Chapter 16

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

Heidi's heart pounded with such force her pulse was all she could hear.

Someone still followed them, didn't they? What would this person do if he discovered her and Stephen hiding here?

Part of her didn't want to think about it. But how could she not?

The only comfort she found was in knowing Stephen was beside her. He crouched, fully alert, with his gun drawn.

She thought they were out of sight. The rocky overhang was large enough that they remained in the shadows. But if this guy looked hard enough, he would see them.

Then all she could do was pray for the best.

As another stick snapped, she pressed her eyes closed. Please, Lord . . . watch over us. Protect us.

The steps came closer. Closer.

She tried to push herself as far into the crevice as she could.

Because there was one thing she knew for sure.

These men were trained and dangerous.

These were the same guys who'd killed Beau. Who'd run her and Donald off the road, ultimately killing him. They'd probably wanted to kill her too. In fact, she would probably be dead right now if it wasn't for Stephen and Gage.

They'd protected her once. Now she needed to believe they could protect her again.

The footsteps came to a stop. A shadow stretched across the ground.

This guy had paused directly in front of the rocky overhang.

All he needed to do was bend down and he'd see them.

Then it would depend on who had the fastest trigger finger—Stephen or the man pursuing them.

Nausea swirled inside Heidi at the thought.

Stephen watched the man. He could only see the guy's black cargo pants and boots.

Not his face.

Was this man a former colleague? He had no idea if this was someone he'd recognize or not.

Stephen still wasn't sure who these guys worked for. Though Rafferty seemed to be the most obvious choice, there were no certainties.

Besides, why would Rafferty send two of his own guys to protect Heidi, and then send more guys to kill them?

It didn't make sense.

Unless Rafferty's goal was to silence them all.

There were still other things that didn't make sense.

How had they been found? He'd taken the battery from her phone.

But what if Rafferty had other ways of tracking her, just like he'd had other ways of tracking Stephen and his colleagues?

The thought made his blood go ice cold.

Stephen tried to recall any jewelry she might be wearing, but he didn't remember any. Rafferty wouldn't put it in her clothing since that was changed too often to be effective.

Then what?

His thoughts continued to race.

Would Rafferty have gone so far as to put a tracking device in Heidi's body like he'd done to them?

His gut lurched. He hated the thought of it. But right now, it was the only thing that made sense.

He would need to check.

First, he needed to figure out what this guy in front of him would do.

The man was so close Stephen could hear him breathing.

Even though Stephen and Heidi were in the shadows, they could still be discovered.

What about Gage? Was he okay?

Stephen tried to think everything through and plan his next move to cover all the what-ifs.

His heart pounded in his ears as he waited, his finger poised on the trigger of his gun.

A moment later, the guy took another step. And another.

Away from where they were hiding.

Just far enough for Stephen to get a look at his face. The man had dark hair that was curly, a lean frame, and sharp eyes.

Stephen had never seen the guy before.

However, the man was looking at his phone.

Almost as if following a tracker.