Page 107 of One Final Target

Glancing back, he saw Jodie was keeping up. He pressed on, accelerating as fast as he dared. He also prayed. Confidence flooded his soul. They could do this—he was certain.

CHAPTER60

JODIE STRUGGLED TO KEEP UP WITH SAM.She trusted him implicitly, but it had been a long time since she’d been on a dirt bike. As they climbed a rutty, rocky trail, she almost lost it more times than she wanted to admit. She prayed, asking the Lord for strength and wisdom and for Jonah to not get away. Her balance came roaring back, the barrier between her and God crumbling to nothing. Jodie felt the familiar adrenaline surge of the chase. They were on the right track, and she knew who was responsible for the worst day in her life. She’d done nothing wrong except trust someone she loved. And she could not understand Jonah’s twisted logic in wanting her dead.

Her prayers were interrupted by discomfort. Unused muscleswere screaming. Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, they crested a rise and Sam stopped.

He took off his helmet and pointed. “Look.”

Jodie did and saw puffs of dust rising from the road below them. Two dirt bikes. Collins was quite a ways behind Jonah.

“It’s them. Doesn’t look as if Collins is very good at dirt bike riding. We have a good chance to cut them off. How are you doing?”

Jodie held up a thumb, determined to suck it up and follow Sam into whatever awaited them.

Sam took off and Jodie accelerated after him. She couldn’t keep an eye on Jonah; it took all her concentration to stay behind Sam. When they started going downhill, it was even harder to keep up at what she felt was a safe speed. Then her bike began to sputter and stall. She was running out of gas. Jodie’s ride stuttered to a stop.

Sam heard. He jerked his bike around and scooted back to her.

“Grab the shotgun and hop on the back of mine.”

Jodie did as Sam asked, secured the shotgun and climbed on behind him. She encircled his waist with her arms and held on tight as Sam rocketed along the trail. She lost track of time on the bone-jarring ride and nearly screamed in relief when he slowed and stopped. They were next to a bend in the road.

“I think we’ve got maybe two minutes on them,” Sam said as he pulled off his helmet.

They got off the bike. Jodie held on to the shotgun and Sam pushed the bike right into the middle of the road, placing his helmet on one end and hers on the other. Jodie could hear the roar of motors in the distance.

Sam hurried back toward her. “They’re coming. Let’s get ready.”

Jodie racked a round into the chamber of the shotgun. Theytook a position behind some rocks. Jonah and Collins would be forced to stop, and Sam and Jodie would be behind them.

Jodie ducked down as the sound of motors came closer. For a second, she froze. Was this her chance to fix things? She’d wanted to take the life of the man responsible for the IED. She might get the chance. Was it really what she wanted? The bad guy was Jonah. And she feared she couldn’t shoot Jonah, no matter what he’d done.

She started to put the shotgun down. She needed to tell Sam there was no way she could shoot Jonah. But she was too late. Jonah came tearing around the corner, going too fast to go around the blockage and sliding to a stop at the downed dirt bike. He very nearly ran into it. He jumped off the bike, cursing. Collins was still some distance away by the sound of his engine. He wasn’t going as fast as Jonah.

Jonah slung off his backpack and drew his weapon, looking around suspiciously. Jodie was about to stand up and make her presence known, but Sam put a hand on her shoulder and a finger to his lips. He pointed, and there came Collins. He was wobbly on the bike; he had no control. As he rounded the corner, Jonah’s eyes widened in surprise. He tried to jump out of the way, but he was a second too slow. To Jodie, it seemed as if a panicked Collins had accelerated instead of braking. The bike slammed into Jonah, ramming his legs into his own bike, and the gun went flying.

Jonah screamed in pain.

“Get the gun,” Sam said. “I’ve got Collins.” He leaped from cover and headed for Collins.

Jodie sprinted to the gun. She grabbed it easily and turned to point it at Jonah. There was no need. He was on the ground writhing in pain, back against the dirt road. From what she could see,the collision had broken his leg. It was clearly bent at an unnatural angle. She turned her attention to Sam. He had Collins on the ground and pulled a gun from the guy’s belt. Sweaty and breathing hard, Collins put up no resistance.

“You busted my leg, you idiot.” Jonah squirmed, breathless in agony.

“You got him?” Sam asked, looking at Jodie and pointing to Jonah.

“Yep.”

She watched as Sam kept an eye on Collins, then reached for Jonah’s backpack. He rustled around in it for a moment and then his hand came out, holding Jonah’s phone.

“Oh, get me help, get me help,” Jonah begged.

“You betcha,” Sam said. “I’ll make sure help is on the way.” He turned to Jodie, smiled, and gave her a thumbs-up.

Relief flooded through Jodie’s veins, and she smiled back not only because the ordeal was over, but because she had not had to make the decision to shoot Jonah, and both he and Collins would be held to account for their crimes.

CHAPTER61

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