A few feet from where they body lay, he was overcome with relief when it became clear that the unmoving form was male. With his weapon trained, Jagger finally reached the body. A quick and cautious check for a pulse confirmed whoever he was, the man was dead.
He reached down with his free hand, grabbing hold of the guy’s shoulder, and pulling until the body was lying flat on its back.
“Holy shit.” Cade came to a stop next to where Jagger was still standing. “Isn’t that?—”
“Julian Miller.” Jagger nodded.
Someone had shot the asshole. And from the looks of the hole in his chest, they’d struck him square in the heart. Whoever it was, they’d taken the shot from behind.
And they had damn good aim.
What the hell happened here tonight? And where the fuck was Talia? Had she gotten free and then hunted down and killed the man responsible for her abduction? If so, where the hell did she go?
Cade got on the comms to update the others, and in the background of his whirling thoughts, Jagger heard Christian respond with something about heading back to get the cars.
“Shit.” Liam looked to Jagger. “I have the keys to the rental.”
“Go,” Ryker ordered. “We’ve got this covered.”
With Jagger’s nod of approval, his closest friend spun around and ran.
“I’m guessing that’s Miller’s gun.” Cade pointed to something on the ground next to the body.
Ryker bent down and carefully picked it up. “It’s a Glock. Nine mil.”
“Hey, what’s that?” Cade turned and started walking through the grass. He stopped a few feet away. He squatted down to look at whatever he’d found, and his shoulders fell with a disheartening, “Fuck.”
Jagger and Ryker rushed over to see what the other man had discovered. A fresh onslaught of fear struck when he spotted the set of handcuffs along with a sizeable pool of blood.
With wooden movements, he bent down and picked up the cuffs. He lifted them a bit higher, letting them dangle from his finger. Smeared blood marred the otherwise silver surface.
“Look.” Cade pointed to a set of tiny, flat keys in the grass near the sole of Ryker’s boot.
“She got free,” Jagger inferred, hope flourishing and making his pulse spike as he looked around. “Talia!” he shouted her name as loudly as he could while spinning around in slow, assessing circles. “Call out for me, darlin’! Show us where you are!”
He held his breath and waited, but there was no response. Seconds later?—
“There!” Cade pointed to yet another portion of the grass not far from the cuffs.
They’d been so busy looking outward, scanning the area at a distance, they almost missed the very thing that could lead them straight to the woman he loved.
A trail of fresh blood marked countless long blades of grass. At first glance, it appeared to lead from the scene of Miller’s death toward the two-lane road.
His heart flew into his throat knowing she’d gone that way in search of help.
“Talia!”Jagger took off, his legs moving faster and harder than ever before.
Tears blurred his vision when he finally saw her. From relief and also?—
No!
“Natalia!” He pushed his body to its limits in order to reach her.
“Oh, shit.” Ryker almost caught up to him. “Ah, fuck. Please tell me we aren’t too late.”
I can’t be too late!
Jagger finally reached her. He immediately dropped to his knees by her side. Those around him ceased to exist, and though everything that happened next transpired in a matter of seconds, to him, it was as if his entire world had come to a stop.
