He shifted his weight forward, inching closer and using the shadows and trees to his advantage. His gaze strained against the darkness, trying to make out shapes ahead.
He needed eyes on them, needed to know exactly where Hadley and Kendra were before he made a move.
Kendra’s voice dropped again, lower now and almost conversational—but no less unhinged. “You should’ve stayed away from him.”
Max’s jaw clenched. He didn’t have much time.
If she kept spiraling like this, it was only a matter of mere seconds before she did something reckless and final.
He had to get to Hadley before Kendra did something he couldn’t undo.
The ground began to slope upward.
At first, Hadley barely registered it. She was too focused on putting one foot in front of the other, on ignoring the pain in her ankle, on forcing her lungs to keep working despite the burn.
But then the incline steepened.
The trees thinned.
And then a sheer wall of rock rose in front of her, stretching higher and wider than she could see.
Hadley’s breath caught. No . . .
She staggered forward, reaching out as if maybe—just maybe—there was a way up she hadn’t seen.
There wasn’t.
The rock face was too steep. Too wide. Too slick.
Too unforgiving.
She couldn’t climb it.
Especially not like this. Not injured. Not in the dark.
She couldn’t run to the left or right either. Rocky outcropping stretched there, blocking her in.
Panic surged.
She was trapped.
Hadley tried to tune out Kendra as she yelled behind her.
She turned, her pulse roaring in her ears.
And she froze.
Kendra stood several yards away, partially framed by the trees. She looked almost serene as a swath of moonlight hit her.
Her gaze held steady on Hadley, a quiet—almost smug—confidence there that hadn’t been present before.
The gun rested in her hand, aimed directly at Hadley.
She had nowhere left to run.
The realization settled in, heavy and absolute.
This was it. And Kendra knew it.
