And he led the way, with his flashlight positioned just over his gun. When it came to hunting deadly prey, Thomas was the one with more experience.
But I’ve been with her in the wilderness before. Noelle didn’t remember that terrible night, but he did. There hadn’t been any snow on the ground then. Just a hot, long southern night. A night of fear and death.
It was easy enough for a good hunter to cover his tracks, even out in the snow. Grab a branch, drag it behind you, and your trail was gone.
Whoever they were after... That person wanted them to follow.
Their prey was leading them somewhere. To Jenny? To death?
Thomas was about to show the fool he’d made a serious mistake.
Thomas was never the hunted. He’d been born to be the predator.
* * *
NOELLE EVERS WASN’T DEAD. She wasn’t trapped beneath the frozen waters of the lake. She’d survived.
And she’s hunting me.
He wanted to laugh, but sound carried too easily in the wilderness. He’d snapped that twig for her before because he’d just had to be sure, had to determine with one hundred percent certainty he was looking at Noelle.
The snow had fallen around her. Her red hair had been hidden under her cap. But when she’d called out—
I know her voice.
Noelle had changed so much over the years. Not easy prey any longer. Not like Jenny.
Noelle was following his trail. Hunting him.
She had a weapon. She had training. She was...
Perfect.
But Noelle wasn’t alone. The other agent was with her. Moving like a shadow in the darkness. The man was a killer; he easily recognized the type. Instead of alarming him, the knowledge had his grin stretching even more.
And Lawrence had just wanted me to end them so quickly. Lawrence had never understood. It wasn’t just about the kills. It was about the hunt.
He was about to enjoy the best hunt of his life.
Come to me, Noelle. Come in close, and let’s see if I can make you scream the way I did before.
* * *
THE TRACKS ENDED—vanished into the rough edge of stone that lined the rising wall of a mountain.
“Where did he go?” Noelle spun around, shining her light. Her voice was high, nervous.
Thomas glanced up at the mountain. He suspected the man they were after had climbed up, which meant...
You know this area, well, don’t you? How long have you been hiding in the Alaskan wilderness?
His light hit the edge of the mountain.
“Up there.” Noelle’s voice was fainter now as the wind began to howl more around them. The approaching storm was moving in fast. “We have to follow him!”
She tried to put her hands in the faint ridges between the icy rocks. Thomas pulled her back before she could climb. “We need to head back to town, Noelle.”
Shaking her head, Noelle jerked away from him. “Jenny could be up there! We have to find her!”
“You can’t scale the rocks.” She thought she was going to free hand her way up that frozen surface? Hell, no. She’d fall and break her neck. “We’ll go back to town and get help.” Maybe a chopper could fly them up the mountain. They’d do a search. Look for any cabins that would be a good base site for the man they were after.
“We don’t have time for that. Jenny needs us!”
There was no sign of the man on the face of the mountain. “He might not even be up there.” His gaze turned to the wilderness. “He could be watching us, from out there.”
Noelle shuddered. From cold? From fear?
“We’re not equipped for this search. We need supplies. Dogs.”
“And Jenny needs us!” Noelle shook her head. “I’m not just going to leave her.”
“Are you going to die with her?” His words were brutal, but Thomas had to make her see reason.
Noelle gasped and lurched back a step.
“Because if we stay out in the open, if we keep blindly following this man’s path tonight and that storm hits, you could die. You’re already shaking apart in front of me, and hypothermia will set in before you know it.”
“She needs us,” Noelle said again as her chin notched up.
“And she could be anywhere. We’re going back for the dogs.” He yanked out his phone, but of course, there was no cell service out here. Nothing.
Noelle’s light hit to the left. To the right.
“I can’t just leave her,” Noelle told him.
She was going to have to leave her.
“You stay, you die with her.” There was no way Thomas was going to let that happen on his watch. Even if he had to carry her out of there, Noelle was leaving the woods.
* * *
“I DON’T NEED you anymore.” He let the knife trail over Jenny’s skin. She was crying. Shaking. So useless to him. “You weren’t what I was hoping for.”
It had been because of Noelle. He’d gone a little...mad there for a moment. Forgotten all of his training. That wonderful training and control Lawrence had worked hard to give him over the years.
Lawrence had wanted to use him. He had. For so long.
But Lawrence had made a mistake.
They’re my kills. My choice.
The knife cut through the gag that covered her mouth.
“P-please...” Jenny begged him. “Let...me go.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“I won’t tell anyone about you! Please!”
Ah, there she went. Making promises. But Jenny knew what he looked like. If she got to Noelle and the other agent, they’d want her to describe her abductor. They’d even sit her down with a sketch artist. Get her to come up with a composite of him.
Then his picture would be everywhere. The EOD would make sure of that.
I know all about the EOD, but they don’t know about me. They have no clue just who—what—I am.
Their mistake. They thought the Jack of Hearts was the greatest threat they had to face. They were wrong. It was time to show them the error of their ways. Time for him to get all of the respect he had coming.
They’d thought Jack was a serial killer?
Jack was nothing.
He stroked the back of his hand over her cheek. “I have plans for you.”
Jenny whimpered.
* * *
“I’M NOT LEAVING HER.” Noelle shook her head, sending snowflakes falling around her. “You go back to town. You find the sheriff and get the dogs out here—”
Thomas shoved his gun into his holster and let his flashlight’s attached cord loop around his wrist as he grabbed both of her shoulders. “You think I’ll just leave you out here to die alone? We’re partners!”