Page 141 of Until Joy

“Copy, gunshot from behind the cabin,” Z confirmed.

“Moving to assist,” Jax said.

“Negative!” I barked into the comm. “Stick to the plan. That shot came from the woods behind the cabin. I'm going around.”

I gunned the Harley and raced around the cabin, through the clearing toward the tree line. The bike skidded to a stop in a spray of dirt and dead leaves, and I was off it before the engine stopped running. My helmet hit the ground as I yanked it off, needing to hear everything clearly.

That's when I heard her.

“Joy!” Glenda shrieked.

The voice was high, frantic, barely human. Then came the words that made my blood turn to ice.

“Where are you, Joy? Are you playing hide and seek?”

Glenda. And she sounded completely unhinged.

I drew my sidearm and moved toward the sound, every muscle in my body screaming in protest. My vision kept wavering, black spots dancing at the edges, but I pushed through it. Joy was somewhere in these woods with an armed lunatic, and I'd crawl through hell on my hands and knees if that's what it took to reach her.

“Joy!”

Glenda's voice was getting more desperate, echoing through the trees.

“Joy. You weren't sick, were you? It was all an act.”

I moved as quietly as I could through the undergrowth, following the sound of her voice. Branches caught at my bandages, and more than once I had to stop and grip a tree trunk as dizziness threatened to drop me.

“You made a fool out of me.”

The second gunshot cracked through the air, closer this time, close enough that I could hear the bullet hit wood somewhere to my left. I dropped to one knee, scanning the trees ahead for any sign of movement.

“I don't want to hurt you!” Glenda's voice carried through the forest, and now I could hear the hysteria underneath the words. “But I can't let you leave! We belong together!”

Another shot rang out, and this time I caught a glimpse of muzzle flash through the trees. Maybe fifty yards ahead, moving away from me. Glenda was hunting Joy through the woods like some kind of deranged predator.

I tried to move faster, but my legs felt like they were made of lead. The concussion was making everything harder, slowing my reflexes, clouding my judgment. Behind me, I could hear boots crashing through the underbrush. Wes and Z, moving up to support.

My foot caught on a root and I went down hard, landing on my injured ribs with a grunt of pain that I couldn't quite suppress.

“Graham!” Wes appeared beside me, his hand under my arm, hauling me to my feet. “You good?”

“I'm fine,” I lied, accepting his help to stand. Z materialized on my other side, his weapon ready.

“Joy! You need to come back to me, right now.”

Glenda's voice was much closer now.

The third gunshot echoed through the trees, followed by Glenda's voice, now so close I could make out every word clearly.

“You are not going to get away from me. We were meant to be together. It's our destiny. Even if we have to die. We will be together.”

The three of us moved forward as one unit, muscle memory taking over despite my injuries. I’d done this dance a hundred times in hostile territory, but never with men I trusted more than Wes and Z.

Through a gap in the undergrowth ahead, I caught sight of them.

Joy was sprawled behind a fallen log, her clothes torn and dirty, her face pale with terror and determination. She’d fallen, but she was alive. Gloriously, beautifully alive.

And standing maybe five feet away from her, with her back to us, was Glenda. She held a pistol in both hands, pointed down at Joy’s head.