Hunted (18 page)

“Bring it, you fucking assholes.”

Emma sprinted to the woods, knowing they would find her. But at least she’d have the element of surprise on her side.

***

Will had driven back to Minnesota for the pure reason of not knowing where else to go, speeding on the flat stretches of North Dakota. He hoped he could find Emma’s trail and follow her to wherever she ended up. He realized on the long drive back that she didn’t even have his cell phone number. He had never considered that she might need it.

What a fucking idiot.

As he drove up to the edge of the town, evidence of the early morning’s activities lined the highway. Emma sure knew how to make an entrance. Or an exit.

He was exhausted but adrenaline and fear spurred him on. His arm tingled as he prepared to turn onto the two-way highway leading to James’s cabin.

Emma
.

He concentrated on her, locating her easier than last time. Was it because he had more practice or because she was closer? Excitement filled him at the thought of the latter. But if his arm tingled, it meant she was in danger.

How in the hell was he going to find her?

***

Emma ran deeper into the woods, surprised and disappointed she hadn’t yet ended up in someone’s back yard. The trees had grown more dense. She fought to push her way through the thick brush that slowed her down. She was leaving them a blazing trail to her location, but she saw no other option. If she had her bearings right, the highway should be straight ahead of her. Once she found it, she could make a run for it.

She stopped to vomit again, a violent episode that brought dry heaves. At least she knew they weren’t close enough to kill her yet.

There was a cheerful thought.

Goddamn you, Will! You’re supposed to be here!
She screamed in her head, pushing the thoughts toward him without even thinking. A sob of fear rose in the back of her throat and she forced her anger to rise and override it. She’d be damned if she cried because of them.

Emma?
Will’s voice in her head caught her off guard.

He’d heard her. Like in South Dakota with Alex. Will heard her.
Where the fuck are you? You’re supposed to be here and now I’m in the woods alone preparing to fight off a bunch of fucking gunmen.

She felt his fear and guilt.
I’m outside of town. Where are you?
If he tried to hide his own panic from her, he did a piss-poor job.

I’d send you my GPS coordinates if I’d remembered to bring one with me.
She knew she was being a bitch, but it was all she had to cling to. If she let down her wall of anger, she’d be overcome with terror. But she felt a crack in the barrier anyway.

Jake. Think of Jake
. She told herself. Jake needed her to be strong and get out of this.

Yes, think of Jake. Yell and scream at me, just keep talking. I can feel you getting closer.

Will was coming. She should have been reassured but the wall cracked more, fear spilling in a steady stream now.

The brush snapped behind her.
Oh, God.

No! Don’t be scared! You’re strong! You can do this Emma. If they’re catching up to you, find somewhere to hide, but don’t give up. I’m coming
.

Emma hid, pressing her back behind a thick tree trunk. Sucking deep breathes in through her mouth, she leaned her head back, bark digging into her scalp. She looked up through the swaying leaves, the filtered light dancing before her eyes. The crackling grew closer.

Emma. What’s going on?
The panic in his voice was far from reassuring.

Shut up! I’m trying to listen
. She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to determine the direction of the sound. Birds flew screaming into the air and crunching grew louder. To her left, to her right. She was surrounded except for the woods in front of her, and if she gauged right, and the highway somewhere off in the distance. But from here, with gunmen approaching, it seemed too far, out of reach. Her breath came in short pants and she willed herself to calm down.
I have a gun
. The metal handle in her palm gave her momentary comfort until she realized how hopelessly outnumbered she probably was. She didn’t have enough bullets.

She peered her head around the trunk just enough to get a glimpse of advancing figures.

Hold on, Emma! Stay hidden. I’m coming!

She shook her head. They would be upon her in seconds. Will wouldn’t reach her in time. Her hands trembled and the gun in her hand shook.
If I don’t get control I won’t be able to shoot even one of them.
Where the hell was her anger? These men took her son and were now intent on killing her to keep them apart. The pendant on her neck grew hot on her skin.

Emma?

She heard the confusion in his voice, but she was past the point of answering. She stepped from behind the tree, the gun still in her hand, yet she knew that she didn’t need it. It fell to the ground with a thud.

Emma!

Her chest burned and electricity rose until she thought she would pass out from the pain and pressure. When she saw the first man raise his gun, she held out her hands and released all the power she had. A glowing ball of energy shot forward, exploding in the trees twenty feet ahead. The force threw her onto the ground. She slammed hard on her side, her face pressed against pine needles. Blackness hovered at the edge of consciousness.

No! Emma! You can’t pass out! I’m almost there. Get up. Run!

She didn’t think she had the strength.

Emma, don’t you dare give up on Jake. He needs you. Get the fuck up, Emma!

She crawled to her knees, her lungs burning from the black smoke that filled them. The forest was on fire, the canopy over head glowing with flames.

Yes! Get up! You can do it!

She gagged, her head hanging between her arms.
I’m too tired.

She felt his fear and then his anger.
Don’t be such a goddamned baby, Emma! Get up! Do I always have to do everything for you? God, you’re a grown woman. When are you going to learn to take care of yourself?

She had a vague memory of him saying something similar after she thought Jake died. His words stoked her anger. Who the hell did he think he was? She stood and staggered toward the direction of the highway, away from the fire.
I never asked you to take care of me, you fucking asshole! Who the hell do you think you are deciding to just leave me with that prick?

Who knew you’d need an army to babysit you? What in the hell were you thinking, running off?

She walked another twenty feet before she stopped, grabbing a tree to hold herself up. The fire had become unbearably hot, burning her exposed flesh. It was gaining on her.
Did it ever cross your mind to tell me before you left?
She hung her head over, coughing out the smoke that invaded her lungs.

Why are you stopping? You expect me to come in there and save you again? Do I always have to save you from everything?

Dizziness caused her to stumble. She pulled the front of her dress up over her mouth and nose, hoping to block out some the fumes, but her vision grew fuzzy.

Sunlight burst through the trees ahead. She was so close.
Save me? SAVE ME? Here’s a newsflash for you, Will. I’m fucking saving myself!
She continued forward another fifteen feet, the edge still so far, before she tripped and collapsed onto the ground.

It couldn’t end this way.

Strong arms scooped her off the ground. For one horrifying moment, she was scared to see who had her. She looked up into Will’s blackened face and released a cry of relief.

“You did, Princess. You saved yourself.”

She slumped against his chest as she gave into the darkness.

Chapter Fourteen

Will picked Emma off the forest floor, barely recognizing her soot-covered face, her eyes wide until she looked up at him. She collapsed into his chest, her body growing limp. He carried her to his car parked on the highway shoulder and shoved the car door open. Placing her in the front seat, he stripped off the backpack that still hung over her shoulder, tossing it into the backseat. When she didn’t stir from the movement, he gripped her wrist, taking a deep breath before he checked for a pulse. Her vein thrummed faintly into his thumb, her breathing shallow. He grabbed a bottle of water and poured it onto a t-shirt from his bag, trying to wash the black soot off her face. His hands shook as he swiped, only smearing it and making it worse.

He cast a glance to the inferno racing to the forest edge, still in disbelief that she’d created it. Good God, what had she done? She was lucky she made it out alive.

What if I hadn’t reached her in time?

Sirens shrieked in the distance and he knew he needed to get away, yet unsure where to go. If these people, whichever group they were, could find her here, James’s house wasn’t safe. And neither was James.

He started the car, heading to the cabin as he called James. “I found her.”

“Amazing. Where?”

“You’ll never believe me. I’m almost to your house. If they found her here, you’re not safe. You need to come with us.”

“You’re only saying that because you need me.”

“That, too.”

James swore. “I’ve got a life, you know. Clients. I’m supposed to just walk away from that over a—”

“Only for a few days, maybe a week. Just until they’ve realized she moved on.”

James sighed. “Fine, I’ll start throwing things together.”

“Thanks, man. I owe you.”

“You have no idea.”

Highway patrol cars flew past Will from the opposite direction. He stopped on the shoulder and watched them zoom toward the town he’d left behind. Casting a quick glance to Emma, he pulled back onto the road. Her head slumped to the side, her breathing still shallow. She hadn’t come to and it scared the shit out of him. If it was smoke inhalation, she needed a hospital, but if it was from whatever happened in the forest…

He wasn’t sure what she’d done, but the energy that saturated his mind through their mental connection had almost fried his brain. If he hadn’t pulled back in time, they’d probably both be dead.

When she healed him, she had glowed, a bright yellow light emitting from her body like an aura. Energy had burst from her hand into his body. It had to take a massive amount of power to create the firestorm in the woods. And it came from inside her. No wonder she’d been too tired to walk. She probably had nothing left.

She needed food and he wondered when she’d eaten last. He’d know if he hadn’t left her. Brushing a blackened strand of hair off her forehead, his fingers trailed down her cheek.

She stirred as his hand left her face.

After Emma healed him, she told him her headache went away with his touch. Had she said that to make him feel better or had it really happened?

He turned down James’s gravel road and slammed to halt in front of the house. Unbuckling their seat belts, he pulled her over onto his lap. Her head leaned against his chest, her legs draped over the center console. He tilted back her head and cupped her cheek.

“Emma, you’re safe. I need you to wake up.”

She moaned as her eyelids twitched.

It was working.

“Come on, darlin’. I need you to wake up. I need you.” He pressed his lips into her forehead, tasting smoke and perspiration. His eyes sank closed and he pulled her closer, his hand trailing down to her neck and resting on her chest. He needed her more than he’d ever needed anything in his life.

“There you go again, always trying to feel me up,” she murmured, her voice raspy.

He lifted his head to look into her eyes. “Thank God,” he exhaled.

“About time you showed up,” she said before she coughed, leaning forward to catch her breath.

“Well, you know, better late than never.”

He held her against his chest, his arms wrapped tight around her, needing to feel her warmth an affirmation that she was alive.

Her body wracked with coughing. He pushed the door open and carried her out of the car to get fresh air into her lungs.

“Will, put me down. I can walk.”

He considered protesting but dropped her legs. Her body slid down the front of his until her feet touched the ground, yet he couldn’t bring himself to let go of her.

“This scene might be a bit more touching if you two didn’t look like you’d been rolling around in charcoal.” James said from the porch. “What the fuck happened?”

“There was a fire.”

“No shit. The police scanner is lit up with it. I suppose you had something to do with it.”

“Trust me,” Will said, leading Emma to the porch. “You don’t want to know.”

James raised his eyebrows.

“Why are we here?” Emma stopped at the bottom of the steps before breaking out into another round of coughing. “I’m not staying here with him.”