AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Stumbling off the porch, she darted toward her mom’s car. If she could get help fast enough, maybe she could help her mom. Get her away from her father.
Bang!
Her heart shot to her throat, but she couldn’t turn around to see what happened. She needed to keep running. Keep moving forward.
“Enough, Laura!” Her dad yelled, stepping outside. “Look at all the trouble you’ve caused. At what you made me do. It’s time for you to suffer the consequences of your actions. So be a good girl and get back in the house.”
Slowly, she faced him. Twenty feet separated them. She shook her head, disgusted by the man in front of her. “No.”
Then she turned away from her father and dove for the cover of her mom’s car, reaching the other side seconds before a bullet ripped into the metal…inches above her head.
Trees whirledby in a haze as Cade drove at breakneck speed up the mountain. Adrenaline zipped through his veins, mixing with the terror and rage simmering in the pit of his stomach. A slight tremor shook his hands, and he tightened his grip on the wheel to steady his nerves. He’d called Owen and let him know what they suspected, and the deputy had promised to check the house out himself.
But Cade refused to sit idly by and do nothing.
Brooke sat in the passenger seat, face set in fierce determination. She’s insisted on coming with him, stopping at her truck to grab guns she’d brought from home. Jude and Wade had stayed behind, wanting to contact Nicole and see if she hadany information that could be helpful—just in case the property they’d found was another dead end.
His phone rang through the speakers. The number that flashed on the in-dash screen was unknown, and a pulse of anticipation thumped along his veins. He pressed the button on the steering wheel to answer the call. “Hello?”
“Where are you?”
He tightened his jaw at Owen’s gruff voice. “Have you found her?”
“I’m on my way to the location you gave me. Now, answer my questions. Where are you?”
He hesitated a second. He might not know Deputy Wells very well, but there was no doubt the other man wouldn’t be happy. “On my way to the house we found.”
“I thought I asked you to stay in town.”
He snorted. “And I thought I told you I couldn’t sit around twiddling my thumbs, waiting to hear news.”
An exasperated sigh shook the speakers. “You charging in to save the day could put Laura in more danger. Drive around, clear your head, then go back to town and wait for me to call. I appreciate your help but let me take it from here.”
He tore his gaze from the road for a quick second to glance at Brooke. Her hooked brows told him she’d follow his lead. She had experience with dangerous situations and understood how to handle a criminal, and he’d been through horrific shit overseas. The two of them weren’t inexperienced civilians who’d make the situation worse.
“Sorry, man. Brooke and I are almost there. I’ll only act if needed. We’ll be careful.”
He disconnected the call and blew out a long breath. He couldn’t have Owen’s words of doubt and discouragement make him second guess himself right now. He needed his head on straight—to trust his instincts and be prepared for anything.
“You sure you’re ready for whatever we may find?”
He nodded, her solemn tone twisting his insides.
“Okay, so let’s plan this out. Best case scenario, we knock on the door, Isaac answers, and we get Laura out. The chances of that happening are about zero percent. It’s more likely, even if they’re inside, no one will answer. But if he does, he’ll be armed and ready to take out anyone who tries to stop him.”
Cade’s GPS announced an upcoming turn, and he slowed before leaving the back road for the narrow tree-lined lane. If he wasn’t following directions, he’d think he was going straight into the forest. His heartrate increased with every bounce and jostle of his truck.
“I agree. If they’re here, and he so much as hears us coming, he’ll react. I’ll park between some trees, and we go in on foot. The images I pulled up of the house show two entrances—one in the front and another through a back door that leads into the kitchen. Sneaking in through the back is our best bet.”
Brooke nodded. “From there, we stay together. Go from room to room and keep our weapons ready. If we sense a threat to Laura or it’s not smart for us to enter the home, we call Owen and share what we’ve found.”
A clearing opened up, and Cade maneuvered the truck off the lane and wedged it between two large trees. He wanted to argue that he’d go in that house no matter what, but Brook was right.
Bang!
Panic set all his nerves to high alert. He steeled his mind against a hundred images of what might have happened—images of the horrific things he’d witnessed in the past—and charged out of the truck. The surprise of seeing several vehicles lining the driveway slowed his progress. Were they at the right place, or had they just stumbled upon another shit show?
A booming laugh turned him toward the front of the cabin. Jenson Metcalf stood on the porch, a gun in his hands pointed ata two-door sedan parked near the house. “Your boyfriend’s here. Too bad he’s too late.” He unloaded another shot, the bullet colliding with the driver’s side mirror.
