I didn’t wait for the team.

I climbed through the shattered frame, dropped onto the veranda roof, and rolled onto the grass.

The cold Denver air cleared my lungs, but my heart was pounding with a terrible realization.

If Vanessa and Grant were desperate, they would not try to run from the state.

They had no money, no resources, and no passports.

They only had one card left to play.

“Marcus,” I said, running through the deep snow toward the tree line. “Where is the nearest tactical unit?”

“They are searching the north creek bed,” Marcus said. “Evelyn, stay where you are. We have them trapped in the subdivision.”

“No, you don’t,” I said, shine my flashlight on the ground.

I found their tracks in the fresh snow, leading toward the rear fence of the estate.

Beside the fence, the snow was packed down where a vehicle had been idling on the service road.

They had a backup car waiting.

“They’re gone,” I said, staring at the empty dirt road. “They had a second vehicle parked outside the security gates.”