Page 49 of Hunted By Them

I pushed through the doors to the parking lot and made a beeline for the Ferrari like it had personally insulted me. I raised the seven-iron.

Connor grabbed the shaft before I could dent the hood. We teetered in a ridiculous tug-of-war. Me, feral and furious, him, panting, and the club between us.

I let go, and he stumbled. Stepping closer, I jabbed a finger into his chest.

“Listen carefully, because I’m done repeating myself. Stay. Away. From. Me.” Another jab. “You come near my apartment again, you so much as look my way, and I swear on your quarterly bonus I will make this car a modern art installation, and that will only be the beginning. Do you understand me?”

“You’re insane,” he whispered, filled with shock and rage. “And when you calm down, you’ll realize⁠—”

“I’ve never been calmer or more clear-headed.” I smiled, showing all my teeth. “Enjoy the rest of your game, and reassuring everyone you don’t have crabs or something worse.”

I turned and walked away. My hands shook, but I felt lighter, like something inside me had burst wide open and I could breathe for the first time.

I didn’t go back to the hotel. There was nothing there but a bed that smelled of generic soap and a minibar that didn’t fix anything. I drove to the nearest outfitter instead and bought the bare minimum. A clean t-shirt, some socks, jeans, a rain jacket, a couple of hoodies, and a knife that clipped to my waistband. I already had my boots. Connor hadn’t bothered with them or my hiking pack under the bed.

I changed in the store bathroom, paid, and marched out. I didn’t need to look at a map to get to Yellowstone. I knew the way with my eyes closed.

Was this smart?

I didn’t know. But why the hell not?

The sun sank into the west as I drove. The sky sharpened into that particular blue that didn’t look real, like it belonged only to places where wild things lived. My shoulders loosened with every mile until they felt like they might learn to relax.

At the lot, I parked in the same space where I’d woken in my car, confused. The trees stood dark and patient. The opening of the trail was a gateway. I’d told myself I shouldn’t step through again, but fuck it.

They chose me the first time, and this time…I was choosing them.

Opening the trunk, I looked at the small life I’d packed. The overnight toiletries, the long underwear I wasn’t wearing, and a handful of protein bars. The knife on my waistband felt reassuring and ridiculous. I pulled on my boots and double-knotted them like a ritual.

I stepped up to the tree line but didn’t cross over. I just stared into the woods and tried to understand their soft language. They saw it all and were the best keepers of secrets. If I walked fast, I’d be at the cabins just as it got dark.

Everything I’d burned down behind me made more sense out here. Margaret and her glass box. Connor and his…well, just all of him. The apartment that never did fit. The hollowness was still there, yes, but out here it felt like a bowl, rather than a void. Out here, my life became a thing you could fill.

I closed my eyes and listened. A woodpecker hammered. Wind fussed in the high branches. Far off, something moved heavy and purposeful. My heart hammered behind my ribs.

“Come on then,” I whispered into the trees, not sure if I meant the men in masks or a storm. Maybe it was both. “You want me…claim me the right way.”

Tomorrow I’d be responsible.

Tonight, I wanted to remember the way thunder hummed before it broke. I wanted the flash of lightning that revealed what the forest was hiding. Tonight, I wanted to claim myself back from the clutches of a world that had threatened to swallow me whole. Tonight, I chose a new path.

Then I took my first step and smiled.

RYDER

Just to be safe, I called every hospital within an hour’s radius of her apartment, and no one had a Sage Harlow. That was a good thing, but it didn’t help me find her any faster. I refused to believe that she was dead. I could still feel her out there waiting for me.

All fucking night I looked for the asshole in the picture, and when I finally found his house, I swore. The expensive condo sat inside a tall fence-lined property with gates to match. It had a smattering of guards, cameras everywhere, and probably the best alarm money could buy.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t have broken in, but I needed Dash and Jaxon for a job that size. Luckily, when I got back and told them what I’d found, they were both in, and we were paying Connor Keating a visit this evening.

Yawning, I sipped my coffee and continued on my rounds as I played out the plan. The forest at this hour was in a strange waiting pattern. Too late for casual hikers. Too early for couples sneaking into the lot to fog up windows. No nervous laughter, no crunch of snack wrappers. Just…waiting for the creatures of the night and the break of dawn marking the next day.

“Hey Rick, how was your shift?” I walked along the path toward the front entrance booth. Rick was a good guy, always had a pleasant smile, and didn’t bother with any of the drama. He was nearing seventy and only worked the day shift, collecting money from parkgoers.

“Good, it was a busy day, but most of the people have gone now. You should have a quiet night. There was only one that might get stuck out on the trail. Seemed like a real city type.”

I smirked, knowing exactly what he meant.