life, she’d be happy. The bears could have this habitat. She’d stick to her cozy, warm house with her blankets and night lights.
Her rescuer tugged her from the mouth of the cave and down the mountainside at a decent speed. Thankfully, after being in total darkness, the moonlight dispelled her fear of the dark.
Somewhere nearby, a heavy thud sounded, and a man uttered vicious curses.
Kristi tightened her grip around Rafe’s hand. She recognized that voice. The man cursing had punched her outside the cabin. He’d sounded as if he hated her when he railed at her for resisting his orders. She scowled. The guy was a creep and enjoyed hurting her.
Rafe changed direction and headed for a large tree with several thick bushes in front of the trunk. He led her around the bushes and behind the tree, then motioned for her to crouch at the base.
When she complied, he shrugged off his pack and set it beside her. With a hand signal to stay put, he went in the direction of the cursing kidnapper. Within seconds, the darkness seemed to swallow him. One minute he was there. The next, he disappeared.
How could anyone walk in total silence? If Kristi hadn’t watched Rafe walk away, she wouldn’t have known he left. The man moved like a ghost. Less than a minute later, the cursing kidnapper went silent. She hoped that meant Rafe had knocked the man out, and not the other way around.
A noise came from her right. Kristi turned her head, straining to see the potential threat. Was that a four-legged or two-legged problem? Maybe the wind was to blame.
She heard the noise again, this time closer. Her eyes widened. That sounded like fabric brushing against a bush. Definitely not a four-legged predator. Was it Rafe or one of her kidnappers?
A ball of ice formed in her stomach. Rafe hadn’t made noise when he left. She doubted a SEAL would be careless enough to give away his location. The noisemaker was one of the kidnappers. Praying he would pass by her, Kristi watched and waited. Thank goodness she was wearing a black shirt with her jeans.
More fabric scraped against a bush near her tree. Kristi stiffened as one of the more vicious kidnappers shoved his way through the foliage like a bull on a rampage.
Bull turned his head and pointed a gun at her. “You’ve led us on a merry chase, Ms. Stewart. You’re going to pay for that.” He motioned with the muzzle. “Stand up and come here.”
She slowly stood. Where was Rafe? If he didn’t find her here, would he return to the cabin? Kristi took one step toward him when Rafe appeared behind Bull and wrapped his arm around the kidnapper’s throat.
Although Bull struggled to free himself, Rafe continued to hold on. Seconds later, the kidnapper sagged. Rafe lowered him to the ground, rolled Bull to his stomach, and tied his hands with a zip tie.
She blinked. Who carried zip ties around on a hike in the woods?
After Rafe stripped Bull’s belt and used it as a gag, he shrugged into his pack again and wrapped his hand around Kristi’s. “You okay?” he whispered.
“That’s my question for you. Are you hurt?”
“Nope. If you’re uninjured, let’s go. There are at least five more kidnappers out here looking for you.”
Five? He’d taken down three of the kidnappers on his own without making a sound. Good grief. Rafe Torres was amazing.
He started them down the mountain again, helping Kristi over fallen logs and loose rocks. Occasionally, he tapped his watch face as they continued walking and adjusted their direction. He must have a compass or GPS app on his watch.
They walked so long that Kristi lost track of time. She thought she would have to own up to being a wuss and beg Rafe for a two-minute break when two men dressed in black emerged from the shadows ahead of Rafe.
He stepped in front of her, a gun pointed at the two newcomers. When they moved into a shaft of moonlight, Rafe holstered his gun. “Took you long enough.” He reached back for Kristi’s hand and drew her up beside him.
One of the men raised an eyebrow. “We’re not the ones who took a detour to the wrong side of the mountain.” He nodded at Kristi. “I’m Josh. This is Rio, our team medic. Do you need medical attention?”
He had to be kidding. No way was she letting anyone treat her on this mountainside with kidnappers roaming around the