Page 88 of Shadow of Death
Amy laughed and made a pretense of circling around Aidan. She thought she had sensed it or seen it—movement in the brush ahead of them.
They were far from the road.
They were far from the river.
They were in a clearing, surrounded by the voluminous trees and brush that could grow so thickly in the hammocks that rose between waterways.
Then they appeared. Three men, rough-looking, with overgrown beards, shaggy hair, jeans, and T-shirts—and black masks that covered the majority of their faces.
“Hey!” one cried.
Aidan looked at Amy. “This is it,” he whispered.
“Do not get shot!” she commanded under her breath.
“Don’t intend to,” Aidan said.
“Aidan! I mean it, please—”
“Amy, have faith in me!”
“I do, Aidan, I do.”
He lifted a hand. “Hey!” he called back. “Why the masks? I mean, heck, we all had ’em on for COVID, but...hey! You boys in trouble? Can I give you directions or anything?”
“Yeah!” the blond one said, producing a gun he aimed at Aidan. “The girl. You can give us the girl. Well, we’re taking her whether you give her to us or not, so...hand her over!”
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Hunter saw the men come forward. He heard Aidan’s casual shout.
And he saw as the three men came forward and grabbed Amy.
Aidan didn’t try to stop them physically, but he announced that wherever the men were taking her, he was coming, too. That brought about laughter from the kidnappers, but they told him he could do as he pleased—except cause trouble.
“One bit of trouble and I shoot you!” one of the men warned.
“No trouble! I just go where she goes!” Aidan said.
“We’ll see about that, Tonto,” one of them said.
Hunter was ready to leap forward at the blatantly racist remark; Aidan showed remarkable restraint.
“Please,” he said simply.
“Then come along,” another of the men said. “We need to just get away from here, right? No trouble today,” he said to the others.
“So, let’s go,” another of the men said.
Hunter noted they hadn’t taken Amy’s bag away from her. She was still armed. And she looked terrified as she perfectly played the part of a stunned victim.
He guessed he wasn’t doing so perfectly himself.
He felt Ryan’s hand on his arm. “Hunter, you could pick off those idiots in seconds flat, three shots while they were still trying to aim, but that’s not the plan. Amy is good. Aidan is surprisingly good for a forensics guy! We follow. And don’t forget, there are others out there. Now is the time when we’re going to stop this horseman!”
And Ryan was right. Hunter lifted his hand, letting Ryan know he wasn’t going to leap out of the brush and throttle the men who had taken Amy and Aidan.
“We give them another thirty feet. I’ll skirt to the left. You and Sean go right.”
