Page 39 of Fierce Hope (Hope Landing: New Recruits #3)

“You’re going to do what I say, and this will all be okay.

Great, even.” Sarah’s voice came through unsteady but determined.

She remained near the couch, pistol angled toward Jade and DJ, her knuckles bloodless against the dark handle.

“I’ll make this super easy. No cops. No heroics. And we all get rich.”

Jade kept herself very still, forcing her heartbeat to slow. Everything in her screamed that she had made a deadly mistake letting Sarah inside. Now DJ’s life depended on her wits. She sank her rising panic and summoned the old composure that got her through all those childhood cons.

She nodded, forcefully and made solid eye contact with Sarah. “I’m listening.”

Sarah’s eyes flicked to the phone still in DJ’s hand. “Drop it,” she insisted. “Right now.”

Jade turned toward him. DJ hesitated. His face carried that teenage mix of fear and defiance.

She caught his eye, giving the barest hint of a nod.

He let go of the device. The phone landed on the carpet, face up, screen still lit for a moment before it dimmed.

When it went black, Sarah exhaled shakily, her grip tightening on the weapon.

Jade turned back toward Sarah. “See? It’s okay. No one’s calling the police.”

Sarah’s short laugh rang brittle. “‘Course not. You’re not stupid. Neither am I.” She jerked the barrel of her pistol toward Jade. “Stand together. Where I can see you both.”

They moved side by side. Jade’s stomach twisted as she felt DJ’s shoulder brush hers—his posture remained taut. She remembered the easy grin he’d worn only an hour ago while they swapped jokes over leftover pizza.

Sarah steadied the gun with both hands. “I know this looks bad, but I’m done letting other people ruin my life. Kent … he was going to break his promises. So I took care of him. Now I just have to clean things up.”

A swirl of shock and revulsion coiled in Jade’s chest. She kept her expression neutral, though. “You killed him.” It wasn’t a question, more an anchor to confirm that Sarah had truly committed murder.

Sarah rolled her eyes. “Not me personally. That’s gross.

” Her eyes gleamed with bitterness. “He swore he’d leave his wife for me—said we’d keep funneling the money.

Then he tried to cut me out.” She let out a humorless snort.

“Guess he figured a church volunteer was too naive to notice. He got that wrong.”

Jade maintained a steady gaze. “If you were involved in the laundering from the start, you must have a plan to run.” She didn’t let her voice quaver, hoping to coax more details out.

“Duh,” Sarah replied coldly, flicking her attention to DJ as if remembering his presence.

“It’s pretty great. It starts with making someone else look guilty.

You, Jade.” She gestured with the muzzle.

“Couldn’t have asked for an easier target—the quiet accountant with rumors swirling about her and Kent.

People already suspect you. Now I just need to make you disappear. ”

DJ stiffened. Jade pressed the side of her hand against his arm, a wordless signal to stay calm. She felt him shift infinitesimally, as though bracing himself.

Sarah must have sensed his tension. “I’m not gonna kill you guys. I’m not about that. I mean, except for Kent. Kind of unavoidable, right?”

Jade forced herself to agree. “I can see that.”

“Right?” Sarah repeated the word as if it was a mantra. “So all you have to do is go along with my plan, and we’re good.”

Jade didn’t have to be a seasoned con artist to know the woman was lying. But the more she kept the woman talking, the more time they gave any potential rescuers. Deke and his team were out of town, but someone might have seen Sarah acting strangely. Seen her clomp up the stairs to Jade’s place.

She prayed silently while trying to draw out the conversation. “Sounds like you’ve given this a lot of thought.”

“Yup.” Sarah shifted from foot to foot. “So here’s the thing.

You can have a million cash if you disappear right now.

I’ve got a plan to get you out of Hope Landing.

As soon as we hit the bus station in Sacramento, you walk away with a million bucks.

You’ll have to stay on the down low, for sure.

Kent’s clients are gonna be on the lookout for their money, but it’s a million cash.

You can put up with a little inconvenience for a while, right? ”

No way even Sarah would be that stupid.

Even if her offer was legit, which of course, it wasn’t, as soon as Jade got caught, Sarah’s story would unravel. The woman was going to kill her.

And now DJ.

“So it’s great, huh?” Sarah continued. “No one will think little ol’ me was involved. I’ll hang around Hope Landing for a couple weeks. Teach pre-school and all that. Let the police chase you across the country. Then when the dust settles …” She gave a small shrug. “I slip away.”

The audacity was stunning, but Jade forced herself to concentrate on the moment, to use that old con-artist steadiness. “Where does DJ fit in?”

Sarah gave a dismissive wave of the gun.

“Yeah. Not ideal. I wasn’t counting on him being here, but when I heard you guys talking at church, I figured it had to go this way.

I can’t wait until his dad gets back from wherever.

DJ’s in the wrong place, that’s all. You’re the main piece of this puzzle. But …”

A calculating gleam danced in her eyes. “I have a plan for that, too. I’ll kick in another mil for the kid. He’s not exactly thrilled with life here. Maybe it’s a blessing, escaping now. And let’s be honest, he’s had issues with his dad, right?”

She addressed DJ directly. “I bet you’d rather book with a million bucks than hang out in this hole. Once I drop you off, you and Miss Goodie Goodie can stick together. Or not.”

DJ swallowed, tension roping his shoulders. But when he spoke, his voice sounded almost bored. “Sweet. I can run with that. Dad’s never around anyway. Can’t stand this stupid town. I’m down with getting rich.”

Jade admired how quickly he adapted, playing up the natural bravado of a resentful teen. She prayed Sarah would buy the performance long enough for them to escape.

Sarah’s expression brightened with malicious satisfaction. “Cool. Glad we’re on the same page. So Jade, what’s your vote? A million each or I shoot you both now.”

Jade forced a carefully measured sigh, letting her body slump in feigned resignation. Sarah absolutely planned to kill them, but not here. Too risky by far. Plus, she needed Jade at least, not to be found.

“Fine,” she said. “We’re in. Just … keep the gun away from DJ, all right?”

Sarah’s gaze flickered toward DJ. “Not a hair on his head, if you both behave.”

Jade nodded slowly, a swirl of loathing and dread swirling beneath her calm exterior. “Got it.”

Sarah pointed toward the hallway. “Pack a small bag each. No phones. No IDs. Nothing traceable. Do it fast.”

They moved under her watchful eye. Jade walked down the short hall into her bedroom. She threw clothes into a backpack with methodical efficiency, the old muscle memory from nights she’d fled a con gone sour. The parallels sat uneasily in her mind.

She refused to think about the guilt she would face if she couldn’t protect DJ.

She emerged with her pack slung over one shoulder. In the living room, DJ held his backpack by one strap. While packing, she’d tried to think of a way to leave clues, or a way to sneak her phone into her pack, but in the end, she couldn’t risk putting DJ in more danger.

Something would present itself.

The Lord would provide.

Sarah kept the gun angled just enough to assert control. “All right,” she snapped. “We’re leaving now.”

Jade forced herself to nod compliantly, shoulders tense but face impassive. DJ’s expression mirrored her stoic front. The phone sat abandoned on the couch, the condo lights glowing in what felt like a mocking normalcy.

They filed outside, Sarah close behind them, gun hand in her coat pocket.

The cold bit at Jade’s cheeks. Icy pavement crunched underfoot.

Streetlamps cast elongated shadows across the empty parking lot.

She glanced around, hoping in vain to spot a neighbor or bystander.

No such luck—Hope Landing slumbered under its usual night hush.

They stopped at Jade’s compact sedan.

“Unlock it.” Sarah ordered.

Jade obeyed, her hand trembling around the key fob. The beep of the door unlocking cut through the silence.

“You drive,” Sarah ordered. “Kid in the back, me in front. No sudden moves.”

Jade slid in behind the wheel, DJ climbing into the rear seat. Sarah took the passenger side, holding the gun low against her lap. Jade started the engine, heart pounding, as Sarah commanded, “Not the main highway. Head for Tinker Pass. We’re going around every traffic camera in this county.”

Jade gripped the steering wheel, mind straining to fashion a plan.

The tires rolled slowly out of the lot, snow swirling in the headlight beams. She glanced into the rearview mirror, meeting DJ’s eyes.

There was fear there, but also an ember of resolve.

They both knew that Sarah intended no mercy once they were isolated.

Jade’s chest tightened, but outwardly, she maintained a resigned mask.

“You think Knight Tactical won’t come for DJ?” Jade asked, voice low, hoping to glean more information.

Sarah’s mouth twisted in a humorless smile.

“Oh, they’ll be on this, but they’ll be chasing you, not me.

Once you vanish from here, you’ll be the top suspect in Kent’s murder.

And then there’s the kidnapping.” She clucked disapprovingly.

“Taking Deke’s kid as a hostage. Not your smartest plan, but hey, people do dumb stuff all the time, right?

Plus, now that I think about it, this gives you way more incentive not to get caught. Deke’ll kill you if he finds you.”

Jade didn’t have to fake the shudder that wracked her frame.

Deke would be murderous, but she prayed Sarah wouldn’t realize who the real target would be until Jade and DJ were safe.

She navigated the sedan onto the road leading up the pine-forested slope.

As the sedan climbed higher into the mountains, the snow-laden pine trees closed in around them, and the last faint glow of town lights faded.

Streetlamps quickly became rarer, until they disappeared completely, the only illumination her headlights.

Sarah inched the gun up just enough that Jade couldn’t forget it for a second.

DJ shifted in the back seat. “If we’re going up the mountain,” he said, making his tone sound sullen, “we’ll freeze if you drop us off out there. So maybe, I don’t know ... let us off somewhere warmer?”

An icy prickle swept through Jade at how brazenly he tested Sarah, but maybe it served as part of his disaffected teen act.

Sarah glared at him. “Shut up,” she barked. “We’ll do this my way. I told you, I’m taking you to Sacramento. You can catch a bus anywhere you want from there.”

Jade sensed DJ’s silent apology in the mirror—he was bluffing, pushing for a reaction that might reveal something useful. A brilliant, brave kid.

Jade focused on driving, trying to recall every twist of the mountain roads. This route was almost deserted at night. The chance of a random passerby was slim. She felt her pulse beat in her throat, turning each corner with deliberate caution. They had to survive long enough for an opening.

The car’s heater blew warm air against Jade’s face, but her hands remained icy on the wheel. She thought fleetingly of Deke, of how frantic he’d be once their disappearance became known. Tomorrow.

Yes! A flicker of hope beckoned. She wouldn’t show up at work. And DJ’s school would call Deke first thing. They just had to survive the night. And figure out a way to leave breadcrumbs for Deke and his team.

Her only comfort came from the knowledge that she had lived through high-pressure standoffs before—though never one that jeopardized someone she cared for as much as DJ.

Snowfall thickened, drifting across the windshield in swirling arcs. The entire world outside the headlights vanished into a dark void, matching Jade’s sense of isolation. In the passenger seat, Sarah gripped the gun as though it were her lifeline, scanning the darkness for potential threats.

Jade drove on, forcing each inhale to stay calm, waiting for a chance to turn the tables.

The night stretched ahead, shadowy and treacherous, with Sarah’s murder plot looming like a blade at their throats.

But Jade refused to surrender to the terror, letting only that steely determination guide her actions from here on out.

She would protect DJ, no matter what.