Page 80 of These Reckless Hearts

It takes a while for the sound of the blades to fade, and I can’t believe I didn’t hear it approaching. Then again, it was complete chaos down here.

Wyatt grips my hand, surveying the same landscape I am. We overlook the dead bodies at our feet and focus on one thing. “Where did he go?”

I point down the valley. It’s time to end this.

It’s time to make sure Lance can’t hurt anyone again.

33

If he’s not dead already, Lance would have no idea how to get out of here. Hopefully someone shot his ass so Wyatt and I don’t have to inform Stone we killed his father. We can tell him it was just an outcome of a tragic day.

“Dakota!”

Wyatt and I both come to a skidding stop to find Ninja hiking down the valley toward us with Pete by his side. “Holy shit.” I start toward them, my feet picking up the pace until we’re only a few feet apart.

Ninja reaches us first. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, and I squeeze him through the pain. “What the hell are you guys doing here?”

Our trustworthy guard beams. “Do you think I’d miss a chance to get those bastards? When we couldn’t contact you, Cole sent the two of us up here to get into position. I’m the one who took out the mean-looking one.”

“No wonder,” Wyatt exclaims. Dirt stains the side of his face, clear paths of sweat interrupting them. He shakes his head. “They thought the helicopter was their only threat.”

“Exactly,” Ninja says. “We lured them in and then surrounded them.”

“Well, except for one,” I remind them, nodding over my shoulder.

We all start down the chasm again in the direction that Lance ran, Wyatt with a firm arm around my hips. Let’s see how haughty he acts now that his muscle is gone. I know for sure I have the upper hand this time, and I sure as hell will exploit it.

Ninja runs a hand through his hair. “Are Lucas and Stone okay?”

Wyatt peeks at me as if I might break if he answers honestly. “We think so. We don’t know for sure, though.”

I close my eyes for a moment, sending up positive thoughts. “Cole saved us,” I choke out. “If he didn’t come with the helicopter when he did, we all would have died up here.”

Wyatt hugs me to his side. Despite how painful it is, it feels better to know he’s here with me. That he’s right next to me, and no one is going to try to take him away again.

“Cole has a way of doing that,” Ninja muses. “He figured shit would get unstable.”

“Because Stone’s father is a fucking lunatic,” I grind out. I stop in my tracks, a realization hitting me in the chest. Now that we’re not being shot at, the etching I found bubbles to the surface. “I almost forgot. I think I have the next clue.”

Wyatt blinks at me. “What?”

“I found something during...everything.”

Ninja stands up straighter. “That’s all well and good, friends, but why don’t we take care of one problem at a time?” He nods down the valley, and we turn to find Lance crouching next to the creek. It’s a little higher than normal, but at least it’s not a raging river anymore. He’s splashing water on his cheeks. His canteen is gone—probably lost in all the commotion he commanded.

“Jacobs!” I yell, marching toward him with Wyatt’s assitance.

He jumps and turns. He stands on shaky legs, moving backward until he’s knee deep in the creek. “I have money. A lot of it.”

I shake my head. “You’re a pathetic piece of shit.” The first words out of his mouth are about money? He should be demanding to know what happened to his son.

Wyatt strides forward. As soon as he’s close enough, he pulls his arm back and punches Jacobs in the face. Lance tries to block it, but his feeble attempt is laughable. His head snaps around, and blood immediately gushes from his nose. It doesn’t deter Wyatt. He keeps punching, his knuckles bloody, until I say his name softly, asking him to stop.

Lance crumbles to his knees. When he gazes up, his pathetic nature truly stands out above everything else. He blinks, studying all of us before his stare falls on me. “Where’s Stone?”

That’s more fucking like it. I gulp. “On his way to the hospital.”

His mouth drops, and he gasps. “Is he okay?”

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