Page 80 of Mountain Defender

Hope and fear crash into me at once. If it’s Gage…

But I can’t let on that I see. Can’t let Wade suspect anyone is here.

Please, let it be Gage and not just my imagination playing tricks on me.

“I got the idea after you were shot at,” Wade says, in an almost conversational tone. “I got it out of Emily that if you died, all your money would go to her. And that’s when I realized. It’s the perfect solution. Kill you, and all my problems are solved.”

“But she’d know. That you’re spending the money on?—”

“She wouldn’t know,” he interrupts. “Broken-hearted Emily, crushed by the shocking death of her sister. I’ll step in to take care of things, of course. And I’ll make sure she never knows. And before we know it, everything will be good again.”

“So.” Wade grins at me, his expression shifting from bland accountant to a merciless killer. “Now that you know, it’s time to get on with it.” He removes the gun from my stomach and points it at my head. “It’ll be so tragic. Some psycho runs you off the road and kills you. No motive. No evidence. The rental car will show it’s registered to a man who doesn’t exist.”

Another movement in the trees.

And then the glimpse of a face.

Not Gage. Enzo. As he raises his arm, light glints dully off metal.

His features are like stone.

Hope kindles in my chest.

If Enzo is here, Gage must be, too.

“Any last words?” Wade asks. “Not that I’ll tell your sister. But?—”

“Put the gun down. Now!” Enzo’s voice is sharp. Commanding. Dangerous.

Wade’s head whips around. His hand holding the gun dips. “What the—” He stops. His jaw sets. “No! I’m not putting it down. Back off! Before I shoot her!”

Enzo advances towards us, the hand holding the gun still outstretched. “The police are on the way, Wade. Let her go.”

“No!” Wade’s gaze darts between Enzo and me. “I won’t. You can’t do anything or I’ll shoot her, anyway.”

“I was in the Army,” Enzo says. “Special Forces. And I trained as a sharpshooter. If you try anything, Iwillshoot you. And I guarantee I won’t miss.”

For several seconds, it’s a standoff as Wade and Enzo glare at each other.

But Gage? Where is?—

Then a figure erupts from the trees in a blur of motion. Not from the front, where Enzo is, but behind us.

Gage!

He launches himself at Wade with a roar of pure fury.

I only catch glimpses of Gage’s face as he wrestles Wade to the ground, his arms and legs a flurry of movement. But I can see the rage in his eyes. The stony determination in his features. The absolute confidence he has in his skills.

If I wasn’t so shellshocked, I might even consider it sexy. My hero, my protector, rushing in to save me.

A beat later, I remember the gun.

“The gun!” I shout in a panic. “Gage! He has a gun!”

But before my words are completely out, Wade shrieks in pain.

Gage’s fist slams into his face. “You fucker! How dare you!” His fist crashes down again. “You fucking hurt her. Scared her! I should kill you!”