Page 102 of Mountain Protector

As I pull back onto the road, I dial Lark’s number, desperately hoping for a miracle. That she’ll answer, telling me it was some crazy joke. That my eyes were playing tricks on me. That she’s not actually in terrible danger.

But she doesn’t answer. Not the first time, or the second, or third.

Panic claws at me, tearing bleeding ribbons inside my chest.

The guilt is suffocating.

I press the gas pedal to the floor, blowing past the speed limit.

But I’m ten minutes from home. Ten minutes away from Lark.

In ten minutes, anything could happen.

I could lose the woman I love.

Panicked, closer to losing it than I’ve ever been, I call Enzo. The moment he picks up, I bark, “There’s someone at Lark’s. A woman. She pulled a gun. I’m ten minutes out. I need backup.”

There’s a stunned silence, and then a clipped, “On it. I’ll call the police. Gage is here. We’re on our way.”

There’s nothing else for me to say. Enzo’s further away than me. By the time he gets there, it?—

Fuck.

I need to go faster.

The trees are a blur as I fly past them. A pickup truck is puttering ahead, and I speed around it, earning an indignant horn blast as I pass.

With each mile, the terror in me grows bigger.

A yawning emptiness threatens. My life without Lark. I can’t lose her. Not now. I can’t.

When I finally hit the driveway, I nearly go up on two wheels turning into it, my tires squealing loudly. My heart is pounding in frantic drumbeats, echoing in my head.

The truck is still rocking when I jump out and sprint toward the house. My Sig is in hard, safety off and ready to fire.

Just as I leap onto the porch, my phone rings. But I can’t answer. Not now.

As I turn the doorknob, a tiny, desperate voice in my head whispers,please. Please. Let her be okay.

And then.

I burst inside.

Scarcely breathing.

Praying for the first time in my life.

“Knox!” Lark jumps up from the couch and rushes over to me.

Still on the couch, the older woman is hunched over, crying. The gun is nowhere to be seen.

I lower my gun as Lark slams into me, and my arms come around her instinctively. Hugging her to me. Holding her. Never letting her go.

“Knox, I tried to call you,” Lark says, her voice wobbling.

I try to speak, but nothing comes out.

Wait. Is she okay? Hurt?

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