They stood deep in the trees and watched the vehicle that had followed them slam to a halt behind the SUV. Car doors banged open. Four figures got out.

“Chastain probably has a gun,” Ralph said. His voice carried clearly in the eerie stillness of the mountains. “We take him out first. All we need is whatever he’s got on him or in the car.”

“What about the woman?” Joe demanded. “She’s dangerous.”

“Get rid of her, too,” Ralph said. “She’s just a go-between.”

The four men approached the SUV, pistols in hand.

“Out of the car,” Ralph shouted. “Now.”

When nothing happened Ralph fired straight into the rear window of the SUV, shattering the glass.

“They’re gone,” he announced in disgust. “Fuck it. Well, it doesn’t matter. They probably won’t make it out of the woods, not in this fog. Check the car. We’re looking for anything that has a paranormal vibe. Anything at all.”

They yanked open the SUV doors and quickly went through the vehicle. Ralph used his gun to blow open the lockbox.

“Nothing in here but those weird glasses Chastain was wearing,” he announced.

“Nothing up front,” Joe said. He slammed the driver’s-side door closed. “Not a damn thing. If they’ve got the device, they took it with them.”

One of the men looked around. “That damned fog is getting heavier. We can’t hang around here much longer.”

“That fucking Chastain,” Ralph said. His voice rose in fury and frustration. “What the hell is going on?”

The three other Puppets were already moving swiftly back toward their own SUV. Ralph started to follow them but he paused at the open cargo door of Sierra’s vehicle.

He took a fist-sized object out of his jacket and tossed it into the rear of the vehicle. There was a muffled whoomph.

Sierra watched, stunned, as her precious SUV exploded in flames.

“But I was still making payments on it,” she whispered.

North clamped a hand over her mouth to silence her.

Not that the Puppets would have heard her. They were all piling back into their own SUV. Ralph got behind the wheel, did a tight three-point turn and roared off back down the mountain road.

CHAPTER 30

North took his hand off Sierra’s mouth. She looked a little annoyed but mostly she looked worried.

“They’re gone,” she said, “for now, at any rate. Do you think the fire will spread to the trees?”

North studied the burning SUV. The fire was already dying. Rain had fallen earlier in the day. The ground was damp and the trees on both sides of the road still dripped.

“I don’t think there’s any danger of a fire, not in these woods,” he said. “Let’s see if we can find somewhere out of the fog to spend the night.”

“Remember what Olivia said—if we wander too far away from the road we’re likely to get disoriented.”

North opened his senses. Darkness was closing in fast, which made it easier to read the energy currents around them. One thin trickle of ice-bright light caught his attention.