I turned, sliding into the black SUV waiting at the tree line. The man in the sharp suit sat inside, his expression cold, his voice accented and clipped. “You promised a demonstration.”
I smiled, leaning back into the leather seat. “And you got one. You saw their skill. Their loyalty. Their… weakness.”
He studied me in silence, unimpressed. Finally, he said, “Then prove they can be broken.”
The door shut, the engine growled, and the mountain swallowed us whole.
Let them chase.
The real hunt hadn’t even started.
25
Forest
The ranger outpost we used as a command post reeked of stale coffee and wet boots, but tonight it was war council. Maps littered the table, radios hissed with static, and everyone’s nerves ran thin as wire.
Jason leaned over the map, stabbing a finger at the gorge. “North’s testing us. Every move he’s made, he’s been watching how we respond. He knows our tempo, our weapons, our weak spots.”
Lane crossed her arms, jaw tight. “Then stop dancing to his music. We pull back, regroup with state, call in Feds, and put this mountain in a chokehold until he’s smoked out.”
“That’ll take weeks,” I said flatly. “And North’s not waiting weeks. He’ll vanish, and we’ll be left with bodies and questions.”
Zoe slammed a hand on the table. “We don’t have weeks.” Her eyes burned with fire, her voice sharper than any blade. “Every hour we wait is another chance for him to set up the next stage. He’s not hiding—he’s daring us to come after him.”
Jason studied her for a long beat, then nodded slowly. “She’s right. He wants pursuit. But if we’re smart, we turn that against him.”
I looked at him. “Meaning?”
“Meaning we lay a trail of our own,” Jason said. “Let him think he’s leading us where he wants, while we steer him into our noose instead.”
Lane’s mouth tightened. “You’re suggesting we bait a man who’s already three steps ahead?”
Jason’s gaze didn’t waver. “I’m suggesting we stop letting him write the script.”
Zoe’s hand brushed mine under the table, fierce and steady. She didn’t have to say it. I already knew. She wasn’t backing down—not from North, not from me.
I exhaled slow, heavy, my decision weighing like a trigger pull. “Fine. We hunt him. But we do it my way—quiet, patient, and final.”
Lane swore, pacing. Jason smirked like he’d been waiting to hear it. And Zoe—she leaned in, eyes fierce. “Then let’s find him before he writes the next act.”
The room buzzed with radios and tension, but in my gut, one truth settled like stone:
North wasn’t prey. He was a predator.
And we were stepping straight into his teeth.
Zoe
The others finally filed out,radios crackling, boots stomping across the porch. Jason shot me a look like he knew something was about to break loose, but he didn’t say a word. Then the door shut, and it was just me and Forest.
He stood at the map table, hands braced wide, shoulders tight as steel cables. “You can’t keep charging headfirst into his traps, Zoe. You’ll get yourself killed.”
My blood snapped hot. “Don’t you dare put this on me. You’re the one barreling after him like some mountain bull with a death wish!”
His head snapped up, eyes burning. “Because someone has to! And I’m not letting you be the bait he’s salivating over.”
I shoved him, hard, chest to chest. “You don’tletme do anything, Forest. I’m not yours to protect like some fragile thing you tuck away!”
