Anna stayed low, clucked to Top, who instantly took off, right on the rear of Gabe’s mount. She pushed with her legs and hips, urging the horse faster even though they were already galloping at breakneck speed down a steep incline. Weaving, bobbing, and whipping around thicker stands of pine, she gripped the horn with one hand to stay aboard. Her mind raced with plans and possibilities. Anytime now, those soldiers would be at the rock fort.
Then, they’d sight them in a split second and lay down a wall of bullets. Their only hope was to drop below this shelf they were on and then they would be hidden and protected from bullets by the slope itself. She saw the black rocks poking up here and there. If a horse hit one of those the wrong way, he could stumble. Or bruise the inside of his hoof and turn up lame in a heartbeat. She watched where Gabe guided his horse, far more the horseman than she was. Her left hand continued a death grip around the saddle horn. She didn’t have the strength built up in her legs like Gabe did to use them to hold on to Top. Instead, she was being violently jostled around, sometimes her butt in the air, praying she didn’t fall off. Sometimes her butt slammed into the rear of the saddle.
The ground was a blur beneath them. She tried to emulate Gabe’s method of riding. He was seamless, like liquid butter with the movements of his mount as he guided Red right, then left, avoiding dangerous rock outcroppings.
The shelf was coming up in a hurry! She sucked in a breath, wondering how much of a jump it would be down off it to the slope below.
Suddenly, Gabe hauled back on the reins. The horse dropped instantly on his hindquarters to the ground, mud and pine needles flying upward. Leaning hard left, Gabe helped Red at the last moment and stopped him from jumping over that ledge.
Anna had no time to even croak in surprise at Gabe and Red’s sudden, sliding stop. Top followed suit, almost sliding into Red’s rump. She watched in horror, leaning back and leaning left like Gabe had done. Her horse’s hoof barely missed Gabe’s back! Both horses were sliding, inching closer and closer to that ledge!
A scream jammed in Anna’s throat as she got her first glance over that ledge. It was a least a ten-foot drop-off! There was no way they could leap that! It would kill the horses! It would kill them!
Oh, shit!
She kept her cool—snipers did not get caught up in danger because they lived in peril constantly. Instead, she focused on every little thing Gabe did to help his struggling mount, who was now clawing desperately at the slope, to stop from sliding and then tumbling over the ledge.
At the last moment, Gabe let the reins go and launched himself out of the saddle, using his feet to propel him toward the upper slope and away from the ledge.
Stunned, Anna couldn’t move fast enough to do anything. Top was leaning hard to the left, the left toe of her boot was snagging into the pine-needled earth, her leg against his barrel. She clung to the horn, her mouth open, nothing coming out of it.
Gabe tumbled upward on the slope, tucking himself into a ball, rolling away from his horse. Anna sat frozen in the saddle, Top in charge, unable to know what to do next. To her left and ahead of her was Gabe rolling like a ball. Red found purchase, his hind legs like powerful pistons driving into the earth, inches away from the ledge. With no human weight on his back, Red made one last effort to avoid going over the ledge.
It was enough! Without Gabe’s weight, the gelding was able to miss the ledge and struggle to the slope above where the rider was still tumbling.
Everything happened in split seconds. Anna saw them avoid that deadly plunge. Her own horse was in a better position, digging in with his heavy hindquarters, taking her away from that ledge. Somehow, Top threaded between Gabe, who stopped rolling and was leaping to his feet, and his horse, ten feet away from him, who was slowing down.
The sound of rifles being fired exploded around them once more. The firing was muffled by the thick woods.
No! Anna saw Gabe get up after she passed him. She pulled on the reins, drawing Top to a skidding halt. Red had just halted, turned, and trotted back toward her. She leaned down, grabbing the loop of reins just as he came up to her. Bark was flying around them as the bullets came through the air like angry bees singing around them.
“You all right?” Gabe panted as he trotted up to them, his gaze on her as he took Red’s reins.
“I’m fine. You?”
“Okay!”
She watched him mount, guiding Red to a gallop downward another twenty feet, and then lurching to the right, seeking the protection of the shelf.
Anna prayed Top would not be hit by a bullet as she clapped her heels into his flanks. The gelding grunted, leaped forward, and followed Red around the end of the shelf. She clung to the horn once more, legs flapping. Every bone in her lower body felt bruised and tender, but she kept up with Gabe. She could see that the slope was less harsh in its incline as they wove in and around the trees at high speed. Her eyes watered, the wind battering her nonstop. Sweet Guadalupe! She thanked her patron mother mentally as she urged Top on.
The firing stopped.
For now. Anna knew those soldiers had half a mile or so before they reached the ledge. While AK-47s were good at close range, they were terrible at anything more than a quarter of a mile, and they were at least half a mile away from the shooters. This rifle was designed to be a close quarters weapon, not like her sniper rifle with which she could easily take out a target down at one mile, even more, when necessary. She breathed a little sigh of relief. The road was much closer now, churned up, muddy, and with a lot of tire tracks creating high-peaked ruts.
The tension began to sift through her. They would be safe on that road. They could quickly gallop around the long curve of the hill and then no longer be targets of the six soldiers running like hell to catch them right now.
As they hit the flat of the edge of the meadow, she felt Top begin to slow. Gabe’s horse was also slowing because they’d run so hard and long. Animals ran out of energy just like a humans did. Gabe brought Red down to a ground eating trot. So did she, getting bounced around even worse than before than at a gallop. Top’s fur was soaked, gleaming with sweat, and he was snorting rhythmically through his nostrils, telling her how tired he was.
Anna saw that the road ended at the opening to the meadow. On the other side of it was a small rise covered with numerous pine trees. She watched as Gabe guided his horse to the edge of the road, where the ground was far more even. Red was staying clear of all those ruts that could trip him up. They swung to almost the tree line, just five feet or so between them and the road. She kept looking back. No soldiers. Not yet. But she knew they were coming.
“Anna, look out!”
She jerked her chin up looking at where Gabe was pointing. There, on the edge of the curve that was almost a mile away, she saw four ATVs speeding toward them with soldiers carrying rifles directed at them.
This time, she croaked, “WHERE?” Where could they go? They were being bracketed, an age-old military tactic. And the men riding those racing ATVs were wearing the same clothing as the six who were somewhere up on that mountain slope.
Gabe cursed and launched his trotting horse directly into the woods in a straight line and as fast as it could get into the protective tree line.
Anna followed, feeling like a bag of jelly at this point, her body numb with bruising. She couldn’t fall off! She just couldn’t!
Gabe slowed enough to allow her to come alongside of him. “There’s a lake a mile from here. Those ATVs will never make it through these woods. The only way they could find us is to walk through it. We can get to the lake and go around it. They can follow horse tracks because the ground is soft and I’m sure these dudes can track. There’s a heavily graveled area on the other half of the lake. We need to reach that and it will make our tracks disappear. I want to get to where the lake empties out at the Snake River. Okay?”
“Okay,” she said, her voice sounding hoarse.
“Can you make it, Anna?” he asked, and his gaze dug into hers.
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“Hell yes! You lead, I’ll follow!” She saw him give her a tight grin, pride in his eyes for her.
“The horses are tired,” he told her. “I’m going to push them until we reach the lake. By then, we should have plenty of miles between them and us.”
“That sounds good, Cowboy. Let’s rock it out.”
Nodding, Gabe swung in front of her, guiding Red in and out of the trees at a trot. By now, it was noon from what Anna could tell. This was a nightmare. And she wasn’t sure how it would end.
They continued weaving through the forest, which was now silent. A little more relief trickled through her. The horses maintained a good, steady trot and she swore she could feel her mount beginning to be more rested from that crazy run they’d made earlier.
The lake never looked so good! It was about a mile long and half a mile wide. She couldn’t see the Snake River at the other end; the land curved downward a bit on a grassy slope. There was an endless carpet of forest surrounding it. The green grass grew richly around the banks. There were ducks flying out and she saw a great blue heron lift off as they approached the edge of the water. Gabe was right about the horse’s hooves sinking into the wet soil. He guided his horse farther away, the soil more dried out and more stable. She kept watch by looking back every five minutes or so. The last thing she wanted to see was an ATV or a drug soldier coming at them on foot from these thick stands of evergreens.
Finally, on the other side of the lake, Anna saw the soil turn to a lot of gray, black, and white gravel. And sure enough, the horses’ hoofprints no longer showed, thereby covering their escape. She saw a long beach of gravel embracing the edges, and there were young cattails growing up after the long winter. More ducks came out of the reed patches as well, startled by the two riders and their trotting horses. Looking back, Anna could see that they were now below the lake greenery, no longer viewable by anyone coming from the opposite direction. A bit more relief dripped through her.
Gabe pulled up his horse and waited for her. He turned, so he faced her. Running his long, spare fingers down the sweaty neck of his valiant horse, he said, “We’ve run them hard. They aren’t going to be able to blow out a mile or more for quite a while. We need to find a place to hide and rest up.”
“Okay, you know this land. Where’s a good spot?”
Gabe pointed to the forest. “Let’s dismount, give our horses a well-deserved drink of water, and then we’ll walk them deep into the tree line. I don’t know what’s in there, but we have to find someplace to hide ourselves. Red and Top are our ticket out of this mess. We have to let them rest.”
“My ass needs to rest,” she muttered darkly, gently rubbing it tenderly.
He gave a low chuckle. “Yeah, that wasn’t a quaint little ride. I’m proud of you, Anna. You hung in there like a champ. I thought for sure you’d fall off.”
“Give me a break! I rode horses as a child and a teen. I might not have riding legs like you do right now, but I know what it takes to hang on.”
“Thank goodness for saddle horns, right?” he teased, leading Red out to the water.
“For sure,” she whispered, doing the same, clucking to Top to follow her.
The horses drank deeply and long. Finally, they had their fill. Gabe had saddlebags like she did. Both had packed food and water. He took out a plastic bottle of water, opened it, and handed it to her.
“Drink up.”
“Thanks,” she whispered, touched that he gave it to her first. She took only half of it, understanding they only had so much to share between them.
“Finish it,” Gabe urged, leading his horse out into the gravel.
“No, you drink the other half, Cowboy. We’re in this jam together.” Anna saw a warm light in his eyes, and for a moment it erased the danger they were in. On its heels was a question that ate at her: Could they get out of this alive?
Chapter Eleven
It was four P.M. and Anna sat, her back resting against a pine tree, watching and listening. The birds were still singing here and there, flitting around. There was no outcry from them—yet. Had they lost the drug soldiers? Or not? She felt as if she were back in the Guatemalan jungle, being tracked, chased, and hunted. There was never a day that went by when she wasn’t. A million-dollar reward was on her head. So of course, drug soldiers would want to find her. Her thighs ached. Her knees felt bruised, tender, and slightly swollen from the gallop to flee the hunters. After they’d watered the horses at the lake, they’d taken refuge within the tree line of the forest.
Rolling her head slightly to the right, she saw Gabe checking the horses’ legs thoroughly, making sure there were no cuts, bruises, or stones found in the inside of their hooves that could make them go lame. Her heart opened to him, despite the danger that hung around them. She saw the strain in his features, the sweat gleaming on his face and neck as he gently patted Top. Turning, he gave her a silent thumbs-up, meaning her mount was sound. Next, he moved to his gelding, Red. Within minutes, he was finished with his examination.
“All good,” he told her in a low voice, sitting down opposite her, facing her and crossing his legs beneath him.
Nodding, she continued to slowly look around. “Thoughts? What are we going to do?”
“I’m sure those soldiers are here to pick up this latest drug drop. If they give up on finding us, I’d like to use the hill that is on this side of the meadow to watch and record them if possible.”
“I’d like to find if they use the road we were on or another one as they move the bales out. Wouldn’t you?”
“Yes,” he said, taking off his Stetson, wiping his face with his hand. He settled the hat on his head, giving her a long, intent look. “Most of all? I want us to live through this. We have no comms until we can get at least three or four miles down the highway in order to reach cell tower range.”
“Don’t you think Salt Lake HQ might be worried by now? We had a check-in with them by noon. It’s four P.M. We were supposed to be home by that time.”
“Yes, I think they are aware something’s happened. We don’t know if they have a Pred in the area or not. And the only other way to find out is by satellite and we know it’s not going over this particular latitude right now.” He gave her a grim look. “And add to this, Salt Lake is about four to five hours away from us.”
“We could be dead or captured by the time they got anything moving our direction to try to find us,” Anna agreed glumly. She reached out, sliding her hand into his. Instantly, his fingers closed around hers. “I want to get out of this alive, too,” she said, her voice trembling. “I want quality time with you, Gabe. With this happening? If we make it out alive? I’m turning in my badge afterward and telling DEA I’m done.”
He lifted her hand, kissing the back of it. “Makes two of us. Something’s happening between us, Anna. Something damned good and I’m old enough to know it’s serious. I want the time with you. Safe time. Not always being on guard or being in the crosshairs of a drug lord.”
She sat up, went to her knees, pulled her hand from his. Placing them on the sides of his face, she whispered, “I’m going to kiss you, Gabe. You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to do this . . .” and she leaned down, her lips fitting warmly against his. She heard him give a low groan of pleasure, his hands cupping her shoulders, drawing her against his searching mouth, the wetness shared between them sending her soaring with joy. Her world of danger, for one moment, melted away and dissolved. In its place was the unique scent of the man she was kissing, the pine surrounding them, a heady mix that made her lower body begin to ache for want of him in every possible way. His mouth was strong, not dominating, but cherishing her, as if she were priceless to him. As his fingers caressed her hair that was up in a mussed ponytail, she shivered with anticipation of what it would be like to lie with him, love him fiercely and passionately as she had dreamed of doing so many times before.
Their breathing changed, was swifter. Their lips clung to one another, the urgency mounting b
etween them, and it took everything Anna had to ease away from Gabe’s hungry mouth. She barely lifted her lashes, staring into his slitted eyes, feeling his strength, his utter need of her in every way. Allowing her fingers to move through his short hair, she whispered unsteadily, “I’ve been falling in love with you since the day I met you. . . .”
Gabe’s eyes widened and he allowed her to ease back and sit on her heels, her hands entwined with his. “Me too,” he admitted thickly.
“When did you realize it was more than just sex and lust?”
“About a month ago.” His mouth quirked. “I fought it, Anna. I knew it wasn’t the right time or place to tell you how I felt about you.”
“Did you want to?”
“Yes, with every cell in my body. When I realized you wanted the same thing as I did in our growing relationship, it was a hundred times tougher to keep my mouth shut.”
The corners of her mouth curved faintly. “Same here.” Anna looked around, listening for sounds that would tip her off that soldiers were lurking nearby. The birds continued to chirp. Moving her gaze to his, she admitted, “I love you, Gabe. I can’t put a finger on exactly when I knew that. And today has done nothing but make it very clear to me what’s really important in my life. It’s not this game with drug soldiers that may get us killed.”
Caressing her fingers, he rasped, “We’ll get out of this. One way or another. Right now? The only important thing is us escaping alive.”
“I agree. DEA has plenty of Pred and satellite info on this meadow now to launch an all-out assault on this drug lord and his soldiers. They can stop this meadow from being used ever again. Later, they will find another one, somewhere else.”
“But hopefully outside of Wind River Valley. That’s what I want for us, Anna: time to let our hearts decide what we mean to each other and doing it in safety.”
She nodded and pulled her hands from his. “If I don’t stop touching you, I’m going to jump your bones, rip off your clothes, and have my way with you.” She saw a slow, heated grin come to his perfectly shaped mouth. Her lips still tingled with the memory of him against her lips.
Wind River Undercover Page 18
