Page 5 of Colton First Responder (Coltons of Mustang Valley)

Did the open door mean someone had been incarcerated inside? Maybe.

He’d walked around before the ambulance arrived and hadn’t seen any sign of someone else injured—or worse. But he felt obligated to check a bit farther now, just in case.

At least he knew that ambulances were currently available, if necessary. But had there been someone inside the van’s rear area? Someone this now-deceased driver had been transporting? If so, was he or she okay?

Grayson was not a cop. If whoever it was needed to be captured again, that wasn’t his job, although he could notify the Mustang Valley PD if he found him or her—most likely his sort-of best buddy there, Detective PJ Doherty; his brother Rafe’s fiancée, Detective Kerry Wilder; or even his cousin, Sergeant Spencer Colton. Though all were undoubtedly swamped right now.

But if anyone had been inside the van and was now hurt and out there somewhere in the forest, injured and needing help—well, that was something Grayson intended to find out. He would remain careful, though. Anyone who had been in the back of that van was most likely a criminal and could be dangerous.

Chapter 2

Sitting on a wooden kitchen chair in the remote and damaged cabin she had somehow found here in the middle of nowhere, Savannah breathed slowly, carefully—pensively, for that was what she was doing: thinking, while staring at her hands clasped in her lap.

Her unshackled hands.

Where was she? She didn’t know. For the moment, at least, it didn’t matter.

So far, the earthquake had somehow brought her good luck. There’d been a couple of aftershocks from the quake, but they’d been mild.

Oh, she certainly hadn’t wished Ari the kind of harm he had suffered, notwithstanding the way he’d essentially ignored her. But at least she was free, for now and hopefully forever.

Especially if she could find her louse of an ex and prove she hadn’t murdered him.

But first things first. Tonight, she had at least located someplace to sleep, to bide her time till she decided what to do next. To ponder how to fulfill her promise to herself: find Zane, reveal his lies and treachery to the world, and return to as normal a life as she could.

A cabin. She’d never have imagined there could be one way out here in the woods. She had hardly been able to see anything once she’d left the place where the van had been smashed. Frightened, yet determined to survive, she’d needed to figure out what came next.

She’d heard a lot of animal noises around her and had nearly stumbled into a nearby lake before she’d found the cabin.

Eventually, the moon—only a half moon—had appeared overhead and provided at least a small amount of light.

And somehow, miraculously, it had helped her find this cabin. Lots of miracles, in fact, despite the fact that a portion of the cabin had crumbled because of the earthquake. But what was left seemed at least somewhat habitable.

In the undamaged area, the door was locked, but she had pushed open a window and climbed inside. None of the switches turned on any light, so she found herself in near total darkness, with no electricity, evidently. That was thanks to the quake, or thanks to the owner’s turning it off before leaving. But she had nevertheless located a flashlight someone had left on one of the counters.

Who and where was the owner? Were they coming back soon? That appeared unlikely, considering the location and the earthquake, but who knew?

Fortunately, she had at least found no indication that anyone was living here now. Looking around with the flashlight’s illumination, she had seen some dust here and there, but some of it could have been caused by the quake.

However, it seemed a nice enough cabin. There was even some furniture—a kitchen table surrounded by other chairs like the one she now sat on. A bed at the far side of the room with sheets on it. If she removed the sheets and turned them over, they should be clean enough for her to sleep on.

Assuming she found herself eventually calm enough to fall sleep. Exhaustion wouldn’t help her accomplish what she needed to do tomorrow.

But she also couldn’t forget that she was a fugitive. Once the van was found without her, she had no doubt that the authorities would be searching for her. She would have to remain careful.

For a better idea of her current environment, she unlocked the door and walked outside, using the flashlight to look around. She aimed it carefully, mostly toward the ground, although she had no reason to believe any other people were close enough to see the light. A narrow dirt road that ended at this house hadn’t been affected by the caving in of part of the cabin.

Where did it lead? Maybe she would find out tomorrow.

She also looked at the area at the back of the house that was crumbled. Fortunately, it still provided a wall of sorts, a barrier, so no person or wild animal would be able to enter that way.

For now, she went back inside. One thing she had to do was to find some water and food. Was there anything like that in this deserted cabin? If she found anything, would she dare to eat or drink it, or might it make her sick?

We

ll, first things first. She would at least look around a bit more. She stood up again and, using the flashlight, walked along the wooden floor, making as little noise as possible—not that she anticipated anyone was close enough to hear her footsteps. She first looked at the inside of the partially caved-in wall and the part of the cabin that had suffered some damage. She wasn’t certain what had been there—a storage area, maybe. But the rest of the place seemed fairly livable.

Next, she headed toward a kitchen with a sink and cabinets.

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