Page 87 of Bulletproof Jack: Hunting Lee Child's Jack Reacher

Which was not okay.

Not even remotely.

Because now she wasn’t simply looking inside. She was waiting. For the man to return. She didn’t seem like the type who would give up without whatever it was she came to collect.

If he hadn’t seen her with the gun, he might have simply walked over there.

As it was, she might be planning to kill him.

At the very least, she’d try to force him to do something he didn’t want to do.

He needed to get rid of her. Before Krause arrived at the parking lot.

And she couldn’t see the Stiletto 100. Not even a glimpse.

The drone had grown so heavy that the muscles in his arms quivered steadily with the strain.

He struggled mentally and physically.

Worried about Krause and Lucas.

Concerned about the killer inside his cabin.

He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t think clearly.

The only thing he knew for sure was that he needed to return the Stiletto 100 and rest while he still could. The drone was the most important element in this equation. Even if it wasn’t, he couldn’t possibly deal with the woman unless his hands were free.

She was inside.

The cabin had no windows offering a view in his direction.

He could cross the distance without being discovered, as long as she didn’t come out and catch him in the process.

Which was a risk he was willing to take.

Mainly because his arms might give out if he didn’t act now. And he could not, under any circumstances, drop the drone.

Quickly, he calculated the distance to his SUV and the speed with which he could cover it. If she came outside before he reached the SUV, he’d be screwed.

He pushed that thought aside.

Every minute he waited was a minute she might rush out.

The clouds brought more rain. Sprinkles for now, but he saw lightning in the distance and smelled the returning storm in the wind.

The prototype Stiletto 100 absolutely could not get wet. Not even a few drops. The final version would be weatherproofed. But the protype had been rushed. He’d had no time to weather test yet.

He had to go now. While he still could.

Liam took a deep breath and sprinted across the divide before he came up with five dozen reasons why he shouldn’t.

A moment before he reached the SUV, the sky opened like a firehose. He was drenched all the way to his skin and shivering like a scared puppy.

He dashed around to the back of the SUV, opened the hatch, and carefully placed the Stiletto in the cargo area. The drone was at least as wet as Liam, but he had no time to worry about the issues that might cause.

He closed the hatch, fished the key fob from his pocket and pressed to lock the vehicle.

Once the Stiletto 100 was as secure as he could make it in the moment, Liam had two options.

---