Page 62 of Deadly Revenge

“When I found you unconscious, I called Alex. Do I need to call an ambulance too?” Jenna asked.

“No.” He wished she hadn’t called Alex. But it was protocol. “Help me sit up.”

Jenna held out her hand, and Max pulled himself to a sitting position, then braced his back against a tree trunk. His head swam. Maybe not his best idea. “Does Alex know how to get where we are?”

“I told her to find the ATV and then follow the broken branches to the river.”

After a few minutes, he lightly pressed his fingers against the side of his head, wincing when he found a tender spot.

“Did you see who it was?”

“Sort of. He wore sunglasses and a ball cap. Bulky guy in jeans and a pullover.”

Evidently, he’d been watching them while Jenna worked with Ace. But why? And why attack him?

She took out her phone. “I’m calling 911. If someone hit you in the head, you may have a concussion.”

Max held up his hand. “Don’t call. I’m not seeing double and I’m not nauseated.” He was more embarrassed that the man had gotten the better of him. Max pushed away from the tree he’d been bracing his back against. “I need to stand up.”

“Let me help you.” She aided Max in climbing to his feet and then steadied him once he was up.

“So, what were you doing before the attack?”

He turned and pointed toward the creek. “I was walking to the bank. It looked like someone or something came up from the creek, and more than once. I was checking it out, except I never got close enough to see.”

“It’s actually a river—the Blackwater River,” Jenna said. “It isn’t very big here, but there’s a sandbar where the river changed course years ago. It gets wider and deeper before it empties into the Pearl River above the lake.” She glanced toward the bank. “The bend is a perfect place to tie up a small boat or canoe and climb up the bank. Maybe the way they got here was what someone didn’t want you to see.”

“But why were they spying on us in the first place?”

She blew out a breath. “Could it be Rick Sebastian?”

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Even as she said it, Jenna wasn’t sure Sebastian would risk going back to jail to carry out his vendetta. Besides, how would he have known they were even at the barn?

“It’s possible it wasn’t about either of us. The path looked worn—as if someone used it regularly. But to what purpose?”

“We busted a meth lab in the county not long ago.” Jenna scanned the trees around them, barely aware of the quiet flow of the river in the background. She’d roamed these woods as a kid, tagging along with her uncle on the days he’d worked at the barn training the former owner’s horses. It’d been a safe place ...

“Maybe someone has set up around here and is using the river to transport drugs out.”

She nodded. “What do you remember about the attack?”

“Very little.” He massaged his temples, and then looked up. “Maybe a sense that someone was behind me ... when I turned around, he was just there. I should’ve been more alert.” Red crept into his face.

She knew how he felt at being caught off guard.

“How did you find me?”

“Once I found Kirk’s ATV, I didn’t have any trouble tracking you—you left a pretty solid path to follow.”

He glanced toward the riverbank. “Let’s see if there’s anything around the river that might help us figure this out.”

Jenna let Max go first so that if he started to fall, she could catch him. Not that she told him that. His pride was already wounded at getting coldcocked.

Max pointed to a bare spot on the bank that looked like a path down to the river. “I remember now—that’s why I was headed this way. See if you can see any footprints.”

Jenna kept her gaze glued to the ground. “I see deer prints, and maybe raccoon ... this must be a watering spot.”

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