AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He’ll kill her because of you. I won’t lose her to his hands.” He goes to push me away, but Zeke jumps between us.
“Listen carefully,” he steps back as Jamie joins us. “She has some important thoughts.”
“I’ve talked to Lydia and had a contact at the FBI along with our tech people pull some information. You need to stop fighting. He’s going to kill her no matter what."
Everything slows for a moment. My head feels woozy and I wonder if I’m going to faint, then everything becomes sharper and more in focus.
“What do you got for us, Jamie?” I ask her.
“What does she have to do with this? I have my security teams sweeping all of the locations he’d go.” Darrell steps in front of her.
“Move near my wife again and they won’t be able to reconstruct you when I’m done.” Zeke is right in Darrell’s face, placing Jamie safely behind him.
“Sorry.” Darrell holds his hands up in surrender. “I didn’t know she was yours.”
“I’m a former FBI profiler. Did you know Colton has a piece of property near Burgess Falls?” She raises her brow and then turns to Cobi and me. “He had the title buried under a couple of shell corporations, but my friend Bekah found it. Because you and Lydia ruined his big hunt by taking the cub, he’s going to go for the ultimate hunt.” She pauses, and her words hit me.
“He’s going to hunt her. She can do what an animal can’t. Anticipate.”
Jamie pinches her lips and nods. “You better hurry.”
Cobi and I take off for the command area and give them the information we just found out. Tennessee State Special Operations Unit calls in a helicopter. They tried to talk me out of helping, but there’s no way in hell I’m sitting back and waiting. Cobi isn’t with the state police, but he offers his assistance and we take off in my SUV. I look in the back and see Zeke going through my rifle case. He’s a sniper with the NYPD SWAT and is offering to help. I’ll face any investigation if he’s able to take the shot, but I want him behind the scope because he’s that good.
CHAPTER15
LYDIA
Iroll and pain hits my arm instantly. I look around me and see I’m lying on the ground in the woods. Rocks and pine needles dig into my skin. I rise up and a bullet hits the tree above my head.
“Better run before I kill you,” Colton yells, and I look around me in fear.
I think he’s off to my right, so I take off in the opposite direction. I run for about ten minutes when I jog behind a cluster of trees. I slide to the ground to catch my breath. I need to brace my arm. I take off my shirt and use it as a sling to hold my arm close to my body. My foot kicks a branch and I hear a loud snap. I look over to see a bear trap with the jaws closed.
My head whips around as I look for the signs I learned years ago when I was on an expedition. Bear traps have been outlawed in most states because of the cruelty to animals and the fact it doesn’t discern its intended victim. It snaps its ferocious jaws at anything that trips it. I spot another and stand to give it a large birth. I try to listen for where Colton is at now, but I’m only met with the sound of rushing water. I decide to head that way to get away from him. A bullet slams into my shoulder and I scream as I fall to the ground in pain. I roll around to get back on my feet. I don’t know if it’s good or bad that the bullet hit the same shoulder as my broken arm. At least I still have one good arm to use.
I hear him moving through the woods toward me. He breaches the trees and looks down at me with his gun aimed at my head. He’s decked out in camouflage like he’s dressed for a hunt.
“I honestly thought you would be a little more challenging. This isn’t the ultimate kill, but I’ve done this before. Hunting humans isn’t much of a challenge.”
“Make it fair and don’t use a gun.” I taunt him. I can’t fight a bullet, but I’m sure I could fight him off if I had to. I have a reason to live.
“You want to square up against me.” He chuckles and hangs the gun above his head in the tree. I look at it and him. We circle each other and I try to reason with him.
“Colton, you once loved me. You don’t want to do this.”
He laughs, and it’s an evil sound that causes goose bumps to burst across my skin. “I never loved you. I loved your money. That’s why I killed your parents. A well-placed bullet to the tire and they rolled over and over on that road.”
“What about our children?” I’ll beg if necessary.
“What about them? I’m a dead man if we make it out of this. The Brigade will kill me, just like they did Kant. I might as well have some fun before I die.”
“Did you really do all those things to Sydney?”
“I was there that night, you know. Helped kill those stupid scientists and nature lovers. I should’ve got to hunt that Rhino, but Kant said it was his.”
My jaw locks as I hold in my emotions. I can’t let him know he’s getting to me. He dives for me and pulls a large knife from behind him. I bat it away like Sydney showed me to do and push him back. I spin away from him, but he grabs my shoulder and digs his finger into the bullet wound. I scream in pain and look up as the knife is coming down. He’s stronger than me, but I reach up and hold his hand back as best as I can. Not gaining anything, I change tactics and go slack. The knife whips past me and he falls over from the momentum. As he’s going down, I push him hard. There’s a loud snap, followed by a sickening thump. I look over to see Colton lying on the ground with a bear trap around his head. His unfocused eyes are aimed at me. I fall to my knees and cry out. I didn’t want to kill him. I just wanted to get away. My vision blurs from tears and pain. I watch as the ground comes toward me faster, and I’m out again.
* * *
