Chapter 67
CHAPTER
SIXTY-SEVEN
Andi remained poised to act when Duke said, “You don’t have to do this, Jack.”
The desert went silent.
Even the light seemed to hesitate.
Jack? The bus driver? He was behind this?
Her pulse pounded in her ears.
But the pieces fit. She thought this man’s voice had sounded familiar. That was because the voice was familiar.
“You finally put it together,” Jack finally said. “Took you long enough.”
The light snapped off.
Darkness rushed in, but her eyes still burned, bright shapes breaking and reforming as the glare danced behind her lids. She blinked hard, trying to clear it, trying to see him.
She couldn’t.
Only his shape. His outline. A presence where the light had been.
“It’s over now.” Duke’s voice cut clean through the dark. “We know who you are. And we have Rupert.”
Jack laughed, the sound short and sharp. “You don’t have Kate yet. Let me go—or she dies.”
Andi’s chest tightened.
Kate.
Not Rupert. Not the team.
The woman he still held.
“You’re going to leave her there to die anyway.” Andi’s words came steady, even as her pulse kicked hard. “The same way you left Gina to die. Cold and alone in that cabin.”
Something shifted. She heard the hitch in his breath. The smallest catch, gone almost before it registered.
“But Gina escaped,” Andi said. “Someone found her.”
Silence.
Her mind raced, grasping for the edge she needed. She stepped into it before doubt could stop her.
“What?” she said. “You didn’t know about Gina?”
“You’re lying.” Jack’s words came fast. Too fast.
“No, I’m not.” Her heart slammed against her ribs, but she pressed on. “The police know who you are. Gina led them back to the cabin where you kept her. They found evidence.”
“That’s impossible!” Jack shouted.
Andi knew she’d planted doubt—a fracture, a question he hadn’t prepared for.
More silence stretched.
Then a shout tore through the night.
From the direction of the van.
Andi’s stomach dropped.
What was happening over there? Were her friends okay?
The distraction was all Duke needed.
He launched and drove his shoulder into Jack’s chest. He took them both down hard, the impact jarring through his bones.
Sand exploded around them as they hit the ground. Jack grunted as Duke rolled with him and pinned one of his arms.
The gun flashed in the dark.
Duke grabbed for it, his fingers scraping metal.
Jack fought back, strength sharp with panic.
The weapon jerked between them.
Duke twisted Jack’s wrist until something popped.
The gun fell to the ground.
Duke kicked it away and drove his knee into Jack’s back, grinding him into the sand.
Jack thrashed once, twice. Then Duke wrenched his arms behind him and locked them down.
Jack sagged beneath him, breath coming fast, uneven.
Duke didn’t loosen his grip.
Instead, he lifted his head and his gaze found Andi in the dark. “Go. Check on them.”
She hesitated. Just a beat. Then she turned and ran.
Duke dragged Jack upright, forcing him to his knees.
His pulse still hammered, his muscles coiled, ready in case this wasn’t done.
Then sirens cut through the desert, growing louder, closer.
Relief edged into Duke’s chest.
The police were closing in.
He closed his eyes for half a second and sent a prayer into the dark.
Please don’t let them be too late.