Page 91 of Mountain Protector

I just want her back.Please.

“Wait.” I grab the phone from the console. “He’s turning. In Woodbury. He’s making a right on Cabot Road.”

“We’re only five minutes behind.” Ronan’s hands tighten on the wheel. “At this speed, we’ll be in sight of him in a few minutes.”

“What’s out that way?” I ask as I scan the tiny map on the screen.

A beat later, Enzo responds, “A quarry. Some camps. Ponds. But it’s basically uninhabited.”

The kind of place someone would go to dispose of a body.

“I’m going to kill him,” I grit out.

“If it comes to that,” Ronan agrees.

“Just hang back.” Enzo pauses. “Okay. Alec’s scoping out potential places where Harrison might stop.”

My eyes are following the moving tracker. “He just turned onto Town Highway 15. It dead-ends in about a mile and a half.” Terror wraps around my chest and squeezes. “He’s taking her there to… shit.” I turn to Ronan. “How close are we to them?”

“Half a mile.” Ronan turns left onto a narrow dirt road. “This is the road.”

Oh, please. Let my songbird still be alive.

“I’m still ten minutes out,” Enzo says apologetically. “I’m driving as fast as I can.”

“It’s okay.” Closing my eyes for a moment, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for battle. My emotions have no place here. It’s all focus and determinationand strategy. It’s neutralizing the threat and rescuing Lark.

I can’t think about anything past that.

“When he stops, we pull off the road just out of sight,” I tell Ronan. “I’ll take the Winchester. You take my Sig.”

Ronan lifts his chin. “Got it. How do you want to approach?”

On the bumpy road, we’re forced to slow to half our speed, and on my phone, I notice Ed has done the same. At my best guess, we have about four minutes at max until we hit the end of the road, unless Ed decides to stop sooner.

“I’ll confront him. As soon as he gets out of the car.” I release my seatbelt, ready to move. “Maybe I’ll just shoot him right away.”

Ronan reaches his hand out for the Sig while steering with the other. “It’s probably better if you give him the chance to surrender first. If he just gives up, that would be ideal.”

“Forhim, maybe.” My voice dips dangerously. “Personally, I think shooting him first would be just fine.”

His lips curve up. “Well. It’s up to you.”

My own lips twitch. “I guess I’ll decide once we’re there.” After a beat, I add, “As soon as I engage, you move along the treeline to flank him. I should be able to hit him from a good distance, but if there’s any chance of him trying anything…”

“Got it.”

“We take him down, get him away from the car, and get Lark. She’s probably in the trunk—” Rage flares. “So I want her out right away. And if she’s injured?—”

“I know.” His jaw sets. “We’re almost there. He’s just about at the end of the road.”

Almost time.

All my muscles tense.

I visualize the next few minutes on fast-forward. Stopping the car. Moving silently toward Ed. Ordering him to freeze. Or alternatively, just shooting him. And then—oh, please—finding my songbird alive and unharmed.

“Pulling over,” Ronan says quietly. “He’s just stopping.”

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