Lincoln’s brain is working overtime, I can tell, and mine is doing the same. I raise an eyebrow at him, flicking my eyes to one side, and he gives a tiny nod. We both look to Cash, and he nods as well, understanding immediately what we plan to do.
Cash takes a step forward, and Geoffrey’s eyes snap to him immediately. “I said don’t fucking move,” he shouts. “You must think I won’t hurt her. Believe me, I will. I’ll make all of you wish you never came here.”
“It doesn’t have to come to that,” Cash says. He’s good at gentling his tone, not being aggressive as he speaks.
“The fuck it doesn’t. Do you know who the fuck I am?”
“No,” Lincoln says simply, taking a careful step forward himself. “And that’s better for you, if you think about it.”
I stay still as they keep moving forward, and Geoffrey’s eyes dart between them. I let them overtake me, moving to stand in front of me, half blocking me from view.
“We don’t know you or anything about you,” Cash continues. “We just want Harper back. You can go about your business, if you give her back to us.”
While Geoffrey is focused on the two of them, I slip away, creeping out a side door on silent feet. There are no screams, no one chasing me, so I keep moving, hugging the tree line as I circle around the cabin.
I hear it when Geoffrey gets Harper outside, listening to his voice as he argues with Lincoln and Cash. I can’t hear Harper’s panicked breathing, but I can hear her stumbling footsteps and the sounds of struggle as she tries to keep him from taking her.
I catch sight of them again just past one of the maintenance sheds. Geoffrey is still dragging her, heading for where he must have stashed his car. From the aerial map of the area that wewere able to find, I know there’s a sharp drop off that used to be part of the logging site.
I crouch down low behind some barrels, watching as Harper’s eyes flick toward me. They go wide when she sees me there, and I put a finger to my lips carefully. I give her a subtle gesture, willing her to understand what I’m warning her to do.
Harper nods a tiny bit, and her eyes fall closed.
As soon as they do, I move, letting instinct take over again.
I grab a handful of dirt and gravel and throw it straight at Geoffrey’s face as I charge at him. He cries out in shock, getting all of it to the face. It blinds him, catching him off guard as he closes his eyes and lets go of Harper enough to try to wipe at his face.
I keep rushing in, and from the sounds of it, Cash and Lincoln are right there too.
Geoffrey lashes out wildly. He screams, cursing up a storm as he swings around and grabs for Harper. He tries to shove her in front of him again, but she tries to kick away, moving closer to the three of us.
“Fuck!” Geoffrey shouts, and it echoes all around us. “Fuck this!”
He shoves his free hand into his pants and comes up with a gun.
Everything freezes for a second when I see that. Geoffrey can barely see, and we’re all too close. Harper’s the closest, and my heart slams into my chest with the knowledge that she could easily get shot here.
But then Lincoln shouts and crashes right into Geoffrey, just as the gun goes off.
The sound is deafening in this space, and Lincoln goes down hard.
Something snaps in me then, rage rising and taking over. I charge Geoffrey, not caring about anything but taking himdown. I grab him hard, jerking him out of reach of Harper and Cash, taking him down to the hard packed ground near the edge of the pit.
I raise a fist, driving it into his face hard, and the pain of it must snap him out of the unhinged daze he was in a bit. He fights back, grappling against me, wild and brutal.
He’s strong, an Alpha in his own right, but my rage makes me stronger. I keep seeing Harper’s terrified face, that knife at her throat. I see Lincoln going down in the dirt. I think about this man breaking into our house—our fucking home, where Harper and Cora were supposed to be safe—and there’s nothing to hold back the tidal wave of fury about it all.
I slam his head into the ground, breathing hard as I loom over him. He lashes out, trying to claw for my face, but I smack his hand away, forcing it down. He kicks me hard, and I grunt in pain, pulling back enough for Geoffrey to be able to get to his feet.
He’s panting hard, clothes dirty and torn, and there’s nothing in his eyes but adrenaline.
I get up as well, watching him, everything in me screaming to rip him apart. Geoffrey aims the gun at me, right for my chest, his finger hovering over the trigger.
I don’t think. I don’t breathe. I just move.
I feint to one side and then rush him, shoving him backward as hard as I can. We’re right on the edge of the pit now, and it’s a long way to the bottom.
The moment stretches as he realizes there’s nowhere else to go, his eyes going wide, and then he’s toppling backward with a shout, slamming to the ground below with a hard thump.