Page 66 of Raven's Curse
Saved them.
Greer grabbed his hand. Strong. Unyielding.
She’d help him move on. Find the kind of future Rhett had wanted Chase to have. They just needed to finish this.
Chase readied his weapon, took a breath, then moved out, Greer matching his stride. He leveled his Sig at the truck, zeroing in on Hodges as he stepped beyond the flatbed, box clasped in his hands. He looked haggard. Broken. As if he’d stared into the abyss too long — had let it stain his soul.
Chase clenched his jaw, forced the name past the lump in his throat. “Hodges.”
Their gazes clashed. Held, Hodges’ eyes widening a second before a cruel smile shaped his lips. He snickered, tossed the box, then took off, darting behind the truck as Chase’s round hit the quarter panel an inch from his shoulder. Footsteps pounded the ground, quickly fading into the next roll of thunder as he moved out of range, his lithe form bobbing along a rough path.
Greer raced ahead, skidding to a halt once she was parallel with the end of the bridge. Atticus slumped against the bank on the far side, wrists zip-tied, ankle tethered to a post with a short leash. He roused, lifted his head enough to meet their gazes.
The older man coughed, shivered, then motioned toward the path snaking along the ridge. “Don’t just stand there, Remington, run the bastard down.”
Chase looked at the bridge, then back to the fleeing silhouette, history replaying in his head. How he’d been forced to choose that fucking night. All the dominoes that had fallen since.
Greer gave him a shove. “Go. I’ll get Atticus.” She rolled her eyes when he simply stood there, debating. “Chase. I can cross a damn bridge without you backing me up. I’ve got Buck. You’re taking the real risk. But we both know you’re faster and stronger, so, go. Just don’t freaking die on me.”
Chase grunted, then took off, tearing down the access road, gravel popping, boots flying, as he veered onto the trail skirting the bluff. Salt hung heavy in the air, the wind sharper. Colder.
Hodges bobbed along the path, that limp more pronounced as he avoided boulders and logs, wasting some of his precious lead as Chase vaulted over the barriers, quickly eating up the space.
Lightning spread like a web across the sky, the white light framing the scene — Hodges looking back over his shoulder, mouth still curved into a smile. The man ducked under a low branch, disappeared for a moment until Chase popped out the other side — spotted him heading down a lower fork.
Chase followed, scrambling over brush and debris, closing the gap, again, when Hodges stopped — headed for a flat rock jutting off the edge. He reached the stone plateau, then turned, hands at his side, strong. Resolute.
Chase slowed, looking for an ambush as he jogged to a halt, weapon zeroed in, chest heaving. He held firm, that voice inside his head screaming. “End of the road, Hodges.”
The name croaked out. Low. Raw. The word tripping across his tongue.
Hodges laughed. Deep. Loud. The haunting sound echoing along the cliffs. “What’s the matter, Remington? Have you seen a ghost?”
Chase stared at him, taking it all in. The scars. The shadows. The vision of a man who’d faced his demons and lost. “I thought you were dead.”
Another laugh. “I bet you did. Made it real easy to go on with your life. Pretend you didn’t leave us all there to die.”
“I didn’t…”
The words fell flat, the meaning lost to the roaring wind. The crash of the waves beneath them.
Chase took another step, mud splattering the bottom of his pants, rain soaking through his jacket. “I know nothing I say will change your mind, and you’re right. Believing you were dead did make it easier. But if we’d known you’d survived, that there was a chance…” He shook his head. “We would have come back.”
“You would have come back? That’s what you want me to believe? Because you looked us all dead in the eyes and swore you’d do just that. Then, more men came, started beating on us before the world exploded and everything we ever knew ceased to exist.”
Hodges glanced over the edge. “Do you know how many times I prayed to be in this exact position? In charge of my own destiny? To choose whether I lived or died? But that doesn’t matter because you would have come for me.”
“I can’t change the past. But I’m here, now. Just… walk over here. Let me take you in. I’ll get you the help you need.”
Hodges chuckled, shaking his head as he balanced on the lip, swaying back and forth as if he didn’t care which way he fell. “Poor Remington. He’s afraid he’ll lose another one. That I’ll become one more stain on his prestigious record? Like Rhett? And Eli? Did you promise them you’d have their backs, too?”
“I failed them. I know that. Just like I failed you and the others. But it doesn’t have to go down like this. You’ve suffered enough. Aren’t you tired of running?”
“Tired? I spent four years rebuilding myself. Picking up the pieces you broke apart. Finding a way to exist while trapped in the darkness. Losing everything. Everyone.” He leered at Chase. “I’m not running. I’ve finally come home.”
He stepped back, foot skimming nothing but air, his body hanging in that space between standing and falling before he crumpled. Chase dove at him, catching a fistful of jacket, Hodges’ weight dragging them both down. Chase dropped his weapon, clawed at the rock, digging in the toes of his boots, as his chest crested the edge, a huge breaker kissing the shore — spraying up the side of the cliff below them.
One boot caught on a root, grinding them to a halt, his right arm stretched beneath him, the nylon slowly slipping between his fingers. Rain poured off his jacket, falling around Hodges like a waterfall as the mud shifted beneath Chase, slowly inching him closer.
