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"En route."
"Then we're not waiting." Determination was a pulse in her veins. Carlos had a head start, but she had resolve.
The desert's chill sidled through Rachel's jacket as she keyed her radio. "This is Ranger Rachel Blackwood, requesting immediate backup at the Acosta residence. Two in custody; suspect on the loose."
"Copy that, Ranger. Units en route," crackled the dispatcher's voice.
"Garage," Ethan murmured, breaking her reverie. She followed him, senses heightened. The door groaned open, revealing a cavernous space, shadows nestled within shadows. Moonlight trickled through a dirty window, illuminating dust motes that danced like specters.
"Over there." Ethan's voice pulled her to a hulking shape shrouded in darkness. As they approached, the outline became clear—an ATV, its black frame hunched like a sleeping beast.
"Same tracks," Ethan observed, pointing to tire prints in the dirt, a breadcrumb trail waiting to be followed.
"Once backup arrives..." Ethan let the sentence dangle, knowing she'd fill in the blanks.
"We hunt," she finished, her words a vow etched in the night air.
Ethan crouched beside the ATV, running his fingers along its contours. "Built for rough terrain. I think I can drive it."
Rachel watched him, noting the fluidity of his movements—measured, familiar. The desert night clung to their skin, a cool shroud that seemed to tighten with each passing second.
"Same mechanics?" she asked, her voice threading through the quiet.
"Pretty much." Ethan tapped the ATV's side. "Throttle here, brakes there. Just imagine you're gliding on ice, except it's sand and rock beneath us."
She nodded, picturing the chase, the ATV kicking up plumes of dust as they thundered after Carlos.
"Got your message," came the static-tinged reply from her radio, jolting her back. She turned to see a police vehicle hastily pulling up the road towards where the two men were cuffed. One of the cops had a radio raised, visible through his windshield.
"Listen," Rachel said into the device, her thumb pressing the button with conviction. "We found an ATV. We're going to use it to track Mr. Acosta. Need someone to babysit those two."
"Copy that," crackled the response. "Be careful out there."
"Always are," she muttered, clipping the radio back onto her belt. Her gaze fixed on the tire prints again, those serpentine tracks weaving into darkness, taunting them to follow.
The door of the police vehicle opened then closed with a loud thud.
Ethan stood, dusting off his hands. "Once we're out there," he started, pausing to lock eyes with her, "it's just us and the night."
She didn't hesitate, wheeling the machine out of the garage, in the direction the tire treads of the second machine which no longer occupied the garage had gone.
The desert sprawled before them, a vast canvas of shadows and moonlit dunes. Blue and red lights splashed over the scene as local PD took control of the two gunmen.
"Ready?" Ethan's voice cut through her focus, low and steady. He straddled the front of the vehicle now, twisting at his waist to double-check she was comfortable.
"Let's do this," she replied, climbing onto the ATV behind him. Her hands gripped the side rails, the metal cold and unyielding beneath her fingers.
Ethan revved the engine, a growl that echoed off the walls of the night. Dust billowed around them as they edged forward, the beams of the headlights cutting a swath through the gloom.
"East," Rachel murmured, leaning to the right as she spotted the faint but distinct tread marks in the sand. "He went East."
"Got it." Ethan veered the ATV, tires churning the earth as they picked up speed. The desert air rushed past them, a torrent of whispers and hisses.
Rachel's thoughts narrowed to a razor's edge. She could almost feel Carlos ahead of them, the desperation that must be clawing at his insides knowing they were on his trail. She focused, scouring the ground for signs—displaced stones, crushed shrubs, the betraying pattern of tire tracks.
How had Carlos known they were coming?
Her mind moved to Kai, and she felt a lingering suspicion that she couldn't quite discard.
