Page 59 of No Place Left to Hide

“I barely did.”

It might be the color of the weak moonlight, but she looks ready to pass out. “Thank you. God. That would have been bad.”

She’s not kidding. This water is moving so fast that we’d be swept away immediately. Which also means we can’t cross it. I grab her hand and tug her to the right, down the shore. “Come on, we have to find somewhere to hide.”

We race along the bank of the river, running as fast as we can in our flats, but I know we can’t stay on the shore very long. The trees cast the forest in almost pitch-blackness, but here by the river, the moonlight bathes us in enough light that he’ll spot us in seconds. Especially in my fucking disco ball skirt. If we’re still out here when he makes it to the river, we’re screwed.

I hear a sound in the trees close by. I dive back into the forest as quickly as I can, pulling a limp Jena behind me. Seriously, what the fuck is her problem? Why is she losing itnow? We’ve been in deep shit for almost an hour, and she saves her meltdown for when she should be in survival mode?

A massive tree lies across our path. It landed on another fallen tree, so the trunk is about four feet off the ground. I duck under it and pull Jena toward where a dinner table-sized mass of roots has peeled straight out of the ground. It created a hole in the dirt that’s guarded by roots, and I push Jena into it. She drops to her knees and puts her face in her hands and sobs.

I creep around the root system and peek over the top of the tree to get my bearings. The forest is trying to turn me around, but there are landmarks. I just need to focus.

The river is ahead and to the right. Three on the clock. Straight ahead, maybe five hundred feet, is about where we almost went into the water. That would mean the highway, and the police officer, is to my left. We ran a ways though, so she has to be a further distance, at around ten or eleven o’clock. To get back to our starting point would involve a mad dash through thick forest, then a climb up what must have been a forty-foot embankment. I look over my shoulder to the forest directly behind me. That must be parallel to the road too. Maybe that’s the answer: we climb here and run down the highway instead of through the trees.

Would he expect that?

Either way, we can’t stay here.

A branch snaps and I turn back toward the river. Something’s moving down the shore. I watch, holding my breath, and a pink glow comes around one of the trees. He’s standing by the water but he’s not close. If it wasn’t for that nightmare-inducing mask, I wouldn’t have seen him at all.

What an idiot. Way to pick the most conspicuous disguise ever.

I duck back down and crouch beside Jena. “Okay, I have a plan. We’re going to sneak around him and get up to the road. Are youwith me?”

I wave my hand in front of her face, and her gaze locks onto mine with so much terror and intensity it freezes me in place. Her entire body is shaking.

“This isn’t supposed to happen,” she whispers again. Her voice is so quiet I can barely hear her.

“You’re okay. I promise,” I say, holding her hands. “We’re going to be fine. This is a lot of forest for one fuckwad to search alone. Someone’s going to come looking for the cop up there, and when they do, we’ll have all the help we need. Everything is going to be okay. I won’t let him get to you. I promise.”

“Brooke…” She bursts into tears.

I hug her fiercely. “It’s okay. We’re going to make it out of this. Besides, it’s wiry little Brandon Heck. If push comes to shove, we can totally take him. He’s not exactly a bodybuilder, and I have amazing nut aim. One punch and I’ll end his family line.”

Jena shakes her head vigorously. “No, this isn’t supposed to happen. Why is this happening?”

Panic radiates off her and fills this space beneath the tree until I can practically taste the fear in the air. It quickens my own heart rate. She’s so deep in her spiral there’s no way she’s moving from this spot. Any plan to get out of here needs to happen without Jena’s participation.

I squeeze her hands again. “I’m going to make sure you’re okay. I promise.”

I stand again and look up over the tree. The pink glow is closer, but still way down by the water. What’s he doing? Looking for tracks?

Oh shit. He’s listening for us.

I look toward where the road is—I think?—and back to the river. Maybe that’s the plan. Maybe I creep toward the road to get help, andif he goes anywhere near Jena and her tree hole, I can make some noise and lead him away. I have a head start. I’m much closer to the road than he is. I can probably get up the embankment before he can even reach the bottom.

That’ll keep him away from Jena.

No way am I letting another Heck ruin our lives. Not tonight.

I crouch back into the hole. “Okay, new plan. You stay here and don’t make a sound. I’m going to lead him away. With any luck, the cop’s radio isn’t fucked, and I can use that to call for help. If it’s messed up, I’ll grab my phone and run down the highway until I get service and call 911. He’ll follow me, and he’ll leave you behind. When we’re out of the forest, climb up to the road and wait for help. Okay?”

She nods, but I don’t know that she’s actually listening.

“Tell me. Tell me the plan.”

“You lead him away… I wait.”

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