storm coming in the next few hours. And I have reason to think the kids and Tanner and Bree might be in some trouble.”
The two women looked at each other, then nodded.
“Be careful. We’ll start walking back up the trail,” Francis said. “I’m ready to get off my feet.”
Barb reached over and squeezed Marilyn’s hand, a silent show of support for whatever she decided to do, then the two of them began walking.
Marilyn turned to Noah. “I’m going with you.”
He shook his head. “You need to go with Francis and Barb. The kind of trouble on the other side of the river might not be pretty.”
“It’s my children in the middle of that trouble, Noah. Francis and Barb are smart and resourceful. They’ll find their way to Mr. Henrikson’s cabin safely on their own.”
He shook his head. “It’s not them I’m worried about, gorgeous. I don’t know what’s happening over there,” he jerked a thumb in the direction of the water rushing by them twenty feet below, “but I need to get there and help Tanner.”
“And I’ll help, too.” If there was a fight, she would be ready.
He put his hands on her shoulders. “I know you want to help, but the situation hasn’t changed. I’ll move faster on my own. The best way you can help your kids is by letting me get to them as quickly as I can.”
How was she supposed to argue with that? She nodded as Noah turned and ran up the path away from her, leaving her alone.
18
Noah had passed tired hours ago and had worked his way well into exhaustion. He ignored it as much as possible, but too many miles run and too few calories going into his system had wiped his reserves.
But still, he pushed.
Tanner was out there and could take care of himself against whoever was hunting him, but having two small children in tow definitely limited a lot of his options. Noah didn’t know what the end game was of the people who were hunting Tanner and the kids, but the reflections he’d caught of rifle scopes pointed in Tanner’s direction this afternoon had not reassured him.
When the third bridge had also been destroyed, Noah knew the situation was dire. He’d been forced to go farther downriver until he found a place narrow enough to cross through the water. He’d lost even more time doing that and now it was getting dark.
Tracking Tanner wasn’t easy, especially in the dimming light, but tracking the people following Tanner wasn’t nearly as hard. They weren’t trying to keep their movements any sort of secret since they weren’t expecting anyone to be coming up behind them.
Noah found the place where they veered away from the bridge. Tanner must have realized he was being followed and chose to head in a direction that would give him and the kids more cover.
Noah steadily tracked them for hours as night fell around him. It took him much longer than it should’ve to realize someone was tracking him, too. He’d been so busy looking out for the danger he knew was in front of him, that he hadn’t been watching his six the way he should’ve been.
He circled back around in a wide arc to get around the person. Whoever it was wasn’t making any effort to hide his tracks. It didn’t take Noah long to come back up behind his pursuer, about to take him down.
He cursed under his breath as he realized he’d read the situation completely wrong. He was more fucking tired than he thought if he’d been unaware this entire time of his follower.
“What are you doing here, gorgeous?”
Marilyn stopped, tensed, and spun around to face him. “I’m going to make sure my children are safe.”
“How did you even catch up with me?”
She shrugged one small shoulder. “I told you I ran cross country in high school. I’m not super-fast, but I can endure distances. And you weren’t quite so gazelle-like today. My guess is you’ve burnt your body out over the last day and a half.”
She wasn’t wrong, but it didn’t change the facts. “You should’ve gone with Francis and Barb. This is dangerous.”
“Even more reason for me to be here. These are my kids and we both know Jared is behind this. Whether his plan was to grab them or me, it doesn’t matter. I’m not letting you walk into his trap alone. You’re trying to help my family. I’ll be the one guarding your back while you do that.” She