I cup her cheek. “I know, baby. I know.”
Ella’s lip quivers, her little hands fisting in my shirt.
We can’t run. Not together.
I wrap my arms around them both, pressing kisses into their wet hair. This is killing me. But I have to be strong.
“We’re playing a game,” I whisper. “Like Secret Agent Asher taught you. Hide and seek.”
Ella sniffs. “But you always find us.”
I force a smile, brushing her hair from her face. “And I always will.” I grip her tiny hands. “But right now, you have to be the best hiders, okay? The best in the whole world.”
Emma wipes her nose, trying so hard to be brave. “Like secret agents?”
I nod. “Just like that.”
I tuck them in tighter, pressing them against the thick roots, covering them with leaves and dirt just like Asher showed them in practice drills.
“Stay quiet,” I murmur. My voice shakes, but I keep going. “No matter what happens.”
Ella’s face crumples, and Emma bites her lip so hard, it turns white.
I can’t cry. Not now.
I move carefully at first, making sure the girls are fully concealed beneath the tangle of roots and leaves. Their wide, terrified eyes are the last thing I see before I turn away, swallowing the panic clawing at my throat.
Now, I need to lead him away.
Make it obvious. Make him chase you.
I start with the ground, stepping deliberately in the wet soil, pressing my heels down hard to deepen my footprints. I breaksmall branches as I pass, bending them at sharp angles, leaving clear disturbances in the underbrush. Little details he’ll notice. The kind of things that will make him think I’m panicked, running blind.
A few yards away, I grab a fallen branch and drag it through the mud behind me, making a long, desperate-looking skid mark in the earth. A sign of struggle, of slipping, of weakness. Jason will eat that up.
The shot from earlier still rings in my ears. I don’t have much time.
I rip my soaked jacket off and toss it onto a low-hanging branch, letting it dangle there like I was caught by it and struggled free. Then, I kick over a few loose stones, sending them tumbling down a slope, loud enough to echo through the ravine.
Come on, come on. Take the bait.
I quicken my pace, snapping twigs underfoot, keeping my direction erratic, zigzagging just enough to make it look unintentional. Just enough to make him believe he’s hunting me.
Then, for the final touch, I run straight into a clearing—a stupid move. A real runner would stick to cover, but I need to look desperate. Lost. Vulnerable.
I slow, just enough to let him see me.
The crunch of boots behind me makes my heart seize. A chilling voice follows.
“There you are, sweetheart.”
Jason’s grip on my arm is bruising as he wrenches me toward him, his breath hot against my ear. My lungs burn from the chase, but I refuse to let him hear my fear. I keep my head high, my shoulders squared, just like Damon taught me. Just like Asher drilled into me.
“You always make things so difficult, Mia.” His voice is smooth, almost amused, but his fingers dig harder into my flesh.“You know, we could’ve done this the easy way. You and me. A family. The way it was supposed to be.”
I jerk my arm, trying to break free, but Jason is stronger, his grip like iron. My pulse hammers.
Not now. Don’t panic. Think. Stall.
