Target on the Mountain by Elizabeth Goddard (best thriller books to read .TXT) 📗

shook. The place was unstable. He needed to get out of here as quickly as possible before the entire cave went down.

Alex stumbled in the direction of the entrance. The rumblings stopped. Dust boiled all around him. It wouldn’t take long for Temple and his men to dig out. He had no doubt that the man guarding Rachel would have heard the noise by now.

He hurried out of the opening and spotted the man. He’d seen Alex. He jumped from the vehicle and began shooting.

Alex ducked behind a nearby tree. The man was coming his way. He returned fire, forcing the man to take cover behind the vehicle. One of Alex’s rounds ricocheted off the front of the SUV. Right away, Alex could see fluid spilling out. The radiator was shot. The SUV was useless.

While the man continued gunning for him, in his peripheral vision, Alex saw Rachel ease from the vehicle. Before the man realized she was there, Rachel shoved him hard. He went sprawling across the frozen ground, his weapon landing in front of him. Rachel raced for the gun. The man grabbed her ankle and she fell. As she crawled and clawed for the gun, the man, still holding on to her ankle, reached it first. He snatched it with his free hand and pointed it at her head. She’d be dead in seconds.

Alex charged the man. When he spotted Alex, he turned the weapon on him. Before the man could get a single shot off, Alex fired once, striking the man through the heart. He fell backward, limp.

Now freed, Rachel grabbed the man’s gun then felt for a pulse. “He’s dead.” She searched his pockets. “Alex, he doesn’t have a phone.” Frustration laced her voice.

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s get out of here while we still can. The SUV’s useless and it won’t be long before Temple and his men come after us.” As they headed away from the site, Alex told her what had happened inside the cave. “We just have to stay out of sight for a few more hours. This is almost over.”

He didn’t say as much, but if the chopper ran into any obstacles along the way, it could be even longer before Jase and the team reached them. And he wasn’t sure how much longer they could survive up here on the mountain on their own.

TWELVE

They couldn’t keep running around without direction. Going back down the mountain wasn’t an option with Temple’s men still stationed at the lodge. She told Alex as much.

He seemed to be reading her thoughts. “We can’t head back to the camp. That’s one of the first places they’ll look. I would if it were me. I just hope they don’t find Deacon this time.” He looked around the area, frustrated.

Rachel stopped dead in her tracks. “Wait, I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before now. The ranger station is up here on this side of the mountain.”

He stared at her for a moment, not seeing the significance. “You mean the one on top of the mountain.”

“Yes, but there’s a radio up there. We can use it to reach the rangers and have them contact your people. Let them know where to look for us. We can get Deacon the help he needs.” She didn’t believe there was any way Temple’s men would be looking for them up there. “They’ll be expecting us to try to get off the mountain, not go farther up.”

“You’re right, they won’t be. The only problem is it’s at least a three-hour hike uphill and we’re worn-out. My team may arrive before then...and I’m not sure Deacon has that long.”

She shook her head, discouraged. “What other choice do we have? If they catch us again, they’ll kill us, and it’s too risky to try to get Deacon out of there on foot.”

They’d be sacrificing Deacon’s life by making the wrong decision.

Alex stopped next to her, apparently seeing all her concerns. He drew her close for a moment. “You’re right. It’s our only option. God didn’t bring us this far to let us die. We have to hold on to that promise.”

As she looked into his eyes, she believed him. Alex had dropped everything to help her find Liam and now, faced with death himself, his faith never wavered.

A breath separated them. As she lost herself in his eyes, something shifted inside of her. All the wishes she’d buried deep in her heart rose to the surface. She would always care for Alex no matter what happened in the future. She cupped his face. Everything she still felt for him was right there in her touch.

The years melted away, and it was like turning the clock back to the time when they’d dated. Her heart beat crazily against her chest. She’d give anything if this moment were happening under different circumstances.

She pulled away and stared up at him. She didn’t want to hide her feelings any longer.

He gently stroked her cheek. “We should keep going. It’s too dangerous to stop now...” Yet he didn’t move.

Rachel swallowed visibly. Would there ever be a right time for them? The past seemed to determine that there wouldn’t be.

She stepped away and he let her go. Regret was in his eyes.

“You’re right. We have to keep moving.” Rachel turned and stared up at the top of the mountain, where the ranger station was situated, trying to reclaim her composure. She’d loved him for as long as she could remember, but it seemed as if circumstances were determined to stand in the way of their having a life together.

As they continued hiking at an exhausting pace, Rachel struggled to think of where Liam might be hiding. Her gut told her he was still up here somewhere. Otherwise, the entire area would be crawling with agents by now. They’d covered many of the places Liam liked to go as a child, and yet her brother was still missing. She had little doubt that Liam was the one who