Page 106 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

“We have to find him,” Audrey said, standing on wobbly legs, ignoring the nausea. “Brax will have both our heads if we lose Stuart again.”

She staggered across the room and out through the open doorway, assuming Morin wouldn’t shoot her in the back. Which would be impossible to explain.

He followed her outside. She hurried toward Stuart’s SUV.

“He can’t escape that way. Your sedan is parked behind him and mine is behind yours,” Morin said.

“The drone is in his SUV. He won’t go anywhere without it,” Audrey said, regaining strength and stamina with every stride. “We can catch up with him.”

Morin followed, pulling out his phone on the way. When the call connected to one of his operatives, he said, “Stuart is on the run. Where can he go on foot from here?”

Audrey realized he must have backup in the area. Maybe waiting at the end of the path just in case she and Stuart had tried to get away.

“Okay. You two head over to the parking lot at the overlook. We’ll move in that direction on foot. We can box him in. Subdue him, but don’t harm him. We need Stuart fully functional. Stay in touch,” Morin said before he disconnected and dropped the phone into his pocket.

When Audrey rounded the last curve, she saw all three vehicles parked close together along the path. The back door on Stuart’s SUV was open. He was nowhere in sight.

“He can’t have gone far,” Audrey said. “These woods are thick. Lots of tree cover. Where is he headed?”

“There’s a gorge between here and the road. Devil’s Punchbowl, they call it,” Morin replied, already moving eastward. “There’s a parking lot up there and light traffic traveling toward Hamilton. He’s probably thinking he can get up there and hitch a ride.”

Audrey hurried to catch up, her ears still ringing, slightly breathless. “The Stiletto is about the size of a turkey platter. Probably weighs less than ten pounds. But it’s awkward. He won’t have an easy time carrying it uphill through these woods.”

“So he’ll try to find a place where he can launch it. He can fly the drone toward the road and retrieve it there,” Morin picked up the pace. “We’ve got to make time if we’re going to catch up.”

Audrey lengthened her stride. Her fashion boots were not meant for hiking in the forest. The heels were too high and the fine leather uppers too fragile. She was already wet and cold after less than ten minutes. Her teeth were chattering.

Morin moved faster. He was at least ten yards ahead and widening the gap between them. Where was Stuart? Which way to the overlook? Where was the road?

She couldn’t see Stuart and soon, she would lose sight of Morin, too. The forest was too thick. Gray foggy skies limited visibility. Her damaged hearing and wobbly balance induced nausea.

Audrey holstered her weapon. She wasn’t planning to shoot and holding the gun was just one more struggle.

She reached up to wipe the rain away from her eyes. While her hand blocked her view, she missed a small branch lying across the ground in front of her.

On the next step, she tripped.

Her weight shifted awkwardly.

Her left ankle bent sideways.

She went down on all fours.

Audrey called out. “Morin! Wait!”

He paused, turned, saw her crumpled on the ground.

For a moment, she thought he’d leave her there. She struggled to stand, but her injured ankle would not support her weight. She bit her lip to avoid crying out.

Morin tromped back within hearing distance. “What’s the problem?”

“My ankle,” she said, clenching her teeth to hold back an involuntary whimper when the pain rolled through. She made her way to a tree stump and sat. “I can’t keep going. Call one of your guys to come back and help me.”

“If you were a horse, I’d just shoot you and be done.” Morin shook his head, a disgusted look on his face. He found his phone and made the call. “They’re too close to the parking lot already. Wait here. We’ll come back for you after we get Stuart. Shouldn’t take long.”

Her teeth had begun to chatter. Probably due to the cold. Maybe shock. Her ankle throbbed. She said nothing in reply because Morin had already moved on.

Audrey watched him through the trees until he was out of sight in the fog. She wrapped her arms around her body in a futile effort to control the shivering.

---