Page 65 of Play With Me

She almost slipped on a rock and lost her balance. I rushed toward her, catching her by the arm before she fell. Jesus, she’d be lucky if she didn’t break a bone out here.

“I’m not going to be a distraction. I promise. I can camp out as good as anyone. You won’t even know that I’m here.”

I placed my hands on my hips. “Where’s your tent and sleeping bag?”

“I was in a hurry, and I didn’t have time to pack.”

“That was a little bit irresponsible of you, wasn’t it? Coming out to the middle of the mountains, following us, probably leaving a trail behind you while you maneuver between the wolves and bears.”

Yeah, I was trying to scare her. Though I knew we couldn’t let her go back on her own, I wanted her to understand just how stupid it was of her to have come along.

“Well, I didn’t exactly have a choice. I planned to pack, but then my plans were changed, and… what I’m trying to say is that I’m the least of your problems at this moment.”

I had a bad feeling about this.

“See, when I went to pack, I ran into Sophie, who was hiding in the back of the truck.”

What?

“Anna, please tell me that Sophie did not come with you.”

“Not exactly with me. More like with you. She can hide pretty well. By the time I realized she was in the trunk, we were already at the motel, and now Sophie’s missing – except no one knows she’s missing because she arranged for them to think I’m babysitting.”

“And you didn’t call Jax?”

“No, I didn’t. We were at the motel and… well, this kid has a way of talking you into anything. She told me she had a map to find Xavier.”

“Anna, she’s just a kid.”

“I know that. But she’s a very smart kid, and she sounded so sure...”

“Where is she now?”

“She can’t be far. I can’t believe I lost her. I wouldn’t have if she’d listened to me and wasn’t trying to find a bear, but well… she’s a handful.”

It seemed that our mission to find Xavier Black would be more difficult than I’d expected.

The sound of a whistle echoed through the forest, and our heads whipped toward it.

“I think Brook might have found her.”

Chapter 15

Brook

Iventured further into the dense woods, gathering branches and twigs into a basket I wove from a wild willow tree by the river. A few more larger branches and I’d be able to seal off the entrance to our makeshift camp. I could have easily cut off smaller ones, but those wouldn’t keep bears out. I wasn’t sure the larger trees would either, so when I found a thorn bush, I immediately began to work. When a couple of spikes pierced my cargo pants, I knew they would work.

I was about to head back to camp when I heard a shuffle in the nearby bushes. I gently set down the basket of sharp twigs and branches as well as the tree I’d hoisted, and then removed the pocket knife from its shield fastened to my thigh. When the leaves rustled some more, I grasped the gun at my back and snapped open its leather strap on the holster. If a bear was this close to me, I had no chance of running away.

A low sniffle aroused my curiosity not only because bears didn’t sniffle but because it sounded oddly familiar — too familiar.

“Hello?” I tried.

“Daddy?”

“Sophie?”

Her head popped out from behind the bushes and I rushed toward her, lifting her into my arms.

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