As she put one foot in front of the other, she became angrier at how much the saboteur was affecting her life and others she cared about. One person was destroying everything she’d worked so hard for. Furious, she wanted to shout her frustration or pound her fist into the tree trunk nearby. Instead, she forgot to look where she was going, stepped into a hole, and went down. A split second later the crack of a gunshot ricocheted through the woods, the bullet striking the tree where she’d stood before falling. She scrambled behind the closest trunk. Another shot landed only inches from her, barely missing her foot, which she quickly drew up against her.
* * *
The sound of gunfire disrupted the quiet. Alex came to a halt, glancing at Clint who paused, too.
“I think it’s coming from that direction,” Alex said pointing northeast, off the highway. “Let’s go. That doesn’t bode well.” He felt better with the thought of his rifle strapped across his back.
“Where? We don’t know where her car is.”
“It’s got to be around here.” Ignoring his pain, Alex increased his pace, rounding the second curve, hoping he would see her SUV parked on the side with her in it.
But there wasn’t a sign of any vehicle nearby. Then shining his flashlight on the right side of the pavement, Alex spied what looked like tire tracks barely visible because of the snow but recent because they weren’t obliterated.
“There, Clint.” Alex trotted to where they were and peered over the slope, almost afraid to see what he thought was down in the ravine.
Clint joined Alex and they shone their lights down the incline, riddled with trees and brush. Halfway to the bottom on a large ledge, Alex glimpsed a dark shadow among the blanket of white and put on his night vision goggles to see better.
“That’s her car.” Alex’s gaze fell on the rear roof of the SUV, one door open. Part of the vehicle was obscured by trees and shadows. “She might have gotten out.” Or the gunshots he’d heard meant someone found her and killed her then hurried away. His inspection fanned outward as he looked for anyone around the vehicle.
Clint pulled out his satellite phone. “We need to get down there. I’m letting Tory know where the car is and alerting her that shots were fired.”
“Does Rebecca have a gun with her?”
“She keeps one in the glove compartment and another in her emergency supplies, so it could be my sister firing. Maybe letting people who might be searching know where she is.”
His gut tightened. He didn’t think that was it. His wreck and her disappearance happening at the same time was too coincidental. “Let’s go. Don’t let me slow down you if you can go faster. As much as I wish my injuries didn’t affect me, they have. I want to get to that car, but not by slipping all the way.”
“Okay. When we get there, the dogs will be able to pick up Rebecca’s scent if she isn’t in the car.”
As Alex started down the side of the bluff, he was glad Clint brought the walking stick for him. Several times his foot slid out from under him, and he steadied himself with it. Lord, help us find her—alive.
Rebecca’s brother made it to the SUV before him. He checked it then called out, “She’s gone.”
When Alex approached the car, he asked, “Is her emergency equipment gone?”
“Yes, and there are two distinct sets of shoe prints. Rebecca’s smaller one and the other several sizes larger. Should I send up the flare? Tory and the police should be close by now and could see the car’s exact location.”
“Yes. Whoever’s stalking Rebecca needs to know help is close by.”
As the flare streaked across the sky above them, two gunshots—one after another—reverberated through the silence.
* * *
Through the tree limbs above her, Rebecca caught sight of the flare, immediately followed by two bullets striking close by. The flare had to be someone searching for her, signaling that help was on the way. If she could hide and avoid the person with the gun, she could make it out alive. She did have her binoculars with thermal vision in her backpack. If the saboteur had the same, Rebecca needed to find a place to keep herself camouflaged with heavy foliage that gave off heat, too. She might have a chance then.
Behind her, she glimpsed a dark area. She dug into her backpack for her binoculars and surveyed the over dense evergreens where she could hide until help arrived. Knowing Alex and her brother, this whole place would soon be crawling with people looking for her. Although she wanted this saboteur stopped now, she hoped he fled. She didn’t want anyone hurt, especially her brother—and Alex. She loved him. He was always there for her, and she trusted him with her life. She didn’t want to spend this life alone anymore.
Using the large tree trunk as cover, she hurried toward her hiding place as fast as the gash on her leg would allow. She dove into the vegetation, took her thermal binoculars and scanned the terrain through the thick greenery in front of her. In the distance, a heat signature of a human registered. The person lifted a gun and fired in her direction.
* * *
Alex, Clint, and the German shepherds stood at the bottom of the slope where two sets of footprints parted.
Clint knelt by a set. “This looks like Rebecca’s boot.”
“Then this is the person shooting at her.” Alex pointed to the prints going to the right while the other set went to the left. “So far five shots. Both are heading toward the woods. We need to go after the shooter. Once he’s taken out, we can find Rebecca.”
“What if she’s hurt and needs help?”
“Our first priority is to take down the person with the gun. What if you approach Rebecca, and she shoots you or the gunman does?”
Clint petted Sitka and rose. “She has thermal vision binoculars in her supplies. She’ll know it’s one of us because of the dog with us.”
“Call for a helicopter with floodlights instead. Let the police know our location and what’s been transpiring. Give me a chance to get to the shooter then head out for Rebecca.”
“No more than ten minutes. I’ll use cover where I can.”
As Clint took out his satellite phone, Alex started out and tracked the shooter’s boot prints, increasing his pace on the flatter terrain. He wished he could go to Rebecca. He needed to see she was alive, but as a police officer, he was the one who should take the suspect down. He was determined to do that. Susie wasn’t trained as a guard dog, but he’d seen her once go after a wolf threatening Rebecca during a search and rescue mission.
When Alex entered the woods, he donned his thermal vision goggles and surveyed the area for the shooter. As he moved through the trees, he made out various shapes while investigating hiding places where the boot prints had led. The guy was making his way closer to the part of the forest where Rebecca must be hiding. Even if the assailant used night vision to see, they were limited to maybe thirty or forty feet. Alex hurried forward. He needed to make it to the gunman before he closed the distance between him and Rebecca.
As Alex snuck up behind the shooter crouching behind a tree, Alex signaled to Susie to stay. The figure rose and lifted his rifle.
Alex crept up to within ten feet, raised his weapon and said, “Drop your gun, or I’ll shoot you.” When the person didn’t move, Alex readied himself to pull the trigger. “Now.”
Finally, the culprit lowered his rifle.
“Put it on the ground and turn around.”
When the shooter released the weapon, he leaped forward and ran.
It was almost as though the gunman knew Alex wouldn’t shoot an unarmed man or he didn’t care. Alex raced after him, not sure he could go very far. “Susie, find.” Hopefully she would go after the assailant and his shoe prints she’d been following.
Every pounding step he took jarred him, sending pain streaking through him. But somehow his desire to have this over with and the saboteur put in jail drove him faster and further than he thought possible. Suddenly Susie came flying past him and tackled the perpetrator, stopping him until Alex caught up.
/>
“I’ve got him, Susie.” While the eighty pound German shepherd hovered nearby, Alex reached down, flipped the shooter over and pulled the black ski mask off.
A wave of shock rippled through Alex as he withdrew a set of handcuffs from his overcoat.
***
Chapter Ten
A blaze burned in Rebecca’s fireplace in her den. She sat on her couch with her legs on an ottoman, still stunned by the past night’s events. She finally felt comfortable and lucky she hadn’t lost any body parts due to the extreme exposure she’d suffered after the wreck. At first the doctor hadn’t been sure about a couple of toes, but when she left the hospital an hour ago, he’d thought she would fully recover.
She’d heard the doorbell ring, but Martha who lived in the cabin on the property, would answer it. There was only one person she wanted to see: Alex. She glanced toward the entrance into the den and smiled.
He paused in the doorway, his eyes warm like molten silver. A slow grin spread over his features. Holding two mugs, he crossed the room and eased down next to her, only inches between them. “I brought you some hot chocolate with several marshmallows, exactly the way you love it.”
She took the cup and inhaled the fragrance. “Wonderful scent.” She sampled the hot chocolate then cradled it between her hands. “I thought you were going to call me before you left the police station.”
“I thought you were going to rest. I didn’t want to wake you up if you were.”
“I can’t sleep until I know what happened with Heather.”
“And her fiancé, Zach. He’s the one who drove the truck and ran into me to keep me from knowing where you went. He also assisted her with the rats and the day the power went off in the store.”
In the woods after Alex caught her, Heather didn’t say a word, so Rebecca hoped she would get some answers. “Did she ever tell you why?”
“No, but her fiancé did. We made a deal with him if he talked. I guess he wasn’t that in love with Heather because he gave her up. Heather is Tom Baker’s stepdaughter. When her mom was dying, she begged her daughter to continue taking care of Tom. He was bitter and blamed you for his situation, missing two limbs, losing his eyesight, needing kidney dialysis twice a week, not at himself for not taking care of himself. When he went to prison for embezzlement, he was married to Heather’s mother, and his absence was extremely hard on the family. When he got out, it didn’t take much to get Heather to see things from his viewpoint.”
“How did she tamper with my car? I didn’t have any control when it went off the ledge.”
“Zach told me she hacked into your car’s computer and took over driving your SUV.”
For a few seconds, Rebecca relived that fear of losing control and the terror she felt as she sailed off the cliff. But God had been with her. “Why did she come to work for my company last year? To get close and find a way to hurt me?”
“She’s a computer geek. Her hacking skills are topnotch. Tom encouraged her to go to work at the store. According to her fiancé, after she was hired, Tom put the idea in her head to hurt your company using her computer skills and to make your life miserable like Tom’s. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know.”
“She’s only nineteen. She had her whole life ahead of her.” Rebecca lifted her drink and took a long sip. “I tried to help the family after he was released. Did you bring Tom in?”
“No. When we went to the house, Tom had slipped into a coma. He was rushed to the hospital. The doctors don’t think he’ll live more than a day or two.”
“Hatred and revenge destroyed his life and Heather’s, not mine.”
Alex took her cup and set it on the coffee table, then slid his arm around her shoulders and drew her close. “Sometimes rather than to acknowledge what they did wrong, they blame others in an attempt to justify their actions.”
Rebecca laid her head against his chest, feeling exhausted but cherished. If it hadn’t been for Alex, she could have died last night. But more than that. While she had been hiding from Heather, she’d realized life was too short to spend her whole time working. That was her father. She didn’t want that for her life. Not when she came so close to dying.
God had other plans for her.
She leaned her head back and looked into Alex’s beautiful eyes. “I discovered something very important. I love you, Alex. For years you’ve been here for me. I didn’t realize how important that was until I almost lost you last night. At the celebration I announced we would expand to the lower states. I don’t want to do that anymore.”
“Why?”
“Because I want to spend time with you. Hopefully persuade you not to work as much and to marry me and start a family.”
Alex’s eyes widened then a smile that encompassed his whole face filled her vision. He bent toward her and kissed her. “I can live with that plan. I’ve loved you since we were children.”
She pulled back. “You never said anything to me.”
“By the time I worked up my nerve, you were dating Cade. But you know, I’m not going to do what ifs. We might not have worked then. We will now.” He patted his heart. “I know it in here. We realize what’s important and how precious our love is.”
“This will be the best Christmas ever.” She wrapped her arms around him and tugged him toward her, giving him a kiss that confirmed she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him.
***
Dear Reader:
Thank you for reading Deadly Night, Silent Night, the 8th book in my Strong Women, Extraordinary Situations Series. I love reading and writing romantic suspense stories. When I read a book, I can escape to another time and place. Reading is where I can pretend to be a duchess, a police detective or an alien living on another planet. The possibilities are limitless. I hope you enjoyed the time you spent with Rebecca and Alex in Anchorage while they tried to figure out who was the saboteur and to keep themselves alive.
Margaret
***
More Books in the
STRONG WOMEN, EXTRAORDINARY SITUATIONS Series
DEADLY HUNT
Book One
All bodyguard Tess Miller wants is a vacation. But when a wounded stranger stumbles into her isolated cabin in the Arizona mountains, Tess becomes his lifeline. When Shane Burkhart opens his eyes, all he can focus on is his guardian angel leaning over him. And in the days to come he will need a guardian angel while being hunted by someone who wants him dead.
DEADLY INTENT
Book Two
Texas Ranger Sarah Osborn thought she would never see her high school sweetheart, Ian O'Leary, again. But fifteen years later, Ian, an ex-FBI agent, has someone targeting him, and she's assigned to the case. Can Sarah protect Ian and her heart?
DEADLY HOLIDAY
Book Three
Tory Caldwell witnesses a hit-and-run, but when the dead victim disappears from the scene, police doubt a crime has been committed. Tory is threatened when she keeps insisting she saw a man killed and the only one who believes her is her neighbor, Jordan Steele. Together, can they solve the mystery of the disappearing body and stay alive?
DEADLY COUNTDOWN
Book Four
Allie Martin, a widow, has a secret protector who manipulates her life without anyone knowing until…
When Remy Broussard, an injured police officer, returns to Port David, Louisiana to visit before his medical leave is over, he discovers his childhood friend, Allie Martin, is being stalked. As Remy protects Allie and tries to find her stalker, they realize their feelings go beyond friendship.
When the stalker is found, they begin to explore the deeper feelings they have for each other, only to have a more sinister threat come between them. Will Allie be able to save Remy before he dies at the hand of a maniac?
DEADLY NOEL
Book Five
Assistant DA, Kira Davis, convicted the wrong man—Gabriel Michaels, a single dad with a young daughter. When new evidence was brought forth, his conviction was overturn
ed, and Gabriel returned home to his ranch to put his life back together. Although Gabriel is free, the murderer of his wife is still out there and resumes killing women. In a desperate alliance, Kira and Gabriel join forces to find the true identity of the person terrorizing their town. Will they be able to forgive the past and find the killer before it’s too late?
DEADLY DOSE
Book Six
Drugs. Murder. Redemption.
When Jessie Michaels discovers a letter written to her by her deceased best friend, she is determined to find who murdered Mary Lou, at first thought to be a victim of a serial killer by the police. Jessie’s questions lead to an attempt on her life. The last man she wanted to come to her aid was Josh Morgan, who had been instrumental in her brother going to prison. Together they uncover a drug ring that puts them both in danger. Will Jessie and Josh find the killer? Love? Or will one of them fall victim to a DEADLY DOSE?
DEADLY LEGACY
Book Seven
Legacy of Secrets. Threats and Danger. Second Chances.
Down on her luck, single mom, Lacey St. John, believes her life has finally changed for the better when she receives an inheritance from a wealthy stranger. Her ancestral home she'd thought forever lost has been transformed into a lucrative bed and breakfast guaranteed to bring much-needed financial security. Her happiness is complete until strange happenings erode her sense of well being. When her life is threatened, she turns to neighbor, Sheriff Ryan McNeil, for help. He promises to solve the mystery of who's ruining her newfound peace of mind, but when her troubles escalate to the point that her every move leads to danger, she's unsure who to trust. Is the strong, capable neighbor she's falling for as amazing as he seems? Or could he be the man who wants her dead?
Deadly Night, Silent Night Page 9