Page 116 of Save Her from Me

Follow her, chase her down, spirit her away.

After last night’s drama, my guess was he’d lead with fire.

I’d shared my thoughts with the team, and we’d adapted our lying-in-wait process to cover that possibility. Ben monitored two exterior cameras, Valentine the others. Gordain and I were tasked with watching the roads, mine a winding track through the forest. In an hour, we’d switch.

“Check in,” Ben ordered over the comms.

“All quiet here,” I reported.

Gordain gave the okay, then there was silence again.

“Valentine, do ye copy?” the boss said.

Still nothing.

“Valentine, come in.”

I sat up, peering at the map. Valentine’s tracker had moved, just slightly, but into a new position.

My pulse picked up a faster beat.

Maybe he had seen something but wasn’t able to speak. If that was the case, we had codes to send.

None had been received.

Or he’d seen something and taken off without thinking it through. He was new to this work, as was I. Hell, this was barely bodyguard work. We were on a goddamn stakeout. None of us knew the rules.

Yet logic dictated he would tell us what he was doing.

I readied myself to go find him. I’d be quicker on foot, as his position was directly beneath mine in the glen, off-road.

With my phone in my hand, I unlocked my door.

Stepped onto the snow, sinking an inch.

“Shite,” Valentine said over the comms, his tone full of chagrin. “I was just taking a piss, and my in-ear blipped out. Think it needs charging.”

His brother cursed him out. I breathed a sigh of relief, imagining an unsaid quip from Valentine about no one thinking about his dick. If his brother wasn’t around, he’d make the joke. Be more casual. But—

A twig snapped behind me, the sound overly loud in the silent landscape.

“Turn around slowly,” a man said.

My adrenaline rushed.

Though I’d never heard Larson speak, the American accent gave him away.

I twisted, sighting my enemy ten feet away at the edge of the trees.

A tall and skinny man with fair hair poking out from under a black woollen hat, the rest of his clothes dark, too.

I opened my mouth to alert my team.

Larson lifted his hand, some device clutched between his fingers. He pressed the trigger.

Something hit me hard, slicing through my jacket.

And I dropped like a stone.

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