He spat out a sinister laugh. “You owed me after what you did. Convinced Duke to go after me than talked me into not pressing charges after he messed me up. All this is your fault. I should have gone after you first instead of Duke. Made you both pay.”
More silence. The only sound was her pulse ringing in her ears.
“Don’t worry. I’ll clean up this mess.” Shaking his head, he lowered the gun and shifted to the side.
Now was her chance. Without a second thought, she darted behind the large tree and took off at a dead sprint.
“Sonofabitch!”
She heard the curse seconds before a gunshot rang out. Her body recoiled at the sound, but she kept moving. She needed to put as much distance between herself and her captor as possible. Maybe loop around and make it back to the hospital for help.
“You can’t escape me,” he yelled, his breaths ragged. “Might as well give up now.”
She ignored his voice, his taunts. The trail he’d picked was steep, and dead leaves and foliage scattered the ground. She moved as slow as she dared but with purpose, bracing her hands against the rough bark of the trees as she made her way down the incline.
The snap of twigs and rustle of debris behind her told her the man was close. She wished he would keep talking so she could better gauge his location. She refused to glance behind her to check. Her focus needed to remain on each footstep. Each motion.
Another blast from the gun had a bullet whizzing past her head. Ducking low, she yelped and slipped to her bottom. She slid down the hill then pushed her heels against the dirt to stop her momentum.
Crunching leaves announced her captor’s presence. She leapt to her feet and surged forward. Wind bit at her cheeks. Adrenaline pumped through her blood, shoving aside the terror and allowing her to move.
Another bullet bounced against the trunk of a nearby tree. Splinters of wood flew into the air. She held back a scream. Her lungs burned and the muscles in her legs ached. The tree line came into sight and hope blossomed in her chest.
A hard shove between her shoulder blades knocked her off balance and she fell on her face. Rocks scraped her palms and broke through the thin material of her pants.
She flipped over and stared up at the angry eyes of a madman—of a killer. Tears streaked down her cheeks and a sob poured through her tight throat. Images of Duke flashed in her mind. She’d wasted so much time. Been too scared to share her feelings and try to build a future with him. And just when she’d seen what her life could be like—what being in love with Duke felt like—she was about to lose it all.
He pointed his gun at her head.
“Please,” she cried. “Don’t shoot.”
22
The crack of a gun sent a slice of fear through Duke’s heart. He ran toward the tree line. “That shot was even closer.”
Lane grunted his agreement and sprinted beside him. “Spencer should be here any minute but get your weapon out.”
Duke reached for his gun, the familiar weight in his hand doing nothing to erase his anxiety that spiraled higher with every step. He hadn’t been sure if his theory was correct until they’d left the hospital and saw streaks of upturned earth leading them to Sky High Point.
Then came the gunshots.
Each blast hit him like a poisoned arrow. Suzy was unarmed, and although feisty, no match against a grown man who’d spent a lifetime riding bulls. If she could stay alive long enough for him to find her, for him to reach her, he’d give his own damn life for her to keep hers.
When he entered the woods, he slowed and listened.
Lane stopped beside him, darting his gaze all around him.
A low cry caught Duke’s attention. He tapped Lane on the shoulder and pointed in the direction the noise had come.
Lane nodded. “I’ll head that way, you circle behind them,” he whispered. “Watch your step and stay hidden. We’ll take him by surprise.”
Duke peeled off, methodically darting between trees as he made his way up the hill. He stepped over fallen logs and avoided patches of dead leaves. He wanted his movements stifled, not announced. Movement forty yards away caught his attention, and he held his breath, afraid even the tiniest shift of wind would give him away.
He continued his path, closing the distance between him and his enemy. At thirty feet, his blood turned cold.
Carl stood over Suzy with a gun pointed at her. Her cries heightened his awareness and demanded he tear Carl’s damn head from his body.
Duke’s finger danced on the trigger. He wanted to shoot, but he couldn’t. Not yet. He had to be one hundred percent certain putting a bullet in Carl wouldn’t result in him taking Suzy’s life.
