“Okay.” She mentally prepared herself, but could feel her body begin to tremble again. Dear God, not now. “One…” Josie’s temples throbbed. “Two…” Her stomach tightened and threatened to expel the remaining contents. “Three.” William gently pushed the door open.
It took everything in Josie’s body not to tug him back into the cupboard when he poked out his head. When he took the first tentative step out, he reached for her.
Drawing a deep breath, she slid her hand into his and crept out of their hiding place. The stillness of the cabin unnerved her and heightened her paranoia. Where had the men gone? Were they watching them right now? William pressed a finger against his lips and led her around the staircase, then through the living room. Josie’s vertigo worsened to the point that she was wobbling on unsteady legs. “Will,” she whispered, pitching forward. He caught her, but not without crushing a picture frame underfoot. The cabin’s silence was broken. Doors crashed from someplace within the cabin.
William swooped Josie into his arms and high-tailed out the front door. He ignored the pressure of her deadweight and willed his body to perform the task of getting them the hell out of there.
They’d actually made it into the woods before the sound of gunfire filled the night. But as darkness welcomed them into its fold, he feared that it wasn’t enough to protect them from harm. “Did you see who it was?” A man’s voice rang out. “Was it the girl?” “I didn’t see anything! I thought you saw something. You were shooting!” “Quiet. I think I hear something.”
William stopped. With the forest floor covered in leaves, he knew it was suicide to race through them. Not mention, Josie seemed to grow heavier by the second.
Which way, he wondered. He had no clue. He couldn’t see a thing. He turned to his right and was surprised the ground had disappeared.
They were falling.
Stunned, he hit earth, but tumbled down a deep slope. He’d lost his hold on Josie, but he could feel her rolling next to him. It seemed like they would never stop when at last they did. It took a moment to catch his breath, but the he frantically searched around with his hands.
“Josie?” His hands brushed against her still form. Fear exploded in his chest. Was she all right? Was she dead?
William quickly found her pulse and nearly collapsed with relief.
A man’s startled wail caught his attention. At the sound of another body slamming into the hill, William quickly gathered Josie in his arms and tried to make a run for it.
“Will?”
“Shh.” He struggled to keep his hold on her. At this moment, he could only pray that she was okay. There was no time to check. Once again, he was concerned about the crunching of leaves beneath his feet. It was like a homing device on his movements. He stopped at a large tree and slumped down beside it. He struggled, but finally managed to control his labored breathing. The sound of rustling leaves reached his ears. A hunter was on the prowl. Josie reached for him, and he placed a silencing finger against her lips. “I know you’re out there,” the man’s menacing voice called out. “Is that you, Michelle?” William felt her body tremble, but she was being a good girl and remaining quiet. He needed a weapon. The footsteps grew closer. William gently felt around him. Maybe there was a stick or a fallen tree branch he could use. “Why don’t you just give yourself up, Michelle?” the man continued to taunt. “We just want to talk to you.” He was inches from them now. Finally, his hand found the very thing he needed: a large rock. “Come out, come out, wherever you are,” the man’s devilish voice singsong.
The predator stepped around the tree and William came up swinging. There was an eerie crunch when the rock connected with the man’s skull.
A shot rang out seconds before the man hit the ground. More leaves rustled, and William knew the man was still a threat. He followed the sound of the leaves and swung the rock a second time.
At long last, all was quiet.
Chapter 23
“I think I can walk now,” Josephine whispered in the darkness. She could feel the strain in William’s cored muscles slowly ebb away. He sloshed through the forest of fallen leaves as though he hadn’t heard her. “Really, William. You can put me down now.” “It can’t be much farther,” he said, in an exhausted pant.
Through the weak glimmer of moonlight, she made out his tensed feature and noted how he went out of his way to avoid making eye contact. Her guilt increased tenfold. This was all her fault. She had nearly gotten them killed. “Put me down,” she insisted gently. William drew a deep breath and finally came to a stop. “Please,” she added. Bending forward, he lowered her feet to the ground. Her limbs trembled, but they were able to support her weight. Meanwhile, William used the brief down time to draw in a few extra gulps of air. “Are you all right?” she asked. He didn’t answer. “Will…” “Can we talk about this later?” he snapped. “I want to get out of these damn woods.”
Josie swallowed the rest of her question and gave him a moment to collect himself. She knew what was eating at him. The possibility of having killed a man. “It’s not your fault.” “Please,” he begged. “Just help me find a way out of this place. I feel like I’m about to go mad.” She glanced around, unable to make out anything more than a few inches in front of her nose. “Anything look familiar to you?” “No,” her voice croaked. Tears burned the back of her eyes. They were lost. He knew it, and she knew it.
Glancing up at the starless sky, Josie believed that even the heavens were against helping them find their way back to Larry and Sheila’s home. A light drizzle of rain sprinkled across her upturned face and blended with her tears.
“We’ll just keep going straight,” he decided.
She nodded, seeing no point in arguing.
As it turned out, it was a wise decision. Minutes later, they emerged from a final thicket of trees to stand in front of the dark house.
Josie wanted to sink to her knees and have a good cry. But she didn’t dare, especially since the cold wind was delivering the rain in hard, slanted sheets.
Silently, William slid an arm around her waist and directed her toward the house. When they entered, a strange awkwardness settled on them. So many thoughts ran though Josie’s head, and she was too nervous to put a voice to any of them. “I’ll start a fire,” he said, pulling off his jacket, while heading toward the living room. “Do you think that’s a wise idea?” she asked, following him. “I mean, what if the smoke draws attention?” “We’re not the only house on the mountain.” “But what if they come here?” “They won’t.” “But how can you be so sure?”
“Look, Josie,” William barked. He raced his hand through his hair and drew in a deep breath. “I don’t know anything. I don’t know who those men are, but I doubt that they’re crazy enough to draw so much attention to themselves by systematically searching each house on the mountain. Beside, we don’t know if one the them…” She stepped forward to console him. “He got what he deserved.” William’s sharp gaze sliced toward her. “No one deserves to die, Josie. No one.” She stopped, feeling her insides go cold. He turned away again and finished removing his jacket. “First thing in the morning, we’re going to the police.” Stunned, she watched him disappear into the living room. “And tell them what?” “The truth,” he shouted. “The whole damn truth.” “And what the hell do you think is going to happen? You’ll lose your job. They’ll arrest you.”
“We’ll still be alive,” he retaliated. “I’ve done all I can for you. I got you out of the hospital; but I don’t know a damn thing about dodging bullets. Those were trained killers.” “And we escaped,” she reasoned. “Barely. By the skin of our teeth. And no offense.” He paced. “But you weren’t much help out there.” “Oh, so it’s my fault?” “You were the one who wanted to take a trip up to Daddy’s old cabin. I should have known that was a bad idea.”