Chapter 10 #3
Thomas stood there, his expression cold and calculating, nothing like the dutiful security man they'd known. "Going somewhere?" he asked, raising his weapon.
Walker reacted instantly, shoving Sabrina down as he fired two shots. His body covered hers completely, pressing her against the floor as bullets splintered the wall above their heads.
Thomas dove for cover, returning fire that splintered the doorframe above their heads.
"Go!" Walker shouted to Henry and Sabrina. "I'll hold him off!"
Henry pulled at her arm, but Sabrina resisted, terror gripping her—not for herself, but for Walker. "Not without you!"
"I'll be right behind you," Walker promised, firing another round to keep Thomas pinned. His body still partially shielded her, the heat of him a contrast to the cold floor beneath them.
Henry finally managed to drag her through the closet and into the tunnel beyond, though every instinct screamed at her to stay with Walker. She couldn't lose him again—not now, not when they'd finally found each other after so many years.
The tunnel was narrow and dimly lit by emergency lights along the floor. Sabrina stumbled forward, heart pounding as she listened for Walker's footsteps behind them.
The sound of another gunshot from the cabin made her flinch. Then, finally, she heard it—the sound of the closet door and Walker's footsteps racing to catch up.
Relief weakened her knees as Walker joined them, his expression grim but determined. They reached a metal door at the end of the tunnel, and Henry inputted a code. The door slid open to reveal a small garage housing a nondescript sedan.
"Keys are inside," Henry said, helping Sabrina into the back seat while Walker took the driver's position.
The garage door opened automatically as the engine started. Walker didn't wait, accelerating out onto a narrow access road that wound through the trees.
Sabrina clutched the laptop to her chest, her pulse still racing from their narrow escape.
"He'll have backup," Henry said from the passenger seat. "Thomas must have been playing us for months."
"Who is he really working for?" Sabrina asked, trying to catch her breath.
"That's what we need to find out," Walker replied, checking the mirrors for pursuit. "But first, we need somewhere secure to regroup."
Henry nodded grimly. "I know a place. But we need to ditch this car first—Thomas will have it flagged."
Walker drove with precision, taking back roads and making unpredictable turns.
Sabrina watched the scenery blur past, her mind racing. Thomas had betrayed them. Henry appeared to be on their side. Walker had saved her life again. And somewhere out there, the person responsible for her father's death—this mysterious Shepherd—was still free.
After twenty minutes, they pulled into the parking lot of a busy shopping mall.
"Wait here," Henry said, disappearing into the crowd.
Walker kept the engine running, constantly scanning their surroundings.
Sabrina caught his eye in the rearview mirror.
"You okay?" he asked, his concern evident despite his professional demeanor.
She nodded, meeting his gaze in the mirror. The intensity of the connection, even through reflection, sent a jolt through her. "Not how I imagined spending time with you again."
Despite everything, a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "No? Not exciting enough for you?"
The flash of humor broke the tension, and Sabrina found herself smiling in return, memories of happier times at the lake flooding back. "I always knew life with you wouldn't have been boring," she said softly, holding his gaze until he had to look away.
Henry returned with a set of keys. "Blue pickup truck, far end of the lot. Wyoming plates."
They transferred quickly to the new vehicle.
Walker, once again, took the wheel while Henry provided directions. Sabrina sat between them in the truck's bench seat, the laptop clutched tightly in her hands.
"Where are we going?" she asked as they left the city behind, heading into the mountains.
"Somewhere Thomas doesn't know about," Henry replied. "A place your father and I set up years ago, before the operation even began. Our true fallback."
Walker drove steadily as darkness fell, the truck's headlights cutting through the gathering dusk.
"We need to contact my brother, Reed," Walker said after they'd been driving for an hour. "He has resources we could use."
Henry looked skeptical. "Can you trust him completely?"
The question hung in the air, loaded with implications.
"With my life," Walker answered firmly. "And more importantly, with Sabrina's."
Her heart lurched at his words, at the conviction in his voice.
Henry studied him for a moment, then nodded. "Your father always said the Star boys were cut from the same cloth—loyal to the bone."
"We are a loyal bunch, though not talkative," Walker replied, a hint of dry humor coloring his words. "Reed's the one who gossips between us all; well, that's what I accuse him of doing. But it does keep my brothers and I in contact."
Sabrina found her voice again, needing answers. She turned to Henry. "Tell me about Thomas."
"He was hired after Frank died," Henry explained. "I vetted him myself, or so I thought. That’s the only reason I let him work with you.”
Distress washed over her. "I thought he was fine. He always seemed so concerned about my well-being."
Henry sighed, regret evident in his voice. "I failed you."
"No," Walker countered. "It just means that someone got to him or placed him there deliberately. Which also means the Shepherd has significant reach. Government connections or resources."
They fell silent as the truck climbed higher into the mountains.
Finally, Henry directed Walker onto a nearly invisible fire road.
"Half a mile ahead," he said. "Watch for the marker—three white stones stacked at the turnoff."
The cabin that emerged from the trees was smaller than Henry's other safe house, more rustic. No obvious security measures, no satellite dishes or communications equipment. Just a simple mountain retreat, the kind that wouldn't draw attention in these remote woodlands.
They parked and got out.
Walker reloaded his gun, the metallic sound sending a shiver down Sabrina's spine. The reality of their situation—hunted, in danger—crashed back over her.
She stayed close to Walker as they approached the cabin.
Henry typed in a code, then opened the door and immediately began switching on battery-powered lanterns.
The interior was basic—a main room with a woodstove, a small kitchen area, and a single bedroom visible through an open door.
"Solar panels on the roof for minimal power," Henry explained. "Rainwater collection system for the basics. We can stay off-grid here indefinitely."
Walker did a quick sweep of the premises while Sabrina helped Henry start a fire in the woodstove. The temperature had dropped with nightfall, and the mountain air was crisp against her skin.
As she worked, her mind raced through everything they'd discovered, trying to piece together the puzzle her father had left behind.
When Walker returned, Sabrina was already setting up the laptop on a rough-hewn table. She'd removed her jacket, and she felt Walker's eyes on her as she worked, a warm awareness that had nothing to do with the fire now crackling in the woodstove.
"We need to find out who 'Alpine' really is," she said, focusing on the task at hand rather than the heat of Walker's gaze. "And we need to know who Thomas is working for."
Walker nodded, joining her at the table. "Let's start with what we know for sure," he said, his voice lower than usual. "Your father and mine were both investigating discrepancies in the shipping operation. They were closing in on someone high up—someone they called the Shepherd."
"Both were killed before they could expose this person," Henry continued, moving to the kitchen area to prepare coffee. "And Thomas was placed in the company afterward, presumably to monitor the situation and eliminate any remaining threats."
"Like me," Sabrina said quietly, the realization chilling her. "He was watching me all this time, waiting to see if I discovered anything."
Walker's jaw tightened visibly. His hand moved beneath the table, finding hers and squeezing gently. The warmth of his palm against hers sent comfort flooding through her. "The attack at your office wasn't random. Someone panicked when I showed up."
"Because you changed the equation," Henry agreed, bringing over mugs of coffee. "You weren't part of their surveillance plan."
Sabrina opened a new file on the laptop—personnel records from Clark Shipping. "We need to cross-reference everyone who had access to both the shipping operations and the financial records. Thomas couldn't have been working alone."
For the next several hours, they combed through the data her father had accumulated.
Names, dates, shipping records, surveillance photos—all pieces of a complex puzzle.
As midnight approached, exhaustion began to overtake her.
Her eyes grew heavy, her body leaning instinctively toward Walker's solid warmth beside her.
"You need rest," he said gently, his arm brushing hers as he reached to close a file on the laptop.
She started to protest but couldn't stifle a yawn. "Maybe you're right."
"Take the bedroom," Henry suggested. "Walker and I can take shifts out here."
Sabrina hesitated, looking between them. Part of her didn't want to leave Walker's side, not even for sleep. "Are you sure?"
Walker nodded. "Go. We'll wake you if anything changes."
Reluctantly, she retreated to the small bedroom.
She could hear the low murmur of Walker and Henry's voices as she lay down, the sound oddly comforting.
Despite the danger that surrounded them, despite the revelations and betrayals of the day, Sabrina felt safer than she had in the year since her father's death.
Because Walker was here. Because after fourteen years apart, they had found their way back to each other. Because, whatever came next, they would face it together.
Sleep claimed her quickly, her exhausted body surrendering to darkness. But even in dreams, Walker was there—his steady presence, his protective strength, his hand in hers. A promise of something that had been lost and now, against all odds, might be found again.