Page 31 of Montana Memory

I didn’t give her time to process it. Didn’t give him time to breathe. Things were turning ugly. Copper was stalling—as obnoxiously as possible, but still stalling. Probably waiting for reinforcements to arrive.

We needed to get out of here right fucking now. There was no way I was letting this asshole get his hands on Jada.

I grabbed him by the throat, pulled him out of his chair, and slammed him against the wall. The impact rattled the table, sent his cigarette rolling off the edge.

“We’re leaving.”

His hands clawed at my wrist, his smirk finally slipping. Two of the guys I’d put down were still groaning on the floor, but I wasn’t stupid. Reinforcements would come soon. The second I let go, I knew this whole place would turn hostile.

I tightened my grip just enough to watch the panic creep into Copper’s eyes as he realized he couldn’t break free. Then I let go.

I turned, grabbed Jada’s wrist, and pulled her with me. Fast. Direct. We needed to be out before Copper figured out how to breathe and use his voice again.

We made it outside before I heard him yelling for his people to stop us. I didn’t slow down for a second.

Chapter 11

Jada

Once again, I was running with Hunter. But this time felt more dangerous than the others. This time, if we were caught, I already knew what was going to happen. My lungs burned, my breath coming in ragged gasps, but I kept running. Terror wouldn’t let me stop.

Hunter ran beside me, his stride controlled, purposeful. He wasn’t winded. Wasn’t even fazed. Just ten minutes ago, I’d watched him take down three of Copper’s men at the same time, moving like a trained weapon—calculated, lethal. I’d never seen anyone fight like that. I’d never seen anyone move like that.

The knife wound on his bicep should have slowed him down. It hadn’t.

I couldn’t say the same for myself. I was barely keeping up, my legs trembling, my body aching from the unrelenting sprint. Every instinct screamed at me to look back. To check. To see how close they were. But Hunter never did. He didn’t need to. He knew exactly how much time we had. I had to trust him.

Gunfire cracked through the night. I flinched, sucking in a sharp breath as the sound echoed off the alley walls.

Hunter didn’t react. “Faster,” he ordered, his voice low, steady. “You can do it. I know you can.”

His belief in me meant everything. My boots slipped slightly on the wet pavement, but I caught myself and pushed harder.

Another gunshot. Closer this time.

Hunter grabbed my wrist again and yanked me down a side alley, shoving me ahead of him. My shoulder clipped the rough brick wall, but I barely felt it. My pulse pounded in my ears, every nerve firing at once.

“They’re gaining,” I rasped, breathless.

He didn’t respond. He just kept running. Kept leading.

Another shot. Shouting.

Hunter yanked me into another alley, his grip firm but not painful. A set of headlights swept past the alley mouth, and before I could react, Hunter shoved me back against the cold brick wall, his body close, shielding me. I barely stifled a gasp as a black SUV screeched past, the window rolling down. The gleam of a gun barrel caught the streetlight.

I stopped breathing.

Hunter’s fingers tightened around my wrist, his grip a silent command. Stay still. Stay quiet. The vehicle hesitated at the intersection just ahead, the brake lights glowing red, before it roared forward and disappeared.

I exhaled sharply, my heart still hammering. Hunter didn’t wait. He pulled me forward, leading me deeper into the alley, his eyes scanning every shadow, every movement. We weren’t safe. Not yet. Tires screeched down the block. They were turning around.

“Here,” he said, voice low as he angled his chin toward a rusted fire escape. “Climb.”

I looked up, my stomach twisting. The ladder was pulled up, the lowest rung too high to reach.

Before I could object, Hunter bent slightly, interlacing his fingers. “Step up.”

I hesitated, but the urgency in his expression had me moving. Placing my foot in his hands, I barely had time to brace before he boosted me up like I weighed nothing. My fingers scraped against metal as I grasped the railing, my arms shaking as I hauled myself higher. The metal groaned beneath my weight.

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