Page 86 of Play With Me

“Fair enough. You’re heading north.” He tilted the bottle to his lips and practically sucked all the water down in one giant gulp.

“I’m acting on my gut. Listen.”

We both stopped talking and calmed our breaths until we could hear a shuffle further out in the forest.

“That way.” I pointed. Brook followed me as I led us toward the sound. When I saw a helmet with a pair of goggles staring back at me, I breathed out with relief.

“Anna, over here!” I whispered, loud enough for the sound to reach no further than I intended. She pushed through the shrubs, dragging her stick along.

How in the world did she get this far so fast?

“Where’s Sophie?” My smile faded as soon as I realized that she wasn’t near. Brook swore under his breath and didn’t wait. Instead he continued heading in what I assumed was the direction of the Madden family cabin. Anna wiped the sweat off her forehead.

“I don’t know, but someone helped her escape from the moonshiners. There were two more up at top.”

“Someone’s helping her?” Brook asked.

“Yes. I only saw his back, but he wasn’t armed, and Sophie was smiling when they were running away. The cub followed her.”

Brook was pacing back and forth, searching for signs of Sophie’s escape on the forest floor and in the disturbed flora.

“Jesus, I can’t believe I let this happen. I can’t believe I let her go,” he said.

“Brook, snap out of it and slow down. You can’t panic now – you hear me? You’ll have time to panic after we find her. We need to check the coordinates.”

I pulled out my GPS, but Brook had already dashed into the woods, calling behind him. “I spent days at a time in these woods as a boy. I know where I’m going.” He pushed his legs even harder, slowly widening the distance between us.”

“You should go after him,” Anna said,

“You’re fast enough to keep up with me, Anna. I’m not leaving anyone behind. Wait – how did you get away from the moonshiners?”

“I hid in a tree.”

“You climbed up a tree?” I asked, pointing the way Brook had gone. “Quickly – we don’t have much time.”

She quickened her steps to match mine. “No, I said I hid inside a tree. It had a large open trunk.”

“Well, resourceful. Which way did the moonshiners go?”

“I don’t know, but Sophie has the map and the GPS. She’ll head for the cabin.”

Where were the moonshiners? What if they followed them?

Sophie.

“Anna, I’m going to leave a trail for you. I’ll stay close enough for you to see me and for me to see you but… I just have to get closer. I have to help them.”

“Go.” She pointed forward with her walking stick, and I raced to where I’d seen Brook disappear over the next hilltop.

He didn’t stop, and I followed his trail for the next fifteen minutes, leaving marks for Anna whom I could hear not far behind me. When I finally found a clearing of snow-covered grass and saw Brook disappear inside the back door of a cabin, I knew we were there. By the shed to my right, a man lay flat on the ground, apparently unconscious. Someone else’s feet were sticking out from behind the shed. The gentle flakes of snow were beginning to make both men blend in with the background. A trace of smaller footsteps remained underneath the fresh layer.

“Where’s Sophie?” I heard Brook ask.

Sophie.

My heart pounded harder, urging me forward. I ran across the back yard and over some broken glass.

What the hell happened here?

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