It wasn’t long before he realized he was moving faster than the others. Their voices fell farther and farther behind him, but he didn’t slow his pace.
Every few steps he wiped his forehead, the water flying off to the side. Though the tree cover did shelter him from some of the rain, it didn’t really matter. He was as soaked as if he’d just climbed out of a swimming pool.
Somewhere ahead were the two stacked rocks Diana had talked about. Once he reached them, he’d have to wait for her so he’d know which direction to go next.
As he stepped around another tree, his foot landed on an old branch and snapped it in two. He stumbled, but quickly regained his footing. As he looked up, he saw a flash of movement ahead.
Even with the reduced visibility, he knew it wasn’t a deer or some other animal living in the forest. It was a person.
He started to run.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
At first Sara thought she was just hearing her heart pounding in her chest, but the rhythm was wrong, and she soon realized the sound was feet running through the woods, heading in her direction.
She rounded bear rock without even stopping.
But which direction was it?
As she corrected her path, she slipped and went down, her knees and elbows slapping into the mud. Grimacing in pain, she forced herself back to her feet.
She knew the person chasing her had to be one of them. She couldn’t let them catch her. She couldn’t let them know where Emily was. She began running again, but the footsteps behind her were closer now.
“I don’t want to hurt you!” a voice called out.
There, just ahead, the forked tree.
“Sara! Please stop!”
She chanced a look over her shoulder. The man behind her was as drenched as she was. He seemed to be alone at the moment, but she knew there were at least two others out there. She’d seen them on the ridge. Her pursuer was lean and strong. No way was she ever going to be able to outrun him. She had only one chance.
As she ran on, she pulled her left arm out of the strap to her backpack, and swung the bag around so she could get at it. Fastened to the side was a twelve-gauge shotgun. She retrieved a couple shells from the side pocket, then pulled the gun loose and dropped the bag to the mud.
It was just ahead, big enough so she could hide behind it and use the fork to safely take aim at the man.
She loaded the shells and sprinted the rest of the way to the tree. She leaned against the trunk, catching her breath as she listened to the man approach. Once it sounded like he was no more than fifty or sixty feet away, she slid into place, and propped the barrel of the gun in the fork. She chambered the shell, the distinctive
The man could not help but hear it, too. He stopped in his tracks, but instead of going for cover, he raised his hands in the air.
“I’m not here to hurt you,” he repeated as his gaze found her in the break of the tree.
“I’ll shoot if you come any closer!” she shouted.
“Sara, I’m a friend. I came here with Diana and Richard.”
“Liar!” She was suddenly sure her sister and brother were both dead.
Her finger tightened on the trigger.
“I’m not lying. I’m here because of your family,” he said. “I’m here because of Alan and Emily.”
So overcome by her own despair, she almost didn’t hear the names. Once she realized what he’d said, she froze. Then a whole new level of anxiety kicked in.
A scream flew from her lips as her finger jerked the trigger.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
The shotgun blast echoed through the woods.
Logan, flat on his stomach, felt the pelts fly through the air where he’d been standing seconds before.
He’d been watching her eyes, and knew she didn’t believe anything he said. A split second before she screamed, her face scrunched up in rage. That’s when Logan dove left and hit the ground.
The moment the pelt had flown past, he scrambled to the cover of an old pine. A second blast hit the trunk, but nothing touched him.
Back in the direction of the two stacked rocks, he heard someone running. Then Diana called out, “Sara! Sara! Are you okay?”
“Sara!” Richard joined in.
“Diana?” Sara said, her voice low and uncertain. “Richard?”
“Sara! Where are you?” Diana yelled.
“Diana?” Sara called out more loudly this time. “Is that you?”
“Yes. Are you okay?”
“They’re here. One of them was chasing me! Be careful. He’s behind a tree in your direction.”
“I’m not one of them!” Logan shouted. “Diana, tell her!”
He could see Diana and Richard making their way through the trees now.
“He knows about Alan and Emily!” Sara yelled. “We have to stop-”
“Sara,” Diana shouted back. “He’s not with them! He’s with us!”
Silence, then a disbelieving “What?” from Sara.
Logan waved a hand, getting Diana and Richard’s attention.
“He’s not with them,” Diana said, no longer needing to talk as loudly. “Alan sent him.”
“Alan? Wha…what do you mean? Why?”
“Honey, it’s okay. Just come on out, all right?”
Diana walked past Logan into full view of the mangled tree Sara was hiding behind. With a frown, Richard held out his hand and helped Logan to his feet. The two men then moved out behind Diana, Logan more cautiously than Richard.
Another clap of thunder, this one farther away than before.
Diana walked steadily toward the tree. “Come on out, Sara. It’s okay. Everything’s fine.”
Sara still stood on the other side of the V created by some long-ago accident inflicted on the tree. The barrel of the gun had tilted upward, pointing at the clouds. Then both the gun and Sara disappeared.
For half a second, Logan wondered if she’d run off again, but then she emerged from around the side of the tree and ran into her sister’s arms. Richard joined them, putting a hand on Sara’s back, and whispered something in her ear.
Logan could see that weeks of stress and fear had taken their toll on Alan’s wife. Even as she hugged her
