CHAPTER 57
Kori sawthe barn door open and held her breath.
Please, let this be good news. Please!
Wyatt emerged and paused. He scanned the yard before motioning behind him.
Then three people she didn’t recognize ran out behind him.
Then . . . Mackenzie.
Tears filled Kori’s eyes. She was okay!
Her sister was pale, and her hair was a wreck. But she was the best thing Kori had seen in days.
The group hurried across the yard to the trees.
Then Mackenzie was there. In front of her. Alive and breathing.
Kori pulled her into a long hug. “You’re okay.”
“You came for me,” Mackenzie whispered.
“I’ll always come for you.”
Mackenzie held on tighter, small cries coming from her.
“I hate to break this up, but we have to move.” Wyatt touched her shoulder.
Kori pulled back and looked at her sister’s face—just for a second—and then nodded.
They hurried through the woods the way they’d come. Wyatt led, and Thunder ranged just ahead of him.
Pete followed directly behind Wyatt as if afraid to get too far away.
Herb and Billie held on to each other, tough and resilient but clearly shaken.
Kori gripped Mackenzie’s hand, not wanting to ever let go again.
No one spoke. No one dared to for fear of being heard.
It was just a matter of time before these people discovered what had happened and came after them.
Flint, she remembered. She needed to tell Wyatt about Flint. But right now didn’t seem like the time. Right now, they needed to focus on survival.
She’d wait until they were in the truck, she decided. Flint’s involvement shouldn’t affect them now as they escaped. Right now, they survived. Later, they could debrief.
Finally, Wyatt’s truck appeared through the trees and thick snow. Some of the tension in Kori’s chest loosened.
Then she saw someone leaning against the hood and froze.
Flint. He was here.
He stood with a gun already trained on them.
He’d been waiting for them to get here, planning for this very moment.
An ache pulsed through her chest.
