Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Zahra nodded and set her pack down, immediately pulling her cell out of the side zipper pocket. “You should just come with us, Vienna. Get on the helicopter.”
“I can’t. He’s going to kill everyone. He told me. It was a vow. He knew he was dead the minute Axel Wallin fell.”
She bit her lip and then texted again. Can’t delay. One shooter dead, need to go after last shooter. First name Larsen. He’s in Wallin’s employ. Knows what he’s doing. I have to keep pressure on him or he’ll stop the helicopter from taking Raine.
Snowflake. For me. Get on the helicopter. We’ll go after Larsen. We have a file on him and he’ll be like tracking a wounded cougar. He’s got military training. Get out of there.
You’ll be too late to keep him from stopping the helicopter evac Raine. She doesn’t have time to wait. Can’t argue. She contemplated sending a heart to him, hoping he’d understand what she was trying to convey. It might be the last time she ever spoke to him. Instead, she just wrote it out for everyone to see. Know you were loved.
Wait then. Stay where you are. I’m coming to you.
There was no use in arguing. She handed the satphone to Zahra. “Go, hon, fast. Get moving so you can get on that helicopter.”
She knew Zahra’s code and enabled it so she could find the app on the phone for the mini Garmin. If Larsen had ignored the mini Garmin in Stella’s pack and he left it there, she could follow him using the app on Zahra’s phone. She shoved the pistol into her vest and hooked the ammo clip to the bag at her waist. She had two full clips and the rest of the bullets in her pistol. She would need to make every shot count. No more trying to warn him off or scare him off.
“Shabina, what are you doing? Go with Zahra.”
Shabina stubbornly shook her head. “I’m going with you. I might not be able to boulder like you, Vienna, but I can shoot a gun. In fact, I’m very good with one.” She lifted the corner of her vest and showed Vienna a small gun with a cherrywood grip. It appeared to be a work of art, a masterpiece, not a lowly firearm that would barely penetrate skin. Shabina dropped her vest into place and gestured toward the narrow trail.
“Let’s go if you’re willing to die, because this man is really good in the woods. I shot him and he not only treated his own wound but was as calm as heck when he told me he was going to kill me, my mother and all of you.”
“He isn’t better than you out here, Vienna. This is your backyard. He might be trained by all kinds of specialists, but you know this terrain. You’ve been organizing searches for missing campers for the last few years. I’m putting my money on you.”
Vienna tested her weight on her ankle. Yeah, that wasn’t going to feel any better now than it had a few minutes ago. She took several tentative steps toward the bend and then took a cautious look. She knew he was gone. She felt it. She’d heard him leaving. Rounding the bend, she took lead. She didn’t have time to argue with Shabina, so maybe that absolved her of responsibility, and Shabina was an adult, able to make up her own mind about the danger.
“You’re a nutcase for making that foolish bet, but I love you all the same.” She knew there was a note of relief in her voice. Not just relief, but happiness. She had good friends. She shouldn’t want Shabina with her because it was dangerous going after Larsen. On the other hand, she was elated she didn’t have to go by herself. “I hope you really are good with that gun.”
“I am.” Shabina kept her voice low. “I spent hundreds of hours practicing self-defense and learning to shoot. I didn’t want to become paranoid after what happened to me, but I am.”
Vienna glanced over her shoulder to take in Shabina’s determined expression. “Why didn’t you insist on all of us getting an Airbnb that allowed dogs?”
She turned back toward the trail, placing her feet cautiously. At the next bend she was going to check the app on Zahra’s phone to see when it would next send out a location. If Larsen kept the mini Garmin inside the pack where Stella had it, he wouldn’t see the screen light up with an alert that the location had been sent and he wouldn’t toss the Garmin.
Shabina remained silent for several steps, keeping pace behind Vienna, but staying far enough away to allow for sudden retreat. They were nearing the middle of the trail between the two switchbacks. That left them very exposed on the rock, and Vienna picked up the speed in order to make it to the next bend faster.