If I got the upper hand with Vince, even briefly, it would give Mason a chance to reach us. Then we could corner him until the sheriff arrived. Or if I ran into Vince before Mason found us, I could try tricking him into talking again. I checked my cell.
The battery was barely more than half-full. I shut down all apps and set it to airplane mode to reduce the battery drain before opening a voice recording app and pressing start. I shoved the phone into my back pocket. Now, if I ran into Vince, everything we said would be recorded.
I tested my ankle, wincing at the sharp pain. It needed rest, but there wasn’t any time. I peered around the bush and listened for any unnatural sounds. All I heard were birds and small animals rustling in the brush. I eased from my hiding place, being careful not to step on anything that would signal my position.
I circled back and covered my tracks as much as possible. Vince would likely follow my trail to where I hid, but hopefully he wouldn’t be able to track me from there. Or at least not quickly. If I came up behind him, I would stay on his trail until Mason found us.
I went wide so I wouldn’t run into him. The ache in my ankle was getting worse, but my hunting boot provided some stability for it. When I judged I had gone far enough, I cut back toward the trail. The mud made tracking easier, which was good and bad. Vince’s prints in it were clear, but so were mine. I stuck to the edge, where the ground was drier.
Moving slowly, I kept an ear out for human noises while trying to minimize mine. As I approached the spot where I’d hidden earlier, I eased off the path into the trees on the oppositeside. I took painfully slow steps and carefully put my boots down where there were no sticks and leaves.
When I got closer, I saw Vince crouched, back to me, studying the ground. I hid behind a stand of trees and peered through the branches. He stood, looking around, his gaze sharp. I held my breath, not allowing myself to move an inch.
He continued down the path, stopping occasionally to check something off the trail. I followed, keeping a healthy distance between us. We continued this dance, starting and stopping, for another fifteen minutes before we reached a slight break in the trees.
I shifted to hide behind a tree as Vince moved to the center of the opening. He turned back toward where I was with a dark smile on his face and dried blood on his forehead. That one look at him almost undid my previous stealth. When I returned my gaze to where I’d been placing my feet, I realized I was about an inch away from stepping on a twig.
With a sharp intake of breath, I froze with my boot in the air and all my weight on my injured ankle. I wanted to whimper and drop to the ground but forced myself to move my foot over a little to bare ground. I blew out a quiet breath of relief, shoulders sagging at my close call.
“Come on out, Brooke. I know you’re there.”
I froze, hoping he was bluffing.
“I grew up hunting these woods. Don’t think you can hide from me.” He took a step in my direction. “I just want to talk.”
I checked my phone quickly to make sure it was still recording. Then, I exited the woods to face him. He was about five feet away. Too far for crystal clear audio, but close enough to be usable. I wanted to keep as much distance from him as possible.
“You shouldn’t have hit me with the lamp, Brooke. That wasn’t very nice.” He moved forward, and I circled to the right to maintain the distance between us.
“Sorry about that. I was just scared.” I tried to sound contrite. “I didn’t know what you wanted from me.”
“You’re mine, Brooke. I would never hurt what’s mine.” His tone was possessive and tinged with darkness. “You are mine, aren’t you, Brooke?”
“I’m so confused. There’s so much I don’t understand about what happened. I can’t keep it all straight.” I made my voice sound upset and gazed at him with helpless eyes. “I thought Mason was a good guy, but if he killed my brother, I was so wrong. What exactly happened again?”
He gave me a patronizing look. “You don’t need to worry about that now. You just need to know he did it. And that you’re mine.”
“But I want to understand. Mason was supposed to die that day, wasn’t he? But Aaron died in his place.”
His jaw clenched. “I worked hard on that plan. Planted the intel, arranged for the explosives. I knew Mason would go in alone to clear the building. But then he survived the blast.”
“And of course Aaron went in after him. He was noble like that.” I stayed calm, encouraging him to continue.
“He was. He didn’t know that Mason wasn’t worth it. Mason was the reason Aaron and I weren’t closer. He kept Aaron from seeing what was meant to be.”
“That’s why Mason has to pay.”
“Yes, he—” His eyes narrowed, and the madness cleared for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?” I struggled to look innocent. “I’m just trying to understand everything. Then we can be together. Like you should have been with Aaron.”
Suddenly, he lunged at me. I leaped backward but landed on my injured foot, which buckled beneath me. A cry flew from my lips as I hit the ground hard.
Vince grabbed me and dragged me to my feet, then patted me down. When he found the phone and saw it was recording, he gave a strangled roar and threw it down before stomping on it with his foot.
“You lied. You’re withhim.With Mason.” His hand gripped my arm hard enough to leave bruises. “He can’t have you. I won’t let him.”
I twisted in his hold, but nothing loosened his hand. I had one move left. One chance to take control back. I turned to face him and threw my knee upward between his legs as hard and fast as I could. Vince crumpled to the ground with a moan, his hold on me weakening enough to break free.
