Page 77 of Hunter

Handing her the lighter one, he silently moved the bar away from the door.

“We can’t use a flashlight. Someone might see,” he whispered. “So, stay close to me.”

“You can count on it,’ she murmured, following him down the tunnel and waiting while he scanned the immediate area before they both slipped outside into the cool evening air. He closed the door and used another lock he’d found inside to reseal the entrance.

She looked around her in the gathering darkness, half expecting an attack from someone poised on the rocks above their heads, but she saw no one.

Quickly and silently, he led her down the path they’d taken earlier. There were large rocks and tree roots underfoot, and she would have fallen several times if he hadn’t been gripping her arm.

It was hard to keep up with the pace he was setting, but she didn’t voice a complaint. About halfway down the trail, she heard feet, then a gruff voice.

Hunter went stock-still, his fingers digging into her arm as he brought her to an abrupt halt.

“This must be the place,” a man said.

“Anyone home?”

“The door’s locked,” the first speaker answered, and she knew he was talking about the shelter they’d vacated only minutes earlier.

“I guess it’s another dead-end.”

“Maybe they were here. I’d like to look for footprints, but it’s too dark to see much.”

“All right; we’ve got another couple of hours before we can report back to the Chief of Operations. Let’s head back toward the lake,” another voice ordered. “See if we can spot anything along the shoreline.”

The feet started down the path—coming directly toward them. Kathryn went rigid as she stared at the rock walls hemming them in. Now what? Run for it? They’d never make it. At least, she wouldn’t, she silently amended. Hunter could probably get away if he didn’t have to wait for her. But she knew with absolute certainty that he would never leave her. He had vowed to get her to safety, and he would do everything in his power to keep his promise.

He tugged on her hand, and she came out of her trance, following him around a boulder. He pulled her into a crevasse on the far side, shielding her body with his and pressing her into the shadows. She buried her face in the front of his shirt, breathing in his familiar scent, trying to match his apparent calm, though her heart threatened to pound its way through the wall of her chest as the search team moved closer and closer.

To her vast relief, they didn’t leave the trail, didn’t stop as they descended to the lake.

In a few minutes, Hunter tugged at her hand again and whispered, “We will go the other way.”

“That was no accident. They came straight to the shelter.” she said.

“Yes. After McCourt’s men failed to find our bodies at the lake, someone must have searched the old records for places where we might hide.”

They retraced their steps up the hill. Before they reached the shelter, Hunter led her down a branching path. In the fading light, it was even slower going than before.

When they reached the bottom of the hill, she stood dragging in air.

“We can’t stay here long,” he said in a barely audible voice.

“I know.”

“But we can take a shortcut through the woods,” he added as he scanned the area and began to edge forward into the forest.

He moved with caution, stopping to listen every few minutes, but they met no more patrols. She was starting to relax when she saw flashlight beams cutting through the gloom.

Hunter went stock-still, then swiftly pulled her behind the trunk of a tree as the lights and the sound of moving feet drew closer. Swallowing a little moan, she melted against him, resisting the urge to close her eyes. Unable to look away from the lights, she watched them approach, feeling like an animal being stalked.

She felt Hunter’s muscles tense as he prepared for a confrontation. But at the last moment, the men passed a few feet to their left and moved into the distance.

The air frozen in her lungs hissed out. Stratford Creek might not be a military base anymore, but it looked like Colonel Emerson commanded a small army. “That was pretty close,” she said, when she dared to speak.

“Yes. Lucky for us none of them has a night scope.” He made a low sound. “I should have made a better evaluation of the situation. We have less time than I thought.”

Before she could answer, he started off again, moving faster, but watching to see if she could keep up. When he heard her breath coming in little gasps, he slowed his pace.

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