Page 22 of Liam James
I swore under my breath, folding the map. “Then we cut him off before he gets anywhere near them. Let’s call in everyone, and they can all block Liam.”
Fraiser gave me a look. “You think Liam will just keep running?”
I shook my head. “No. He’s going to turn around and end this.”
Because Liam James didn’t run.
He hunted.
Liam
Forest’s call came through while Poppy was still asleep in the back seat.
“Jarod’s west of you,” Forest said without preamble. “Headed your direction.”
“How far?”
“Couple of hours.”
I checked the side mirror, watching the empty road roll behind us. “I can keep moving. Lose him for another day.”
“Or,” Forest said slowly, “you can stop running and draw him out before he gets a shot at Jenny and the kid.”
My hands tightened on the wheel. I didn’t like the idea of using them as bait.
But he was coming either way.
And it was better to choose the ground than wait for him to pick it.
Jenny
I knew something had changed the second Liam hung up.
His jaw was locked, eyes straight ahead, one hand loose on the wheel like the other was ready to reach for the weapon under his jacket.
“Where is he?” I asked softly.
“Close,” Liam said.
I felt it then—the shift in the air I’d felt at the carnival, the same one that made me drag Poppy out before the rides even stopped spinning.
Except this time, it was heavier.
Closer.
Like the storm was finally here.
Forest
We were an hour behind Jarod, hauling down back roads with Fraiser on the phone calling in favors for choppers, units, anybody who could move fast enough to matter.
But deep down, I knew how this was going to go.
Liam was going to pick the place.
And when Jarod Kennedy showed up, it was going to end one way or another.
17
