I nodded, but unease gnawed at me. My gut had been screaming since the headlights crested the ridge back at the vans. Something didn’t feel right.
The first hint came in the rearview mirror—two pinpricks of light on the horizon, too steady to be stars.
Boone cursed under his breath. “Damn it. We’ve got company.”
The boy whimpered. His mother pulled him into the back seat and held him close.
I tightened my grip on the rifle across my lap. “How close?”
“Closer every second,” Boone said grimly. “They’ve got better suspension and more horsepower than this old beast.”
The lights grew, bouncing hard with every dip in the road, engines growling louder.
My pulse hammered. “If they catch us—”
“They won’t.” Boone jerked the wheel, sending us down a washed-out service road, branches slapping against the Jeep’s sides. “But you’d better be ready, Carter. Because if they get close enough, we’re fighting.”
I braced myself against the door, rifle steady, eyes locked on the mirror.
The lights swerved with us, refusing to fade.
They were hunting us.
20
Adam
Muzzle flashes lit up the ridge like lightning. The air reeked of gunpowder, wet earth, and smoke. My rifle kicked hard against my shoulder as I dropped another masked bastard trying to flank Hawk’s position.
“Two more down!” Hawk’s voice crackled in my comm. His tone was sharp, steady, but I knew that edge—he was being pressed.
“Hold the line,” I snapped, sweeping left.
Blade appeared out of the trees like a ghost, knife dripping rain, eyes cold. “They’re trying to push us south. Herd us.”
“Not happening,” I growled.
Bullets tore through the SUV we’d abandoned, shattering glass and spraying sparks. I ducked low, mud splashing up my vest. Russ returned fire from the far side, calm and precise, every shot measured. Boone should have been covering him from the Jeep, but Boone wasn’t here—he was hauling Raine and the survivors to safety.
At least, that had been the plan.
Static hissed in my comm. Then Boone’s voice, tight and low:“Stoker—we’ve got a tail. Two vehicles, closing fast.”
Cold hit my gut. I glanced toward the ridge where Raine’s Jeep had disappeared, my chest clenching hard.
Not safe. Not clear.
“Get them out,” I ordered, firing another burst. “Stay alive. Do not engage unless you have to.”
Raine’s voice cut in, fierce and defiant, even through the static.“We can handle it.”
Damn her.
“Raine—” A round pinged off the hood beside my head, cutting me short. I hit the dirt, rolled, and came up firing.
One masked man dropped. Another took his place. More coming. Too many.
Hawk swore over the comm. “We’re outnumbered three to one. We can’t hold this position much longer.”
