Page 52 of Bridge to Safety

“Why didn’t you say something? I thought he’d gone away.”

“Because it made you scared.” She pressed against Shiloh. “He’s always there watching.”

“Let’s go inside.” She cast one more worried glance toward the trees, then ushered the child into the safety of the house. “Why don’t you go watch a cartoon? The dogs can handle Sasquatch. Grab a cookie on your way.”

The thought of a cookie seemed to have removed the flicker of fear from the little girl’s face. “Yay. No more schoolwork.”

Rachel’s homework was at the bottom of her priorities. Keeping the child safe and distracted was number one. Shiloh returned to the house and locked the door.

Peanut stood at the front door, her nose pressed to the floor. She whined and pawed at the wood.

“The TV shut off,” Rachel said.

Shiloh glanced at the microwave. Nothing. A study of the alarm system confirmed her fear. The electricity was off. She didn’t recall a notice from the city saying it would be off for repairs. Which meant one thing. Someone had shut it off.

The front door handle turned.

Peanut barked deep and loud.

“Rachel, come over here, please.”

Eyes wide, she scooted off the sofa and came to Shiloh.

“When I say run, you grab my hand and we run as fast as we can out the back door, okay?” When the child nodded, Shiloh yanked open the door to the sight of Duke reaching for the handle again. “Get him, Peanut!”

The dog launched herself at him. Duke yelled then whipped around.

Grasping Rachel’s hand, Shiloh darted out the back door and made for the woods as fast as possible.Please, God, don’t let him hurt my dog. Shiloh knew exactly where to hide. Hopefully, Peanut could lead Rowan to them. She regretted not making the time to show him the cave. “You okay?” She took a quick glance at Rachel. “Can you keep up?”

“I can run fast. See?” She pulled free of Shiloh’s grasp and sprinted ahead.

“Stay with me. You don’t know the way.” Shiloh turned to the right. “Time to get our feet wet.”

Hopefully, they could hide their tracks by moving through the frigid water. The cold took her breath away, but she’d stashed new blankets for them in the cave.

It didn’t take long for Rachel’s lips to turn blue and her teeth to chatter. Please don’t let her own impulsive decision make the child sick, Shiloh prayed. They splashed their way down creek a bit, then exited on the opposite side from where they’d entered.

She’d taken Peanut many times to the cave, mostly after an encounter with Duke. The dog should be able to find them if Duke didn’t harm her.

“I’m tired.” Rachel started to lag behind.

“We can’t stop now. Soon.” If they stopped, Duke would get them.

~

Duke grabbed a shovel from near the garage and swung it at the snarling dog. He hadn’t had time to reach into his pocket for his gun.

The other two had been easy to take care of. A sleeping agent-soaked steak had done the trick. This one, though, wanted to tear his face off.

“Get back, you dirty scoundrel.” He cursed, calling Shiloh the worst name he could think of. The woman had made her choice, and it wasn’t him. So, he’d make her pay for how she’d ruined his life. With her and the deputy out of the picture, he could return to his everyday life. The town’s residents would side with him as always.

The shovel connected, striking the dog in the ribcage. It yelped and fell back.

Without waiting to see how bad he’d hurt it, he dashed for the safety of the trees. Duke glanced back and noticed the open back door. He smiled. Shiloh and the kid had fled in the same direction he went. All he had to do now was track them before the two guard dogs woke up.

When he’d seen the deputy leave, he’d thought grabbing Shiloh would be easy without the alarm alerting her. The woman was smarter than he gave her credit for. Of course, she was. She was Shiloh. He wouldn’t want her if she was stupid. He stopped just inside the tree line and listened. The kid wouldn’t know to be quiet. On a chilly day like this one, she’d be whining. That’s what kids did.

Duke couldn’t hear anything but birds. He cursed the chattering cardinals that seemed to be taunting him. He studied the ground at his feet. Without rain for the last week, it didn’t show prints. Where was she? He hadn’t been sleeping in an abandoned trailer not to succeed in his quest to obtain her.

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