Page 89 of Mountain Protector

I force myself to focus. To shove down my burgeoning panic and treat this like a mission. To concentrate on facts and strategy instead of emotion. “Just outside her office building. She’s still moving slowly?—”

No.

“Knox. What is it?”

“She’s in a vehicle. She has to be. Her tracker just sped up. Way beyond walking speed.”

There’s a pause, and then, “Okay. We’ll catch up to her.”

Fuck.

All I can think about is my Lark, my songbird, terrified, possibly hurt…

“Fuck. It has to be Ed.” My voice sounds hollow. Distant. “He figured it out. Forced her to leave. Or he—” My fist flies out, slamming into the dashboard. “Shit, Ronan. What if he hurt her? She wouldn’t just leave with him.”

“Call Enzo. He’ll get Gage and Alec on it. The police.”

Right. Enzo. The rest of my team.

Shit. I’m a damn mess. And I’m no good to Lark like this.

Drawing in a deep breath, I blow it out slowly. I set my shoulders. Try my best to push aside the fear and concentrate on facts.

Then I call Enzo.

“I just heard her alert go off,” he says the second he picks up the phone. “Where are you?”

Glancing out the window at the scenery flying by, I spot a road sign up ahead. “We just passed the North Cascades trailhead. But—shit, it looks like Lark’s tracker is heading north on County Road out of Montpelier. We need to intercept her.”

There’s a pause before Enzo responds. “Alec’s looking at the map. There are several roads that’ll get you over there. In Worcester, if you take Calais Road, it’s only four miles to Maple Corner. That will put you right on County Road, and you can work your way toward Lark from there.”

“Unless Ed changes course.” A heavy ball of fear lodges itself in my chest. “There are a hundred different ways he could go.”

“Is it possible Lark could be driving? Maybe she’s not with Harrison,” Enzo suggests. “Maybe she’s on the run, trying to get back here.”

I almost break a molar to keep from shouting at him. “Do youreallythink that?”

“It’s unlikely,” Enzo admits. “I’m just trying to look at every angle.”

Shit. Of course he is. Just like I’d be if my perspective wasn’t totally fucked.

“Gage is headed your way,” Enzo continues. “I’m getting on the road, too. Alec’s staying at his office so he can monitor our trackers and liaise with the police.”

“I don’t want the police fucking this up,” I snap. “They already screwed up by missing the handwriting thing. Last thing I want is some high-speed chase that ends up with Lark getting killed.”

Unless.

No.

She has to be okay. Her alert just went off… five minutes ago? Lark has to be alright. I’d know if she wasn’t.

Right?

“We’ll get to her,” Ronan says. “If this asshole has her?—”

“He does,” I interject. “You know he does. He must have figured it out while he was in Lark’s office. Panicked.” A crushing wave of guilt slams into me. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t told her it was Ed. You know Lark. She can’t hide anything. She probably got all flustered, and?—”

“Stop.” Enzo’s voice is low and commanding. “There was no way to know Harrison was in her office when you texted. And you have no idea what set him off. What his plan is.”

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