Page 36 of Final Approach

Kristine couldn’t see the drop-off to her right, but she’d driven the road enough to know it was there. It reminded her of a friend who’d died. “You know, we haven’t been to Bolin’s since Brenda’s death.” Brenda had been mostly Steph’s friend. James’s sister had been caught up in helping Detective Tate Cooper, the man who was now her husband, find Brenda’s killer. He’d been connected to Bolin’s—the ecotourism hot spot in Lake City. “The owner, Cherry Bolin, has been struggling to make ends meet after all the bad press.”

“I heard about all of that.”

“Once this is all over, we should go up there and have fun. Support the place.” She glanced in the side mirror to see Hank’s headlights staying with them.

“Zip-lining?” he asked.

“Or river rafting. Do some glamping. They have some nice cabins, firepits, the works.”

He laughed. “I heard about that glamping stuff too. You guys seriously don’t do tents?”

She wrinkled her nose at him. “You do?”

A hard slam into the back of his vehicle cut his laugh off and threw them against the seat belts, then back. Kristine cried out and tossed a look at Andrew. “What...?” Seeing him fighting the steering wheel, she twisted in the seat to see Hank disappear over the edge. “Hank went down the mountain!”

“He hit us, but someone hit him.”

“Yes, and he’s coming back for another!”

No sooner were the words out of her mouth than he slammed on the brakes. The second impact was harder than the first and sentthem skidding toward the edge of the road. Kristine clung to the door handle while the seat belt bit into her shoulder.

The vehicle roared past them and around the next curve. The squeal of tires on the slick road faded and Andrew’s car jerked to a stop.

“We have to help Hank!” Kristine scrambled for the door and pushed it open, looked down into a black void, and sucked in a breath. A hand grabbed her bicep and kept her in the seat. His headlights illuminated the drop-off and she was right over it. “Andrew?”

“Yeah, shut the door and hang on a sec.”

She did so and he backed up the SUV. Once she was certain it was safe, she shoved out of the vehicle, ignoring the chilly downpour. “We have to get to Hank.”

Andrew stood next to her, rain drenching him. “I know.” He looked at his phone. “I don’t have a signal, Kristine.”

She checked her phone. “Me either. You don’t happen to have that new satellite emergency thingy on your phone, do you?”

“Nope. My phone is too old.”

“Yeah, same here. Great. I’m getting a new phone as soon as we get out of this.”

“Whoever ran us off the road knew this was a dead zone.” Kristine led the way to where Hank’s car had disappeared and spotted it about twenty feet down, trapped between an outcropping on the side of the mountain and a tree. “Hank!”

No answer. She scanned the area. “We’re going to have to go to him.”

“Yep. Someone must have followed him in spite of what he believed.” He shook his head. “All right. I’m going down. You want to wait here?”

The drop-off was sloped enough she thought she could make it. “No, you might need help.”

An engine purred in the distance and Andrew froze.

She snagged his gaze. “You think he’s coming back? Or someone who could be help?”

“I don’t know and I don’t think we should find out. Hang on a sec.” He ran to his vehicle, opened the rear door, and pulled out a backpack, then hurried back to her. “All right, let’s go.”

“Medical supplies?”

“Yeah. And more.”

The engine grew louder as she stepped off the shoulder and started making her way down. Andrew stayed behind her. It was a slippery journey, and the rain came down harder, almost blinding her. She swiped her eyes and kept going. When she finally reached the car, she looked inside. Hank was out cold, facedown against the airbag. She reached through the shattered driver’s window and felt for a pulse. It thudded strong beneath her fingers and she let out a breath of relief.

“He’s alive.”