Hunted

by Margaret Daley

  Luke’s kisses earlier made her think about Blake and the one thought that came to mind was she didn’t want to be hurt like that again.

  Shep jumped to his feet, barking. On the cot, Megan bolted up and looked around.

  A scream came from deep inside her at the sight of a large shadow outside the window.

  Chapter Ten

  Megan’s scream reverberated through the cabin, wrenching Luke from his sleep.

  He shot to his feet, shedding his sleeping bag, and stooped to snatch his revolver from the floor near where he’d slept. “What’s going on?” he asked over Shep’s continual barking.

  “Someone’s at the window.”

  Luke whirled around and started forward. A large, shadowy figure rattled the screen as though determined to get inside. Shep darted past Luke and stood on his hind legs to get closer to the intruder.

  A fierce roar rumbled through the flimsy barrier between them and a big bear. In seconds the animal would have the screen dislodged, leaving a way into the cabin.

  “Megan, turn on the lantern.”

  With his gun raised, he quickened his step and crossed to the animal. Light flooded the room, illuminating the dark brown eyes of the black bear as it swiped his paw across the screen, slashing it.

  Before the animal climbed inside, Luke lunged forward and slammed closed the interior wooden shutters then dropped the board across them. He hastened to the other two windows and did the same while the frustrated bear protested.

  “Can he get inside?” Megan asked as she hurried toward the rifle.

  “Hopefully not. I think he’s too big to fit, but I don’t want to find out I’m wrong.”

  The bear rattled the shutters while Shep growled, his teeth bared.

  Luke moved away from the windows and planted himself beside Megan. “Heel, Shep.”

  His dog gave one last snarl then came to Luke’s side.

  “I think I’d rather take my chances with Keith Drummond than our guest outside.” Megan held the rifle as though she were ready to shoot if she had to.

  “I don’t think that’s the same bear that usually comes around. He’s a new one and seems bigger. I shouldn’t have heated up the beef stew on the propane stove.”

  Their intruder pounded against the wooden barrier.

  “I totally agree.” Megan’s grip on the gun tightened. “What if he doesn’t leave?”

  “He’ll get bored and move on.”

  “What if he doesn’t?”

  He slanted a look at her. “We’ll worry about that if it happens.”

  “How can you be so calm?”

  “A lot of my search and rescues have been in the mountains and wilderness. I’ve learned to be prepared for all possibilities, respect the animals I encounter, and give them a wide space.”

  “How can you be prepared for all possibilities?”

  “It’s not easy, but I’m always learning new things.”

  Megan glanced at the window. “He’s quiet. Do you think he’s gone?”

  “Maybe, but I’m leaving the shutters closed even if it gets stuffy in here.”

  She smiled. “You won’t get an argument from me.”

  “Let’s give it a while then try to get some sleep.”

  Megan eased down on the cot with the rifle on the bedding next to her. “Are we staying here tomorrow?”

  “Where else can we go? We have people after us that burnt down your house and mine. The bear might be the lesser of two evils.” As Luke finished speaking, a banging sound filled the cabin from the window near the front door.

  Her eyes grew wide. “He’s moved.”

  He sat beside her on the cot. “I shut the window on that one too, so it’ll be hard to get in.”

  “If he’s really determined, I think he could. He looked about six feet tall.”

  Luke wanted to take her mind off what was happening at the moment. He clasped her hand and scooted back to recline against the wall. “What do you enjoy about teaching?”

  “I know what you’re doing. I’m not going to forget the bear is there.”

  “Humor me. I really want to know.”

  “My favorite is the moment a student ‘gets’ something. Last year I had a little girl who had been struggling to read. Finally, things started to click, and by the end of the year she was reading nearly at her grade level. That was a highlight for her—and me.”

  “It sounds like your teaching is rewarding. That’s the way I feel about helping people in search and rescues.”

  “When you give, it comes back tenfold.” She twisted toward him, her blue eyes like two inviting pools on a hot day. “Honestly, without you helping me after you pulled me from the river, I don’t think I’d be alive today.”

  “I’m just glad I was there to help you.” For the past couple of minutes, it had been quiet outside the cabin. He hoped the bear was gone. He draped his arm over Megan’s shoulders and tugged her gently against him. “Rest. I’ll be right here, armed if circumstances change.”

  “What’s the most memorable rescue you’ve been involved in?”

  “The one early Friday morning.”

  She chuckled. “Besides that one, which I’m personally appreciative you were involved in.”

  As Luke told Megan about a couple of his search and rescues, her eyelids became heavier. Several times her eyes would pop open only to begin closing almost immediately. He schooled his voice to a monotone, hoping to lure her to sleep. He might not get any rest tonight, but he wanted her to.

  The feel of her next to him, her head drooping against his chest while her arm rested across his stomach as she surrendered to sleep, produced an ache in his heart. He didn’t want to care about her, but he did. The devastation after Rochelle’s death had nearly destroyed him. He’d felt helpless and had turned away from God.

  Lord, what are You trying to tell me?

  * * *

  Hours later when Megan opened her eyes, she stared into Shep’s face, inches from hers. She laughed and ruffled the fur on his head. “Good boy.” She pushed to a sitting position. The windows were wide open, and light flooded the cabin. “Where’s Luke?” Where’s the bear?

  Shep barked when she said Luke.

  Megan stood then finger-combed her hair as she crossed the room to the door and went outside. A cool morning breeze refreshed her. Stepping forward, she surveyed the area and found Luke on the rock where he’d been yesterday, talking on his satellite phone.

  He glanced over his shoulder at her, said something to the person on the other end of the call, then disconnected it and took out his battery. As he stuffed the phone into his pocket, he hopped off the stone and faced her. His frown shouted that whatever he’d heard from the person on the other end wasn’t good news.

  She stopped in front of him. “What’s happened?”

  “Keith Drummond was found dead early this morning in his car.”

  “How long had he been dead?”

  “No more than an hour or two. There goes our one lead in the case.”

  “Did Clay tell anyone about Drummond?” Megan sank onto the rock, tired after being up for only minutes.

  “No, but it’s possible Clay alerted the wrong person to his interest in Drummond when he looked into the head of the campus police.”

  “Chief Franklin?”

  “Maybe.” Luke released a long breath, staring off into space. “We don’t have any other leads right now. Clay’s still going to dig into Drummond’s life and a possible drug ring in the area, but he can’t bring him in and interrogate him now.”

  “And if he has been murdered, then there are others involved who felt they had to silence him.”

  “I wish I could help Clay, but my one duty in this is to keep you alive. My concern now is how did Drummond’s killer find out he was under scrutiny.” Luke joined her on the stone.

  “Maybe the killer murdered him for a different reason.”

  Luke kneaded his muscles along his nape. “Possibly. But I have to
consider all angles. I’ve decided it might be better if we move to another place, especially with the bear paying us a visit last night. I saw his paw prints. He’s big. Probably six hundred pounds.”

  “And he might return today or tonight?”

  Luke nodded. “I looked at the damage he did to that one window. If he’d persisted, he might have found a way in, possibly by the door.”

  Megan shivered in spite of the warm temperature. “When do you want to leave? Where are we going?”

  He touched the binoculars around his neck. “We can drive to another place then hike to a more remote location. I know of several further east of here. We should eat something then pack up and leave right away. I need to inspect the terrain below. There are several places where I have a good vantage point of the path up to this cabin and one area I have a partial view of the truck in the woods. Start packing our supplies while I look. Take Shep and close the shutters.” After rising, he held a hand out to her, and she took it. He brought her up in front of him.

  The memory of the kisses they’d shared sent goosebumps racing down her body. She couldn’t remember anyone she’d dated who kissed as well as Luke. “I’ll leave something out for us to eat. We’re going to need the energy with all the walking we’ll need to do.”

  “Agreed. It’s easier going down the path than up. I’m glad you got some sleep last night.”

  “Did you get any?” she asked as she started toward the cabin.

  “A few hours but I’ve gone without sleep during a few search and rescues.”

  As she paused in the doorway into the cabin, she looked over her shoulder at Luke. “Make sure wherever we go it’s not bear country.”

  He chuckled. “Don’t know if that’s possible.” He started for a ledge obscured by heavy brush.

  Inside, Megan quickly stuffed supplies into the duffel bags and backpacks. Most of their items were packed when she stopped to pull out energy bars and water for the hike down the mountain. Then she started looking at the food, trying to decide what they could eat quickly for breakfast.

  Luke burst into the cabin. “We have to leave now! Three men are climbing up the mountain and one looks like your description of one of your assailants. Tall and husky with dark hair tied back. One was shorter, and the other I couldn’t see well.”

  “If they’re on the trail, how are we going to go down it without being seen?”

  “We have to go down the other side. I can’t say it’s a trail like the one we used yesterday. It’s steeper and part of it isn’t really a path. We need to repack and leave what we can behind. We’re only going to carry the weapons and the backpacks.”

  “How far away are the men?”

  “Less than an hour. They haven’t been climbing long. We need to get to the bottom and to my truck—fast.”

  “What if someone’s guarding the truck?”

  Luke took out certain items in his backpack. “I’ll deal with him. It’s our only option. I’m calling Clay to let him know what’s happening. It may take him a while to get here.” He left the cabin to get a better signal.

  As Megan reorganized her supplies, her pulse began to race. How was she going to get down a mountain without freaking out? On the trip up, she kept focused on the top. Now she would have to look at the bottom of the mountain, hundreds of feet below her.

  * * *

  Halfway down the mountain, the narrow ledge Megan clung to barely held her. If she put her heel down, it would hang off. The very thought of that kept her frozen in place on her tiptoes. The muscles in her calves protested. She should be reassured by the harness tied around her waist that connected her to Luke. But she wasn’t. She stared at the stone facade inches from her face, not daring to look down at the ground below. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from her chest, its beating hammering so loudly in her head it took her a moment to realize Luke was saying something to her.

  “We need to keep moving, Megan. Follow the path Shep and I took. It’ll be easier when you reach the shelf. All you have to do is keep going.”

  Sweat ran in rivulets down her face, some stinging her eyes. “I wish I could traverse a mountain as well as Shep.”

  “He’s used to doing it. You can do it. Move to the left for two yards. Then the area opens up wider.”

  Every second she hesitated narrowed the distance between them and the men who came to finish the job of killing her—and now Luke. She couldn’t allow that to happen. Her fear of heights was all in her head.

  She drew in a deep breath and slid her right foot a few inches to the side, reluctantly prying her left-hand fingers loose from the rock jutting out. Quickly she clutched another stone hold while she drew her left leg closer to the other one. Now she had to repeat that motion—over and over.

  The top half of the mountain hadn’t been this steep and according to Luke the last third wasn’t too bad. She kept that in her mind as she moved gradually lower. Scrapes and scratches covered her arms. At least her jeans protected her legs, but the heat from the sun drenched her from head to toe.

  She paused a few seconds to remind herself to breathe deeper.

  “You’re almost here. Keep focused on where you’re going, not below.”

  The temptation to see exactly where she was in reference to Luke taunted her just to take a quick peek.

  No!

  In this situation Luke knew what was best. When she made it out of this alive, she was determined to find a way to overcome her fear of heights.

  “A couple of more feet.”

  The sound of his low, soft voice attested to his nearness. She chanced a glance to the side and saw the top of his head. The sight spurred her to move faster—which was a mistake. Her shoe slipped off, and she gripped the rocks tighter while she scrambled to right herself with Luke’s help. He grasped her flailing leg and guided it back toward the ledge.

  She kept going inch by inch until she neared the place where she could lower herself the few feet to the wide shelf Luke and Shep occupied. The second she did, Luke engulfed her into an embrace. She wanted to stay there, but her slow descent was eating up the time between her and the thugs coming after them. She had to remember that.

  “You did it. The rest of the way is much easier. As we move down to the valley, walk behind me and keep your hand on my shoulder. Focus on me or your feet, not the terrain ahead of us. Okay?”

  She pulled back and nodded. Her parched mouth demanded water. She dug in her pack and withdrew a bottle of warm liquid. She didn’t care. After drinking half of it, she passed it to Luke who finished off the bottle.

  She placed the empty plastic bottle in her bag. “I’m ready.”

  Forty minutes later, Megan stood at the bottom and finally looked upward at how far she had come in an hour and a half. “I wish I had a camera. I’d take a photo of this. I’m here and I hardly believe I climbed down it.”

  “We’ll come back one day and take a picture of it on the ledge in the middle to prove you did.”

  She chuckled. “That’ll be the day.”

  “It’s a goal to work toward.”

  The fact that Luke was talking about the future together revved her heartbeat as though she was still on the narrow shelf, grasping whatever she could to stay alive.

  He signaled to Shep to follow near and slightly behind Megan. Sandwiched between her protectors, she walked in Luke’s footsteps. Two days ago, she hadn’t even known him and now her life depended on him.

  Thank You, Lord, for sending him to me.

  * * *

  Luke left Shep guarding Megan in the thicket of underbrush in a ditch by the dirt road a couple of hundred yards back. He had to check to see if the people following them had found their truck and had posted one of the thugs to guard the vehicle. He crept toward the dark truck parked near the trail to the cabin but in an area hidden from sight off the dirt road they would have to take to the highway.

  It had taken them longer to descend the eastern side of the mountain than he had hoped. They
wouldn’t have much time to get out of the area before the trio after them returned to their SUV. He’d disabled their car, so they couldn’t follow them. And if he and Megan were lucky, the three guys would be here when Clay arrived.

  As he neared the truck, Luke kept panning the terrain around him. Through the green foliage he spied the black vehicle he and Megan had used. Aware of the gap closing on their head start, he moved quickly, his gun clutched in his hand.

  A few yards away, he again paused to check for any signs of a guard. No one on this side. In case someone was on the other side, he hunkered down and ran toward it. As he stayed low and eased the driver’s side door open, he looked from side to side. That was when he saw the two flat tires.

  Luke circled the truck. All four tires were slashed. No way could they make a run for it driving it with only one spare.

  He whirled around and ran back the way he came, branches slapping against his body. They had to find a good place to hide. It wouldn’t be long before the men would return. When he emerged from the woods, he was only a hundred yards away from Megan. He focused on her, and the gap closed. He dashed across the dirt road, spying her not too far away.

  A shot rang out.

  Chapter Eleven

  A bullet struck the dirt, mere inches from Luke’s left foot. He dove for the undergrowth in the ditch on the side of the road where Megan hid. Another shot came from the direction of the mountain as he tucked and rolled. Megan returned fire with the rifle he’d left with her. He slammed into the hard ground, quickly unfolded his body, and withdrew his handgun.

  He surveyed the trail up to the cabin. “Where are they?”

  “Two are behind a boulder.”

  “Two?” he asked. “I saw three coming up the mountain.”

  “I’ve been following their progress, and all I’ve seen is a large man and a smaller one.”

  “Did you recognize either of them?”