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As the truck hurtled down the mountain, Rachel's thoughts raced alongside it.
Was the killer bleeding out in the seat next to them?
Was it the man who'd fired the shot?
Or was it someone else completely?
CHAPTER NINE
The truck’s headlights sliced through the darkness as it navigated the treacherous mountain roads. Rachel gripped the wheel, her knuckles as tight as her jaw, as she glanced over at Jack slumped in the passenger seat. Blood oozed from his gunshot wound and pooled beneath him, staining the upholstery. In the back of the truck, Ethan sat with their prisoner, Tom, who was handcuffed and silent, his eyes fixed on the floor.
"Stay with us, Jack," Rachel urged, her voice tight with emotion. Her frustration bubbled just beneath the surface, threatening to spill over at any moment. She knew she had to keep him conscious, but the urgency of their situation made it all the more difficult. With each passing second, Jack's life slipped further away.
"Rachel, we need to drive faster," Ethan called out from the back, his voice strained as he kept a close eye on Tom. He shared her worry for their prime suspect.
"Going faster won't do us any good if we crash," Rachel snapped, her grip tightening on the wheel. The road ahead twisted like a snake, leaving her no choice but to navigate it with caution.
"Can you hold on just a little longer?" She asked, glancing at the bleeding man. Jack's breathing was shallow, his skin pale and clammy. His once piercing eyes were now glazed and unfocused. She couldn't tell whether he was still conscious.
"Don't die on me," she commanded, her voice snapping like a whip.
Suddenly, Jack's body convulsed, a guttural sound escaping his lips. Rachel's heart lurched in her chest as she realized he was choking on his own blood--she hadn't thought there had been any internal injuries. Perhaps when he'd struck the floor? Or maybe Tom's bullet had been coated in something. Panic clawed at her insides, desperately trying to escape.
"Hey!" She cried, reaching over and shaking him. "Stay with me, damn it!"
But as quickly as the convulsions began, they stopped. Jack's body went limp, and his head lolled to one side, eyes wide and unseeing.
"Jack?" Rachel asked tentatively, her voice catching in her throat. She grabbed his wrist, searching for a pulse. But there was nothing. He was gone.
"Damn it!" She slammed her palm against the steering wheel. Their prime suspect now lay dead in the seat next to her. The man who'd shot him was in the back, watching everything with cold eyes.
"Rachel," Ethan called out. "What happened?"
She shook her head. "He's dead. No pulse."
"Damn it," Ethan murmured, his eyes never leaving Tom, who stared at the floor with a mixture of guilt and fear. Even though he was handcuffed and under guard, Tom was now more dangerous than ever, because it was clear that he knew something. Something that had led him to shoot their prime suspect.
The Clarks did things their own way in these parts, and Rachel had just gotten a taste of their version of frontier justice.
But this thought didn't sit well with her. Her eyes narrowed.
The truck's tires crunched on gravel as Rachel pulled over to the side of the winding mountain road, her hands gripping the steering wheel so hard that her palms ached. The dense forest around them seemed to close in like a suffocating embrace, and an eerie silence filled the air.
She hopped out of the car, feet crunching against loose gravel on the shoulder of the dark mountain road.
"Get out," she growled at Tom, her voice barely audible over the sound of the idling engine.
Ethan unlocked the handcuffs from the bar in the bed of the truck, allowing Rachel to yank Tom out by his arm. His feet stumbled against the ground, and she pushed him up against the side of the truck, pinning him there with a hand against his chest.
"Tell me why you shot Jack," she demanded through gritted teeth, her dark eyes blazing with fury.
Tom hesitated, his gaze darting between Rachel and Ethan, who stood nearby, his hand resting on his weapon. Finally, he yelled back at her, "You want to know why? I told you. He was going to shoot you. I saw him reaching!"
"Bullshit."
"Prove it!"
"Don't test me, Tom. I'll bring the whole state of Texas down on your daddy's ranch."
