Page 133 of Tracked
Matthew wasn’t a guard or a participant in Eden’s Children—he was a vigilante. He was Hannah’s boyfriend. The one who’d told the PI that there were letters.The one who’d tracked them across state lines and joined a cult to find them.
“No!” I lunged, but it was too late.
Matthew pivoted his gun an inch to the right and fired just before I slammed into him. Eden stared at the flashes sprouting from the barrel, not realizing he was the target until red bloomed through his white shirt.
Shit.
Eden fell into the doorframe and slid to the ground. Over Maxwell’s unconscious body, the second guard fumbled for his weapon.
“Let me go! He deserves to die!”
Matthew and I struggled on the floor. Gritting my teeth, I drew back just enough to let him think I was letting up and then let my hand fly, clocking him in the side of the head with the butt of my gun. He’d have a nice lump there tomorrow, but the alternative was becoming a lump himself. Dead because of his own devastation.
“Master Eden—”
“Kill them,” the leader sputtered, blood seeping between his fingers where it rested over the open wound. He didn’t have enough strength to put solid pressure on the wound, which was what it needed.
Breathing heavily, I shook my head slowly when the guard looked at me. “Don’t do it,” I verbalized in case the message wasn’t clear.
Unfortunately, clear is rarely a deterrent to crazy.
I fired a nanosecond before he did, the slug hitting his shoulder, sending it whipping back and his weapon spinning from his hand.
The guard screamed in pain. Worse than his idol who probably wouldn’t survive the shots Matthew had buried into his gut.
I grabbed Matthew’s gun, dropped the mag and stuffed it in my back pocket. Next, I pulled a towel from the corner of the bed and went to triage Eden. The second guard looked at me with equal parts fury and fear, undecided which to fuel.
I helped him make the decision. “You can either die trying, or you can actually help him and live.” He nodded frantically, choosing theliveoption. I pressed the towel over Eden’s middle, the man waking slightly to the pain before it swallowed him up again. Police and rangers were already on their way, though I doubted he was going to make it. Eden deserved no less than to live to see justice for all of his victims served.
“Press here as hard as you can.”
The man did as I said but asked, “What about me?”
Unbelievable.
“You’ll live.” I’d aimed for the meaty part of the shoulder, and the bullet had cleared straight through muscle and tissue. He’d be good as new in a few weeks; the same couldn’t be said for his leader.
I checked Maxwell’s pulse on my way out, confirming she, too, was okay.
I went first for the second guard’s gun, emptying the bullet in the chamber and then adding the mag to my pocket. By my calculation, at least two other men here had weapons. The last thing I needed was someone to take up the unattended Glocks and join the hunting party.
Around me, pandemonium was starting.
Matthew had used a silencer, but the guard and I hadn’t. I slipped around the corner of the building as footsteps barreled toward the cabin. Following the perimeter, I dipped into the woods just as the sounds of sirens started to creep through the trees.
Chapter 35
Lara
He looked like Ian, but the only drug responsible for the crazed look in his eyes was hatred.
My sympathetic nervous system screamedfight or flight. Flight wasn’t an option. He didn’t know Rachel was practically unconscious, and I would fight until my very last breath to keep this deranged man from getting to her.
“You should’ve picked me when you had the chance,” he sneered and came closer.
I lifted my hands and rooted my feet. It would be a mistake to move now when Ben’s gun was pointed straight at me and his finger was on the trigger. Even if he didn’t follow Calder’s rule to never aim a gun at something you didn’t intend to shoot, I wasn’t going to take the chance. Even if the sound almost stirred Rachel and she made a noise.
“You’re making a mistake,” I said, aiming for the calm tone Calder used.
