Page 47 of A Mile of Ocean

“You hid your fear well. I’ll let you in on a little secret. We’re all scared of what lurks beyond those woods or around the next bend. Every man out here is on high alert, afraid they might miss something that could cost someone their life. It’s time for me to admit that I’m just not sure how long we can keep this up. If we don’t catch this guy soon, Hawk, Drum, and Lincoln may decide to move on to another job. And I don’t know how long we have Birk and Beckett or Lucien and Brogan.”

“Brogan and Lucien will hang around. I don’t know about the others.”

As they patrolled deeper into their sector, their horses fell into a synchronized trot. As they rode on, the echo of distant thunder over the mountains reminded them of the night’s ordeal. The trees whispered their secrets into the light breeze as the moonlight cast a delicate glow along the trail. Savannah found solace in the steady rhythm of her horse’s hooves, a metronome for her thoughts.

“Do you think we’ll catch him?” she asked, breaking the silence that had settled between them.

Trent’s sigh was barely audible, a testament to his own weariness. “I don’t know. But we have to keep trying. Every minute we’re out here is a threat to him, a message that we’re not backing down.”

The weight of his words landed heavily on her shoulders. She knew the stakes were high, and failure was not an option.The safety of so many depended on their perseverance and unity.

Time seemed to stretch and compress as they continued their vigilant journey back and forth along the perimeter. Savannah’s mind wandered to the faces of those she’d met at the ranch, the people counting on her strength and resolve. She couldn’t afford to falter.

“Now that the rain has stopped, I need to pee,” Savannah admitted out loud, wriggling in the saddle.

“Bushes ahead. I’ll stand guard a decent distance away.”

But a sudden movement in the underbrush snapped her out of the peeing mood. Her heart raced, and her hand instinctively reached for the shotgun Duchess had loaned her.

Trent’s sharp gaze followed the sound as he drew his .45 pistol and slowly dismounted to investigate.

As he shined his flashlight into the bushes, a rabbit burst out into the open, using its powerful hind legs to scamper off and back into the protection of the shrubbery. The surprise movement caused Phoenix to snort and rear up on his back legs.

“Whoa there, boy,” Trent uttered in a soothing voice that put Phoenix at ease again, his front feet back on the ground. “It’s okay. You’re okay,” he whispered, running his hand along the horse from his head to his side to calm him down further.

He scanned the area before swinging back into the saddle and holstering his weapon. “I’m not sure he was spooked by the rabbit,” Trent noted. “Something else must be out there.”

Savannah swallowed hard, tightening the reins on Giselle. “We should probably check it out.”

“Do you still have to pee?” he asked.

“Not if he’s out there somewhere lurking around.”

Trent headed into the thick brushwood with Savannah trailing after him. Fifteen yards in, he put his finger to his lips for quiet, aiming the flashlight onto a muddy set of tracks underthe horses. Trent followed the bootprints until they disappeared over a cluster of small boulders and up the hillside.

He radioed the other team members. “This is East Unit. We found fresh boot tracks in sector 19, made no more than twenty minutes ago. Be advised that the suspect seems to be heading northwest. That’s the northern corridor. That’s you, Lincoln and Cecil. Toby and Duchess start heading south. Over.”

“Affirmative,” Lincoln relayed. “We’re on alert. Over.”

“Copy that,” Duchess radioed back. “We’re on the move now. Over.”

They pressed on, using the hillside as a guide, the incident a reminder that the night held too many uncertainties and that circumstances could change instantly.

Determined to face whatever was out there head-on, his voice was steady and reassuring when Trent finally spoke again. “If you still need to go, there’s a perfect spot behind that rock.”

“Thanks. I’ll take you up on that.” She dismounted quickly, grabbed the toilet paper from her pack, and scurried around the rock, emerging five minutes later.

“Sorry it took so long. I’m a little out of practice peeing in the wild.”

“Not a problem. The sun will be up soon in less than thirty minutes. Duchess said she worked with you and Brogan on how to use that shotgun. Are you comfortable with it yet?”

Even though her teeth were chattering, Savannah grinned. “She did. I wouldn’t use the word comfortable. I’m just hoping I don’t have to use it.”

“Maybe after you get some sleep, we should think about another round of target practice.”

“That’s a good idea,” Savannah said, taking a deep breath and trying to ground herself with the task at hand. The darkness gradually gave way to the faintest hints of dawn, but the tensionin the air remained thick. Trent’s presence was comforting. She drew strength from his calm and steady manner.

They continued their cautious ascent, the rise in elevation nominal. As they crested the hill, the landscape opened up, bathed in the soft, pre-dawn light. The sight was both beautiful and eerie, the shadows still long and deep. Trent paused, studying the ground intently, before motioning for Savannah to follow him down a narrow, rocky path.

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