CHAPTER 24
Dart swore, ducking back behind the thick-trunked pine tree as a piece of it splintered off with a ping, narrowly missing his eye. A feeling of unreality dragged at him, stirring his gut like a sludgy cup of coffee. The nightmare that had started with Maddie’s escape had just grown several shades darker.
“Drop your weapon!”
The strident voice came bounding across the water, and the swirl of nausea troubling his stomach became a tsunami. As soon as Maddie had a chance to speak, she’d spill everything to the men in the boat. And by the look of it, they were law. He had no choice but to shoot, and they were shooting back.
“This is Chief Deputy Steadman, and I repeat—drop your weapon and move out where I can see you. Keep your hands up.”
Adrenaline spiked through Dart’s veins.
