One look at Vince and he turned to Emma. “Get Raymond. Tell him to grab the medicine bag.”

  Emma rushed off, doing as John asked, and within a minute, she stood beside Holly, watching as Raymond and John tended to the older man’s wounds.

  Holly’s whole body shook with sobs. “I can’t lose him, Emma. Not after my dad and my mom. He’s—”

  Emma shushed her. “I know.” She leaned close and wrapped Holly tighter in her arms. “We just have to have faith that Vince will pull through.”

  John flicked his eyes up to meet hers. Even in the dim glow of the flashlight, she could see the doubt. Raymond spoke to John, too quiet for Emma to hear, and together they lifted him into the air. They carried him toward the cabin, Holly running ahead to open the door.

  “Oh, no!” Gloria rushed in as they struggled through the open door, helping to spread out a sleeping bag and position Vince on the floor. The bandages wrapped around his wound were already tinged red with blood.

  The reality of the situation hit Emma deep in her heart. Holly was so young to lose so much. Everyone who ever treated her like family, gone, and because of what? It didn’t seem real. She ushered the teenager over to the makeshift kitchen and warmed up a pot of hot water on the stove for tea.

  Before it boiled, Gloria came to stand beside her. “Ray says they’ve done all they can. It’s a waiting game now.”

  Emma frowned at the water, staring through the little bubbles coalescing on the bottom of the pan.

  “I can stay with Holly,” Gloria offered. “John asked if you could help them outside.”

  Emma lifted her head. John and Raymond stood across the cabin, talking in hushed voices by the door. “Are you sure?”

  Gloria nodded. “We’ll be okay.”

  Emma exhaled a troubled breath and headed toward the men.

  John motioned toward the door. “We need to sweep the perimeter, ensure there’s no one else out there.”

  “I think we’d know by now, don’t you?”

  “Not necessarily.” He stared at the bruise swelling her eye. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded. “Thanks to Raymond.”

  “Sorry it took me so long. The one guy gave me a bit of trouble.”

  John glanced up at Ray. “You weren’t in the lookout.”

  He jerked his head toward the trees. “Guy ambushed me. Must have snuck around while I was watching out front. Dragged me halfway to Timbuktu before I could get the upper hand.”

  “So, two attackers? Both dead?”

  Emma nodded. “How about you?”

  “Two assailants targeted me as well. Pretty sure they were Dane’s crew. One had an earpiece and notified someone that he had a visual. At first, I thought it was Dane, but I’m thinking now it was internal to the job. They must have been ordered not to shoot unless the targets were confirmed.”

  “How do you know?”

  John held out a tiny piece of plastic. The earpiece. “No traffic since we killed them all.”

  Raymond glanced back at his wife who now stood with her arm wrapped around Holly’s shoulders. “Are you sure that’s all of them?”

  John ran a hand through his hair. “No. That’s why we need to head back out there.”

  Emma closed her eyes and mentally prepared. If someone else waited in the forest, they needed to know and eliminate the threat. She opened her eyes with the last of her determination. “All right. Let’s get it over with.” Without another word, she followed both men back out into the dark.

  Chapter Nineteen

  JOHN

  Raymond counted to three and together, he and John tossed the last body into the back of the Explorer. “You drive. I’ll keep an eye out. I know we’ve cleared Vince’s property, but we can’t be too careful. Dane has our exact location.”

  Raymond didn’t say a word, opting instead to climb up into the driver seat and shut the door.

  John didn’t blame him. If the roles were reversed, he would treat himself the same way. With a deep breath, he turned back to the cabin. The first rays of morning sun tipped the metal roof in gold and cast a warm glow over the clearing. Emma stood on the porch, arms crossed, watching. They hadn’t said more than a handful of words since the ordeal.

  Ever since they dragged Vince inside, Holly had glued herself to his side, intermittently sobbing and mumbling words not even Vince could hear. John wished there was something any of them could do, but it was hopeless. The man wouldn’t make it to sunset. Not with a gunshot wound to his chest and significant internal damage. Regret worked up the back of John’s throat and soured his spit.

  It wasn’t the death Vince deserved. He sacrificed his farm, his wife, and now his life for a kid who wasn’t even his. He was a better man than John. A million times better.

  With a heavy heart, John climbed up into the passenger side of the Explorer and shut the door. Raymond shifted into gear without even a glance in his direction. It was what he expected, but in the moment, he wished for an attempt at small talk, or a comment on the weather, even a verbal take-down. Anything to distract him from the knowledge that Dane had killed another innocent man and John failed to stop it.

  Shoving the guilt down, he stared out at the lightening forest, scanning for any sign of movement. No men in all-black, no glint of a rifle barrel, nothing. It didn’t mean they were safe. Now that Dane knew their location, any gap in fighting would be a temporary reprieve.

  Dane would never stop. Never give up.

  If I’d stayed healthy…If I hadn’t fallen so ill… Maybe I’d have seen it coming and been prepared. Vincent would still be alive. He gritted his teeth. Putting these people at risk and over—putting Emma at risk—he had to stop. Dane’s henchmen would pick them off one by one until there was no one left.

  Raymond pulled to a stop outside the dead man’s property where Emma and Gloria found the animals. As Raymond shoved the drivers’ side door open, John came to a decision. They couldn’t keep running. If they were going to survive Dane’s onslaught, he would have to take the fight to the source. He would have to find Dane and kill him.

  They hauled the bodies into the woods, unceremoniously dumping them in a washed-out gulley behind a grove of hardwoods. The bodies would feed the foxes and raccoons and rot into bones far away from Vince’s property.

  By the time they returned to the cabin, John’s resolve had coalesced into a plan. He would take the Sig, steal a bit of the precious ammo recovered from this latest fight and a few days’ worth of food and water. It wouldn’t be enough, but it would be a start.

  He entered the cabin a few paces behind Raymond. Emma glanced up from preparing a meal in the kitchen. Gloria stared at her husband. Holly ignored them both, still draped over Vince’s inert form. She checked his pulse, delicate fingers wrapped around the older man’s wrist, before mopping the sweat off his forehead. It wouldn’t be long.

  John turned and headed back outside before anyone engaged him in conversation. He would need to push hard to reach Dane. It would take multiple days, numerous tanks of fuel, and all of his strength. But it was the only way. He headed toward the trees to find a secluded spot to rest and prepare. With a clear mission and a defined goal, John fell asleep within minutes, waking only when the sun eased below the trees and the temperature dropped.

  He picked his way back to the cabin and entered as dinner wrapped.

  “I can open another can of soup if you’re hungry,” Emma offered.

  John waved her off. “I’m fine.” He checked his watch. “I can take the first shift in the lookout unless anyone else wants it.”

  Emma glanced at Gloria and Raymond, but neither spoke up. “Are you sure?”

  He nodded and spent a few minutes collecting his things and taking the opportunity to load the Sig Sauer. No one complained when he filled the magazine, their focus already turning away from him and back to Vincent and what, if anything, could be done. John half-listened as Raymond explained the injury and Holly voiced a few tortured questions.

  He slipped outside without any trouble and hunkered down in the lookout to wait. Three hours into his shift, with the moon hanging low in the sky, John eased back to the cabin. He inched the door open and listened to the sounds of snoring and even breathing.

  Tank briefly stirred, ears pricked at the sound of John’s shoes across the floor, but the dog didn’t wake completely. John eased a partial case of water off the stack and set it outside the door before returning for a small amount of food. He took the least favorite items—unappetizing energy bars and cans of mediocre soup. While the food would be missed, John rationalized it. He was doing this for them as much as for himself. If he starved, Dane would win. It had been weeks since the blackout. The chances of finding food on the road were slim.

  Lingering for a moment at the door, John watched the rise and fall of Emma’s bag as she slept. She meant more to him than he thought possible but dwelling on his feelings helped no one. He had to focus on the now. On Dane and this mission, not what might happen after.

  She would disapprove of his decision, but she would be safe and that was what mattered.

  John eased outside. It only took a few minutes to quietly load the Jeep. As he shut the back gate, a voice stopped him still.

  “Just where in the hell do you think you’re going?”

  John turned. Raymond stood half a dozen paces away, shotgun leveled at John’s head.

  He held up his hands. “I’m not running away, even if that’s what it looks like.”

  Raymond motioned with the gun barrel. “Keep talking.”

  “Dane will never quit. We’ve both known that for a while. But until now, I haven’t been able to face what that meant.” John ran his hand across his mouth. “I can’t keep waiting for him to show his face. If I want to protect Emma and the rest of you, I have to bring the fight to him.”

  “What are you saying?”

  John swallowed and ran his tongue over his parched lips. “I’m going to take him out or die trying.”

  Raymond lowered the shotgun. “That’ll be the first stand-up thing you’ve done since not killing my wife.”

  “So, all those times I saved your life?”

  “Were self-serving at best.” Raymond jerked his head at the cabin. “That why you loaded up on ammo?”

  “I only filled the one magazine. I know it leaves you short, but—”

  “You can’t kill Dane without a few bullets.”

  “Not easily.”

  Raymond stared for a moment. “Do you really think you can pull it off?”

  “I have to try.”

  “I’d like you to do better than that.”

  John snorted. “So would I.”

  They talked a bit longer, Raymond begrudgingly thanking John for finally doing the right thing, and John apologizing for not acting sooner. As he started the engine of the Jeep, the door to the cabin flew open and a flashlight beam landed smack on the driver’s side window.

  A few seconds later, Emma’s face, contorted with a scowl loomed in front of the glass.

  John buzzed the window down.

  “What is going on?”

  Chapter Twenty

  EMMA

  “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “The hell it isn’t.” Emma dug her fingernails into her hips as she stared at John and the packed Jeep. “You’re leaving.”

  “I have to.”

  “You’re abandoning us.” She almost choked. “You’re abandoning me.”

  “He’s finally grown a pair and is doing the right thing, if you ask me.”

  Emma turned on Raymond. “No one asked you anything.”

  He opened his mouth, about to retort, when Gloria tugged on his arm. Emma hadn’t even noticed her friend follow her into the clearing. “Come on, hon. This isn’t our fight.”

  Raymond fumed. “It is as long as you’re in danger.”

  Gloria leaned closer. “I love you, but sometimes you’re as oblivious as a teenage boy. We’re leaving. Now.”

  Emma waited as Gloria half-dragged her still-protesting husband toward the cabin. Only when the door shut behind them did Emma turn her full attention back to John. Hurt seeped around the edges of her anger and she crossed her arms against the pain.

  How could he do this to her? Run away in the middle of the night like a coward? “You weren’t even going to tell me?”

  He swallowed, hard. “It’s complicated.”

  “So? Last time I checked, life has always been complicated. That doesn’t give you the right to leave without telling me.” He stepped closer until his features separated from the darkness. “I knew you’d be angry.”

  “So instead of dealing with it, you opted to sneak out? How is that better?”

  The muscles of his jaw twitched. “Dane will keep coming, Emma. He’s never going to stop. I see that now. If I’d been healthy, maybe I’d have been prepared, but I wasn’t. Now Vince is on death’s door and it’s a miracle you’re not more injured.”

  “That’s not fair.”

  “I can’t keep putting everyone at risk.”

  She shook her head. After all they’d been through. “How is leaving going to solve anything?”

  “Because I’m going to end this. I’m going to find Dane and kill him.”

  Emma stared, her brain failing to compute. “What are you talking about?”

  “It’s the only way. I have to take him out. That’s the only way you’ll be safe.”

  Emma’s mouth fell open and she stared. Whatever she’d thought he was doing, it wasn’t this. “Do you even know where he is?”

  “I have a good idea.”

  She took a moment, brain still trying to comprehend. “Even if you find him, how do you think you’re going to be able to kill him? He’s probably got a slew of guys just waiting to take you out.”

  “It’s a possibility, but it’s a risk I’ve got to take.”

  “Absolutely not.” Emma shook her head. “You’ll get within sniffing distance and Dane will kill you. There’s no way you can go up against him alone.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”

  She ignored the barb. “You almost died, John. When I found you out there in the field, half-dead and unconscious, I—” She faltered. “I can’t go through that again. I can’t stay behind and not know what’s happened. If you die or are injured and can’t make it back—” She shook her head again so hard the hair slipped from her ponytail. “No. No way. You’re not doing this alone.”

  John snorted in irritation. “Of course I am. Raymond has to stay here, keep you all safe.”

  “I’m not talking about Raymond. I’m talking about me.”

  “Not a chance.”

  “Double standard, much?”

  John crossed his hands in front of him. “I said no, and I meant it. You can’t come. I’m not putting you at risk.”

  “You’re not doing this alone.” Emma softened her tone as she eased closer. “I’d never forgive myself if you die out there somewhere, trying to protect me, and I never knew.”

  “You’re going to have to accept it. You aren’t coming.”

  “I know I’m a liability, but I can keep training, keep improving. I’m not a bad shot.” She reached out and took hold of his arm. “I’ve got to be better than no one.”

  John tilted his chin, staring at her fingers as they pressed into his scarred skin. At last, he spoke. “I can’t put you in that kind of danger, Emma.”

  There it was again, the same line he’d used earlier. What was he trying to say? Emma’s brow knit as she stared. “Why not? Why can’t I come? You know I’m right. That I’d be more useful than not.” She squeezed his arm. “I’ve saved your life at least once already.”

  He cut his eyes away as his hand found the back of his neck. “Twice, actually.”

  “Then let me come. Let me help. We can take Dane down together.” She inched closer until she smelled the sweat on his skin and heard the sharp intake of his breath.

  He refused to meet her eyes, staring off into the middle distance, suddenly fascinated by a patch of dirt on the ground beyond her shoulder.

  Emma waited, heart thudding so loud in her chest, she thought it might explode. Could he? Was it possible? She ran her tongue across her lower lip and ducked into his line of sight.

  His eye flicked up, found hers, and stole her breath. “When I first met you, I tried to keep you at arm’s length. Tried to maintain the distance I’d used as a crutch to do my job. To be a killer. But no matter how hard I tried, you were always there, creeping under my defenses, sneaking around the corner, finding a way straight to my heart.” He reached out and cupped her face and Emma stared wide eyed as he ran his thumb across her cheek.

  “You can’t come because I love you, Emma Cross. I'd rather die trying to protect you than risk you getting hurt.”

  Emma reached up and wrapped her fingers around John’s hand. She smiled even as her eyes filled with happy tears. “I love you too, you idiot. That’s why I have to come. I’m not spending the rest of my life, however long it is, wondering what happened. I’d rather die by your side fighting this fight than live another minute without you.” She wiped away a tear that slipped over her bottom lashes. “Now kiss me before I turn into a blubbering mess.”

  He laughed and leaned in, scruffy beard scraping her lips as he kissed her.

  She was filthy, and hungry, and standing in the middle of Nowhere, Texas. They were on the run from a madman and the end of the world, beat up, and exhausted. Despite it all, in that moment, there was nowhere else Emma would rather be.

  He pulled back and she blinked back a wave of emotion.

  “Give me those keys before you do something stupid.” She held out her hand and John reluctantly dropped the Jeep’s keys into her palm.

  “You don’t even know where we’re headed.”

  “We’re not leaving yet, silly. We’ve got to properly say goodbye.” With another quick kiss, Emma hurried back to the cabin.

  After explaining the new plan, Raymond reacted with characteristic grace. “That’s ridiculous. It’s a death warrant. It’s one thing to let John go off on his suicide mission, but to go with him? Be reasonable, Emma.”