Page 84 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

Liam’s morning solitude was over.

The Devil’s Punchbowl was a popular hiking destination. Early morning hikers were to be expected, he supposed.

Liam shrugged and recalled the Stiletto 100. He stayed in the shadows as the drone returned to base.

He collected the Stiletto and trudged toward the cabin. Krause would be here soon enough.

Liam was a little surprised to find himself anticipating the meeting with his old friend. They’d not spoken since Krause stomped off in a huff.

At the time, Liam hadn’t been concerned. He knew he didn’t have many friends other than Krause, of course.

He shrugged. Turned out Krause was his only friend.

He didn’t count his brother, Lucas, among his friends. They were brothers. Which was fundamentally different.

The cabin was a long mile away, along a trail overgrown with brambles and weeds. Trees blocked what little early morning light there was, casting the rough trail in darkness.

Liam trudged carefully, one foot placed firmly in front of the other. The last thing he needed was a twisted ankle.

He couldn’t risk a flashlight beam which might be noticed from a distance. Both hands were occupied with carrying the increasingly heavy drone, anyway.

In full daylight and good weather, with his hands free, Liam could have covered the distance in a brisk twenty minutes or less. Not that he had a hot date or anything.

But he was excited to see Krause. And hungry. He hadn’t eaten in a good long time.

Around the last bend, peering into the shadows, he was relieved to see the decrepit cabin ahead. His SUV was still parked in the drive where he’d left it.

Liam smiled. Briefly. Until he saw another vehicle approaching.

The headlights were traveling along the rutted, overgrown path that led to the cabin from the road.

He was expecting no one other than Krause. They were meeting in the parking lot at the Devil’s Punchbowl, not here at the cabin. And Krause wasn’t due until later.

Liam stopped abruptly. Watching. Waiting.

Gooseflesh rose on his arms.

Had his subconscious picked up an actual watcher in the parking lot earlier? What had the watcher seen?

His body shivered involuntarily attempting to shake off the foreboding.

Liam climbed deeper into the woods, hiding both himself and the Stiletto 100 as best he could while still allowing him to see the path to the cabin.

The approaching vehicle was a sedan. Probably a rental. No one who owned a sedan would drive it along that path. For one thing, the paint would be scratched all to hell. And the abandoned trail was barely navigable, even in a larger vehicle with more ground clearance.

The sedan pulled to a stop six feet behind his SUV.

Liam waited for him to turn the engine off and step out of the car.

He hoped the driver had made a mistake. Perhaps the guy would go back where he came from.

That slim hope was dashed when the driver slid the sedan’s transmission to park and turned off the engine. He left the headlights on to illuminate the weedy path to the cabin’s only entrance.

The door opened and the driver stepped out, putting both booted feet firmly on the ground.

Liam gasped under his breath and clamped his lips shut immediately. His pounding heart picked up its pace.

Two things surprised him.

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