Page 77 of Shielded Hearts

“What the hell?” Gray’s voice rasped in his ear.

“What’s going on?” Colt demanded in a rough whisper.

“That boat was tied up to the neighbor’s dock earlier.”

“And now it’s not?” His voice pitched louder.

“There’s no way he slipped past us and untied the boat. It must have come untied from the rocking of the water.” Carson always came with logic on his side, but Colt’s instincts roared in disagreement.

“Search the perimeter!” he commanded Carson.

As his brother performed the search, Colt remained on high alert. He could make out the shadow that was his brother, moving in a crouched position from point to point on the property, but nothing else. When he swung his weapon toward the neighboring dock, he spotted the boat bobbing away from the structure with no rope in sight.

They’d prepared for this. Trapped Gideon in the web. But he wasn’t showing his face.

It didn’t make any sense—he didn’t wait to disable the landing gear or break the furnace. Was it possible that their target had gotten cautious? Nothing was adding up.

Clinging to the shadows, Carson moved swiftly from the bushes to the air conditioner unit.

Gray’s gritty tone dragged over Colt’s senses like road rash. “The water’s too still to untie that boat. It’s barely rocking.”

The truth gnawed at him.

Gideon had slipped through their net.

“Get to the house! Now!” Colt scrambled up from his position and was already running to the stairs leading to the bottom of his dock.

“It could be nothing,” Gray said.

“It’s not. I feel it in my gut. He beat us here. He’s already inside!”

Why didn’t he see it before? Why didn’t Colt plant himself inside the cabin with Aspen and Willow?

His insides knotted, creating pressure on his lungs that punched the air out of them. As he trundled down the stairs, his heart thundered. He pitched to a stop at the bottom and swung his rifle up to look through his scope at the cabin.

Through the high-powered lens, he made out the girls. Aspen stood by the bed, her phone held tight in her hand. She glanced at Willow, her brows furrowed in concern.

Did she sense something was off too? He felt so connected to Aspen that it wouldn’t surprise him if she picked up the waves of his frantic worry clear across the property and from inside the cabin.

Through the glass, he could even see the worry etched on her beautiful face. A face he would die to protect.

“Are you sure he’s inside, Colt? How would he breach the doors?” Carson’s voice came with another crackle of the device.

“I don’t know, but he is. I feel it.” His throat was tight with rage. “Fuck!” He ripped his gaze from the window and sprinted down the dock, his boots pounding the weathered wood.

“I’m inside,” came Carson’s voice, sharp and urgent.

“Front door’s secure and clear,” Gray rattled off.

Colt skidded to a halt at the shore, breathing hard as he lifted the rifle to his shoulder. His scope locked on the window. He couldn’t breathe as he saw the closet door open behind Aspen.

“He’s in the bedroom with them! Go, go, go!” he roared.

The world exploded in chaos. Through the comms device, he heard Gray blasting through the front door and Carson’s feet pounding up the stairs. His own heart jolted with desperation.

Through the scope, Colt saw the knife in Gideon’s hand. Aspen was completely oblivious. Why the hell didn’t they give her and Willow earpieces too?

What good would it do?the voice in the back of his head played devil’s advocate. Neither woman was trained to fight off a man wielding a knife.

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