Chapter 10 #2
She caught a glimpse of the timer, cursing under her breath as it hit two minutes, then continued counting down.
Buck didn’t flinch, just removed a miniature panel, started sorting through wires.
Another twenty seconds, and he had one of the lines separated, the cutters snipping through it.
The timer flashed, then died, the magnetic lock releasing with an audible click.
Buck pulled the sides apart, placed the deactivated unit on the stump. “See? Not an issue.” He motioned to the man. “Your turn.”
The guy inched closer, still looking as if he might swing the branch at Buck’s head before he turned, tilted his head to the side.
Buck went to work, the timer passing through sixty seconds by the time he had the panel removed, that same wire in his hand.
He paused, tracing a couple of the other lines back before switching wires, grabbing the blue one.
He took a breath, snipped it, the timer flashing again before the lock released, the unit falling into Buck’s hand.
The man inhaled, collapsed in the mud next to the woman a second later, looking as if he might simply pass out.
Buck turned the units over, then placed them in the pouch on his vest. “I realize he can probably still track them, but I don’t want to risk leaving them behind.”
Tierney nodded, warmth spreading through her chest. This was the side of Buck that made her heart race, her breath hitch. And she knew, if they made it out in one piece, she’d find a way to show him exactly how she felt.
That somewhere over the past year, she’d fallen hopelessly in love with him.
She nodded at the collars as he secured them in the pouch. “How the hell do you do that without your hands shaking?”
“The same way you’d read a line through a mine field without blinking.”
“Remind me to tell you how amazing you are, once we’re out.”
Buck raised his rifle, shifting in beside her. “I’d rather you show me, but…” He nudged the guy with his boot. “We need to move. Get you two somewhere safe while we hunt for the next pair before their collars hit zero.”
The couple stood, skin deathly pale, eyes wild.
They stumbled out of the root ball, mud and bark smeared in their hair, the bitter stench of fear rolling off them.
The woman hooked the man’s arm, holding so tight Tierney wondered how he moved without dumping her on her ass as they stepped up next to them.
Tierney swept her gaze down the length of them. Clothes soaked, teeth chattering, they’d be lucky to last another couple hours before hypothermia really set in — put then dangerously close to losing consciousness.
Tierney nudged Buck. “I think we should—”
Branches rustled on the other side of the bank a second before two men stepped out. High-end performance gear. Rifles that bordered on trophy pieces already snugged against their shoulders.
The lead guy muttered what sounded like, “Found them,” as his finger slipped inside the trigger guard.
Bastard dropped before he got off a shot, the stock slamming against Tierney’s shoulder as she fired a quick burst, sent the asshole tumbling back.
His buddy panicked, set off a spray of brass, obliterating one of the roots next to Tierney’s head as Buck dropped him with a double tap to the head. The couple between them froze, eyes wide, mouths open in a soundless scream.
Tierney stepped in front, blocked the view of the men sprawled out in the ferns before gesturing to a rocky outcrop a hundred meters behind them. “Let’s get you two somewhere safe until we can circle back.”
They followed like zombies, eyes glazed over, every part of them shaking. Tierney cleared a small cave cut into the granite like a scar across the face, set them up inside with a flashlight, some granola bars, and her KA-BAR.
She moved to the edge. “I’ll cover the entrance with brush. You need to stay here and stay silent while we get the others. And keep that flashlight on the red setting so no one sees the shine in the dark. Clear?”
A nod. Or maybe it was just the woman shivering. Either way, Tierney took it as her cue to move.
She hid the entrance, stepped up beside Buck.
He offered her his knife. “I don’t like you being without one.”
She smiled. “You’re better at throwing them than me.” She swallowed, glancing back to the cave. “I hate this.”
He nodded. “Me, too. We can try to text Dalton when Pike calls and kills the jammer—”
The cell rang, the sound ringing through her head just like the shots had.
She dug the phone out of her pocket, flipped it open. “I thought you’d forgotten about us.”
Pike breathed into the phone, the harsh sound prickling the hairs on the back of her neck. “Looks like I might have underestimated the two of you. Those were two of my premium clients you just butchered.”
“Isn’t that what the game’s all about? Kill or be killed?”
“Touché. Though, your free ride’s over. And before you think about texting one of your teammates, having them sneak in and grab your first survivors, I’ll know if they cross the perimeter even without the collars, and the rest will pay, so… I suggest you tell them to hang tight.”
Buck frowned, searching the sky, looking for the drone Pike must have hovering overtop, listening to their conversation.
“The next set of coordinates are inbound. I think it’s time we see exactly what you’re both made of.
And don’t assume the remaining hunters are more weekend warriors.
In fact, assume they’re as deadly as the two of you.
” A beep sounded in the background. “Time’s reduced to thirty minutes, and these collars won’t be so simple to disarm. ” Pike breathed again. “Run, pet.”
He hung up, the sudden silence chilling her to the bone as the cell vibrated, another set of numbers showing on the screen.
She tapped the text, plotted the route in her head. “He’s taking us back toward the logging camp. We’ll have to stick to the main trail system or we won’t make it.”
“Then, lead the way, sweetheart. I’ve still got your six.”
Tierney met his eyes for one hard, grounding second, then broke into a run.
Mud and dead pine needles spat up from her boots as the fog thickened around them, weaving through the lower branches like torn lace. The timer from the phone flashed in her mind, a digital countdown ticking against the weight of the lives they’d just left in the dark.
Thirty minutes.
Four hostages left.
And Pike hadn’t even started playing for real.