Page 134 of Legacy of Danger
Chapter 40
Huddled in the entrance of the cave, Mariah shook like a quaking aspen in a stiff breeze. Despite her wool coat and borrowed snow pants, the hard rock conducted cold straight into her butt. Scant light from the moon trickled in to her location. Behind her, darkness yawned. Waiting. Tempting her to retreat there. Warning her what might await.
Maybe there were worse things than the guys who tracked her.
Voices and the scuff of booted feet triggered a flurry of palpitations in her chest. She glanced up. Her tracks were plainly visible leading into the cave.
She edged back into the darkness, running her gloved hand along the rough rock wall. With each step, she probed back with her foot to make sure solid ground remained underneath her. Wyatt and Linc's voices echoed louder.
A nasty chuckle made her skin crawl.
Oh, God.
Scooting another few feet back into the depths, she crouched behind a rock just as a flashlight beam swept the cave. Despite the freezing temperature, sweat dampened her skin. She was trapped. Again.
"Where is she? Not like she could go far."
"No idea. Wanna go in there?" Linc asked.
"Not particularly." Wyatt hocked and spat. "But yeah, we need to find her. Forget using her as bait. She's too much trouble. We'll make her an example of what happens when a Taggart goes up against us. The Great One will be pleased with our efforts."
No, no, no. Lack of oxygen made her head spin. This could not be happening.
Before she could scramble away, a warm, strong hand clamped over her mouth. Her scream fizzled out as an arm around her chest squeezed hard.
"It's Kerr Taggart. Don't move." His friendly whisper was the sweetest music she'd ever heard.
At her nod he moved his hand away from her mouth and patted her on the shoulder.
How had he gotten in here without anyone seeing him? Heck, how did he know where to find her?
"Vaughn's on his way," he murmured, a ghost of sound in the darkness behind her. "You'll be okay. Promise."
Every muscle in her body went limp.
"I'm going to draw them away," he said. "When they pass by, you need to run for the entrance. Got it?"
"You sure?" she whispered.
"Yup."
She had questions, but now wasn't the time to figure out how they'd found her. How Kerr had entered the cave in front of the men, undetected.
A reassuring squeeze of her arm, and he was gone. From the depths of the cave, the sound of scrapes and crunches bounced in all directions.
"What was that?" Wyatt's light swung in wild arcs over the cave walls.
She peeked behind her. Nothing visible in the area illuminated by their flashlights.
She remained crouched behind the rock, her gloved hands pressed against the rough stone.
"That's gotta be her. Let's go." Wyatt kept his flashlight beam fixed on the recesses of the cave and stormed toward the sounds.
Linc trailed right behind him. Two wretched peas in a pod.
At the dust kicked up, she barely stifled a sneeze.
"What was that?"
