Then they began to fade.
The snow thinned beneath the trees, broken by patches of earth and leaves. Shadows deepened, swallowing detail, making everything harder to read.
Max slowed just enough to scan the ground.
Come on . . .
He moved a few steps farther.
Nothing.
The tracks disappeared completely into the dark forest ahead.
Max lifted his gaze, his chest rising and falling as the silence pressed in around him.
Somewhere out there, Hadley was running for her life.
And he’d just lost the trail.
Hadley pushed through the darkness, her breath tearing from her lungs as branches snagged at her sleeves and scratched across her skin. Snow crunched beneath her feet, uneven and deceptive. The clumps hid roots and rocks that threatened to take her down with every step.
Behind her, she heard footsteps.
They were close. Too close.
Kendra wasn’t losing ground.
Hadley forced herself to keep moving, even as her body protested. Her head still throbbed, each pulse a reminder of the blow she’d taken. The lingering effects of whatever Kendra had drugged her with clung to her thoughts, dulling the edges.
Focus. You have to stay focused.
She repeated the words in her mind, clinging to them as she pushed forward. If she let the fog take over, if she slowed down even for a second, she wouldn’t make it.
She had to believe she could do this.
Her lungs burned, and her chest tightened with every breath. But she kept running. The darkness swallowed everything beyond a few feet in front of her, leaving her with no sense of direction.
She didn’t know where she was going, only that she had to get away.
A branch whipped across her face, and she flinched. As she did, her right foot caught on something solid beneath the snow.
She went down—hard.
Pain shot through her as her body hit the ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. Panic surged, hot and overwhelming.
Hadley scrambled, her hands slipping against the frozen ground as she pushed herself up. Her heart pounded wildly, her breath coming in sharp gasps as she forced herself back to her feet.
Her ankle twisted beneath her weight.
Pain flared.
She sucked in a breath, biting back a cry.
Not now. She couldn’t afford this. She had to keep moving no matter how much it hurt.
Hadley took a step. Then another.
She limped, her steps uneven and slower than before. But she forced her body forward despite the ache.
