Cassie forcedone foot in front of the other as she bit back another yawn.Adrenaline had worn off an hour ago, leaving her tired down to the bone.Her body ached for a soft bed.The thought of the one she’d given up to be out here hammered home that her choice hadn’t been her best move.
Another twig snapped.
Was someone or something following her?
The sun was up.The road was close.She did a full three-sixty to see if anything caught her attention.
Nothing.
Would going out in the open help?Maybe she could cross the road and walk on the other side.It would be just her luck to get stranded out here with the mountain lion; a true full-circle moment.
She sprinted across the deserted road.Out here, she could hear a car coming from a distance.No one could surprise her.At least, not easily.If someone was stalking her in the woods, that would be a different story.A person would show themselves by now, right?
Not necessarily.Not a hunter.
Ducking behind a tree, she held her breath as she turned around and waited.
Show yourself, bastard!
15
Hudson slowed at the sight of something crossing the road in the distance.If this was Cassie, would she welcome him?Be angry at him?Find another way to disappear the second he turned his back?
He’d acted on protective instinct earlier, making a mad run for the truck when maybe he should’ve sat back and respected her choice to leave.He pulled over to the side of the road and parked.Cut the engine off.
From here, he could keep his distance.First things first, he needed to confirm this was Cassie.Grabbing the shotgun, he exited the vehicle and locked it up.What were the odds she would be on this road?The direction checked out with her heading toward her son’s home.Getting there would require a shit-ton of walking.She’d be at this for days.
Was that the plan?Stick to the road, using the trees as cover.Take her time so Jarek would give up?Retreat?Or be caught?Based on what he knew about her so far, she’d taken Nikki’s abduction seriously—and blamed herself for it.He couldn’t fault her for her reasoning.He would probably have gone down the same route if it were him.It was easy to blame yourself when something went south.Theif only I’ddone whatever…not gone to someone’s house…left the state…then none of this would be happening game was a shark circling bloody vibrations in the ocean.
Outside of the relative safety of his truck, he felt exposed.He could only imagine how Cassie must be feeling right now.Had she found her rifle?Brought any type of weapon?A kitchen knife?
Knowing her, she split too fast.Getting outside without being caught would have been her number one priority.
He made a wide circle as he navigated the terrain with the ease of someone who’d grown up there.He’d explored or worked every inch of ranch property and the surrounding areas at some point in his life, which provided an advantage and allowed him to catch up to the person who’d darted across the road.
The person was a hitchhiker who couldn’t have been a day over fourteen years old, if he had to guess.A young person who was most likely trying to get to a friend’s house.Hell, he’d done the same in his youth.
If the kid saw Hudson with the shotgun tucked underneath his armpit, he might panic.Best leave the kid alone.Or, better yet, Hudson could jog back to his truck and then give the kid a lift, allowing him to hop into the back as so many folks had done for Hudson when he’d been close to that age.Beaumont hadn’t exactly been carpool material, and Hudson’s siblings had had their own problems without him bumming rides from them.He’d always been independent anyway, with a stubborn streak a mile long.
Hudson jogged back to the truck, slipped into the driver’s seat, and continued the drive.When he got close enough to the fourteen-ish-year-old, the kid stuck his thumb out.Hudson rolled down the window.
“Where are you headed?”
The kid rattled off an address.
“I can take you a couple of miles to your turn off,” he said.“Hop in back.”
The kid smiled, thanked him, and hopped onto the bed of the truck.
“Word of warning,” Hudson said to the kid.“There’s a mountain lion with a taste for human meat on the loose.”
“Shit,” the wide-eyed kid said.“Oh, sorry.”
Hudson laughed.He’d said worse back in the day.“I’m not your parent, kid.You don’t have to watch your language with me.You should be careful, though.The damn lion came at me out of nowhere and, as far as I know, has yet to be caught.”
“Thank you for the warning, sir.”
Hudson would correct the kid.Being calledsirmade him want to turn around to check which grown-up was behind him.It was a sign of respect and common in these parts to respect your elders.He barked out another laugh.When had he gotten so old?The response came quickly.Nineteen.Losing Adina had aged him decades.Growing up with Beaumont hadn’t helped in that department, either.The man hadn’t wanted children.He’d wanted a little army of soldiers who obeyed his every command.Robots, essentially, that didn’t talk back or hold opinions of their own.What he’d really wanted was carbon copies of himself.