Chapter 38
Mariah shoved one foot in front of the other in the six-plus inches of snow, the crunch of the ground and whistling wind through the trees keeping poor company. After tumbling out of the window five feet down into the snow, she'd rubbed out her footprints with her gloved hands as she backed across the too-exposed open area surrounding the Brands' house. Once she had reached the trees, she gave a sigh of relief.
Hopefully, the extra blanket she'd added for Mrs. Brand would keep the woman warm enough with the open window.
But now where to go?
Izzy's words from today's appointment drifted back to her: There's a cave near the house. Well, it's about a forty-five minute walk straight off the back of the house. I even notched some trees to make a path, since I go there so often.
Mariah turned and spotted the back of the house, then drew an invisible line into the forest and edged over in that direction. Tree notches?
She searched, patting tree trunks in the moonlight. Wasting time. Someone would find her if she stuck around this place. She should be running away from here.
But where?
Couldn't go back toward the county road. She'd have to pass too close to the Brand house, and besides, that would be the first place anyone would look for someone escaping.
Chances were, if they found her, they wouldn't be nearly as hospitable.
The other direction was nothing but National Forest for miles and miles. If she got lost, no one might ever find her.
Notches. Please let there be notches. Give me a direction. Anything.
Her hand drifted over a trunk. An irregular piece of bark was missing, the wood gleaming in the moonlight.
She sagged against the tree.
Peering into the forest, she saw another notch, about ten feet ahead. Her breath puffed out, visible in the unfortunately clear night. The clouds had given way to moonlight that now streamed through the trees and dappled the ground, illuminating her location for anyone searching for her. Her legs burned as she kept bending down to obscure her tracks. Progress was so slow. Her heart thudded as she looked for the next marked tree deeper into the forest.
What would be waiting for her? She looked over her shoulder. That cloud monster still lurked out here, somewhere. No Vaughn here to protect her this time. Her pace picked up as imaginary fingers danced up her neck. Her breath came out too quickly. Her vision grayed.
Stop. Break the task down into pieces. First and most important step: get as far away from the Brand family as possible. Next step: survive the night. Simple enough.
Already, the suffocating, heavy sense of despair and darkness had lifted. What was she, twenty or thirty minutes away from the ranch? No idea; she didn't have her phone.
She stumbled going up a small ravine. Careful. The worst thing that could happen would be to get injured.
Actually, no. That wasn't the worst thing that could happen.
When she glanced behind her, a shadow danced in the corner of her field of vision. Were those red glowing dots coming from the depths of the forest? She paused, listening. No sound other than the snow-muffled tinkle of a small stream at the bottom of the steep hillside and the thudding of her pulse in her head.
What would the Brands do when they realized she had escaped? If they caught her?
Nothing good.
A choking sensation clogged her throat. Stop it. Time to focus all her energy on staying alive right now. Find the next notch.
It took too long this time. Panic clawed its way up her throat—and she found the next trail marker.
Her thighs burned as she trudged farther into the mountains. Every so often, she used a pine branch to obscure her footprints behind her.
But lack of tracks also meant anyone trying to help her couldn't find her. A hysterical bubble of laughter threatened to erupt. No one knew she was even out here to help her. Oh, God.
Cold nipped at her nose.
Izzy had said forty-five minutes of walking. Probably took longer in the dark, trying to find the path. But it would be easy to find the cave, right? Mariah prayed that Izzy had stocked her escape from the world with at least a blanket.
Keep following the notches.
Reaching back to brush the tracks away, she stopped, sweat chilling on her forehead.
From the bottom of the steep hill she had just climbed, Wyatt's grinding voice floated back up to her.
"The tracks end here. She has to be close."
"What are you gonna do to her?" Linc, that jerk.
"Everything."
Sound faded as her head swam.
She eyed the top of the hill. About fifteen feet ahead was another notch gleaming in bark. If she could reach there without the men seeing her, she might have a chance.
The internal rat-a-tat of her heart provided a beat to drive her feet faster. Her legs screamed to stop slogging through the deep snow. Fighting the urge to flat-out run, she erased her trail as best she could.
Damn the moonlight. If she could see the shadowy forms of the men, then they could see her against the moonlit sky. Her stomach muscles clenched.
Wouldn't it be nice to have someone like Vaughn here right about now?
Moot point. The only way she would get out of this bad situation was to do it herself.
She crested the hill and came close to passing out with relief.
A forest road stretched to her right and left was snow-covered and trackless. Across the road was another tree notch.
"She's up there!"