Malcolm exploded into the clearing, his chest heaving, his eyes blazing with a feral panic. “Angie!”

He skidded to a halt on the loose soil, his furious gaze sweeping from the blood welling on my leg to the woman I had pinned beneath me.

“Valerie Davis!” Malcolm’s voice was a thunderclap, cracking through the forest's silence.

I shifted my weight, preparing to press harder on her neck, but Malcolm’s hand shot out, a sharp gesture commanding me to stop and get off.

Reluctantly, I complied. In one fluid, powerful motion, he hauled Valerie to her feet, forcing her to face us.

The rigid set of his jaw was a clear...