Page 12 of Hidden Ascent

“That arm must really be bothering you.”

“Yeah. I’ll take some more muscle relaxers soon.” He opened the glove box in front of her and pulled out a gun. “You need one of these?”

She reached for her holster and found it was empty. “I must have left it at the house.”

“That’s okay. I’ll let the team know. In the meantime, you can have this one.”

He got out of the car without handing it to her, and she noticed the sleeve of his suit jacket was matted against his arm. She couldn’t tell for sure if it was blood, but he’d promised her a gun that he still carried.

“Why did we stop here?” she said when she got out. “I don’t see a house.”

“It’s through those trees there. There’s a path, I promise.”

He opened the trunk and pulled out a flashlight, then walked to the edge of the trees. “There’s plenty of moonlight, but I’ll take this for good measure. You coming?”

“Yeah.” She moved slowly toward him. The side of his jacket was hiked up, caught on the gun he’d taken out of the bag.

“How far is it?” she asked when she reached him.

“Not far. All we have to do is walk straight. Ladies first.”

“How’d you know I was at Ian’s place?”

“I didn’t. I told you, I heard the address.”

“You have nothing better to do with your evening than listen to 911 calls?”

“I find it relaxing. The issues we deal with every day are so much more complex than the day-to-day stuff the police deal with. It grounds me.”

“Where do you live?”

“What? What does that have to do with anything?”

“You got to Ian’s pretty fast. Almost like you were nearby already.”

“What are you saying?” His hand went to the gun.

“Your arm is bleeding. I’m confident I shot the intruder before he got away. Was it you who killed Ian?”

He licked his lips. “Why would I kill Ian?” He didn’t wait for an answer.

He pulled the gun, but Isla already knew the truth and had reacted a breath before he did. She kicked the weapon from his hand, and, when he dove to retrieve it, she jumped on his back, cutting off his airway. He pushed back and slammed her into a tree. Her grip loosened, and he got free, but when she slumped to the side, she found the gun was under her.

Before Baker could pounce, she pulled it on him.

“Don’t shoot.” He held his hands up. “Please. I’ll tell you what you want to know.”

“I want to know who killed my team.”

“You already know who. The Red Wolves.”

“You know that’s not what I mean. Who ordered the hit?”

“That’s a tricky question. What I can tell you is that I didn’t.”

“But you know who did. And you were the one they sent in to dispose of Ian. Who sent you?”

“It’s complex. I didn’t know what they were planning at the start.”

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