Angry and scared for Mac, she moved down the slope too fast. Her feet slid out from under her, and she went down hard on her butt. Wiping the rain from her eyes, she put a hand on the ground to push herself upright. By the time she regained her footing, she couldn’t see Mac.

Footsteps slapped wet ground. Stella turned. Grant and Hannah were running toward her.

“Where’s Mac?” Grant yelled.

“He ran this way.” Stella pointed toward the woods and set off in that direction. Hannah kept pace with her. Grant surged ahead, stopping every few minutes to study the ground before taking off again. His pauses kept him from drawing too far ahead. They entered the trees and ran down a narrow trail.

The rain continued to drown the forest. Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. At an intercession of trails, Grant slid to a stop. He turned in a circle. “They’re doubling back toward the lake.”

He made a sharp right turn and set off again. Stella struggled to keep up. Her lungs and legs burned. Her head swam with dizziness. Next to her, Hannah wheezed, also working hard to keep up. Grant pulled ahead. They burst from the trees into three inches of water. The lake had flooded the beach.

Grant pointed. “There’s Mac.”

A football field away, a floating dock extended out over the water. A dark figure sprinted down the length of the boards.

Stella spotted a red canoe slogging through the water. “And there’s Josh!”

“Mac. Stop!” shouted Grant.

But she knew Mac wasn’t stopping until he had Josh. His motions were too focused, too sure. Mac was going after him.

Fresh fear bubbled into her throat as Mac reached the end of the dock, paused to pull off his boots, and dove into the water.

Chapter Forty

Chapter Forty

You are not getting away, not after all you’ve done.

Mac’s body sliced through the water. That bastard was going down. Ahead, Josh’s canoe moved slowly in the driving rain. The canoe was probably half-filled with water. Mac put his head down and stretched his strokes.

He was going to catch up to Josh. He wasn’t going to let that killer escape. His smashed hand throbbed. Each beat of his heart said getJosh getJosh getJosh.

The cold water numbed the pain in his hand. Fury fueled his strokes. He gained on the vessel. Josh was looking back, searching the water behind the canoe. Mac dove under the surface. Swimming hard, he came up on the other side of the boat. He put one hand on the aluminum side and tipped it. The canoe capsized. Josh fell into the lake, splashing and sputtering. His oar flew into the air and landed ten feet away.