Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake, #1)(83)

Our movements up the mountainside were quicker now that Tuck had an idea of where to go. Before long, we had made it to the edge of the tree line, halting so that we would still have cover while we decided our next move.

There were three cave openings before us. Two smaller ones and a larger cavern, but any of the three could easily hide people. I glanced at Tuck, looking for his take on where we should start. He pointed down towards the outskirts of the forest. About twenty yards away was a camouflage ATV.

My heart picked up its pace. They were here. I sent up another silent prayer, begging for Taylor to be all right, promising anything I could think of in exchange for her return, safe and whole. A muttered curse coming from the middle cave had my gaze shooting to the opening, and my body going on high alert.

The cave itself was dark, and I couldn’t make out who was speaking. I could only see a form striding back and forth near the mouth of the cave, the person muttering to themselves. My eyes jumped to Tuck. There was only one way to do this. Full out assault. In the thirty feet separating us and the cave’s mouth, there were no trees or boulders to provide cover.

I jerked my head in the direction of the cave, and Tuck gave one swift nod of assent. We took off at a dead run. Ten feet in, the figure’s head swiveled in our direction. I raised my weapon. “Don’t move, this is the Sutter Lake Police Department. Show me your hands.”

Of course, the guy did the opposite, tearing off back into the cave. He moved with a speed and agility I didn’t think Pardue would possess at his age.

“Fuck!” I pushed my legs harder. “I don’t think that’s Pardue.”

“No shit, Sherlock,” Tuck retorted, matching me stride for stride.

“Any clue who it is?”

“Not a one.” We slowed as we reached the cave, each hugging one of the walls so no one could get the jump on us. “We need to be prepared for the possibility of more than one assailant.”

I gripped my gun tighter. The last thing we needed in this equation was another unknown. We crept down the natural hallway the cave formed, letting our eyes adjust to the lack of light.

“Walker and Tuck to the rescue, huh?” The mocking jeer echoed off the stone.

I froze, betrayal and disgust coursing through my veins. My gaze sought Tuck’s from across the cave. The whites of his eyes flashed with a ferocious rage. We both knew the owner of that voice. Had shared beers with him. I had told my sister what a great fucking guy I thought he was. Had practically shoved her in his direction.

I had to tamp down my fury, get control so that I could get Taylor out of here. Get her to safety. Then, I could lose it.

“You’re too late. I’ve already started my game, and you can’t play.”

My entire body locked. I refused to think about what that might mean. I had to press on, and I couldn’t let Bryce get in my head. I motioned for Tuck to keep moving.

A light shone from somewhere ahead, a flashlight on its side I realized, illuminating a cavernous room at the end of the cave. Ominous shadows danced along the walls, but I only had eyes for one thing. Taylor. Her eyes were closed, and even in the dim light, I could tell she was deathly pale. My heart stopped beating until I saw her chest rise and fall.

Bryce had pulled her against him as he leaned against a boulder in the corner of the cave. One arm held her to him, while the other held a knife to her throat. Taylor’s eyes fluttered, and she let out a low moan when Bryce jerked her against him.

In that moment, I knew I would kill Bryce. There was no way I would let him out of the cave alive. A fire raged within me, my insides burning with the need to get to Taylor. “There’s no way out of this, Bryce, not unless you put down that knife and let us take you in.”

Bryce let out a dark chuckle. “I don’t think so, hero boy. Either both of you put down your guns, or I will slice this pretty little throat in front of me.”

I forced myself to ignore Bryce’s taunt and checked my angles. There was only one option. A headshot. A target that was half-hidden behind the girl I loved more than life itself.

Tuck’s footsteps sounded to my right. “I need you to be real sure if you take a shot, Walk. Because if you miss and hit a cave wall, we could have several tons of rock coming down around us.”

A hysterical yet excited giggle came from Bryce. “Maybe we’ll all die together. That would be a good ending to this little story. Do it. Come on, Walker, end all our misery.”

Bryce was completely gone. There was no talking him down, even if I didn’t want him dead. My eyes darted to Taylor’s face, leached of all color. It was now or never. I breathed in slowly, holding the air at the top of the inhale. Blood roared in my ears as the whole world slowed. I squeezed the trigger.

The crack reverberated off the stone of the cave. Bryce’s head snapped back as he flew back into a boulder. Tuck and I sprinted forward as Taylor’s body crumpled to the ground.

Tuck went for Bryce, knowing I needed to go for Taylor. “He’s dead.”

I already knew it, but I still felt a minor release of tension at the words. I rolled Taylor to her back. “Fuck! Get the flashlight! I need light!” Because what I hadn’t been able to see while Bryce held her against him was that the front of her dark t-shirt was covered in blood. A t-shirt, I noticed absently, that was mine. My chest burned.

Gingerly, I pulled the material away from her middle, the cotton tacky with blood. Tuck shined the light on her stomach and cursed. Her butchered flesh stared back at me, taunting me for not quite being quick enough.