Page 32 of Forest Reed
“You’re persistent,” he called, voice carrying like silk over the wind. “I like that.”
Forest leveled his rifle. “End of the line.”
North’s smile widened, almost gentle. “Oh, Forest. There’s never an end. Only another trail.”
And with that, he stepped back—vanishing into the dark like the mountain swallowed him whole.
Forest
“Move!” I shouted, bolting for the outcrop. Zoe was at my side, breath ragged, determination burning in her eyes.
But when we reached it—
Nothing. No trail. No tracks. Just sheer drop into the gorge below, water raging black and wild.
Zoe’s face twisted, fury blazing hot. “He planned this. Every second of it.”
Jason’s voice hit my ear, grim and low. “He’s not just running, Forest. He’s leading. And you just stepped into his hunt.”
I scanned the gorge, chest heaving, rifle ready. North wasn’t gone. He was out there. Watching. Always watching.
And this time… he wanted us to follow.
24
Zoe
We regrouped at the service road below the gorge, the night air thick with gunpowder and the metallic tang of fear. Deputies dragged the last of North’s men into custody, headlights from Lane’s cruiser cutting sharp beams through the trees.
Forest leaned against the hood of the truck, silent, his eyes locked on the ridge where North had vanished. His shirt was ripped, streaked with soot and blood—his or someone else’s, I didn’t know. But the set of his jaw told me what I needed to. He wasn’t letting this go.
Jason shoved a hand through his hair, pacing hard. “We were never meant to catch him at the dam. The charges, the show, the buyers—it was all stagecraft.”
I folded my arms, trying to keep my voice steady. “Then what was the point?”
Jason stopped, eyes cutting to me. “The point was us. He wanted to measure us. How fast we moved. How far we’d chase. How close we’d get before he slipped the leash.”
Lane cursed under her breath. “So what—you’re saying the son of a bitch turned an entire valley into a proving ground just to study us?”
Jason’s jaw ticked. “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”
Silence pressed down heavy. Forest finally spoke, his voice low steel. “Then he thinks we’re prey.”
I stepped closer to him, close enough to smell the smoke in his hair, feel the tremor running through him. “So what do we do?”
Forest’s gaze lifted to mine, steady and unyielding. “We hunt him back.”
North
From the ridge above, I watched their headlights carve paths through the dark. They looked so small from here—ants scurrying, convinced they’d won.
Amusing.
I lit a cigarette, the flame bright against the night, then exhaled slow. The smoke curled up toward the stars, dissolving as easily as their false sense of victory.
They had cut the wire. Saved the valley. Earned their applause.
But they still hadn’t seen the real stage.
