Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 119746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
“Cole—” I begin, but he’s already moving, grabbing Aubrey’s arm and yanking her away from Red with enough force that she loses her balance, crashing into the edge of the table.
Something snaps in me at the sight—whatever my suspicions, whatever secrets she’s kept, I can’t stand by and watch Cole manhandle her, let alone with a gun in his hand while she’s unarmed.
I move without thinking, catching his wrist before he can grab her again.
“That’s enough,” I growl, twisting his arm until he releases her. “You lay a fucking hand on her again and you won’t be the only here bleeding out.”
Cole turns on me, fury and fear making his movements jerky, unpredictable. “Are you defending her? After she lied to all of us?”
“Right now Red is bleeding all over the floor because Hank tried to take a chunk out of him. That’s our priority.”
“Your priority, maybe,” Cole snarls. “Mine is making sure we don’t all end up in federal prison because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants.”
The accusation lands like a physical blow. I shove Cole back, harder than I intended, sending him stumbling against the wall. “Watch your fucking mouth.”
“Or what?” Cole straightens, gun raised at my head, then at Aubrey’s. “You’ll protect your Fed girlfriend? Choose her over your own crew? We fucking own you, Jensen. She doesn’t.”
The situation is spiraling rapidly. Eli steps between us, hands raised placatingly. “Both of you need to calm down. This isn’t helping Red, and it sure as hell isn’t helping us figure out what happened to Hank.”
For a moment, it seems like Cole might back down. Then his gaze slides past me to where Aubrey is standing, and his expression hardens. “I’m not doing anything until she’s out of the picture.”
He lunges, not at me but at Aubrey, shoving past Eli with surprising speed. I pivot to intercept him, but Aubrey’s already moving, sidestepping his charge with practiced ease. Cole’s momentum carries him past her, and by the time he recovers, she’s across the room, grabbing the rifle that was leaning against the wall, aimed steadily at the center of his chest.
“Don’t,” she says simply, her voice calm despite the chaos of the last few minutes. “I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I will defend myself if necessary.”
The hut goes still, the only sounds Red’s labored breathing and the howl of the wind outside. Cole freezes, eyes fixed on the weapon in Aubrey’s hands—professional, steady, no hint of hesitation in her stance. She holds a rifle like she was meant to.
“This is who you really are,” I say quietly, the last of my doubts about her identity evaporating at the sight of her holding that gun like it’s an extension of her arm. Pure training, pure instinct. “Special Agent Wells.”
Something flickers across her face before her expression settles back into professional neutrality. “Yes. But that doesn’t change why I’m here, Jensen. I came to find my sister. That’s the truth, whatever else you might believe about me. That’s the truth and it’s all that matters.”
Did I matter? I think, but I know my thoughts are selfish.
“Why should we believe anything you say now?” Cole demands, though he’s wise enough to remain perfectly still under the gun’s muzzle. He’s still holding her own gun but if he raises it, he’s toast.
And he probably knows she’s not the only one who would take a shot.
“Because I’m still the only one who can help Red,” she says evenly. “And because I still need to find out what happened to Lainey.” Her gaze shifts to me. “You told me you’d take me to the caves where you lost her. Does that promise still stand?”
The question catches me off guard. After everything that’s happened, her focus is singular. Still determined to see this through to whatever end awaits in those caves.
I hate that her stubbornness turns me on. Doesn’t help when she looks wickedly sexy holding that rifle.
“I break a lot of things, but I don’t break promises,” I tell her.
Pain flashes across her features, quickly masked. “Believe that I loved my sister. That I need answers. That hasn’t changed, Jensen.”
Before I can respond, a sound from outside cuts through the tension—the horses, whinnying in distress, their panic clear even through the hut’s thick walls. My heart twists, thinking of Jeopardy out there.
“What the hell is that?” Cole asks, momentarily forgetting his standoff with Aubrey.
I move to the window, peering through the curtains. Outside, the remaining horses are pacing around the makeshift corral, heads thrown high.
“Something’s spooked them,” I say, scanning the darkness beyond. At first, I see nothing but shadows and swirling snow.
Then my eyes focus and see him.
A figure, standing motionless, watching the hut.
Watching us.
I blink as a gust of wind blows snow against the window and when it clears the figure is gone, making me wonder if I saw anything at all.