“I can’t talk you out of doing this, can I?” Hank asked Hawk.

Hawk didn’t even deign to respond. Why? He’d finally been able to claim Lana, after keeping himself in check, and that bastard of a stalker tried to tear it down. No way would Hawk allow that to happen. That night was beautiful, and though he knew he’d have an uphill battle with his PTSD, and things wouldn’t always be easy, that night had shown him the bond he and Lana shared. It didn’t matter the amount of time they’d been together, or the way they came together. Sure, she was his client, and he’d have to deal with the fact he’d started dating her, as well as hope Hank wouldn’t take his job away in the future, but he wouldn’t regret anything when it came to Lana.

Unless he chose not to go after this asshole.

The pale-yellow bulbs in the barn lit up their work space while Snake, Heim, Glitz, Hawk, Welsh, and Cry Baby poured over their plans. Hawk had found a current map of Eagle Rock and the surrounding areas, along with markings of landmarks outsiders wouldn’t normally come across without knowing they were there. Somewhere out there the stalker was loose, and Hawk intended to find him. No one tracked better than him, and even though people had moved around the area, he could tell the difference between running steps or a walking gait. He’d be able to pick out the culprit and track him as far as he could. They’d finish this mission, complete with a bullet if necessary, and Lana wouldn’t have to worry about danger anymore.

“You’re seriously going to run a Black Ops mission in Eagle Rock?” Hank questioned.

“As far as anyone else is concerned, there has never been a Navy SEAL operation in Eagle Rock, Montana, or ever on U.S. soil,” Hawk replied with a wink before loading his pistol and strapping it to his thigh.

“What happens in Eagle Rock stays in Eagle Rock, boys,” Welsh tossed back to the group.

“Hooyah,” the team called.

Hank laughed. “You’re absolutely crazy, but I’d do the same. I’ll keep the police off you and let you work, but you call us when things are done. I’ll stay on the scanners. We left some gifts outside for you to make things easier.”

Hawk nodded at Hank before he left and then turned his attention back to the map. “From the street he left on, there is only so much civilian population before it heads into open country. That terrain is predominately open, and it won’t take long to cross it. He has a several-hour head start on us, and we’ve had to wait until nightfall to hide our movements. Most of the areas over here are bluffs, and he could have a great vantage point. We need to watch for that.”

“I’ve got the vantage point, don’t you worry,” Heim said.

Originally a Marine sniper, Heim had transitioned to the Navy with his spotter, Snake, and joined the SEALs. The pair still acted as a sniper team on most missions. If anyone could watch the highland, it was Heim. His gaze didn’t miss anything.

“I don’t want to use explosives in civilian areas, but I can set up charges, if necessary,” Glitz added. As the team’s ordinance, he specialized in defusing and setting off bombs.

“I can play cleanup. With so much open land, I can hang back a bit, watch out for any movement, and go from there,” Cry Baby added. Welsh may have been his best friend, if Hawk had to pick one out of the bunch, but Cry Baby had been his right hand. Cry Baby helped Hawk gather intel and the logistics of battle before they went on mission.

“That sounds about right. I’ll stay on the hothead’s arse. Wouldn’t want him doing anything crazy,” Welsh added.

The team nodded.

“Cry Baby, you make sure Vixen is set up to watch over Lana, and that she answers her phone under any circumstances,” Hawk said.

“I will, but she knows the ground rules. The woman assisted me with interrogations in GITMO and helped me escape. If she doesn’t answer her phone, I’ll beat you back to the ranch.”

Cry Baby raced off to secure the girls and Hawk stepped out of the barn. He didn’t want Lana to see him with his black face paint, gear, and guns. She might know what he did, but seeing it was different. He never wanted her to be afraid of him, and he knew he’d turned off the switch from boyish charm to machine the minute he’d gotten ready tonight. It’s why he’d entrusted Cry Baby, the naturally sweet one of the bunch, to say their goodbyes. When this was all over, he’d be there for Lana, but for now, he’d keep her safe.

“Check it out,” Heim said.

Hawk’s gaze traveled from the house to the side of the barn and he let loose a low whistle. Six all-terrain vehicles waited for them.

“I guess that was Hank’s gift. We’ll be a lot faster traveling around on those. Let’s move out,” Heim ordered.

Like a well-oiled machine, the SEAL team mounted the ATVs and rode out into the night. It didn’t take long to reach the city limits on the ATVs, and Hawk was thankful for that. They stayed to the outskirts, according to the map, before Hawk pulled over just about a half a mile out of town. He lifted his fist, and the other vehicles stopped as well.

“I’ll circle around,” Welsh told them, and left.

Each SEAL stationed in their spots according to their jobs, and Hawk studied the ground. He shut out the world, yet soaked it in. The horizon mattered to him as much as the land underneath his feet. He knew how to search in the night hours, and looking directly at anything forced him to use the cone area of his retina. That wasn’t as active in low-lighting, so he scanned instead. Slowly, the prints of children playing, animals traveling through, and more stood out to him. Not what he was looking for. He traveled in an ever-widening semi-circle until he recognized the heavy tread of a large man, light on his feet and moving fast, but he’d slowed down. He was tired. The tip of his right toe dragged a bit in the dirt. Left-handed, Hawk thought to himself. Humans were creatures of habit, and when they rested, they preferred to do so on the weaker side to give the strong side a break. But, in motion, they did the opposite. The dominant side could carry more of the load, and they relied on it much longer, dragging the tired, weaker side along.

It wasn’t much to go on, but it was a trail. Hawk got back on his ATV and cranked it up. He traveled along the line, watching carefully for changes. For all the intelligence the stalker had shown in not getting caught, he’d raced away in a direct route into the bluffs. It would be harder to track him there, but not impossible. It didn’t make sense. The stalker had been smart enough to hide in plain sight, string up those photos just before daybreak, and come in and out of Lana’s places of residence in London with ease. Why run straight?

A sinking feeling in his gut pushed Hawk faster toward the bluff. Maybe the stalker had switched up in the bluffs, determined to use them to hide his path. When Hawk reached them, his heart stuttered. The team had been away from home for over a half hour—a lifetime worth of time. The steps zig-zagged, but they led aimlessly to nowhere, into spots with no shield, and others into a bush. Freshly broken branches caught Hawk’s attention, but there was no rhyme or reason to the movements.

Hawk depressed the mic on his throat. “Anyone see anything?”

“Nothing,” Welsh called in.

“The night is quiet. Even the crickets aren’t singing,” Heim added.

The crickets. That’s what bothered Hawk. When insect or wildlife were agitated, they ran or went silent. The sounds of the night swelled around them, and the world was calm. Nothing out of place. No slips of gravel or rocks hitting each other, no sound of air or heavy breathing. He hadn’t come across any trail of blood or wetness. Most people had seen in movies that water could throw dogs off the trail. It wasn’t always true, but it did work sometimes, so that didn’t stop people from trying it. Hawk sucked in a deep breath.

“Something doesn’t feel right,” he said into the mic.

“Everything is quiet, but we may not have gone deep enough inside. Snake and I will travel to a vantage point and see what we might spot,” Heim said.

Hawk kept searching the ground while his former team leader and second located and ascended the bluff. From their position high in the rocks, Hawk could barely see them, but he knew Heim would see much more. He and Snake both had their scopes with them and could see several football fields out with ease.

“Anything?” Hawk asked.

“Nothing. No movement or hideaways. From here, there isn’t anywhere he could hide where we wouldn’t spot him. We can run through this place, but he isn’t here,”
Heim answered.

Hawk turned on his ATV. “Cry Baby, call Vixen!”

“On it.”

“What gives?” Glitz asked.

“He’s not here, so where would he be? Why send us on a wild goose chase this far from the ranch? Because he never intended to be found in the first place,” Hawk yelled.

“She’s not answering. She knew to answer the phone, Hawk,” Cry Baby said.

“Dammit.”

Hawk spun his ATV into gear and raced the most direct route to the ranch. His heart was in his throat, and each breath taunted him that it would be his last. He’d been played. All the fanfare and racing to save the day, but Hawk had made one vital mistake in his anger, and the stalker played on that fact. He’d been blind to seek revenge, to wipe that look of violation and sadness off Lana’s face, but he hadn’t thought leaving her with just one guard was the worst mistake of all. One guard could be incapacitated. He may have just put Cry Baby’s woman in grave danger, and he would never forgive himself if something happened.

“Cry Baby—”

“Shut up, Hawk. We’ll get there. We all missed it. We’ll get this son of a bitch, and both our women will be safe.”

Hawk hoped he was right.