Brenna scanned the shadows behind them. “But if he’s here… where the hell is Jared?”
Through the comm, Noah’s voice came low but tight. “Naomi just got another text. Jared’s deeper in the cave. We’ve got eleven minutes to reach him.”
Colt cursed under his breath and pulled a small flashlight from his pocket, clamping it between his teeth as they started forward. Sheriff Chase and Deputy Reyes moved in beside them, both with their weapons drawn and lights ready. Behind them, Noah and Harlan took position at the cave entrance to hold the perimeter.
The air inside was damp and close, thick with the smell of rock and something sharper—gunpowder, maybe blood. Their footsteps echoed softly off the walls as they moved, each one careful, deliberate. Brenna’s heart pounded. Every crunch of gravel underfoot made her flinch, every jagged shadow looked like it could hide a tripwire.
The beam from Colt’s light swept ahead, catching the glint of old mineral veins in the stone. Brenna scanned the floor, her eyes flicking constantly for wires, pressure plates, anything that looked out of place. The deeper they went, the narrower the space became, walls pressing in. She could hear their breathing, the scuff of boots, the occasional crackle of comms.
Up ahead, the tunnel branched.
“We go right,” Colt murmured around the light, voice low and grim.
Brenna nodded and took the lead this time, careful with every step. Somewhere in this dark, claustrophobic place, Jared was waiting. Maybe alive. Maybe not.
But they had to find him.
The sheriff and Deputy Reyes split off to the left, their lights vanishing behind a bend in the tunnel. Colt and Brenna kept right, their steps slow and steady. Brenna’s eyes swept the ground, catching the way the dirt and loose rock had been disturbed. Not fresh footprints exactly, but signs of something dragged or maybe swept over to hide them.
“Someone tried to cover their tracks,” she whispered.
Colt grunted his agreement. The air grew damper, cooler, and the faint sound of rushing water reached them. A small waterfall, maybe underground runoff. As they pressed deeper, the sound sharpened. Then came something else layered beneath it. A low, pained groaning.
Brenna raised her hand. They stopped, listened. Another groan echoed from ahead, bouncing off the stone walls. Her pulse kicked hard. Colt gave a nod, and they moved forward, rounding a turn in the cave.
The waterfall spilled from a jagged rock wall into a shallow pool. And there, lying just inches from the edge, was a small recorder. The groaning sound was coming from it.
Brenna’s stomach dropped.
A setup. A trick.
She stepped toward it, but Colt caught her arm. Then she saw something just beyond the falls. A shape. Slumped. Human.
They edged closer.
Jared.
He was propped against the stone wall beside the falls. Head bowed, arms limp at his sides, blood drying on his shirt and seeping into the rock behind him. No question. He was dead.
Brenna couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe.
They were too late.
The blast came without warning.
A sharp crack split the air, followed by a low rumble that vibrated in Brenna’s bones. The walls trembled. Dust rained down from the ceiling.
Then came the sound of rock giving way.
“Get out. Now,” Colt’s voice barked through the comm. “Sheriff. Reyes. Backtrack fast.”
Brenna didn’t wait. Colt grabbed her hand and they turned, sprinting through the narrow path they’d taken in. Behind them, the cave groaned, the sound of stone grinding against stone growing louder.
They ran hard, Colt’s flashlight beam jerking with every step, bouncing off the jagged walls. Brenna’s boots slipped once on the damp stone, but Colt yanked her up and kept her moving.
“Keep moving!” someone shouted behind them—Sheriff Chase’s voice. Brenna risked a glance and saw the sheriff and Deputy Reyes racing through the tunnel, right on their heels.
Chunks of rock began to fall. One crashed near her foot. Another clipped her shoulder. The ceiling groaned louder, the ground shaking under them.
