Chapter 43
Naomi’s lungs burned.
Her legs screamed.
But she kept moving, kept stumbling over roots and rocks. Her vision blurred with exhaustion and terror.
The voices behind her were getting closer.
“You can’t run forever!”
The shout echoed through the trees.
She staggered forward.
Please, God. Please.
The woods were thicker here, and the underbrush difficult to navigate. She couldn’t see the road. Couldn’t tell which direction she’d come from.
She was lost.
And those men were right behind her.
Her foot slipped, and she stumbled again, catching herself against a tree. Her chest heaved. Her hands shook.
She wasn’t going to be able to outrun them. She knew that with certainty.
But she couldn’t give up either.
She pushed off the tree and her foot caught nothing but air.
The ground dropped away without warning—a steep embankment, hidden by the undergrowth—and then she was sliding, grabbing at roots and brush that tore through her fingers, her boots scraping uselessly against the loose soil until she hit the bottom in a breathless heap.
For a moment she lay still, ears ringing, dirt in her mouth.
Then she saw it.
A massive boulder, half-buried in the hillside. Its base had been hollowed out by years of erosion. And there was a gap at the bottom—narrow, dark. Just big enough to hide her.
She scrambled toward it, the boulder feeling like her only hope.
Reaching it, she dropped to her knees and crawled under.
The space was tight and cold. Damp earth pressed against her back, and the smell of moss and decay filled her nose.
She pulled her knees to her chest, making herself as small as possible.
She pressed her eyes closed and prayed those men hadn’t seen her come this way. That they wouldn’t find her.
Micah’s face flashed in her mind. She should have listened to him. She was a rule follower. Why had she decided today not to be?
She knew. She’d always had a soft spot for dogs. Her whole family had.
What if these men found her? What if they killed her before Micah realized what she’d done?
Grace’s face fluttered through her mind, then Good Boy’s.
Then her mom . . . she’d already been through entirely too much loss. The last thing Naomi wanted was to add to that.
Footsteps crunched through the leaves nearby—slow, deliberate, searching. If she had to guess, they were coming from the ridge above her. From that angle, those men probably couldn’t see her. But if they came down here . . .
“She’s around here somewhere,” one of the men said.
Naomi’s entire body trembled.
“Probably hiding like a scared rabbit.” The second voice laughed, the sound harsh and ugly. “Come on out, sweetheart. We just want to talk.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs so hard it hurt. There would be no talking. She knew that.
These men wanted to hurt her.
The footsteps moved closer.
Closer.
Their boots stepped into view.
They were right in front of her hiding spot.
She could hear them breathing.
“You see anything?” one of the men asked.
“Nah. But she couldn’t have gone far.”
Naomi held her breath, every muscle in her body locked tight.
Please don’t look under here. Please don’t look under here.
The second man let out a frustrated grunt. “Let’s check over there. She’s gotta be close.”
The boots moved—one step, two steps—away from the boulder.
But not far enough.
The men were still talking, their voices low, but she couldn’t make out the words over the roar of blood in her ears.
Then one of them stopped moving.
Silence.
Long and horrible.
“Wait.” It was the first voice again, sharper now. “You hear that?”
Naomi’s heart stopped.
Had she made a noise?
If they checked under this boulder, she would be done.
Micah ran through the woods, his weapon drawn, his eyes scanning the terrain.
He tried to move quietly, but speed mattered more than stealth right now.
The woods pressed in around him, dense and shadowed.
Then he heard voices . Two of them. Both male. Both agitated.
Micah slowed, moving more carefully now, using the trees for cover.
“I didn’t hear nothing,” one of them said. “Look, we’ve been searching for ten minutes. Maybe she doubled back.”
“And what if she didn’t? Now quit wasting time and keep looking.” The man said more choice words in reference to Naomi.
Micah’s grip tightened on his weapon.
He moved closer, silent now, until he could see the men through the trees.
Two figures in dark jackets climbed a ridge in the distance.
Micah stepped out from behind a tree, his weapon raised. “Sheriff’s Department! Hands where I can see them!”
Both men spun toward him.
For a split second, no one moved.
Then the men bolted to the top of the ridge.
“Stop! Now!” Micah shouted, but the men split up, running in opposite directions.
Micah had a choice—pursue those men or find Naomi.
The decision wasn’t even close.
He let the men go and pulled out his radio. “This is Sheriff Sutherland. I’ve got two suspects fleeing on foot in the woods off Cooperstown Road, heading west. Both are white males. One’s wearing a dark jacket, the other a khaki one. Need backup for pursuit.”
He waited for confirmation, then moved in the direction the men had been searching.
If they’d been looking around here, that could mean that Naomi was close.
Micah slowed, his weapon still drawn, and his breathing controlled.
“Naomi?” he called, his voice low but clear. “It’s Micah.”
Silence.
“It’s okay,” he added. “Those men are gone. I’m here now. You’re safe.”
Nothing.
He continued pacing, determined to find her.
As he turned, he spotted a massive boulder with a narrow gap beneath it, half-hidden by undergrowth. Something beneath it caught his eye.
A small patch of color.
Was that . . . ?
Micah moved closer and crouched down.
Naomi was tucked beneath the boulder, her knees pulled to her chest, her face pale and streaked with dirt. Her eyes were wide and her shoulders trembling.
But she was okay.
Relief hit him so hard he almost staggered. “Naomi . . .”
She looked up at him, and something in her expression broke. “Micah.”
“You’re okay. They’re gone.” He glanced over his shoulder then back to her. “Are you hurt?”
“No. I—they were right here. Right above me. Then they came closer and—” Her voice broke off as it shook. “I thought . . .”
“They heard me and ran. But we need to get out of here.”
He helped her crawl out.
Then he glanced over his shoulder, scanning everything around him.
Nothing moved.
But that didn’t mean those men wouldn’t be back.