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The instant Sarah saw the woman’s outline, she knew it was Michelle. And Max had her. There’d been no question about telling Jon because he would have stopped what she knew she had to do. Sarah and Michelle had been through too much together for her to abandon her to Max’s plans.
Leaving the big gun behind, she stuck a knife into her waistband and gripped a fully loaded pistol in her hand. Maybe it was stupid, but Max wouldn’t be expecting her to come running. He would be looking toward Annie, who was the professional. By the time Sarah had slipped out the door and into the tree line behind the building, she’d realized it was probably foolhardy. She’d never even shot a gun before. Did she think she was G.I. Jane or something when she had no skills like her sister?
But too late to back out now, even if she wanted to. Maybe God would see her desire to do good and help her. She couldn’t count on it though, not after what she’d done.
She crept through the underbrush and made her way through gaps in the shrubs toward where she’d spotted Max leading Michelle. When had he gone after her and how had he gotten her? Annie had thought she would be safe out at the marina in that little cabin surrounded by people. Maybe Anu had mentioned it without thinking.
Every snap of a twig or rustle of leaves made Sarah wince. When she reached a path of pine needles, she was thankful for the silence as she moved. Any hunter would know she was coming, but she didn’t know how to be noiseless like Annie. The more the scales fell from her eyes about her false memories of her childhood, the more she realized what a remarkable sister she had. But Annie couldn’t do it all. Sarah had to at least try.
She found a rocky path through the trees and went that way. Was that a voice she heard or a bird? Creeping closer, she strained to hear and recognized Michelle’s voice.
“What are you going to do with me?” Michelle was crying.
“What has always been planned.” Max’s steely tone held no hope of changing his mind from whatever he’d concocted.
Sarah crouched behind the large trunk of an oak tree and peeked out into the small clearing where Max had Michelle. Michelle was in yoga pants and a tee, and her dark hair was up in a ponytail as if she’d been exercising. Max’s gun was slung over his shoulder, but Sarah had no doubt it could be in his hands in seconds.
Her fingers tightened on the revolver, and her hand shook as she brought it up to aim at the man she’d liked and trusted. He’d taken her in when Bree was out of town, but he’d had such an evilmotive behind his kind gesture. The betrayal stung in such deep places in her heart, but despite the evil she knew existed inside of him, she found it hard to think about putting a bullet in his head. But she had to do it. She couldn’t give him the opportunity to get to his gun. Hitting him in the leg or arm wouldn’t put him out of commission. He was too dangerous.
Steady, steady.
Her arm strengthened at her internal order, and her finger tightened on the trigger. Just as she was about to squeeze off a shot, Michelle moved into her way. Sarah bit her lip and took several deep breaths as she waited. She silently urged her friend to step out of the way.
A squirrel scolded her from a branch near her face, and Max’s gaze swung that way. In an instant he had Michelle in a lock hold with a huge knife at her throat. “Sarah, how nice to see you here. Come on out or I’ll slice this pretty lady’s throat. Oh, and toss that cute little peashooter onto the ground.”
His cold brown eyes made her shiver, and she knew he would do what he said if she didn’t obey. She lowered the gun and tossed it into the grass a few feet away. Maybe she could make a dive for it at the right time.
“Come out and join the party. I never dreamed you’d be foolish enough to leave Annie’s protection. You’ll be a much stronger bargaining tool than Michelle, though I think she might have been enough to gain me access to my camp. I wasn’t sure she’d answer my text and come, but women are so easy to fool.”
His voice went even more steely as he said “my camp.” Their occupation of his property had bothered him more than they’d realized. Well, at least more than Sarah had thought it would. Annie was the strategist, and she probably had expected Max’s anger.
The knife at Michelle’s throat moved, and a trickle of blood ran down to her chest. “I said come out,” Max barked.
Sarah moved from behind the tree trunk and approached. She kept her eye on the gun in her peripheral vision. There surely had to be a chance for her to grab it and get a shot off. “Why, Max? Why would you do this?”
He shrugged. “I’m not going to debate it with you—it just is. My friends and I find it good sport to eliminate frivolous people who don’t contribute to society. Look at you, Sarah. What have you ever done to better the world around you? Am I any worse because I take people like that out?”
Sarah couldn’t argue that she deserved better treatment. “But what about Michelle? And Jon and Annie? Michelle’s helping women and working on the environment. Jon is a doctor! And Annie helps people every single day, yet you plan to kill her.”
“Jon and Annie were unfortunate enough to get caught up in the fallout. Michelle, too, for that matter. I wish I had a choice there, but I don’t. So let’s get this over with. Annie will surrender willingly when she sees I have her beloved sister. Move.”
He released Michelle with a shove and had his rifle in his hands in moments. Sarah had no choice but to go before him with Michelle.
Thirty-Nine
Jon barred the door as Annie moved toward it. “You’re not going out there, Annie. If anyone goes, it needs to be me. Kylie is expecting to see you tomorrow. You have to think about our daughter.”
Despite her mutinous expression, he held out his hand. “Think, Annie. As long as you are free and in charge of these weapons, we have a chance. If Max takes you, what am I going to do with them? I don’t have your skills or training. Sarah needs you here, and so do I.”
The fight went out of her eyes, and they filled with tears. “I don’t know what to do. I thought I was trained in every type of situation, but there’s no tactical guide for what to do when your sister is being held by a maniac. I’m sure Max has her by now. Why would she have gone out there by herself? I don’t get it.”
Jon didn’t either, but they didn’t have time to argue about the unknown. He moved past her and began to tuck grenades behind his back at his waistband and into his pants pockets. “I think these might be handier than guns or knives. I’ll take the usual weapons as well just so I have something to throw down when he disarms me. How do I use them?”
“These are V40 mini grenades, which will make it easier to stow them out of sight. But don’t be fooled by their size. They are still very dangerous.” Annie showed him how to pull the pin. “Get it away from you as quickly as possible. You’ve got just seconds before it explodes. Do you have a plan?”
“I thought I’d go out with my hands up and tell him you’re out scouting, so he will have to make do with me.”
