One of the garage bays begins to open, and a dim light spills across the warehouse lot. I slip down in my seat and angle the camera so I can watch without being seen. I can just make out the man as he backs a car out of the building. It’s a silver sports car. Markedly different than the description of the black sedan that’s being sent across airwaves, every law official in search for it.
He parks the silver car haphazard, leaving it running while he drives the black sedan inside through the open bay. He’s swapping cars. He’ll be gone soon. The tracker I planted on his car is useless.
Damn.
The storm carries a band of heavy rain across the sound. Rain sheets down my windshield and obscures my vision. The rare roll of thunder calls out a warning, and this time, I don’t heed the threat.
I leave my car and walk across the lot, my hair matted by rain. My clothes are soaked within seconds, but the same force that’s a hindrance to me can work to my advantage. I use the downpour to conceal my presence until I’m right up on the silver car, staring at the man’s broad shoulders as he lowers the warehouse door.
The weight of the weapon in my hand feels solid, a comfort. I won’t freeze. Despite the chilly air making the steel cold to the touch, reminding me I’m shivering, adrenaline kicks in, sending a rush of warmth through my blood. As I raise the gun, my hand trembles.
Hudson, forgive me…
I have to end this.
Kill the obsession.
Turn around, I mentally will him. Look at me. I need to look into his eyes—to see those cold, stone-blue irises that have haunted me since that night at the ravine.
My finger moves to the trigger…target in my line of sight…then a hand grips mine and forces the weapon down. Arms surround me and pin my wrists to my sides, making me immobile. The press of a solid body against my backside is steel in my blood. A large hand covers my mouth before the scream claws free.
“Shh—”
The hush comes right next to my ear. The guttural sound of it mixes with the roar of rain, electrifying my skin. Then I’m relieved of my gun and thrust to the sodden ground. I splay my hands out in the muddy earth to catch myself.
The shadow of a man falls across the ground, the darkness unable to swallow his enormity. I gasp in a cold breath, dousing the raging fire spiraling through my system. Heat and adrenaline peak as I cast my gaze up against the rain.
Cloaked in a leather jacket and black hood to conceal his face, the man moves like a bullet through the beads of rain, much too quickly for his size. He’s on the shooter before the man can raise his gun to fire a shot.
The weapon is knocked to the mud, and I waver, my gaze bouncing between the gun and the two bodies colliding like two mountains cracking against each other. A silencer tips the gun, and for some reason my brain decides to unravel a mystery in the moment; why the shooter didn’t use that silencer when he killed Myer in the office building.
And that costs me precious seconds as the fight between the two men escalates. The time to make a move is lost. The leather-clad man pins the shooter against the back of the silver car, his large hand clasped around his throat like a manacle.
“I told you I’d find you, Keller,” the tall man says.
Keller.
As I scamper along the ground, my clothes and hair caked in muddy earth, my mind is abuzz with the name. Keller. Mentally combing through files and statements, I search for the name—but it’s not familiar.
“Don’t move,” a deep voice booms. The order is directed toward me.
Liquid ice rushes my veins, my fingers dig into the dirt. I look up at the man, and defiance rockets through me like mercury breaking free of a glass thermometer. The anger that’s been simmering for months ratchets full force and directs on him. He’s stealing what I worked so hard for.
My revenge.
Shaky, I get to my feet. Push my soaked strands away from my face. Then I attack.
I drive my boot into the back of his knee. It’s not enough to break a bone, but it’s enough to make him stagger. He releases Keller and his arm swipes out. I duck and then launch myself onto his back, digging my nails into his eyes.
“You dumb—” His words break off as he reaches behind to grab my leg. Sharp pain slices my calf, and I cry out. He slings me off like a wet blanket.
I land on my backside, the air knocked from my lungs. Pain webs my chest and spreads through my body like a brushfire. I gasp to pull in a breath.
In the ruckus, Keller regains his bearings and sets off for the weapon. It’s still discarded on the muddy ground. My vision swims and I blink hard, clearing my eyes from the rain and darkness, and when I recover focus, I watch the man step on Keller’s back and plant him in the mud.
“Leave!” he roars at me.
Unable to speak, I shake my head. I can’t go…not until I see Keller’s eyes—not until I know for sure.