Page 5

Nate

A xel and I moved through the trees like shadows, quiet and deliberate. The lake road was empty—just a narrow path that twisted through the woods, skirting the waterline. No lights. No cabins. Just pine needles, dirt, and the kind of silence that only meant one thing:

He was close.

“He’s down by the inlet,” Axel murmured, watching the thermal feed on his tablet. “Still moving. Slow. Cautious.”

He was stalking.

Not just observing— hunting.

And he was headed straight for Willa’s land.

I clenched my jaw and kept moving, eyes scanning the trees ahead. Every instinct I had screamed danger . The air felt tight and charged, like the forest itself was holding its breath.

“Movement,” Axel said, raising a hand. “Ten yards. By that old birch.”

I saw him.

Derek Holloway.

Dressed in black. Hood pulled low. Moving with purpose, like he’d done this before. In one hand, a crowbar. In the other—a bag. Heavy. Weighted.

God only knew what was inside.

“Drop it,” I called out.

He froze.

Then turned slowly, a mock-surprised smile curling across his face. “Well. That didn’t take long.”

“Put it down. Now.”

“I just came to talk,” he said, lifting the crowbar and letting it dangle at his side. “You people act like I’m a threat.”

“She doesn’t want to see you. You come near her again, and it’s over for you.”

“You don’t get to decide what she wants,” he snapped. “She was mine.”

The second those words left his mouth, he dropped the bag and reached —from under his coat, fast.

Gun.

“ Gun! ” Axel barked.

I drew at the same time Derek lifted the weapon.

It was instinct. Training. Survival.

Two shots.

The shots echoed through the trees—one from me, one from Axel.

Derek dropped to the ground before he could fire.

Silence.

I moved in fast, weapon still raised, heart pounding so hard it hurt.

He wasn’t moving.

Axel crouched beside him, checked for a pulse, then shook his head once. “Clear.”

I exhaled slowly. My fingers were tight on the grip of my weapon. My mind already flashing to Willa. Safe. Alive. Not just a target anymore.

This man—this threat—was done.

“Law enforcement’s ten minutes out,” Axel said. “We’ll give them the whole picture. Cam footage, threats, the works.”

I nodded, but I wasn’t listening.

All I could think about was her.

Her laugh. Her eyes. Her quiet bravery. Her voice saying I do when I asked her to trust me.

And the promise I’d made that she wouldn’t have to run anymore.

I was going home.

To tell her she never had to be afraid again.