Page 78 of Mountain Defender

Even if I were clear-headed, which I’m not—everything is still scattered and foggy since I hit my head on the car window—this still wouldn’t make sense.

Emily’s husband? Running me off the road? Hitting me? Tackling me in the woods? Threatening to kill me?

Why?

Why him?

Why me?

He’s been married to Emily for almost five years. I’ve stayed at their apartment in Boston. Spent Christmas together. And while I never really liked Wade all that much—he was too pretentious for my taste, and I always felt like he was silently judging me—I could never,everhave imagined him doing this.

Does Emily know? Is she involved?

She couldn’t be. Not my sister. She wouldn’t.

Would she?

Why doesn’t any of this make sense?

The throbbing ache in my head doesn’t come close to the wrenching pain in my heart.

Would my sister…

The tears I’ve been trying to hold back spring free.

“Why?” I repeat. A sob bursts out. “Why are you doing this?”

The gun Wade pulled from his waistband jabs into my stomach. “Don’t you know?”

I shake my head without thinking, and everything spins. Gray spots blink across my vision. “No. Just let me go. I won’t tell Emily?—”

Lie. If she’s not involved, of course I will. I’ll tell everyone.

Wade laughs, spraying spittle into my face. “Are you serious, Rory? Are you really that stupid? I always thought you were a little dopey, choosing to throw your money away on that pissant dog shelter, but Emily said you had an actual degree. I thought you had a few decent brain cells in there.”

His hand squeezes my neck, not tight enough to cut off my air, but enough to bring me to the verge of a panic attack. It’s too close to what happened in the woods, those horrible memories I can’t erase, the chilling sensation of life slipping away by the second.

Instinctively, I jerk against his grip, and he shoves me against the tree again. “Do you really think you can get away from me?”

Pinned to the tree with a gun pointed at my gut? A large hand wrapped around my throat? My head still swimming and my legs like jelly?

No. Probably not.

If Gage were here, though…

A terrified voice whimpers in my head,Where is Gage? Why isn’t he here? How long has it been since I triggered the alert?

And then, a more terrifying thought.

What if it didn’t work? What if I pressed the little button on the necklace wrong? What if I’ve been thinking Gage was on the way, but he’s still waiting back at home with no idea I’m in trouble?

Why didn’t I run faster? Why didn’t I find a better hiding spot?

Why didn’t I keep my breathing quieter while Wade was looking for me?

If I had, I might still be hidden. Wade wouldn’t have pounced on me as I crouched behind a cluster of bushes. I could have tried the necklace again and waited for Gage to find me.

“Just tell me what you want,” I plead, outright crying now. “Do you want me to leave you and Emily alone? Do you want money? What?—”

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