Page 93 of Out of the Shadows

“Just to double-check, I ran this image and one of him I pulled off his Instagram through Tiny’s facial-rec program, and it’s a match. Then I saw this photo on his social media.” Oliphant added another photo to the screen. It was Branson on the beach with a young woman in a tiny white bikini tucked against his side. “That chick is the infamous Elena Nabers.” Her driver’s license photo was added to the screen. “I also double-checked her photos through Tiny’s program. It’s another match.”

Witherspoon rushed into the room. “I got Branson’s vehicle info from the ferry. It’s a rental but registered under his name. The Jackson Cove trailhead cameras show his car’s still parked in the lot. Bean’s car is still there as well.” He held up a large box and set it on the conference room table. “Hereare the comms. I know Bean usually takes the lead, but between me and Abbot, we’ll have everyone’s back.”

Gavin’s heart was beating wildly in his chest. He wanted to rage, wanted to scream, wanted to tear Branson Whitcomb limb from fucking limb. But this wasn’t about him, dammit. Bean needed him. Needed them. He glanced at the time and then met the gazes of each of his teammates. “We have an hour and fifteen minutes until this fucker calls me. Let’s go get our girl.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Bean stifled a whimper as a cramp had her right calf spasming. She didn’t recall how long she’d run for, but it had to have been at least a couple of hours since she’d first encountered the man on the trail. For the longest time, she’d heard him stumbling after her. She knew she should have tried to cover her tracks, but she didn’t have the first clue about what that kind of thing entailed. When she no longer heard him, she thought she was making her way back to the trail, but no.

She was hopelessly lost.

On the plus side—because she was desperately trying to find any sort of plus side—it was still light out. That was something. The heavy forest canopy cast creepy shadows all over the place, so she was thankful it wasn’t the dead of night. Regardless, she was seriously rethinking her newfound like of the great outdoors. The only thing she was certain of was that the second she got out of this mess, she was signing up for Tactical’s survival course. And not the easy one. The big one that covered weapons and booby traps. Because holy shit, she had no clue what she was doing.

She winced when her calf spasmed again, but she was too afraid to stretch her leg out. In her search for the trail, she’d stumbled upon the hollowed-out tree she was currently hiding in. Literally. She’d tripped and fallen, smashing into the tree. Her impact had caused a family of something or other to scurry out. She’d quickly checked to see if it was truly vacant, and when nothing had attacked her, she’d crawled in. The space was tall enough for her to sit upright, but she had to bring her knees to her chest to remain hidden. Both her ass and legs were currently protesting her position.

She wasn’t exactly sure how long she’d been hiding, but she’d heard the man walk by twice. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn’t stay hidden forever. She was certain her absence must have been noticed by now, but she’d lost her phone and wasn’t wearing any sort of tracking device. There was no way Gavin or her team could find her. A shiver tore through her. If she didn’t get out of her hiding spot, she was going to die in the woods. Exposure, animals, the crazy man chasing her, or a freaking heart attack. There were no good options.

Slowly straightening her legs, she took a moment to rub her aching muscles. Then she waited. Her feet were poking out from the tree, and she took it as a good sign that no one grabbed her. After a few more moments, she carefully scooted out of her hiding spot. She frowned as her body protested every movement. Gnawing on her lower lip, she scanned the area around her and willed her racing heart to steady.

No such luck. She was still lost.

She took a tentative step, her ears peeled for any kind of noise. But there was nothing but quiet forest sounds. Or what she assumed were quiet forest sounds.

Not sure which direction to walk in, she moved in the opposite direction of her hiding spot’s entrance. She recalledhitting it and scampering backward as the critters fled and made a beeline toward her. Yes, that was the way she’d come.

Her stomach clenched tightly. Right?

After walking a handful of yards, she paused and tilted her head to the side. There was a sound that was different...

She closed her eyes and concentrated on the sound. It was like...

Her eyes flew open. The waterfall!

If she could get to the waterfall, she could find the trail from there. Her pulse quickened and she picked up her pace. She recalled that the trail had only been a few dozen yards away from the waterfall. If she got to the base of the falls, maybe she could make her way?—

Bang!

The tree beside her exploded. A sharp sting slashed across her cheek. Covering her head with her arms, she took cover behind a large rock. Another bang sounded, and she bit back a yelp. Rock fragments rained down over her.

“Come out, come out, girlfriend,” the man called out. “You and I need to have a talk. Besides, there’s nowhere for you to go.”

Her lungs seized. The crazy man wasn’t wrong. “What do you want?”

“I just want to talk.”

Bullshit. “Who are you?”

“Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way. It’s your choice.”

She remained silent and tried to listen for his movements. The only thing she could hear was her thudding pulse and her erratic breaths. She shuffled to the side to peek around the rock and?—

A fist slammed into her face, knocking her onto her back. Her vision wavered as the man’s booted foot connected with her hip. She curled into a ball, but he was on her. Screaming,she bucked and writhed to no avail. He pressed her face into the dirt, his knee on her neck. She winced as he yanked her arms behind her, and fire tore through her shoulders.

Her blood turned to ice. The man had tied her wrists together.

He yanked her upright, and she couldn’t hold back a groan. Every part of her body throbbed. She wiggled her hands and relief had her shoulders sagging. He hadn’t zip-tied her, and whatever he’d used was loosening with every movement.

“Stay,” he muttered, shoving her against the boulder she’d hidden behind. He grabbed his gun, which he’d dropped on the ground, and waved it at her.

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