“Over here!” Harlan shouted.
They ran toward the sound, Colt’s pulse spiking. Harlan stood at the edge of a gully, his hand outstretched.
“It’s Wallace,” he said. “But don’t come any closer.”
Colt slowed. Then he saw it.
Wallace Kemp was tied to a tree, wrists behind him, his mouth taped. Wires snaked out from the ground, crisscrossing his legs and chest. On the dirt near his feet, two bricks of C4 sat wired to a crude timer and a small blinking receiver. Colt’s stomach turned.
“Booby trap,” he muttered.
Brenna stepped beside him. “Dear God.”
Wallace’s eyes were wide, panicked, and he shook his head as if to say don’t come closer. Garrett and Cal approached and both froze when they saw the setup.
“Damn,” Garrett said. “This guy’s lucky he didn’t sneeze.”
Or maybe not lucky at all,Colt thought. He narrowed his gaze on the wires, the placement of the explosives. Too careful. Too clean.
Something about it didn’t sit right.
But for now, Wallace was alive.
And they had to keep him that way.
Colt crouched low, eyes locked on the timer.
Two minutes, forty-seven seconds.
Not enough time. No expert would make it here fast enough.
“Brenna,” he said, his voice steady but sharp.
“I’m here.” She was already beside him, her gaze fixed on the wiring.
He looked her in the eye. “We have to do this ourselves.”
She nodded. No hesitation.
Harlan kept watch behind them, weapon raised. Cal and Garrett flanked either side, scanning the trees for movement.
Colt leaned in, careful not to jostle the wires. “See that receiver?”
“Yeah. Remote trigger. But the timer’s the primary threat.”
“Agreed. I’ll take the timer. You cut the receiver lines when I say.”
She shifted, took out her pocket knife. “Tell me when.”
Colt steadied his breathing. One wire at a time. The connections were old military style, but rigged dirty. Whoever did this knew enough to make it deadly.
“Wallace, do not move,” he said quietly.
Wallace blinked, the only signal he understood.
One minute, thirty-eight seconds.
Colt traced the power flow, sweat breaking down his back. His ribs screamed when he shifted, but he didn’t stop.
