Page 85 of (Un)Rivaled

That was barely enough time to climb out of the window, but I would do it or die trying. There was no way I was walking to my death like a good, obedient girl. With that thought, I pulled together all my remaining strength and climbed on top of the toilet.

I looked down from the window and saw a slight drop, but it wasn’t enough to deter me. With one last look over my shoulder, I dragged my legs through the window, then fell to the forest floor.

“Fuck,” I whispered as a bolt of pain climbed up my leg. I’d definitely messed up my leg, but it wasn’t enough to stop me from running. Maybe it was the adrenaline, maybe it was determination, but either way, there was no way in hell I was letting Jack catch me. If I got far enough into the woods?—

“Devyn!”

Jack’s roar from the bathroom pushed me forward, and soon, I was running so far, the cabin was a distant memory. My bones creaked and my muscles ached, but I refused to stop, no matter how much I wanted to. I had to be close to someone. There had to be a house nearby. If they could only get me into town, I could get to Gray, and nothing would happen to me once we were together.

As I imagined his muscular arms wrapping around me, Ifailed to notice a branch jutting out of the ground. My foot caught it as I ran, sending me tumbling forward into the dirt.

Branches and rocks sliced through my palms and knees as I tried to cover my face and head. Once I eventually came to a stop, I stared up at the branches above me, willing another breath from my lungs.Keep going, Ace.I could feel his words skitter across my skin.Just a little longer, Devy, you can do it.

I nodded to the Gray in my mind, too afraid Jack was nearby to speak out loud. Pushing up from the ground, I tried to take another step, but my body crumpled to the ground before I could. The slight throb in my ankle now seared with agony, and I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. Using my good foot, I scooted until my back hit a tree, trying to breathe through the pain.

Once it started to subside a little, I reached down and untied my shoe. Shit, it was already swelling. Not a good sign. Based on the amount of pain, I’d definitely broken something, and there was no way I could outrun anyone in this condition.

“Fuck,” I cried as my head dropped into my hands. I needed a plan, some way to get further from the cabin. With each passing moment, Jack was probably getting closer. I tried to stand, but my weight immediately buckled. My hands stung as I landed back in the dirt. The distance started to waiver in my vision, the dark spots from earlier returning to the corner of my eyes. Every blink felt heavy, like I’d sell my soul to sleep soundly in my bed.

Don’t give up, Ace.Gray’s words spurred me on, and I tried to crawl toward the trees in the distance. My nails dug in the cold, hard ground as I dragged myself inch by inch. By the time I reached the trunk, my arms burned, but I wasstill so far from where I wanted to go. As my body collapsed against the icy surface, tears pooled in my eyes, destroying my already-blurry vision. “I’m sorry,” I whispered to the universe, hoping somehow, they’d make their way to Gray. I tried. I really did. But when my eyes slowly closed, I was helpless to resist the incoming darkness.

FORTY-EIGHT

“Tell me again how accurate this is.”

I leaned against my truck and stared off at the patch of thick forest. The signal had lead us here, but this was the end of the road. If we wanted to get any closer, we’d have to go on foot. As Laurel and Tomas talked in the truck, I stayed outside, needing the cold, crisp air to keep me calm. My eyes scanned the tree line at the end of the dirt road, trying to see what was lurking in the distance. But between the late hour and the starless night, it might as well be another planet. Nothing could break through. All we had was a dot on a computer screen, a dot in the middle of the forest the only key to finding my wife.

“Normally, it’s within a 2-meter radius,” Tomas sighed from the back seat of my truck, typing on his keyboard as Laurel and I tried to figure out how to track Devyn down. “But up here? With these trees blocking the signal? Could be closer to ten. If I could get into the government link-ups, it would be dead on, but we don’t have that kind of time.”

Laurel arched her brow. “Government satellites? Is there anything legal about your operation?”

“Define legal,” Tomas smirked. “We straddle the line, but my morals override the law‌. If the choice is between someone’s life and staying on the right side of the law, I know what I’m picking every time.”

“Focus,” I bit out. “Give me an area, and I’ll find her. But we gotta move faster.”

With only a few more minutes left until the deadline, this was our last chance. Before we left the apartment, we’d made sure David’s binds were solid then left him with Theo and Calla to wait for the authorities. Despite Laurel’s insistence that she was going to turn everything over to her stepfather, she had no plans to let him get away with his decades of crimes. Not only did she record his confession about her father’s murder, but she’d also scanned all the damning documents and sent them to the right people. Maybe it wouldn’t be enough for formal charges, but we’d done enough of the legwork to make the case stick. It was out of our hands.

Now, I just needed my wife to close this chapter.

“About one mile north,” Tomas finally said as he closed his laptop and grabbed his gear. “We’d get there faster if we drove, but I don’t want to let this guy know we’re coming.”

I was just about to agree when movement flickered through the darkness—a person running through the trees. Without a second thought, I took off. The terrain was steep and littered with rocks and roots, but I kept my head forward, grateful for my years of cardio. I didn’t care if it ended up being nothing; I’d rather risk that than lose Devyn for good.

As I burst through one copse of trees, the figure ahead came into view as he leaned against a tree trunk. It took me a moment to recognize him as Devyn’s ex, the one I thought I’d scared off months ago. But here he was, breathingthe same air as my wife. My fingers itched, desperate to get a hold of him.

I took a step forward, but Jack pulled something from his phone. A dot flickered on the screen. Was he tracking someone? Was he tracking Devyn? Pride spilled into my chest.That’s my girl. If he needed to track her, it meant she’d gotten away from him.

“Come on, angel,” Jack sighed, his voice weary with exertion. “I know you’re around here somewhere.”

He moved again, holding up the tracker like it was a compass leading him to gold. While he searched for Devyn, I found the largest branch and positioned myself behind him. One hit, one snap, and all of this would be over.

But before I could swing out, my foot caught a branch on the ground. The audible snap echoed through the woods, and Jack went still. He slowly turned, smirking when he met my eyes. “Figured it out, did you?”

Clutching the thick branch, I moved closer. “Pretty fucking pathetic, trying to frame David. Should have known he only cares about himself. You were never getting your payday.”

Jack chuckled and ran his hand over his face. “Is that what you think this was all about? Money?”

“How it looks from here.”

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