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They had to have seen it.
He’d guessed Emerich used the men as bait to draw them to his compound, and boy, did it work. They followed the men right into his trap. He’d let Emerich pull their strings for a long time now. Maybe it was time to do something different.
He saw the cave up ahead. He turned from it and turned from it and moved inland. He hadn’t made it very far when he heard the sirens.
He froze.
Were those for him? Or for Becca?
He picked up his pace. He had to get to Kyle. They couldn’t leave Becca in that place a moment longer than they had to. He broke out into a run again, running until a stitch threaded his side. He stopped and leaned against a tree, taking a deep breath and trying to get his bearings.
Up ahead, he recognized the meadow where they’d seen the family of elks the day before. He was about to cross it when a shot rang out, hitting the tree he was leaning against. He dove behind the tree and looked out, trying to spot the shooter.
Marcie stepped into the open.
“You won’t be able to escape me,” she yelled.
No, he wouldn’t.
He crawled on his elbows and knees into some nearby bushes and continued deeper into the foliage, crawling out of sight.
“I don’t want to do this. I told Emerich that, but he can’t stand the idea that Becca loves you and not him. He wants you dead.”
Loves him? Did she?
He was fairly certain that he loved her. He’d never been in love before, but he knew he couldn’t stand the idea that he might never see her again, or worse, of leaving her with that monster. He broke through the bushes and started running again, moving away from the meadow and deeper into the forest.
She’d found him much quicker than he’d expected. And he certainly hadn’t expected it to be Marcie Emerich sent after him. He kept moving, hoping he was going in the right direction, when another shot soared through the air above him.
He ducked low, turned, and kept going.
“You know I could hunt you down for hours and have a really good time doing it. There is no way for you to escape me,” she called. “In fact, I could have hit you already. Your elbow. Your knee. Right between your eyes.”
She was enjoying this. He knew better than anyone what an expert marksman Marcie was. What surprised him was how cold-blooded she was.
“Marcie,” Cameron called as he ran. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I know I don’t, but it sure is fun.”
She shot again, the bullet coming uncomfortably close.
“We all care about you a lot, Marcie. You were part of our team, our family. Didn’t that mean anything to you?” He ducked under some tree branches and ran toward another outcropping of rocks.
“Of course it did. I enjoyed this assignment, getting to know you all, and getting you to trust me. There were many times when I could easily forget that I wasn’t a part of you, but was there to spy and find your weaknesses. I felt bad every now and then, especially where you were concerned, but at the end of the day, Emerich can give me more of what I need.”
He ducked behind a rock to catch his breath. From the sound of her voice, she was getting closer. “You know those drugs he gives you can only be taken for so long before they inhibit your receptors and make you psychotic.”
“You mean they’ll make me enjoy killing you?” She laughed. She was close. Too close.
A bullet struck the rock right above his head, spraying him with shards of granite. She was right. She was too good of a shot to keep missing him. She was doing it on purpose; she was enjoying the hunt.
He was ready to run again when she stepped in front of him.
“Please don’t,” he said, holding up his hands. “Don’t let Emerich turn you into a killer.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Emerich has made me strong. Powerful. No one will ever mess with me again.”
“We were your family. We still can be.”
