Lindsay McKenna

by High Country Rebel

  *

  CAT SKIDDED TO a halt as the slope of the hill ended and another hill rose up in front of her. Lungs burning, she leaned over, hands on her thighs, trying to catch her breath. The woods were silent, thick and gloomy. How long had she run? She wasn’t sure if Magee was following her or not. Straightening, her heart bounding in her chest, she turned toward the hill. She was thirsty, her mouth dry. Slowly, she turned, trying to get her bearings. In a forest, it was impossible unless the sun was up. And it was getting darker and darker.

  Cat felt panic as she tried to remember where she’d been and where she needed to go. But all the trees looked the same. The only thing different was the slope and change of the land. Standing in the V between the hills, she wiped the sweat off her brow. Her breath came in huge gulps. Even though her body was acclimated to high altitude, the run had been swift and hard.

  Turning, she decided to start climbing the second hill, praying that on the downward slope, she’d hear car traffic, maybe see the highway. The trees were thick and it was impossible to see more than fifty feet in any direction. Scrambling, the pine needles slippery, she used her hands and feet to start scaling the steeper slope. What spurred her on to scramble and grab at the earth was the fact that Magee could be on her trail. Following her. And he had a knife. She had nothing.

  A huge, rocky promontory jutted out above her. The ground was a lot rockier and tougher to climb. Cat’s boots kept slipping on the layer of pine needles hiding a lot more rocks. Just as she straightened to grab at a bush sticking out between the rocks, Cat twisted her knee. With a cry, she went down. She rolled several feet, grabbing for her right knee. No! Oh, God, no! Groaning, she sat up, her hair littered with pine needles. There was no pain in her right knee as she quickly pushed and prodded against it with her fingers. And yet, her knee had given out beneath her. What was going on?

  Panicked, Cat slowly got her left leg under her. When she tried to push up on her right knee to stand, she felt it give out beneath her. Damn! She went down, grunting as she hit the ground. The rocks hidden beneath the pine needles were bruising. Gasping for breath, Cat sat up, frowning. Once more she felt, poked and prodded around the injured knee. What the hell was going on?

  Again, she stood up, this time, putting all her weight on her left leg. Arms out to keep herself upright, Cat tested her right leg. Her knee felt like it was loose, sliding around. And then it hit her: she’d torn the meniscus, a cartilage that existed between the knee joints. With a small cry of terror, Cat sat back down. Blinking back tears, she held on to her right knee. A torn meniscus meant it would start swelling immediately. And she wouldn’t be able to use the joint at all. She couldn’t even put weight on it or she’d fall. Terror wound through her as she sat in the gloom, halfway up the steep hill.

  Cat had nothing on her she could wrap her leg with in order to stabilize it. Nothing. She wasn’t wearing a belt around her trousers, either. Closing her eyes for a moment, she felt a sob work its way up her tightening throat. Tears burned behind her lids. Oh, God, she was in real trouble now. If she tried to use her leg, she would only damage it more. She couldn’t hobble out of here on one leg.

  Lifting her chin, she choked back a sob. If Magee was following her, he’d find her. And there was nothing she could do about it. Wiping the tears off her cheeks, Cat looked around again, trying to find anything she could use to wrap around her injured knee. If she was going in the right direction, she estimated a half a mile of walking over this hill before she found the highway. If she was going in the right direction. She couldn’t stop shivering as the temperature dropped. All she had was her sweater. It would get down below freezing tonight and Cat had another thing to worry about: hypothermia. People died out here in these mountains because they froze to death, not wearing the correct apparel. Her fingers were cold and she rubbed her hands against her arms.

  There was a sudden sound that caught her attention. Jerking her head to the left, she looked down in the cut where she’d been. Fear jammed in her throat. Her eyes widened. A huge, lumbering black shape appeared out of the gloom. Her heart began to pound with dread.

  An enormous grizzly bear!

  Cat held very still, knowing bears had lousy eyesight. Everything was in their nose. The cinnamon-colored grizzly was moving slowly, stopping, digging into the pine needles, tearing up rocks and dirt. He was looking for grubs and worms for a meal. Cat was paralyzed. She was a hundred feet away from the bruin. He hadn’t seen her, his massive head down, his nose following scents of grubs hidden beneath the rocks.

  She tried to swallow, her heart racing, the adrenaline flooding her. If she didn’t move or make a sound, the bear might not realize how near she was. Unable to tell which direction the wind was blowing, Cat worried. Because if the direction flowed toward that bear’s nose, he’d scent her and come after her. And she had no way to defend herself against an eight-hundred-pound grizzly.

  Her mind spun. If the bear discovered her, she’d have to roll into a ball and play dead. That was the only way to potentially survive the attack. Cat had once been life-flighted into an area in the Tetons where a backpacker had encountered a grizzly. She remembered all too clearly how the man’s back and neck had been savagely bitten into. He’d lost a lot of blood and barely survived, paralyzed from the waist down.

  The grizzly was hunting for food, hungry and focused on the cut where he was digging. Cat saw his five-inch-long claws as he lifted his one arm and dug savagely into the ground. Dirt and pine needles flew in a cloud around the front of the bear. She watched, mesmerized, as the bear delicately turned the large rock over, snuffling and eagerly eating the grubs he’d just found beneath it.

  Cat could hear him chomping his jaws, saw the flash of those huge fangs. She was out in the open, nothing to hide her. She couldn’t get up and run. Trying to outrun a grizzly would be impossible for her or anyone. She still wished she had two good knees at this point. There was a broken limb near her hand. It had fallen off the nearest tree. Slowly, Cat moved her hand, her fingers meeting the gray bark and curving around the end of it. Bears had one Achilles’ heel: their sensitive, large nose. And if the grizzly discovered her, Cat was going to try to strike the bear’s nose. Often, a bear would back off, hurt and angry, with a bleeding nose. It was the only defense she had.

  As she sat there, barely breathing, her heart turned to Talon. Cat had a terrible feeling she wasn’t going to survive. If Magee didn’t find her, the bear probably would. Either way, she was dead….

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CAT’S THROAT ACHED with tension. She could barely breathe as she sat frozen on the side of the rocky hill. The grizzly was within fifty feet of her, still not aware of her presence above him. He was focused on digging up rocks to find food. The woods were gloomy, the day growing grayish. Cat knew there would be light until around eight o’clock. She didn’t dare look at the watch on her right wrist, but figured it was around seven. Her heart was doing a fast pound in her chest. It was so loud she wondered why the grizzly hadn’t heard it yet.

  She had never been this close to a grizzly before. His reddish-brown coat was thick and he looked fluffy. But the massive size of the bruin made her feel shaky with dread and fear.

  Suddenly, there was a screaming of a blue jay’s warning echoing nearby in the woods.

  The grizzly jerked up its head, looking in that direction.

  Cat’s breath jammed. The sound came from the other hill.

  Oh, God…

  The grizzly’s ears flicked as his head was turned away from her, intent on the warning cry of the noisy bird. And then Cat saw the blue jay burst out from beneath the cover of the tree where it was and fly directly at the grizzly. And as it swooped over the bear, it flew right to where Cat was sitting.

  Cat tensed, the bear following the low flight of the screaming jay. Her heart tripled in rate as she saw its small, dark eyes study her. The grizzly halted, watching her. What did he see? Adrenaline poured through her. She had no way to escap
e. Everything in her world started slowing down to frames, just like a movie.

  The grizzly woofed once. He stood up on his hind legs, nearly eight feet tall.

  Cat was transfixed, not breathing.

  The bear woofed again, turning directly toward her, his massive front paws hanging like human hands in front of him. He lifted his nose to the air, testing it.

  She was a dead woman. The bear had picked up her scent. Cat felt her whole world anchor to a heart-thudding stop. I’m going to die….

  A low, snarling growl filled her ears. She blinked once as she saw something small and dark racing out of the darkening line of the woods. Straight at the grizzly.

  Cat gasped. Zeke!

  The Belgian Malinois hurtled like a rocket toward the grizzly. The bear heard the dog’s warning growl and twisted its head in that direction, momentarily distracted. Cat gripped the limb, pulling it up, unsure of what would happen next. In shock over Zeke’s appearance, she realized Talon had to be nearby. Talon! Tears stung her eyes as she watched Zeke hurtle his seventy-five-pound body against a grizzly that probably weighed around eight hundred pounds. Zeke opened his mouth, lips curled back, and leaped.

  Her eyes widened enormously as the Malinois launched itself at the bear. Her breath exploded while Zeke aimed for the bear’s neck. Everything was in slow motion. Zeke’s powerful, fawn-colored body sailed through the air. His lips were lifted away from his muzzle, long fangs sinking into the bear’s thick neck.

  The grizzly wasn’t expecting the attack from behind. It roared and jerked away, coming down off his hind legs. Zeke’s teeth sank deep into the bear’s neck, his long legs straddling the shoulders of the enraged bruin.

  Cat tried to get up, but her knee collapsed beneath her as she watched the dog hang on, the grizzly roaring, trying to swipe at him with his long claws. The dog had perfectly situated himself on the bear’s back. As the grizzly whirled around in circles, trying to shake Zeke off, the dog clung stubbornly, only his teeth holding him on. Cat saw Zeke yanked from one side to the other. His growls and snarls were as loud as the grizzly’s roars. The entire area shook with the two animals combating one another.

  Cat sat tensely, worried for Zeke. It was such a mismatch but the dog was a trained combat assault dog and he did not give up one inch as the grizzly moved around in a circle, trying to shake him off.

  Finally, the bear slung Zeke off. Cat cried out, watching him being hurled through the air at least twenty feet. To her shock, she watched the grizzly turn and charge after the dog. Screaming, Cat tried to get the bear’s angry attention.

  The grizzly jerked to a halt, saliva dripping out of its opened mouth. It turned toward her, breathing hard.

  Zeke had landed with a thud, rolling several times. Without missing a beat, he leaped to his feet, whirled around and snarled. He charged the bear as it started to go up the hill toward Cat.

  Cat screamed and tried to get up as the grizzly growled, taking huge, galloping strides toward her. Zeke came out of nowhere, lunging again. He jumped up, jaws snapping shut once more on the back of the bear’s neck.

  Cat threw up her hands as the bear was little more than twenty feet away from biting her. She lifted her legs, arms flying across her face.

  The grizzly turned, swiping at Zeke. He missed.

  The snarling of the dog, the roaring of the bear surrounded Cat.

  Suddenly, she heard the booming sound of a gun being fired at close range. The grizzly turned around with surprising speed and grace. Zeke was hurled off again, landing ten feet away from Cat. The startled grizzly whirled toward the sound.

  Out of the woods, Cat saw Talon running toward them. He had a pistol in his hands. He fired a second shot.

  The grizzly woofed and suddenly whipped to the left, running down the slope, heading for the V where he had been hunting grubs earlier.

  Zeke came to Cat’s side, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, panting hard, his eyes locked on the fleeing grizzly as he guarded her.

  Cat gulped, watching Talon move with silent speed. She saw his darkly shadowed face, the intense concentration on it, his gun sight fixed on the bear, which quickly disappeared into the dark woods.

  Relief sped through Cat. Talon turned his attention to her, to his dog, who stood like a protector at her side. She reached out, touching Zeke’s fur. The hackles on his neck and shoulders were standing straight up. The dog was still growling, watching where the grizzly had run and hidden. He was panting heavily, his sides heaving from exertion.

  With ease Talon took the hill to reach Cat. His eyes were narrowed, his mouth thinned as he made it to her side.

  “Are you all right?” he gasped, dropping to one knee.

  “My right knee. I can’t walk….” She was shaking with fear. Talon was here. He and Zeke had saved her from being killed by the grizzly. Tears splattered down Cat’s face. She saw Talon’s face go from hard to anxious. He reached out, sliding his arms around her, holding her hard against him.

  Cat sobbed once, burying her head against his shoulder, never so glad to see Talon as right now. He was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling sharply. He was sweaty, but she didn’t care. “I was so scared, so scared,” she muffled against his shoulder.

  “Makes two of us, babe. Are you okay? Any wounds?” Talon squeezed her gently and eased away, anxiously looking down into her taut, pale face. Cat’s eyes were filled with terror. With relief. Talon quickly glanced over at Zeke. He seemed to be no worse for wear, panting heavily, fully alert and in combat mode.

  Sniffing, Cat clung to his dark gaze. “I never told you I love you, Talon. I—I thought it was too soon and, God, after Magee kidnapped me, it was the one thing I regretted the most.” She touched his unshaven jaw, saw the fierceness in his eyes, the glittering of hate for Magee and the anxiety for her.

  “It’s all right,” Talon rasped, moving strands of her hair away from her face. “I love you, too, Cat.” Talon turned, looking in the direction of where the grizzly had fled. He gave Zeke a signal and pointed to a spot from which he wanted the dog to guard them. Zeke immediately leaped to his feet, moved ten feet down the hill and sat down, eyes on where the bear had disappeared. The dog would be his warning alarm in case the grizzly decided to come back. Turning his attention back to Cat, he said, “Where’s Magee?”

  Sniffing, her hand trembling as she tried to wipe the tears off her face, she whispered unsteadily, “I—I don’t know. He went back to the laundry room and I escaped. I ran into the woods, Talon. I didn’t have the keys to my truck and I didn’t dare use that road or he would’ve found me.”

  He nodded. “You did the right thing.” He saw her hand rubbing over her right knee. “Can you walk?”

  Shaking her head, Cat said, “I think I tore my meniscus. When I try to put weight on it, my whole knee collapses under me.”

  “Pain?” he asked, gently feeling the joint. Cat was shaking now, wrapping her arms around herself. She’d come so damned close to death. First, by Magee and then a grizzly bear. If not for Zeke, she would have been attacked by the bear before Talon had ever gotten close enough to save her. Talon’s heart was pounding with dread. With terror.

  “A little pain. It’s starting to swell now,” she whispered, her voice unsteady.

  “Okay, hold on. I’m going to call Cade,” he said, and pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket.

  Cat sat there, her gaze pinned on where the grizzly had run into the dark forest. Zeke was down below them, his black ears pricked up, watching the same area. A sense of safety blanketed Cat as she listened to Talon speaking to the sheriff’s deputy. Safe. She was safe. Or was she? Where was Magee? Cat instinctively looked around the hillside that was now quiet once more. She didn’t see anything. Besides, if someone was around, she reasoned, Zeke would hear or see them first long before she did.

  Talon’s hand on her shoulder comforted her as he spoke to Cade. She felt his alertness. He never stopped looking around. Probably his military training at the
forefront. Her emotions were in chaos. One second, she felt terror. The next, shattering relief. The grizzly had been twenty feet away from her, charging her, its mouth open. Cat could see those fangs, see the saliva dripping off of them, the tiny, angry eyes focused on her. She closed her eyes, feeling incredibly grateful to have survived the confrontation.

  Talon finished the call and stuffed his cell back into his pocket. He returned his attention to Cat. She looked paler, if that was possible, shock in her eyes. “The highway is just over this hill,” he told her. Shrugging off his rucksack, he opened it up. “First things first, I’m going to wrap your knee and get it stabilized.”

  “Where’s Magee?”

  “I don’t know. Cade said they’ve got three sheriff’s cruisers out looking for him. They know he’s got your pickup.” He pulled a pair of flat, short pieces of aluminum from his pack. Next, he located a roll of duct tape.

  “What are you doing with those?” she asked.

  Talon grinned a little. “This is called combat medicine.” He held up the two flat pieces of aluminum in his hand. “Splints. And once I position them on either side of your injured knee, I’ll use the duct tape to hold it all in place. Help me?”

  Cat nodded, her hands shaky as she placed the two flat pieces of metal on either side of her leg. She watched as Talon drew out a hunting knife from the pack. He quickly wrapped the silver duct tape around and around until it provided her new stability.

  “Not fancy,” he grunted, dropping the tape back into his rucksack, “but it works.”

  “You’ve done this a few times,” she said, catching his gaze. When Talon gave her that cocky grin of his, Cat felt sheets of warmth curling through her, chasing some of her shock away. Just the way he dealt with her, his confidence and quiet ability to handle the situation leached off some of the terror.