Page 2 of Gage

“Got it. Thanks, man,” I said, handing the phone back. “I appreciate it. I’ll get out of your hair. This cold is no joke.”

The man grunted, his eyes never leaving me as I turned and walked away. Every step back to the truck felt like a small victory—but the tension thrummed in my veins, knowing the real work was just beginning.

As I turned, pain exploded at the back of my skull. I hit the ground hard but stayed conscious, keeping my eyes closed. Playing limp, I waited as he grabbed my legs and dragged me into the kitchen. The moment he let go, I was on him.

In seconds, I had him in a chokehold, his gun in my hand.

“Why the hell did you hit me?” I growled. “Where are the women?”

He laughed, a chilling, unhinged sound. “You’ll never find them. Those bitches thought they could take me down. Jessica thought she could divorce me? She was a fool. None of them are leaving this place alive.”

I pressed the barrel of his own gun against his temple. “Where are they?”

“You think I’m scared of you?” he spat. “She’s mine. No one takes what’s mine.”

I tied him up and called for Oliver and Raven. They stepped inside, Raven shaking his head.

“He got the drop on you?”

“With his gun. He hit me over the head.” I admitted, annoyed. “He’s hiding the women somewhere. Let’s search the place—if they’re alive, we’re not leaving without them.”

“I will have you three locked up in the blink of an eye. And you’ll never get out,” the crazy man shouted. “My buddies did nothing when Jessica called them, and they’ll still do nothing.”

“I’ll look upstairs. Look in every closet and behind anything resembling a cubby hole.” I ran upstairs and started looking under the bed. Inside every closet, I saw a rope hanging from a trap door. “It must be the attic,” I muttered to myself.

2

Lori

Where is he?My tracker’s beeping—he’s close. The signal drew me down a snow-covered road, the trees flanking me like silent sentinels. Then I spotted it: the black SUV, parked at an angle just off the side of the road. My heart thudded in my chest as I pulled over a little farther back, positioning my car for a quick escape if things went south. The icy air seemed to seep into the cabin, even with the heat blasting. This story could be the biggest of my career.

What a brilliant idea—secretly shadowing them as they worked. A former Army Special Forces officer turned rescuer-protector-hero? It was the kind of tale people devour. The public loves their heroes, and Gage Sparrow could be the crown jewel of my portfolio.

I still couldn’t believe he hadn’t found the tracker and microphone I’d slipped into his bag at the restaurant a couple of weeks ago. Gage was sharp, no doubt about it, but I was sharper. Landing in Alaska before they did felt like fate. Watching them pick up their rental car at the airport had been surreal, like a scene straight out of one of those spy thrillers Dad used to watch. Every head turned as they walked by.

But snow? Driving in snow was a different story. My hands gripped the steering wheel tighter, and I winced as the tires slid slightly over the icy road. Years of navigating deserts, jumping from base to base, had never prepared me for this. The endless white landscape stretched ahead, broken only by the dark silhouettes of pines. What would I do if I skidded off the road? Would they even find me out here? My breath fogged the windshield as I exhaled shakily.

My mind drifted, pulling me back overseas. The images came unbidden, like flashbacks in an old war film—bodies torn apart by explosions, blood staining the sand, young soldiers clutching their fallen brothers. I’d been there, watching from the sidelines as I fixed radios and tracking devices. Too poor for college and too tired of my dad’s rules, I’d joined the Army when he insisted it was the best path.

“The Army will pay for college,” he’d said. He hadn’t counted on the war breaking out, or that I’d be shipped overseas before I even had a chance to think about school. My dad begged me to go AWOL, terrified I wouldn’t survive. But I made it back. I kept my promise.

Those years felt like a lifetime ago. I’d been the invisible one in the background, tinkering with gear while Special Forces teams planned their missions. Hood up, head down. Invisible in their world. Now, here I was, tracking one of them.

Life changed after the Army. I became a journalist, moved back home when Dad got cancer, and helped him through recovery. I hadn’t thought about those Special Forces guys in years—until I saw them at a Mexican restaurant.

Gage had been there. My heart had soared, seeing him again. Gage Sparrow, the untouchable, larger-than-life figure who had haunted my daydreams, and when the sun went down, he haunted my night dreams during those long days overseas. When I spotted his duffel bag, it felt like fate. The tracker andmic were almost undetectable, small enough to fit in the palm of my hand. I told myself it wasn’t intrusive—I wasn’t interested in his personal life, just his location.

When I overheard him mention Alaska, I hesitated. But Dad, always the adventurer, had said, “Go for it. You might just stumble onto the story of a lifetime.” And now, here I was.

The beep from my tracker pulled me back to the present. My stomach twisted as I spotted movement up ahead—a man. My breath caught as I realized he was holding something. Then I saw it. He hit Gage over the head and dragged him toward a house partially hidden by the trees.

My stomach plummeted. Should I intervene? Call the police? Both?

Fingers trembling, I fumbled for my phone and dialed 911. After giving them the location and reporting the assault, I crept closer to the side of the house. My heart pounded so loudly I thought it might give me away. Inside, I heard shouting. The guy was ranting about beating and kidnapping his ex-wife and her family. My chest tightened. Were Jessica and her family still alive?

Once I was sure the police were on their way, I retreated to my rental car. My boots crunched in the snow as I moved, every sound amplified by the icy silence of the Alaskan wilderness. Back at the car, I slid behind the wheel and drove off, adrenaline coursing through me.

At the airport, I sat in the corner of a small, overheated café, replaying everything in my mind. Following Gage had always felt like a personal quest, a connection to a world I’d left behind. But now, it felt like something bigger.

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