Chapter 17 #2
Engines roared to life. The wind picked up, carrying the scent of rain and pine.
Ethan spotted a narrow footpath disappearing into the trees. “Let’s head that way,” he shouted over the roar.
Liam nodded. They throttled forward, headlights slashing through the gloom as the storm gathered strength. Leaves and debris lashed their faces.
“I don’t like this,” Liam called. “We’re losing light.”
“I know. A few more structures though. We have to check everywhere.”
Ethan raised a hand, bringing them to a stop. Engines off. Silence. The headlights illuminated an old cabin—weathered, but intact.
His phone buzzed.
Albright
Found an old barn. Glover and I are searching now.
Ethan
Head our way as soon as you’re done. Liam and I found a cabin. Looks occupied. Sharing coordinates.
He ducked behind his ATV, eyes fixed on the faint glow from within. A man’s silhouette shifted across the window. Ethan drew his weapon, motioning for Liam to take position behind a ponderosa pine flanking the cabin.
“Scope the back,” he murmured. “I’ll take the front.”
Liam nodded once and slipped into the shadows.
Ethan crept forward, crouching beneath the window, back pressed to the wall. Voices drifted through the boards.
“Psst.” Liam appeared at his shoulder. “No exits on the back.”
Ethan nodded. He risked a glance through the glass.
Aubrey. Tied to a chair, eyes closed as if bracing against a strike. His chest tightened. Hang on, sweetheart.
He mouthed her name to Liam—Aubrey. Then motioned for him to take the far side of the door.
Ethan (to group)
Found Aubrey. Hurry.
A muffled scream sliced through the night.
That was all it took.
Ethan signaled the count.
Three.
Two.
One.
Liam’s booted foot slammed the door open. “US Marshals! Don’t move!”
Ethan followed, his weapon raised.
Donovan stood behind Aubrey, one hand pressing a knife against her throat.
Her left foot was bare and swollen, and a dark bruise bloomed across her cheek.
With his other hand, Finn held a gun pointed at them.
An automatic that would tear through them with a spray of bullets the second he squeezed the trigger.
Ethan’s heart pounded, but he forced himself to stay calm.
Liam yelled, “Drop the weapons, Donovan. It’s over.”
“It’s over for her. And for you,” Finn said.
A deep thrum cut through the air—the distant chop of helicopter blades. Too far to help, but close enough to distract the guy. Donovan’s head snapped upward. Confusion flickered across his face.
Ethan aimed over Aubrey’s shoulder and squeezed the trigger. Glass exploded in the window behind Donovan. Donovan screamed, dropping the knife as the force of the hit knocked him back against the wall, blood on his shoulder.
Ethan kicked away the gun and grabbed Aubrey.
Liam lunged for Donovan, pinning him to the floor with a knee in his back. “Hands behind your head!”
Donovan thrashed, shouting, “My shoulder! You shot me!”
Liam cuffed him with efficient precision.
Ethan untied Aubrey’s hands and feet, crouching in front of her. “We’ll get a medic.” She had cuts all over. She needed a hospital.
She flexed her fingers, wincing. Tears in her eyes. “Thank God you found me.”
“I thought you were dead. Thank God,” Ethan murmured, brushing her hair back gently. “I thought I might’ve lost you.”
Liam hauled Donovan to his feet. “Glad you’re okay, Aubrey.”
Aubrey managed a faint smile. “Me too.”
“What did that animal do to you?” Ethan asked, fingers skimming her bruised cheek.
“Nothing a little ice and rest won’t fix.”
Ethan raised one brow.
“And three weeks off, and six months of physical therapy. But who’s counting?”
Ethan smiled. “Come on, let’s get you out of here.”
She looked up at him, those green eyes raw and luminous. Something in the air shifted—quiet but undeniable.
“All I could think about,” she whispered, “was that I had to survive. I had to tell you how I feel.”
Emotion surged in his chest, nearly undoing him. “That’s a conversation for another time,” he said softly. “But when that time comes…I’m ready.” He slipped an arm around her waist. When she faltered, he lifted her easily into his arms. “Haven’t we done this before?”
Aubrey smiled weakly and rested her head against his chest, then stiffened. “Roger Rousseau was here. And Supervisor Howard. He’s part of all this.”
Ethan nearly dropped her. “Howard?”
Aubrey nodded, tears falling from her eyes.
He spun with her and went to the door. “Montgomery!”
Rotor blades thundered overhead as the medevac helicopter settled into the clearing, pine needles and dust whipping through the air. Swallowing his words.
Ethan stepped forward, Aubrey still in his arms.
Renegade PD closed in immediately, securing Donovan and hauling him to a patrol car with Liam watching.
Two EMTs, one of them their friend Mack, jogged toward Ethan with a stretcher. “We’ve got her.”
Ethan laid Aubrey down carefully, his hands lingering until the EMTs secured her straps and fitted an oxygen mask over her face. He stayed there, close, until they lifted her into the helicopter.
The EMT hesitated. “We can take you—”
“Go,” Ethan said firmly. “Get her to the hospital. I’ll be there shortly.”
The doors slammed shut. The helicopter lifted, its searchlight sweeping once over the trees before disappearing into the night.
Ethan stood beside Liam, the lights from the ATVs casting long shadows across the mud.
“Well done, Ethan,” Liam said, stepping up beside him.
Ethan didn’t look away from the sky. “You need to head back to the office. I want eyes on Howard, now.”
Liam’s expression sharpened.
“Aubrey says he was here. He’s the mole,” Ethan said. “And I don’t want him leaving that building.”
“We’ll handle it,” Liam said. “He won’t get away.”