Page 74 of Shadowed Agenda

“There’s no sign of a struggle,” Pavlo said.

“No way,” Finlay said, walking toward them as the car behind her pulled onto the highway. “She’s scared of motorcycles.”

“How do you know?” Drake asked.

“The morning news covered a motorcycle accident. Regan told me she’d never get on one again. She had a bad experience as a kid.” Finlay was already jogging down the shoulder, looking at the grass. “If it was Regan that my friend saw on the back of that motorcycle, the bikers handed her off to the guys in the car. They must have been following. She ran.”

Finlay’s theory played for Pavlo. He looked at Drake. His friend nodded.

“They hid their bikes in the forest before going after her. They wouldn’t want to be connected to the accident.” Finlay pointed to the flattened tracks of grass that led to the trees. They didn’t have to go far to find the bikes.

“It’ll be easier to pick up Regan’s trail if I start at the car,” Drake said, heading out of the trees. He turned and tossed Finlay the keys to the rental. “If there’s shooting, you’ll be a hindrance. Stay in the car.”

“Don’t try to stop them if they come back before us and have Regan,” Pavlo added as they strode back to the mangled car.

“I can’t let them get away,” she said.

“Once they’re on the road, honk the horn to let us know they have her.” Pavlo ran after Drake. He’d already found Regan’s trail and had headed off into the woods.

“She’s panicked and moving as fast as she can,” Drake said as he followed her trail through the trees. “I’m not finding any blood.”

It was good news, but it didn’t make Pavlo breathe any easier. She could have internal injuries and, most certainly, a concussion. Regan would have had to undo her seatbelt to gouge out the driver’s eyes. She’d have been thrown around like a rag doll when the car hit the tree.

It didn’t take long before they were out of the wooded area. It bordered a huge rectangular cow pasture.

Drake pointed to the gate and road at the far end. “She’d head for the road. He pointed to the long, bent grass at his feet. She was smart about it. The trees wrap around the field. It’s slower going than cutting through the field, but less chance of being spotted.”

Drake veered back into the trees and picked up his speed. He stopped and pointed to the vomit off to one side. “They got her. They picked her up and carried her the rest of the way.”

The branches from the old trees snaked across the ground. He’d be out of the game if he tripped and broke an ankle, Drake following him.

Adrenaline shot through Pavlo at the distant rumble of motorcycles.

Frustration screamed at him to run faster. Pavlo knew he wasn’t going to make it in time. He ignored the temptation to run faster. He couldn’t help Regan sitting in Emergency with a broken ankle.

The sound faded into the distance. The blare of a car horn replaced it.

They were too late. Regan was gone.

Chapter thirty-five

“Comeon,Peanut.Timeto wake up.”

Regan struggled to open her eyes. She wanted to sleep just a few more minutes.

“No, don’t fall back to sleep.”

She pried her eyes open. Beard’s face was stuck in front of hers.

Car crash. Running. The motorcycles. It all came flooding back.

“Good,” Beard said. “Let’s get you up. You need to change.”

It took a few seconds to realize she was sitting against the trunk of a tree.

“Where are we?” Regan asked as Beard helped her stand, and she immediately wished she hadn’t moved. “I have a mother of a headache.”

“You’ve got a minor concussion. You’re lucky to have walked away from the crash, so don’t complain.”