Page 48 of Peril in Piney Woods

He or she—probably he, judging by the sound of the footfalls—made their way around the small mountain of large rocks, pausing here and there and shining the light into gaps. Slowly, the person reached all the way around to where they’d begun. The light bounced over their location again.

Griff’s breath stalled in his lungs.

The light shifted back, landed right next to his shoulder, then after five frantic thumps in his chest, it moved on.

Footfalls faded as the person walked away.

Griff managed a breath. The bastard had missed them.

The minutes ticked past, and still Meg made no move to emerge from their hiding place. He was in no hurry either. At this point, he would be a fool not to trust her instincts. She clearly knew her way around this sort of situation.

Finally, she leaned forward and poked her upper body between the rocks. Then she eased all the way out.

Griff’s legs had gone numb, and other parts of him remained stiff and at full attention. It took a minute, but he managed to get up and thread his body through the opening as well. Not nearly as gracefully as she had, but he got out all the same.

She moved in close to him again, whispered against his ear, making his body tingle despite the gravity of the situation. Damn. He had to get a hold of himself.

She said, “We need to go back to the road, around the cabin where we can see but they can’t. Can you find the way?”

He nodded.

She tugged her backpack on her shoulder once more, tucked her weapon into her waistband at the front this time and reached for his hand.

He closed his around hers, and his heart clutched. He wanted desperately to keep her safe, but she sure as hell appeared better at this than he would be. He’d have to follow her lead on that part. But he knew the woods, and that would be his contribution to saving their lives.

MEG HELD TIGHTLY to Griff’s hand as he started the slow, laborious process of moving soundlessly through the woods. She followed his steps precisely to avoid bigger clumps of wild grass and underbrush. Not to mention trees. It was so dark. Even though her eyes had adjusted well enough, it was still like walking blindfolded. The clouds had moved in, blocking the meager moon-and starlight. Probably had saved their lives back there. She sure as hell wasn’t going to complain now.

The air was crisp at this hour. She couldn’t be certain what time it was, but she estimated around midnight.

She struggled to stay focused on getting out of here. The struggle lay in the voice she had heard back there while tucked into that rock crevice.

His.

She would know that voice anywhere, anytime.

Kase Ridley. They had worked together off and on over the years. Had been on-again-off-again lovers. Friends. Or at least she’d thought so. Then he’d disappeared on an operation, and she’d been sent in to find him—dead or alive. But she hadn’t found him. All she’d found was serious trouble, trouble that almost got her killed, and then she’d had no choice but to disappear.

Now she understood. He was alive. And he was working for the other side.

Fury roared inside her, but she had to push it down. Getting the hell out of here alive was all that mattered just now. She would deal with the Ridley issue later.

The progress was slow on the route Griff had chosen since the trees were thicker, which meant the undergrowth was as well. Occasionally she caught a glimpse of the cabin light, so they weren’t far from their destination. She was immensely grateful for Griff’s ability to navigate these woods.

They moved beyond the cabin close enough to hear the sound of voices. The four remained gathered there. Likely looking for any clues that might suggest where she and Griff had headed next. One of the scumbags was going through Griff’s truck. Another stood by and watched the search or kept a lookout. The other two were inside ransacking the cabin by the sound of it.

Griff moved faster now and she was glad. They needed a certain level of a head start when they reached the vehicles the thugs had left at the road. It would be fairly easy to call one of Griff’s friends to pick them up, but that would only draw someone else into this mess. Calling an Uber or other hired car would waste too much valuable time and put those drivers at risk too.

When they cleared the tree line and started toward the road, Meg broke away from him and ran. There were two sedans. Both black of course. Hopefully at least one was unlocked.

Not the first one. Damn it. She dug her knife from her backpack and passed it to Griff. “Take care of the tires,” she murmured.

He gave a nod and set to work on her request.

The driver side door on the second one opened. Meg smiled. The fob lay in a cupholder. “Sloppy,” she murmured as she slid in.

Griff rushed around the trunk of the second vehicle and dropped into the passenger seat. Ensuring the exterior lights were off, she started the engine and eased backward along the narrow gravel drive until she was on the pavement, then she cut the wheel and drifted out onto the road. Once she was on the road, she gave it some gas. Not enough to squeal tires but enough to get moving in a hurry.

She drove a mile or so before turning on the headlights.

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