle to stop.
The SUV slowed. Stopped.
Behind me, I heard Bishop stumbling toward the road, heard Oliver’s measured footsteps on gravel.
I yanked open the back door and threw myself inside the vehicle.
“Drive! Please, just drive!”
The driver—a man I didn’t recognize—didn’t ask questions. He floored it.
Gravel sprayed as the SUV accelerated, and I collapsed against the seat, gasping, hyperventilating, trying to process that I was actually inside a vehicle moving away from this nightmare. My hands shook so badly I couldn’t have held anything if my life depended on it.
I twisted around to look out the back window. Bishop had reached the road, but we were already too far for him to catch. Blood streamed down his face from his broken nose, and even from here, I could see the fury in his expression.
Then I saw something else.
Two figures off the side of the road a little farther back. Fighting.
Oliver and Coop.
The recognition hit like a physical blow. They were grappling, throwing punches, locked in combat on the edge of the tree line. Coop was holding his own—his training having amply prepared him—but Oliver wasn’t alone and he wouldn’t fight fair. There could be more men coming. Bishop would go help. Others probably coming too.
For just a second, my eyes met Coop’s across the growing distance. I couldn’t read his expression from here, couldn’t tell if he was relieved or terrified or both.
Oliver turned to look too. Watched me escape. Then the road curved and trees blocked my view, and they were gone.
What if I just signed his death warrant by leaving?
But he’d told me to run. He’d promised he’d take care of himself. I had to believe that. Had to trust that the man who’d survived combat zones and undercover operations and years of darkness could survive this too.
“Mia?”
The driver’s voice pulled me back. I realized I was still twisted around, staring at empty road behind us, my breath coming in ragged gasps. I turned to face the front.
“I’m Beckett Sinclair. Warrior Security.” His eyes found mine in the rearview mirror, steady and assessing. “You’re Mia, right?”
Warrior Security. The name Coop had mentioned. The people he trusted.
“Yes.” My voice came out hoarse, barely recognizable. Relief flooded through me so fast it made my eyes sting. “I wasn’t sure you’d actually be here.”
“I have to admit, the call we got from Travis was a little weird. But then again, a lot of calls from Travis are weird. Still, telling me I needed to be on this relatively deserted road at this time, looking for an unknown woman… That’s weird even for Trav.”
The woman in the passenger seat turned around. Gorgeous red hair, concerned green eyes, a face that radiated compassion even in this chaos. “I’m Lark Monroe. I run Pawsitive Connections. Travis thought you might need…” She hesitated, clearly trying to find the right words. “He was worried about what might have happened. He thought you might want a woman nearby.”
I understood what she was really asking. Travis and she both thought I might have been sexually assaulted. My chest tightened.
“It didn’t get that bad.” The words felt strange in my mouth, clinical and detached. “The hunt was their entertainment, and if I had been caught… But it didn’t come to that. I appreciate Travis thinking of it. Tell him thank you.”
“I will.” Lark’s expression softened with compassion. “Do you need medical attention?”
I took stock of my body for the first time since throwing myself into the car. Scraped palms that were still bleeding sluggishly. Bruised ribs from the fight with Bishop—or maybe from one of my falls, I couldn’t tell anymore. Exhaustion so deep I could barely think straight.
“I’ll live.”
Beckett’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “Travis gave us the basics, but we’re flying blind here. Can you fill us in on what we’re dealing with?”
