Staying low, I crossed the open area to the outside wall and crouched beneath the window. I edged closer to the doorway, listening for sounds within, but there was nothing.
I tried to convince myself this was like any other mission, but that wasn’t true. I had no backup, and the consequences of failure carried a heavy personal cost. I didn’t know how farbehind me Declan, Austin, and the sheriff were, and I wasn’t willing to wait. Brooke needed me now.
My boots moved silently along the ground in front of the cabin. I waited a beat next to the door, still straining to hear them inside, then I moved.
Quickly and with calculation, I swept the cabin, noting lines of sight, checking corners. Finding no one. Only then did what I was seeing register.
The bedroom had a wall full of photos that knotted my stomach. They showed a man obsessed with both Aaron and Brooke.
I traced over the grooves where Vince had scratched out my face from pictures. How had we gone from best friends to this level of hatred? I’d thought it was my guilt that had turned him against me, but the pictures painted a story that his obsession with Aaron extended back before he died.
When Vince and I first joined the special forces squad, Aaron had been the first to greet us. He was quick to smile and welcome us into the fold. Things changed after that. Aaron and I grew closer, and Vince grew more distant. Sometimes I would catch him watching us with an unreadable expression as Aaron and I talked or joked around. It got worse after Aaron and I partnered more often on missions, while Vince hung back covering the technical and intel side of things.
Then Aaron died, and Vince blamed me. He raged at me for all the ways I’d failed. That had been the end of our friendship. I’d thought it was because I’d messed up. I had no idea he was obsessed with Aaron.
Moving back into the main room, I surveyed the space.
Near the door was an overturned chair. A lamp with a broken shade lying on its side was next to the coffee table. I inhaled deeply, and the scent of iron reached me. My heart quickened as I followed it. A small pool of wet blood stained the floor by thelamp. Closer inspection showed blood and skin on the lamp base as well. Not a lot. Probably more of a scrape than a deep wound. But was it Vince’s blood or Brooke’s?
I didn’t hide my steps as I rushed to the door and checked the ground for prints. There were two sets. One small, running, but with one leg dragging. The other large, moving slower, steadier. Both headed down the path that started here. I closed my eyes and took a relieved breath. Brooke was alive when she left.
The relief only lasted a second, though, because Vince was after her. I hoped he wouldn’t hurt her, but I didn’t know what was stronger—his obsession with Brooke, or his hatred of me.
I checked my phone. A text from Declan an hour ago informed me they were on their way with the sheriff. That meant they were still at least thirty minutes away. Brooke may not have that long. I couldn’t wait for backup to reach me. I would go after them alone.
Perhaps Vince and I had always been moving toward this. Ever since that mission gone wrong. Or since his obsession with Aaron first started.
Would it always have ended this way? Us in the woods, fighting for Brooke?
All I knew was this was a fight I couldn’t afford to lose.
Brooke
I ducked behind a bush to catch my breath. Pain in my ankle radiated up my leg from my fall over the chair. I was ahead of him, but I had no way of knowing by how much. Vince had gone down hard when I hit him with the lamp, but I didn’t stop to check if he was unconscious.
While my breathing slowed, I assessed the situation, and it was not good. Vince was familiar with these woods, and my skills were more suited to an urban setting. But I wasn’t ready to give up.
I checked my cell. The signal up here was patchy, but I finally had one bar of service. My first thought was Mason. He would come for me if I called. I pulled up the ranch number and dialed. By the third ring, I had second-guessed my choice. I should call 911. Before I hung up, the call connected.
“Shifter Ranch. Chloe speaking.”
The words rushed out in a whisper, trying to impart everything as quickly as possible. “This is Brooke. I’m in Blackwater Pines, and Vince is after me.”
“Oh my god! Brooke! Mason is already on his way. He left almost an hour and a half ago, and Declan, Austin, and the sheriff are about forty-five minutes behind him.”
Mason was on his way. Of course he was. Even with how things had ended between us, he was still protecting me. Tears rose on a rough breath, but I gritted my teeth, pushing them away. I couldn’t fall apart now.
“There isn’t a good signal out here, but I’ll give you my coordinates. I have to keep moving, though, so my location will change.” I read out the GPS coordinates from my phone. “I need to go before Vince finds me.”
“Stay safe, Brooke. Mason will find you.”
I hung up, regretting the loss of contact but knowing I needed to move forward alone. Now, I needed to decide what to do next.
My first option was running, but eventually he would catch me. My ankle was likely sprained, which would slow me down enough to keep me from reaching my car.
Even if I escaped, that wouldn’t stop the threat. Vince would burrow deeper into hiding until ready to take another shot at me, Mason, or the ranch. This needed to end. Today.
To do that, I had to flip the game. I would become the hunter.
