30

They posted a sentry.

Angie worked on the knots in silence, doing her best not to show any movement. She tipped her head back against the tree and closed her eyes. To let her head droop forward might feign sleep better, but she couldn’t look around with her head down.

Through barely opened lashes she watched Windy take a turn. He sat on a rock and didn’t budge, and he’d picked a spot where, if she stirred at all, he’d be sure to see her. He did step into the woods for a time, and she picked at the knots frantically while he was out of sight. By the time he returned, she had her hands free. Now all she needed was a chance to run.

She worked it over and over in her mind. What would she do if she did escape? She had no weapon. She’d be running from three dangerous men, all of them skilled trackers. And how would she find her way back?

Follow the beads . . .

Arizona Watts was the next to stand guard. He was more vigilant than Windy and kept his gun drawn. He walked a circuit in the woods every half hour. She wrapped the rope around her wrists, because she was afraid he might check to make sure she was still bound.

As the night wore on, the full moon rose higher. They’d camped in a small clearing in the woods and so remained in deep shadows. Knowing the night wasn’t pitch-black helped her to stay alert and ready for her chance.

And then it was Alonzo’s turn. Now Angie was so tired, after such a hard day, she had to fight to keep her eyes open.

But she didn’t give in.

She couldn’t say the same for Alonzo.

Finally it was time.

“This is taking way too much time.” Justin fought to keep the words inside, but it was like trying to clamp a lid on a cauldron boiling over.

Everyone with him—Cole, Sadie, and Heath—turned and hissed, “Shhh!”

Considering he was a long way toward losing his mind, they should at least give him credit for whispering.

What was happening to Angie while they searched? Was she being mistreated? Was she fighting for her life? Was she already dead? He kicked his horse into a gallop. He expected Heath to yell at him. Instead, Heath picked up his pace to catch up and stay even. Sadie and Cole were right with him.

But that didn’t make Justin feel any better. It only meant his worries were shared by the whole family.

Alonzo sat on the ground and leaned back against the big rock Windy had sat on. Angie heard his snoring within minutes.

She stood and ducked behind the tree. The sapling was too narrow to hide her really, but it might confuse someone glancing her way.

No one stirred.

She crept along the side of the clearing, feeling with her feet, hoping to avoid stepping on a fallen branch or twig and snapping it.

Knowing right where she’d thrown the beads, she went directly to the trail that led back home. She found three beads, grabbed them and kept going, being careful to move quietly while putting some distance between her and those awful villains.

Before long she reached a fork in the trail and found her bead, but didn’t know for sure which way to turn. Downhill again? That seemed to make the most sense.

If the Bodens were on their way, how long would it take her to run into them? She knew Justin. She knew all of them. Their nature was heroic—they would come as fast as they could to save her.

Another bead at another fork in the trail. She picked it up and proceeded downhill, faster now but not running, not on an uneven trail in the dark. She no longer worried about silence.

And then a shout echoed from above.

“She’s gone! Alonzo, wake up!” Arizona Watts sounded killing mad.

Angie’s eyes burned with tears. Terror swept through her. She fought both the tears and the terror and kept moving. They’d come after her now. She needed to be silent, to get off this trail and hide, but first she wanted to gain every inch of distance from them that she could.

Horse’s hooves sounded from the direction of the clearing.

Every instinct told her to run. Yet she ignored those instincts because her only chance right now was to hide . . . in utter silence.