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that could have been to do with the way the sound reverberated off the two boulders forming the pass. He saw headlights on the rock on the right, and now the engine of the approaching 4×4 definitely did sound like the foot had been taken off the throttle. Made sense, he thought, as the guy approached the narrow pass. It was why he’d chosen the spot for the ambush, allowing them to shoot the driver when he had to slow down to negotiate the narrow road and the tight curve that followed.
    He lifted the gun in anticipation. Took a step forwards.
    There it was. The blocky shape of a Ford Explorer, exiting the gap between the boulders. The headlights were flicked to full beam and Larry had to scrunch his eyes against the glare, but it didn’t hinder him none. He knew exactly where the driver would be. He fired his handgun and it bucked in his hand. Purposely he aimed through the driver’s side, allowing the gun to dip in line with the top of the steering wheel; just where a ducking man’s head would be.
    Across from him, Trent opened up with the shotgun. He fired one load into the driver’s side, then followed it immediately by sending his second load into a front tyre.
    The Ford dipped as the tyre exploded, then it swerved, but continued moving. The cant of the road sent the swerving 4×4 past Larry. As it did so he fired another shot into the cab. If it hit the woman, so what? She was going to die anyway, and if that meant he wouldn’t be getting his rocks off tonight, then so be it. There was plenty pussy back in town for the taking. Trent could have the bitch all to himself!
    Larry steadied his Magnum for a third shot, but it was unnecessary. The Ford slewed off the trail and into a ditch and then slammed into the trunk of a tree with such force that the top of the tree swayed like it was in the middle of a hurricane. Pine needles rattled down all around Larry and he had to brush some out of his spiky hair. He looked for Trent, and his brother was already crabbing across the trail with his shotgun held to his shoulder.
    ‘You get the woman, Trent. I’m gonna make sure the asshole’s dead,’ Larry said.
    ‘Watch how you go, big bro,’ Trent said, a show of concern that Larry found touching. And to think he’d considered shooting his brother only moments before! He winked at Trent, flashed him a grin.
    Then he moved to the driver’s door and leaned in through the open window. When he glanced up, Trent’s quizzical face was framed in the opposite window.
    They stared at each other across the empty seats.
    ‘Where the fuck did they go, Larry?’

Chapter 6
    Kate’s revelation rocked me more than the collision with the SUV up the trail had.
    She was a cop?
    And she’d come looking for me to help find her sister?
    Surely she understood that I didn’t work from any law and order rule book. In fact I’m notorious for working outside the boundaries of the law – it’s why I’ve survived the things I have. It’s why some people have labelled me a vigilante, and others have even seen me as a hit man. In my opinion I’m neither, but what good is that when weighed against the opinions of thousands?
    ‘You should’ve told me that you’re a cop.’
    ‘If I had, would you have still helped me?’
    I gripped the steering wheel, setting my jaw.
    ‘Would you have refused me, Joe?’
    Not really sure what I was mad about, I snapped angry eyes on her and grunted, ‘Of course I’d have helped. Just . . .’
    ‘Just in a different way?’
    Snorting, I down-geared, traversing a particularly steep drop of the hill.
    Kate said, ‘Would you have been so quick to shoot those men if you knew a cop was beside you?’
    ‘Like I said, they were too close to miss.’
    It was Kate’s turn to snort. ‘What do you think I’m going to do, Joe? Arrest you?’
    ‘It just makes my job more difficult, that’s all.’
    ‘How? We both want the same thing, don’t we? We both want to find Imogen.’
    Sending the Explorer round a