Page 22 of Scarlet Wars
I bolted toward the woods, the angry shouts growing louder behind us. My ankle screamed with every step, but I pushed through it, the fear of being caught driving me forward.
Branches whipped at my face as I crashed into the forest, the sounds of pursuit too close for comfort. I chanced a glance over my shoulder, before a deafening crack split the air.
I skidded to a stop, horror freezing me in place as I realized they wereshootingat me.
My jaw dropped, but before I could scream, another shot rang out, closer this time. Bark exploded near my shoulder. Isnapped back into motion, legs burning as I tore through the underbrush.
Tears blurred my vision. Every inhale was a gasp. Every footfall felt as if it might be my last.
And then I let the trees swallow me whole, their shadows wrapping around me like a final, merciless goodbye.
SIX
CADEN
The road twisted ahead, narrow and mean, hemmed in by jagged hills. I leaned into the first curve, the tires biting hard, the engine’s roar rattling up my arms. My boots shifted against the pegs, ready for the next turn before the first was done.
James’s headlights cut through the fog in my mirror, the low growl of his bike syncing with mine as we carved through the road. For a moment, it almost felt as though we weren’t enemies at all. Just two men chasing the same ghost.
Where the hell are you, Emma?
I gunned the engine harder, weaving through the twists. The tree line pressed in, and I eased back on the throttle as the gravel grew looser beneath the tires.
A handful of narrow paths split off from the main road, disappearing into the woods like veins feeding some unseen heart. I rolled forward, jaw tight, scanning the forks.
“Which one?” James pulled up beside me.
The path to the left was clean, worn down, neat, and obvious. Too obvious. Emma wouldn’t trust it.
The one straight ahead was the opposite. Grass choked the trail, brambles clawing out like warning signs. Riskier. Harsher. Exactly the kind of path she’d take if she didn’t want to be found.
I killed my engine, gravel crunching as I stopped at the split. “We don’t have time to circle every option.”
James braked beside me, visor gleaming in the low light. “So, we gamble.”
“Not exactly.” I dug into my jacket and pulled out a small black earpiece, then slapped it into his hand.
He blinked at it, then at me. “You brought a human comms piece?”
“Stole it off the guys we killed at the border.”
James turned it over, testing the button on the side. “You sure it works?”
“Only one way to find out. Push the call button if you find her,” I said flatly. “We’ll meet back here.”
For a second, he just stared, suspicion warring with reluctant approval. Then he shoved it into his ear. “Fine. Left path is mine.”
“Thought you’d say that.” I revved my bike, vision narrowing at the trail ahead. “Don’t get yourself killed, Walker. Emma will never forgive me if I let that happen.”
He clenched his jaw. “You have no idea what she is capable of forgiving.”
Considering she forgave him for lying during their entire relationship and then ghosting her for months, I had a pretty good idea.
I bit back the words crowding my throat before he twisted the throttle and tore off down the left trail, his taillight bleeding red into the fog.
Gritting my teeth, I faced the overgrown path dead ahead, then tore forward myself, the engine howling into the night.
Branches clawed at the narrow trail, shadows darting across my headlight beam.
