Chapter 30
The afternoon traffic had thinned to nothing. Tall clusters of fir trees were scattered along both sides of the road, their branches swaying lazily overhead, filling the silence with a steady rush of wind.
For several minutes, neither of them spoke.
Kara folded her arms tightly across her chest, replaying the conversation with Vargas over and over. “So…” she finally said. “What do you think will happen now?
Colin stared straight ahead. “Now it’s part of the case,” he said.
“The FBI’s case.”
He nodded. “They’ve been working alongside Vargas for months. What we handed over today isn’t enough to make an arrest.” He glanced toward her. “Not by itself.”
“It felt important enough."
“It is.” His expression remained steady. “Evidence doesn’t always come in one smoking gun. Sometimes it’s dozens of small pieces that don’t mean much alone but start forming a picture when they’re put together.”
“So everything we gave them…”
“Is circumstantial at best,” Colin finished. “But circumstance doesn’t mean useless. It gives investigators somewhere to look. It supports other evidence. It helps establish patterns.” A faint smile tugged at one corner of his mouth. “Though today helped.”
Kara let out a slow breath. “I guess.”
“You did great, Kara.”
They continued on the road stretching ahead, empty except for them and Vargas’ trailing cruiser.
“I’m worried about Zoe. She’s already been through so much. With me having to go into hiding…” Kara shook her head. “She’s going to be terrified.”
“Probably.”
“But if someone’s willing to kill to keep these secrets buried…” she whispered, “Then me hiding is the safest thing for her too.”
Colin nodded once.
“I just hope,” Kara murmured, “That one day I can stop looking over my shoulder.”
The tires gave a gentle thump as Colin guided the Mercedes over the railroad tracks.
“Always hated these things,” he muttered, glancing at the faded crossing sign. “Feels like I’m waiting for a train even when there isn’t one.”
“You’re the only person I know who slows down for an empty crossing.”
“My mother drilled it into me. Look both ways, even if the lights aren’t flashing.”
She shook her head, smiling despite herself, and turned in her seat to look out the rear window.
Kara watched the road behind them for a moment before nodding. “Yeah. She’s coming.”
“Good.”
The railroad crossing lights erupted into a frantic flash just as Vargas’s car shot over the tracks. A deafening bell rang out, warning of the oncoming train as the barrier arm began its slow descent behind them.
In the rearview mirror, a black SUV accelerated instead of slowing, its engine bellowing as it shot across the tracks with barely enough room to spare before the gate slammed down behind it.
“What’s he doing?” Kara asked, her eyes fixed on the mirror, wary of the impatient driver.
The SUV closed the distance in seconds, riding so close to Vargas it was unnerving. Then it suddenly lurched forward.
She gripped the dash. “Colin…”
“I see them.”
The SUV didn’t let up. Every move Vargas made, it matched, edging closer with calculated pressure. Then suddenly it lurched into the opposite lane and swung into the cruiser.
“He’s trying to run her off the road!” Kara shouted as she watched the vehicle jerk sharply back into their lane, clipping the rear quarter panel of Vargas's cruiser.
The cruiser skidded against the asphalt.
It was apparent Vargas fought to keep control, but the impact won the battle, sending the car into a violent fishtail.
Kara's scream was swallowed by the scream of rubber tires and the explosion of dirt.
It skidded across the shoulder before the front wheels dropped violently into the ditch.
The cruiser bounced once before shuddering to a stop at the bottom of the embankment.
With Vargas out of the way, the black SUV lunged forward with a deep roar.
Then—
POP.
The back window shattered.
“Get down!” Colin shouted, jerking the wheel as another shot rang out.
Glass sprayed across the seats.
“Why are they shooting at us?!” Kara cried as her heart slammed against her ribs.
“Because we’re right.”
And they were about to die.
At least she tried, Kara thought, glancing back at the cruiser. She couldn’t see Vargas. For all she knew, she was already hurt—or dead. Behind them, the black SUV was gaining fast.
The rental car wasn’t built for this kind of speed.
“Damn you, Isaac,” she muttered.
Her eyes flicked toward Colin. His face was pale, terror written plainly across it. She had brought him into this. Dragged him into a nightmare that had never been his to begin with.
He would have been okay without me.
The thought came with a sharp ache in her chest.
Maybe she could sacrifice herself. Maybe if she gave them what they wanted, Colin would have a chance.
But he knew too much.
There was no way they would let either of them walk away.
Kara looked at Colin one last time, memorizing his face—the fear in his eyes, the man she loved, the man she had dragged into the middle of her mess.
There was a louder round of shots—closer this time. She closed her eyes and waited for the end.
A truck suddenly barreled in out of nowhere, cutting through the gunfire and the shooter just as he was about to catch them.
The strange truck shot past them, and the scene exploded into chaos, tires squealing on the road as gunshots followed in rapid bursts.
By the time Colin slammed the brakes, everything went still.
Somehow, Sergeant Vargas had managed to keep her cruiser going. Its front end shuddered violently. The hood was buckled under, the driver's side fender scraped and bent inward. One headlight hung out, shattered, and fell onto the road as she came to a sudden stop.
Vargas stumbled out of her car, gun drawn. “Stay in the vehicle!” she shouted.
The SUV slowly came to a stop, and a deputy still in uniform staggered out of it—then collapsed. Blood spread fast beneath him, widening into a pool, stark against the pale grey pavement.
“Oh my God— Lincoln” she gasped. Vargas rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside him, pressing both hands against the wound.
Adrenaline kept surging through Kara, refusing to settle. Her heart still hammered against her ribs, her body unable to understand if danger had passed.
She threw open the door and stepped outside, drawing in a deep breath, desperate to steady herself.
“Stay with me,” Vargas barked—but her voice cracked just slightly. "Stay with me, Lincoln," she ordered, her voice firm despite the blood soaking through her fingers. "Come on... stay with me."
She shifted her hands, applying more pressure, but the bleeding wouldn't stop.
His breaths became shallow and uneven, each one weaker than the one before.
Then came one last inhale, a soft exhale as his body relaxed beneath Vargas's hands.
She stared at him for a long beat before slowly lifting her shaking hands away.
A car door creaked open. As one, they whipped their heads toward the sound. Vargas's weapon was up in an instant, aimed squarely at the stranger's chest. Boots crunched over the asphalt and broken glass as a figure stepped into view, and recognition hit Kara like a punch to the chest.
"Don't!" Kara shouted, throwing up a hand. "He saved us!"
Kara watched Elias glance down at his boots. He had stepped in the crimson pool. His expression was devoid of emotion. Then, with a curl of his lip, he spat onto the lifeless form as though he deserved one final insult.
"He should've minded his own business," Elias said with a look of disgust.
He had to be one of the men who’d left Elias to die. The thought struck Kara as she watched him. Whatever history existed between them, this was personal.
Sergeant Vargas stood frozen over the body, her face pale and looking shaken, struggling to reconcile what had just happened.
"Why?" she whispered, more to herself than anyone else. "Why would he do this?"
"I have to call this in…” Vargas reached for the radio clipped to her waist with trembling fingers and mumbled barely coherent words into it.
Her gaze drifted to the road, then she seemingly remembered herself.
“Go now." Vargas' voice hardened now. “The last thing you two need is to be here when every officer in the county arrives."
She looked directly at Kara.
"If they're willing to do this in broad daylight...to me," she exhaled slowly, "You need to disappear."
"Follow me," Elias said immediately, turning on his heel towards his pickup.
They didn't hesitate. Colin gently guided Kara toward the car. The back and passenger-side windows had been blown out, glittering shards of glass scattered across the seats and pavement. Bullet holes pocked the doors, and one side mirror hung by a bundle of wires.
Insurance is going to be a nightmare.
The thought came so unexpectedly she almost laughed at the absurdity.
They really were going to die if it wasn't for Elias.
She’d accepted the terrifying certainty of death, the strange calm settling over her as everything seemed to slow around them.
And in that final moment, there was no point in lying to herself anymore.
She loved Colin.
She’d never stopped.
Colin opened the driver's door, brushing glass from her seat before climbing in.
"Come on."
Kara slid into the passenger seat.
They followed him as he moved quickly ahead of them, his vehicle disappearing around each bend before they could fully see where the road led.
As sirens echoed in the distance, Kara became acutely aware of the tremor in her hands.
If Elias hadn’t been there to save them…she didn’t want to think about that, shaking her head as if to get rid of the remaining thoughts.
The pickup truck kicked up dust as he led them down a winding road before cutting off onto a narrow dirt track. He never seemed to slow down.
The familiar roads had disappeared behind them, replaced by trees, twists, and stretches of dirt that all began to blend.
They had been driving for no more than thirty minutes, but to Kara, it felt much longer. She glanced out the window, trying to get her bearings. Kara was lost.