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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 Kevlar vest, 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 forty yards ahead to the left, 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. Simon and Jase, 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!” Simon 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. Jase 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 Simon and Jase.

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.

“I tried to be patient with you,” Glenda was saying, her voice a sickly sweet tone that made me shudder. “I tried to give you time to see that we belong together. But you kept choosing him. Even after everything I did to show you how wrong he was for you.”

Joy's eyes met mine through the trees. For just a second, relief flashed across her face before she schooled her expression back to fear.

Smart girl. Don't let Glenda know help has arrived.

I signaled to Simon and Jase. They spread out to either side, flanking positions. Glenda was so focused on Joy that she hadn't noticed us yet.

“I’ll always choose Graham.”

“And that’s your mistake. You should have chosen⁠—”

I took a breath, let half of it out, and squeezed the trigger.

The shot was perfect. Glenda dropped like a stone, the pistol falling from her lifeless fingers.

Two more shots rang out almost simultaneously as Simon and Jase fired their own weapons, but it was unnecessary. Glenda was already dead before she hit the ground.