“You know who it is,” Mercer growled.
“There is a guy like that. His name’s Patrick, Patrick Porter.” Hodges shook his head. “He’s the best hunter in the area. He comes through the area because he likes to go after bears.” His gaze darted to the photos on the wall. “Lot of hunters come through here because they want to go after the big game, but Porter... He comes back each year. And he always gets his prey.”
Her heart raced in her chest. “Is he here now?”
“I don’t know.” Hodges ran a hand over his face. “But he usually stays at the old Burrows cabin. It’s about four miles north of the senator’s place.”
A perfect fit.
“Get your men out there,” Mercer snapped. “Now.”
Noelle yanked out her phone as the sheriff rushed away. She had Thomas back on the line seconds later. “We have a target. His name’s Patrick Porter, and the sheriff said he’s at a cabin about four miles north of the senator’s home.” That would sure put the guy in close enough proximity to kill. “The sheriff is heading there now.”
“You know he probably has a few cabins out there, Noelle,” Thomas said. “Places to hide his victims.”
Yes, she knew that. “But he might have left us something we could use at the Burrows place.” Or maybe the guy wasn’t thinking clearly because of his injuries. She’d seen plenty of perps slip up over the years. “Get back to the station, and we’ll go after him with the sheriff.” Because she planned to be on the scene.
She pushed the phone into her pocket and spun back around. She marched for the door, but Mercer put up his hand, blocking her. “You need to be careful.”
His words had her pausing. Since when did the EOD director worry his agents couldn’t do their jobs?
Her eyes narrowed on him. “I might not have military experience, but I survived just fine as an FBI agent. If you don’t think I can do this, then you never should’ve brought me on the team.”
“I know you can do any job.” He shut the door, sealing them inside.
Noelle gave a frantic shake of her head. “Thomas is on his way. I need to get directions for that cabin. I should—”
“Thomas briefed me on what happened last night.”
For an instant, her cheeks burned. No way was he talking about what she suspected. There were sure some things the boss didn’t need to know.
“You nearly died. If you’d been alone, do you think you would have made it out of that water?”
“You might be surprised,” Noelle said as she lifted her chin. “I’m a lot stronger than you give me credit for being.”
He laughed at that, the sound low and rough. “Oh, I know you’re plenty strong. All of my agents are. I didn’t keep the truth from you because I thought you were weak.” His head tilted. “Is that what you think?”
She didn’t know what to think.
“You changed Thomas on that mission. He was still young, a new agent, but he was focused totally on the job. Until you. He tried to go back for you—twice—even though we told him that you’d been taken in by the local cops.”
Her lashes lowered to shield her eyes.
“He was undercover. He saved your life, but by staying on his mission, he saved the lives of hundreds of other people, too.”
Noelle swallowed.
“Don’t blame him. If you’re furious, and you’ve got a right to be, blame me.”
Her lashes lifted. “I do.”
He nodded. “Fair enough.”
She didn’t see where a whole lot was fair right then. “I don’t have time for this now. Sarah Finway is out there, and she needs help.” She pushed past him and grabbed for the doorknob.
“That’s why you’re an EOD agent. Because you put others first. It’s what our job is about. We have to give up the things that we want most, in order to get the mission accomplished.”
There was a note of pain in his voice, which pulled at her. She glanced back.
“You didn’t have the clearance to know about Thomas’s actions. Not until you joined the EOD.”
“That’s why you pushed for me to join the division.”
He inclined his head.
“And this particular mission? Did you know about the link to my past?” The guy seemed to know everything, while Noelle felt as if she were floundering around in the dark.
“I knew that Senator Duncan was connected to the destruction of the EOD office. I’d been recently looking into his past, and I was noticing connections that alarmed me. Enemies who were vanishing... I was putting all of those dots together and getting a picture of a man who was a national-security threat.” His eyes narrowed. “I sent you on this mission because I knew you could figure him out. I paired you with Thomas...because I knew it was time for you to understand the past.”
“You should have told me.”
His eyes glinted. “Every day I make decisions that impact thousands of lives. The jobs my agents do... They’re dangerous. They’re deadly. They are jobs most people will never even know about.” He heaved out a hard breath. “I have to make judgments. I do the best that I can.” He backed away from her. “You’re alive, Agent Evers, because one of my operatives saved your life. Now it’s your job to save the lives of others.”
Mercer had never seemed quite so human to her as he did in that moment. There was pain in his voice, and she’d caught the faint tremble of his hands.
“This case is personal to you,” Noelle noted quietly.
“Senator Duncan almost took out dozens of agents who were in the EOD building. Damn straight it’s personal.” He pinned her with his stare. “So we’re closing this case. We’re bringing down this Patrick Porter. We’re going to learn everything about him and his connection to Duncan. No one messes with my agents.” His eyes sharpened on her. “Not any of them.”
* * *
“LET ME GO,” Sarah whispered as she sat in the old, wooden chair, her hands bound behind her back. “Please...I won’t tell anyone about you.”
They always said the same thing. Always made promises they couldn’t keep.
It was the lies that got to him.
She’d lied to him. She’d started this whole chain of events.
“I helped you,” Sarah said, the tears making her voice husky. Tears were so useless. He wished she’d stop shedding them. “I dug out the bullet. I sewed you up.”
A twisted, tangled mess of stitches.
“Please,” she said again. “Just let me go...I am begging you...”
Well, if she was going to beg...
“You aren’t my usual type.” These days, he went for a much bigger challenge. He used his knife to cut through her ropes. She rose to her feet, stumbling a bit. He motioned to the door. “Go.”
She didn’t move.
He rolled his eyes, then roared, “Go!”
She rushed for the door.
His hold tightened on the knife. “I’ll give you a five-minute head start. Since you did help me...it’s the least you deserve.”
Her head jerked back toward him. Her eyes widened in horror.
He smiled. “You’re wasting precious time.”
Because after the hell he’d been through, he needed a hunt. Sarah wasn’t his first choice, but she’d do. And she’d send a message to Noelle Evers.
I can kill whenever I want. He was the perfect killing machine. No one could stop him. No one would stop him.
Sarah screamed as she ran into the wilderness. She wouldn’t be screaming for long. He’d make sure of that.
He looked down at the blade. And he remembered another girl. A knife had sliced against her throat. She’d begged, too. Asked him to believe her. To trust her.
He’d also given her a chance to survive. But she hadn’t run fast enough. They never did.
r />
He waited, counting, then... “Time’s up.”
The thrill of the hunt heated his veins.
Chapter Nine
The sheriff’s men had fanned out to search the area around the Burrows cabin. Thomas watched as those men made heavy paths in the snow. Aaron was behind him, and Noelle was at his side.
“It’s too easy.”
Noelle glanced over at his words. “You know he’s not here,” Thomas told her flatly. “He took her someplace else.”
She started heading toward the cabin just as the sheriff appeared in the doorway. “Place is clear!” Hodges called out. “It looks like no one’s been here all season!”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” Thomas heard Noelle murmur as she kept walking toward the cabin.
“I’m betting the guy has half a dozen places he uses for hiding up here,” Aaron said. His gun was holstered at his hip. “If the sheriff is right about him coming up for big game, then he’d have to know the area.”
That was their problem. The man knew the area better than they did, and that was why he kept getting away. “He’s not going to stay up here forever,” Thomas said. “If we don’t find him soon, he could slip away.”
And take the answers they needed with him.
Noelle disappeared into the cabin.
The sheriff joined his men on the search.
Thomas had just taken a step forward when he heard the cry. Sharp and high. At first, he thought it was an animal. One that was hurt.
But then the cry came again, echoing up to him.
A scream.
Thomas whirled around. Aaron had already taken off, running toward the scream. Other deputies were scrambling to follow. “Be careful!” Thomas bellowed. “He likes his traps!” Thomas didn’t doubt for an instant the man would use human bait to pull them into another one of his hunts.
He glanced back toward the cabin. Noelle had just run outside. Her eyes were wide and desperate as she hurried after him.
They both knew that scream belonged to Sarah Finway, and the fact they didn’t hear any other cries...
We’re coming, Sarah. Just hold on.
* * *
HE LIKED THE way the snow turned red. That was always a bonus he got when he hunted in the colder climates. Sarah had gotten farther than he’d expected. Probably because she knew the area nearly as well as he did. She’d used some shortcuts that he just had to admire.
A gurgle came from her lips.
He wiped the knife on his coat. The blood smeared. “It’s okay. You just stay here and try to breathe, nice and slow. That will help you survive longer.” He needed her to live for a few more minutes. He put the knife in its sheath. Then he drew out his gun.
Her eyes widened. Another frantic gurgle broke from her lips.
“Shh...” He aimed the gun at her head.
Tears leaked from her eyes.
“This isn’t for you. Don’t worry.” He’d heard the sound of those engines. They’d been coming closer as he hunted. If he hadn’t taken Sarah down when he had, she just might have made it to safety.
Yes, she’d been much better prey than he’d expected. “This gun is for the ones coming to save you.” Because he wasn’t going out of this battle quietly. It was time everyone knew about him.
No more shadows. No more secrets.
He already knew Jenny had spent the night at the sheriff’s station. The storm had kept her there, so she would’ve had the whole night to talk about him—to tell the authorities what he looked like.
So he figured he had two choices—keep running...or go out fighting. Go out by showing them all exactly who they were dealing with in this battle.
For years, no one had known of his existence.
Soon, no one would ever forget him.
He just wished he had his rifle with him, but the handgun would have to do. He slipped back into the shadows cast by the snow-covered trees, and he waited.
* * *
“SARAH FINWAY!” SHERIFF HODGES called as he raced to keep up with the pack searching for Sarah. “Sarah!”
Thomas saw the sheriff had his gun out, and Hodges was sweeping to the left and the right. They’d tracked that dying scream out here, but there was no sound now.
Other than the frantic cries from the sheriff and his deputies.
Aaron’s shoulder brushed against Thomas’s. “I don’t like this.” His voice was low.
Thomas didn’t like this situation, either. They were surrounded by trees, so there were dozens of places for a perp to hide. The sheriff and his men were making enough noise to wake the dead.
“Footprints!” One of the deputies called out. “Here! I’ve got her!”
He had her only if those were Sarah’s footprints.
Thomas’s instincts screamed at him. Noelle started to follow the others. He grabbed her arm and barked out, “Stop!”
But it was too late. He heard the sharp thunder of gunfire. One blast. Two. Three.
Yells and screams filled the air.
“Damn it,” Aaron growled. “It’s like sheep to the slaughter!”
Thomas took cover, with Noelle right at his side. The deputies were firing back, but they seemed to be shooting wildly in all directions. They needed to calm down and focus.
“Where is he?” Thomas heard one deputy demand, voice breaking.
They didn’t see their attacker, but they were still shooting?
“Stop firing!” Thomas shouted. He couldn’t figure out anything with the chaos around him.
After a few moments, they did stop.
“The sheriff,” Noelle whispered, horror in her voice.
Thomas peered around his cover. He cursed when he saw the sight before him. The sheriff was on the ground, a bloom of red on his body. And the woman—had to be Sarah Finway—she was just a few feet away from him.
It looked like the sheriff’s chest was still rising and falling. Thomas wasn’t so sure about Sarah.
Noelle lunged forward.
Thomas yanked her right back.
“Let me go!” she fiercely fought his grip, but her voice was whisper soft. “I have to help them!”
“Don’t you see what he’s doing? The sick freak is using them as bait. He’ll shoot whoever goes out there next.”
“They need help.” She shook her head. “I can’t stay here and watch them die! I won’t!”
Thomas tightened his hold on her. He studied the sheriff’s body, trying to figure out the angle of entry. The trajectory of the bullet. The wind.
His gaze darted to the right. To the trees located there. Higher land. Best elevation. Perfect hunting zone.
He motioned toward Aaron, indicating the target zone. Aaron slipped back and, keeping to cover, began to advance to the right.
“Thomas...he’s dying.”
Yes, the sheriff was, but Thomas couldn’t let her die, too. None of the deputies were going to help because they were too worried about getting shot.
“Give me cover,” Thomas growled to her. “To the northwest.”
“What? Thomas, no, I meant for me—”
He was already gone. He rushed out, kept his body low and dove toward the sheriff.
Gunfire blasted right near his face, missing him by about two inches.
“No!” He heard Noelle scream. Then she was firing back, giving Thomas the cover he so desperately needed. He grabbed the sheriff’s arm and pulled the guy toward the trees. The bullet had sunk into the sheriff’s stomach, and he was bleeding heavily.
“Get him...” the sheriff wheezed. “Shoot the...S...O...B.”
The woman was still lying out there. Sarah Finway. Thomas knew more bullets would fly his way, but he braced himself, lifted his gun and went back toward
her.
Gunfire erupted. There was a rough, choked cry.
Thomas used his body to try and cover the woman, but Sarah—
She’s gone.
He couldn’t find her pulse.
“I’ve got him!”
Thomas’s head whipped up at Aaron’s yell. And, sure enough, Aaron was standing with a bloody man in front of him. Aaron’s gun was at the guy’s temple.
Thomas’s gaze trekked over the man’s face as stunned recognition flooded through him. I know him.
Noelle raced from her cover then. She didn’t go toward the killer. She ran for the sheriff. She fell to her knees and tried to apply pressure to the wound.
The man Aaron held began to laugh. “You think this is the end?” Blood dripped down the side of his face. “You have no clue!”
Aaron’s mouth twisted into a snarl, and he slammed his gun into the side of the man’s head.
The killer fell, and that sick laughter stopped.
Thomas’s attention jumped to Aaron.
The ex-SEAL shrugged. “What? I thought he was about to attack. Sounded like a threat to me.” His shoulders straightened. “Besides, Mercer wants this man brought in...by any means necessary.”
Mercer’s favorite order. Any means necessary.
“We’re losing him!” Noelle yelled.
Thomas glanced back. Two of the deputies were around Sarah. The others were standing nervously beside Noelle and peering worriedly at the sheriff.
“We have to carry him out of here!” She whirled toward Thomas. “Help me!”
Always. He rushed back to her side, but when he saw the sickly pallor in the sheriff’s face, Thomas knew the odds weren’t good for the man.
The memory of the perp’s laughter drifted through Thomas’s mind.
You think this is the end? You have no clue.
Hell. What would happen next?
* * *
SHE HAD BLOOD on her hands. Noelle stared down at her palms. Mercer had used his chopper to airlift the sheriff to the nearest hospital. She could still hear the whoop-whoop of the chopper’s blades.
Sheriff Hodges had been alive when they lifted off. Gut wounds could be so tricky. Would he be able to hang on and live long enough to reach the hospital?