| |
The night had grown silent.
Eric had never known true silence until he'd experienced his first snowy night in New Hampshire. The snowfall muffled every sound. The animals were quiet, safe in their dens and hollows. The few birds that hadn't flown south were huddled, waiting out the storm. No bugs buzzed by his ears. The only sound was the occasional rustle of leaves in the breeze.
Tonight, the silence was unnerving.
What was happening back at the house? They must have been searching for him, but Eric heard nothing. Had he lost them? Must have. If he wanted, he could stay right here and never be found. But without the surfer's phone, he had no way to contact Brady and get help. And Otero had claimed he knew where Kelsey was hiding.
Eric thought he knew roughly where he was. They'd driven over the bridge that led toward Eric's home, then turned about a mile before Eric's driveway. These woods were dark and empty. He'd never come this far from his house, had never discovered the little house. Otero and his men had no idea that Eric knew where he was. They'd imagine him running blindly into the forest.
Eric faced what he thought was north. If his calculations were correct, his house would be that way, probably less than a mile. At home, he'd have access to a phone, not to mention a sizable arsenal.
But if he was wrong, if his house was further, or if his internal compass was off by just a few degrees...
He blew out a breath and turned back toward the house he'd just escaped. Trying to be as quiet as possible, he picked his way through the forest. He had to find out what was going on.
In the silence, every move he made was amplified. He scanned the forest for signs of his captors. As he neared the house, he saw footprints, but nothing else. Surely they hadn't quit looking for him. If he could find one of them first...
Eric heard the hum of motors.
He closed his eyes, focused on the sound. These weren't car motors. The pitch was too high, and the sound was coming from the wrong direction.
He looked to his right, peered into the dark forest, saw nothing.
But it wasn't a coincidence. Whoever that was had to be headed this way. Maybe Brady had figured out where he was. Maybe...
No. Brady would come in a car. Unless his friends were coming from multiple directions. Unlikely, but it didn't hurt to hope.
Eric crested a hill. The rundown house sat in a small depression in the distance. He dropped to the ground behind a bush. His dark blue jacket wouldn't blend into the gray-and-white landscape. He peered between the bare branches. Through a window, he saw the woman from earlier pacing, chewing a fingernail. One man was carrying things to the cars out front, packing up. Seemed Carlos was worried Eric would make contact with someone. He was running.
The motors were getting close now. Eric watched as two snowmobiles came into view through the woods to the east. A woman was riding on the back of the snowmobile in front.
Her hair flew out behind her.
Kelsey.