Chapter 8
EIGHT
Mason
I’d never been more thankful for my special forces training than I was now as I approached the cabin that Brooke’s program had identified as Vince’s location.
The only thing I wished for was a gun. I seldom used one—my bear half was usually enough to win fights—but it was Vince’s weapon of choice, and he was extremely skilled with it. When he took his shot, he never missed.
I extended my shifter senses toward the cabin. There was a faint scent of wild roses and rain mixed with Vince’s smell. The urge to go in, bear blazing, hit, but I resisted. I needed to be smart.
I moved through the bush around the cabin toward the front of the building. The door was open.
Staying low, I crossed the open area to the outside wall and crouched beneath the window. I edged closer to the doorway, listening for sounds within, but there was nothing.
I tried to convince myself this was like any other mission, but that wasn’t true. I had no backup, and the consequences of failure carried a heavy personal cost. I didn’t know how far behind me Declan, Austin, and the sheriff were, and I wasn’t willing to wait. Brooke needed me now.
My boots moved silently along the ground in front of the cabin. I waited a beat next to the door, still straining to hear them inside, then I moved.
Quickly and with calculation, I swept the cabin, noting lines of sight, checking corners. Finding no one. Only then did what I was seeing register.
The bedroom had a wall full of photos that knotted my stomach. They showed a man obsessed with both Aaron and Brooke.
I traced over the grooves where Vince had scratched out my face from pictures. How had we gone from best friends to this level of hatred? I’d thought it was my guilt that had turned him against me, but the pictures painted a story that his obsession with Aaron extended back before he died.
When Vince and I first joined the special forces squad, Aaron had been the first to greet us.
He was quick to smile and welcome us into the fold.
Things changed after that. Aaron and I grew closer, and Vince grew more distant.
Sometimes I would catch him watching us with an unreadable expression as Aaron and I talked or joked around.
It got worse after Aaron and I partnered more often on missions, while Vince hung back covering the technical and intel side of things.
Then Aaron died, and Vince blamed me. He raged at me for all the ways I’d failed. That had been the end of our friendship. I’d thought it was because I’d messed up. I had no idea he was obsessed with Aaron.
Moving back into the main room, I surveyed the space.
Near the door was an overturned chair. A lamp with a broken shade lying on its side was next to the coffee table.
I inhaled deeply, and the scent of iron reached me.
My heart quickened as I followed it. A small pool of wet blood stained the floor by the lamp.
Closer inspection showed blood and skin on the lamp base as well.
Not a lot. Probably more of a scrape than a deep wound. But was it Vince’s blood or Brooke’s?
I didn’t hide my steps as I rushed to the door and checked the ground for prints.
There were two sets. One small, running, but with one leg dragging.
The other large, moving slower, steadier.
Both headed down the path that started here.
I closed my eyes and took a relieved breath. Brooke was alive when she left.
The relief only lasted a second, though, because Vince was after her. I hoped he wouldn’t hurt her, but I didn’t know what was stronger—his obsession with Brooke, or his hatred of me.
I checked my phone. A text from Declan an hour ago informed me they were on their way with the sheriff. That meant they were still at least thirty minutes away. Brooke may not have that long. I couldn’t wait for backup to reach me. I would go after them alone.
Perhaps Vince and I had always been moving toward this. Ever since that mission gone wrong. Or since his obsession with Aaron first started.
Would it always have ended this way? Us in the woods, fighting for Brooke?
All I knew was this was a fight I couldn’t afford to lose.
Brooke
I ducked behind a bush to catch my breath. Pain in my ankle radiated up my leg from my fall over the chair. I was ahead of him, but I had no way of knowing by how much. Vince had gone down hard when I hit him with the lamp, but I didn’t stop to check if he was unconscious.
While my breathing slowed, I assessed the situation, and it was not good. Vince was familiar with these woods, and my skills were more suited to an urban setting. But I wasn’t ready to give up.
I checked my cell. The signal up here was patchy, but I finally had one bar of service. My first thought was Mason. He would come for me if I called. I pulled up the ranch number and dialed. By the third ring, I had second-guessed my choice. I should call 911. Before I hung up, the call connected.
“Shifter Ranch. Chloe speaking.”
The words rushed out in a whisper, trying to impart everything as quickly as possible. “This is Brooke. I’m in Blackwater Pines, and Vince is after me.”
“Oh my god! Brooke! Mason is already on his way. He left almost an hour and a half ago, and Declan, Austin, and the sheriff are about forty-five minutes behind him.”
Mason was on his way. Of course he was. Even with how things had ended between us, he was still protecting me. Tears rose on a rough breath, but I gritted my teeth, pushing them away. I couldn’t fall apart now.
“There isn’t a good signal out here, but I’ll give you my coordinates. I have to keep moving, though, so my location will change.” I read out the GPS coordinates from my phone. “I need to go before Vince finds me.”
“Stay safe, Brooke. Mason will find you.”
I hung up, regretting the loss of contact but knowing I needed to move forward alone. Now, I needed to decide what to do next.
My first option was running, but eventually he would catch me. My ankle was likely sprained, which would slow me down enough to keep me from reaching my car.
Even if I escaped, that wouldn’t stop the threat. Vince would burrow deeper into hiding until ready to take another shot at me, Mason, or the ranch. This needed to end. Today.
To do that, I had to flip the game. I would become the hunter.
If I got the upper hand with Vince, even briefly, it would give Mason a chance to reach us. Then we could corner him until the sheriff arrived. Or if I ran into Vince before Mason found us, I could try tricking him into talking again. I checked my cell.
The battery was barely more than half-full. I shut down all apps and set it to airplane mode to reduce the battery drain before opening a voice recording app and pressing start. I shoved the phone into my back pocket. Now, if I ran into Vince, everything we said would be recorded.
I tested my ankle, wincing at the sharp pain.
It needed rest, but there wasn’t any time.
I peered around the bush and listened for any unnatural sounds.
All I heard were birds and small animals rustling in the brush.
I eased from my hiding place, being careful not to step on anything that would signal my position.
I circled back and covered my tracks as much as possible. Vince would likely follow my trail to where I hid, but hopefully he wouldn’t be able to track me from there. Or at least not quickly. If I came up behind him, I would stay on his trail until Mason found us.
I went wide so I wouldn’t run into him. The ache in my ankle was getting worse, but my hunting boot provided some stability for it.
When I judged I had gone far enough, I cut back toward the trail.
The mud made tracking easier, which was good and bad.
Vince’s prints in it were clear, but so were mine.
I stuck to the edge, where the ground was drier.
Moving slowly, I kept an ear out for human noises while trying to minimize mine. As I approached the spot where I’d hidden earlier, I eased off the path into the trees on the opposite side. I took painfully slow steps and carefully put my boots down where there were no sticks and leaves.
When I got closer, I saw Vince crouched, back to me, studying the ground. I hid behind a stand of trees and peered through the branches. He stood, looking around, his gaze sharp. I held my breath, not allowing myself to move an inch.
He continued down the path, stopping occasionally to check something off the trail. I followed, keeping a healthy distance between us. We continued this dance, starting and stopping, for another fifteen minutes before we reached a slight break in the trees.
I shifted to hide behind a tree as Vince moved to the center of the opening.
He turned back toward where I was with a dark smile on his face and dried blood on his forehead.
That one look at him almost undid my previous stealth.
When I returned my gaze to where I’d been placing my feet, I realized I was about an inch away from stepping on a twig.
With a sharp intake of breath, I froze with my boot in the air and all my weight on my injured ankle. I wanted to whimper and drop to the ground but forced myself to move my foot over a little to bare ground. I blew out a quiet breath of relief, shoulders sagging at my close call.
“Come on out, Brooke. I know you’re there.”
I froze, hoping he was bluffing.
“I grew up hunting these woods. Don’t think you can hide from me.” He took a step in my direction. “I just want to talk.”
I checked my phone quickly to make sure it was still recording. Then, I exited the woods to face him. He was about five feet away. Too far for crystal clear audio, but close enough to be usable. I wanted to keep as much distance from him as possible.
“You shouldn’t have hit me with the lamp, Brooke. That wasn’t very nice.” He moved forward, and I circled to the right to maintain the distance between us.
“Sorry about that. I was just scared.” I tried to sound contrite. “I didn’t know what you wanted from me.”
“You’re mine, Brooke. I would never hurt what’s mine.” His tone was possessive and tinged with darkness. “You are mine, aren’t you, Brooke?”
“I’m so confused. There’s so much I don’t understand about what happened. I can’t keep it all straight.” I made my voice sound upset and gazed at him with helpless eyes. “I thought Mason was a good guy, but if he killed my brother, I was so wrong. What exactly happened again?”
He gave me a patronizing look. “You don’t need to worry about that now. You just need to know he did it. And that you’re mine.”
“But I want to understand. Mason was supposed to die that day, wasn’t he? But Aaron died in his place.”
His jaw clenched. “I worked hard on that plan. Planted the intel, arranged for the explosives. I knew Mason would go in alone to clear the building. But then he survived the blast.”
“And of course Aaron went in after him. He was noble like that.” I stayed calm, encouraging him to continue.
“He was. He didn’t know that Mason wasn’t worth it. Mason was the reason Aaron and I weren’t closer. He kept Aaron from seeing what was meant to be.”
“That’s why Mason has to pay.”
“Yes, he—” His eyes narrowed, and the madness cleared for a moment. “What are you doing?”
“What do you mean?” I struggled to look innocent. “I’m just trying to understand everything. Then we can be together. Like you should have been with Aaron.”
Suddenly, he lunged at me. I leaped backward but landed on my injured foot, which buckled beneath me. A cry flew from my lips as I hit the ground hard.
Vince grabbed me and dragged me to my feet, then patted me down. When he found the phone and saw it was recording, he gave a strangled roar and threw it down before stomping on it with his foot.
“You lied. You’re with him. With Mason.” His hand gripped my arm hard enough to leave bruises. “He can’t have you. I won’t let him.”
I twisted in his hold, but nothing loosened his hand. I had one move left. One chance to take control back. I turned to face him and threw my knee upward between his legs as hard and fast as I could. Vince crumpled to the ground with a moan, his hold on me weakening enough to break free.
I ran to the tree line. If I made it before he got up, I had a chance. The sound of a gun hammer being cocked was loud in my ears.
“Stay where you are.” Vince’s voice was hard.
I turned slowly, hands raised. He was holding a handgun and pointing it directly at me. My brain scrambled for any way to keep him from pulling the trigger. But when my eyes met his, I knew I was out of options. Still, I refused to give up.
“Vince, please. Let me go. For Aaron.”
His eyes flickered, but his face was like granite. “You were supposed to be mine.” He tilted his head as a calm expression came over him. “If I can’t have you, neither can he.”
The forest stilled, and everything moved in slow motion. I watched in horror as his finger twitched and squeezed the trigger. This was it. The end. Mason’s face flashed through my mind. I was going to die with Mason thinking I hated him. And somehow, that broke me more than anything else.