Into the Night(21)

The night I proved I was better than you.

If he’d wanted them to die, he would have boarded up that back window. Covered all the glass. Covered the windows for every room in that cabin. Instead, he’d just nailed them shut. He’d given them a challenge. Not death.

He was smiling as he backed away.

The flames kept shooting into the sky. He knew those flames would attract attention, and it was the attention he deserved. His time to shine. His.

He’d taken out two of the FBI’s most wanted. The world owed him a debt of thanks. He’d collect on it. On that, and everything else that he was owed.

It was finally his time to shine.





CHAPTER FIVE

“MACEY!” BOWEN SHOOK her once, fear twisting in his gut because she was so still. Flames raged behind him but he couldn’t take his gaze off her. He’d tried to shield her as best he could when the blast launched them into the air, but they’d hit the ground hard. Had she hit her head? His fingers slid into the silk of her hair, searching for a wound.

“I’m okay,” she whispered. “Breath was just knocked out of me.” Then she was pushing at him. “I’m okay.”

But the fear in his gut wasn’t lessening.

They both grabbed their guns and their flashlights. They’d dropped both in the chaos of the explosion.

The fire was crackling as orange and red flames shot into the air. “He’s here.” Bowen kept his voice as low as hers had been. “The bastard waited for us to go inside and then he set the place on fire.” He’d nearly killed two FBI agents.

He nearly killed Macey.

“We have to search,” she said, her voice a husky breath in the dark. “Each minute that passes is a chance for him to escape.”

If the guy wasn’t already long gone.

There hadn’t been any sign of another vehicle when they arrived, so their perp was either on foot or he’d hidden an off-road vehicle in the woods. During the explosion, he could easily have slipped away on an ATV without Bowen hearing him.

He was watching the place. He waited for us to go in.

The whole scene had been one big trap.

“We need to search,” Macey said again.

He looked back into the darkness. They couldn’t just run into the woods, no plan in place.

They couldn’t—

Then he heard it. The growl of an engine. The bastard was still there. He’d been waiting and watching all along. Did you want to see if we survived? Bowen made sure he had his flashlight and gun at the ready as he lunged toward the woods—and toward that growling engine. Macey’s footsteps pounded behind.

“FBI!” Bowen bellowed. “Stop!”

His flashlight hit on the back of an ATV. He had a quick impression of a man’s broad shoulders, of a black ski mask covering the guy’s head, and then that ATV zipped forward.

“Freeze!” Bowen shouted, but the guy wasn’t stopping. He was rushing right through the woods, twisting and snaking down the mountain. Bowen took aim, firing, and the bullet slammed into the back of the all-terrain vehicle. He heard the clink as the bullet hit metal, and for an instant, the driver swerved.

But the ski mask–covered asshole didn’t stop.

Bowen raced after him, shoving branches and bushes out of his way. Macey was with him, giving chase at full speed. He lifted his hand, firing again at the fleeing man.

The ATV vanished.

What? He rushed forward, running as fast as he could and he saw that the woods seemed to just damn well drop. He threw out his arm, but Macey had already staggered to a stop next to him. From that vantage point, Bowen could see the ATV hurtling right down that slope as the driver moved like a fucking madman. He was zigging and zagging so that they didn’t have a shot. Bowen pulled out his phone and dialed the captain. As soon as Harwell answered, Bowen filled him in on what had just happened, demanding backup so they could try to intercept the fleeing perpetrator.

“Maybe we can catch him at the base of the mountain,” Macey said as soon as Bowen finished the call. “Come on!” She whirled and they raced back for their SUV.

And that was when they realized that the perp had slashed their tires. All fucking four of them.

*

THE KILLER HAD gotten away.

Macey stood near the remains of the cabin, watching the firefighters do their best to contain the blaze. She knew that the last thing they wanted was for that fire to get out of control and reach the woods. The firefighters had set up a strong perimeter to contain the flames, and the men and women in uniform were working like mad to douse the cabin.

Smoke drifted into the air, mingling with the darkness of the night. Cold air had settled around them, heavy and thick.

The local authorities hadn’t been able to intercept the perp on the ATV, and the guy had made sure that Macey and Bowen couldn’t follow him. He’s as organized as we suspected. Planning every move in advance.

“Can’t believe he tried to kill you two.” Captain Harwell strode toward her, giving a rough shake of his head. “Federal agents, I mean...the guy doesn’t fear anything or anyone, does he? Talk about a piece of work.”

Her gaze slid to the thickness of the woods. “I’m not so sure he was trying to kill us.”

“Uh, got to disagree there. He set the cabin on fire around you. To me, that seems like a pretty straightforward murder attempt.”