He’s here.
The thought gives me just enough courage to meet Mr. Ashworth’s gaze with something other than defeat.
I don’t know what Bodhi is, but as the same large shadow passes the next window, letting everyone know there’s something moving out there other than birds and branches, I know they should be very afraid.
A surge of rage, pure, primal, murderous rage, that isn’t mine rises inside me.
“You should run.” My voice comes out steadier than I expected. “While you still can.”
25
BODHI
The SUV tears through the mountain roads like a black bullet, engine screaming as I push it far beyond safe limits, hoping I’m right about which direction to go, relying on the bond between us to guide me.
Every curve I push through is a prayer; every straightaway, a chance to gain precious seconds. Pavel’s phone sits in the passenger seat, the cracked screen still displaying Emma’s terrified face.
I need to find her.
My hands grip the steering wheel so tightly that the leather creaks under the pressure. Blood from the quarry has dried on my knuckles, my shirt, and my face. I don’t care. I only care that I’m not there.
The phone rings.
“Van’s got something,” Beau says without preamble. “He traced the sender’s number through the carrier. Cell towers put it somewhere in the North Ridge area. Traffic cams picked up Ashworth’s vehicle heading in that direction. Van pulled satellite imagery on remote properties and found some likely places that Kozlov might stash her near their last known location.”
Hope flares in my chest. “Where?”
“There’s a cabin about ten miles from your current position. Van confirmed there’s a black sedan parked outside. Not your usual hunting trip vehicle.”
He’s done it.
“That’s it. That’s where she is.” I know it. I can feel it in my bones. “Thank you, Van.”
He doesn’t reply, but I know he’s listening.
“Coordinates are already on your phone.” Beau’s using his best big brother tone, but we’re way beyond that. After so long in fur and finding my fated mate, it’s a miracle I have any control left at all.
“We’re only twenty minutes behind you.” Beau tries again.
Twenty minutes might as well be a lifetime. God only knows what they’re doing to her right now.
“No.” The word comes out as a growl. “She doesn’t have twenty minutes.”
I end the call and check the GPS coordinates Van sent me. At this speed, it’ll be maybe fifteen minutes as long as I don’t wrap the SUV around a tree first.
The road climbs steadily higher into the mountains, asphalt giving way to gravel, then to dirt that sends up clouds of dust in my wake. Civilization falls away completely. There aren’t even any power lines or cell towers, just endless wilderness that swallows sound and makes hiding easy.
My phone rings again. Chase.
“Van’s got eyes on the area,” he says. “And there’s a vehicle positioned on the access road. They’ve got someone watching the way in.”
I slam my fist against the steering wheel.
Chase doesn’t need to spell it out. We both know what happens to Emma if Kozlov gets a warning that I’m on my way.
“Then I don’t go by road.” I’m already slowing the SUV, scanning the forest on either side for the turn. “How far is the cabin from the access road?”
I spot it and continue past before rolling to a stop around the next bend.
