Page 59 of Carter
We hauled Sable to his feet, his injured leg buckling under the strain. He hissed but kept that smug tilt to his chin, like even chained and bleeding he thought he held the upper hand.
I pressed the barrel of my rifle into his back, steering him forward. “One wrong move, and I’ll make sure you don’t walk again.”
The morning air bit at my lungs as we stepped outside, the SUV idling at the edge of the drive. The forest was quiet, too quiet, and my instincts screamed at me to stay sharp. Transport was always the weak link—too many angles, too many chances for someone to intercept.
River swung the back door open. Gideon slid in with his laptop, Cyclone took the driver’s seat. I shoved Sable inside, then followed, the metal floor cold under my boots.
The door slammed shut, and the SUV lurched forward, rolling down the mountain road.
I kept my rifle trained on Sable’s chest the whole time. He thought he was in control, thought Redwood made him untouchable.
But he hadn’t understood one thing yet.
I wasn’t fighting for orders. Or for pay.
I was fighting for Harper.
And that made me the most dangerous man in the room.
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The SUV cut down the mountain road, tires spitting gravel, the forest blurring past in streaks of green and gray. My rifle stayed leveled on Sable’s chest, finger brushing the trigger guard, every muscle tight as wire.
He sat slouched against the seat, wrists bound, eyes flicking between us like he was cataloguing our weaknesses. I could see the calculation in his smirk, the way he breathed slow, like time was his ally.
River watched him from the front passenger seat, sharp and silent. Cyclone’s knuckles were white on the wheel, his jaw locked. Gideon tapped at his laptop, the glow painting his face pale in the dim interior.
No one spoke. The quiet was too heavy, too brittle.
We hit the first switchback, the SUV leaning as Cyclone slowed to keep control. My eyes swept the tree line automatically, searching for glints of steel, the unnatural shapes of rifles hidden among branches.
Nothing yet.
But my gut burned.
Sable tilted his head, voice low and taunting. “You feel ittoo, don’t you? That prickle on the back of your neck? They’re out there. Redwood doesn’t let assets disappear without a fight.”
I shoved the rifle muzzle harder against his ribs. “Shut up.”
He only grinned wider, teeth red from dried blood. “When they come, they won’t aim for me. They’ll aim for you. Because you’re her shield. Break the shield, and she shatters.”
The words ripped through me, white-hot fury sparking down every nerve. My finger tightened, just a breath away from pulling the trigger—
Then River’s voice cut sharp. “Contact.”
I snapped my head up. Through the windshield, black SUVs barreled onto the road ahead, blocking the curve. Doors flung open, men pouring out, rifles raised.
An ambush.
Cyclone cursed and slammed the brakes, the SUV skidding to a hard stop. Gravel sprayed the air, the world narrowing to seconds, choices, survival.
I threw the door open, rifle up, heart pounding with one thought burning hotter than the gunfire about to erupt—
I have to get back to her.
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