Page 18 of Gage

My vision blurred, and my body trembled as I collapsed to the ground. Jasper whimpered and lay beside me. I forced my breathing to slow, willing them to think I was dead.

“You’ve done it now,” the leader sneered. “I’ll deal with you later. For now, grab her. We’ll bury her somewhere deep.”

Then we all froze. Sirens wailed in the distance.

“Cops!” someone shouted. Tires screeched as their car sped off into the night.

I stayed motionless, listening to the fading chaos. Only when I was sure they were gone did I let out a ragged breath. Pain radiated from my back, sharp and unrelenting.

Jasper licked my face, whining softly. “Good boy,” I murmured, my voice barely audible. “Can you get help?”

My head lolled back, and darkness tugged at the edges of my vision. Then I heard her voice—soft and familiar.

“Momma?” I whispered. “Where are you?”

“I’m right here, sweetheart,” she replied, her tone soothing. “I’ll stay with you until Daddy comes.”

I knew it wasn’t real, but it didn’t matter. Her presence wrapped around me like a warm blanket. I shivered, the cold biting through me, then burned as fever swept in. Time warped. My body felt weightless, drifting through a vast, star-studded sky.Momma was still with me.

Jasper’s frantic barking pulled me back. He nudged my face, his warmth grounding me. Pain surged anew, sharp and unrelenting. My entire body screamed for relief.

If you want to live, crawl.

The thought pierced through the fog. With trembling fingers, I dug into the dirt, dragging myself forward inch by agonizing inch. My nails scraped the ground as I clawed my way up the slope. Gravel bit into my skin as I reached the road.

And then—nothing.

11

Gage

The best leadwe’d gotten so far came from a woman at the grocery store. She said Lori had been there recently, buying groceries, and mentioned seeing a strange man watching her. He hadn’t bought anything—just left his groceries on the counter and followed Lori out the door. The woman suspected he’d followed Lori all the way to Mendocino.

Acting on the tip, we decided to check him out. The blood test results from Lori’s van had come back earlier, and none of it was hers. Relief flooded me so hard I could have cried, but there was still no time to waste.

We followed the police to the man’s remote property. The moment we pulled into the yard, a gunshot rang out.

“She’s not here anymore!” a gruff voice shouted. “Neil shot her in the back after she escaped, so we left her where she died. Neil’s dead too, right where we left her. Now, get off my property, or I’ll kill every one of you!”

“Show us where she is,” I demanded, stepping forward.

“Get off my land!” he yelled.

A bullet whizzed past my head, and instinct took over. I fired back, aiming to disarm him. My shot hit true, and his gun flew from his hand.

I didn’t waste a second. I sprinted toward him, kicking the weapon away before grabbing the front of his shirt and hauling him upright.

“If you don’t tell me where Lori is,” I growled, “I’ll start shooting parts of your body off.”

Behind me, I heard the police protest, but my team formed a wall, keeping them at bay.

“Who the hell are you?” the man spat, trying to pull away.

“I’m someone you’ll wish you’d never met,” I snarled, pressing my gun against his groin.

“I don’t know where she is! She escaped!” he stammered.

“Wrong answer,” I said and fired at his foot.

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