Gone: An Emma Caldridge Novella: Part Two of Three Read Online Free PDF Page B

the cold stone. Putting her hands on the top of the wall, then her forearms, then her chest, she finally swung a leg over. She lay flat for a second before rolling off on the other side.
    She was free.
    The ground began a soft incline and she ran at an angle upward. The rocky, hard terrain lacked trees, or perhaps Shaw removed any that would have blocked his view of anyone approaching the compound, but either way Emma felt exposed and vulnerable. The nearest coverage was a tower of rocks hundreds of yards away. She ran toward it, the gun in her hand, swerving often to keep from being an easy, static target. Her heart began its usual fast beat rhythm common to the start of a run, but she knew it would smooth out quickly. It was as if her heart reacted in a flurry of excitement and then figured out that nothing new was happening and so settled down to work. She kept moving, the only sounds her breathing and the crunch of stones. This time, though, she was happy to hear nothing else.
    She made the rock tower, dodged behind it and kept moving upward. The path where she’d left Leon was far to her left, and she adjusted to make a slow bend in that direction. The continued lack of sound behind her gave her hope that she would have some time to regroup before Shaw’s men started hunting her. She stepped onto the path over a hundred yards higher than she’d left it and saw Leon sitting on a buckskin Quarter Horse. He held Lily’s reins in his left hand and the girl rode behind him with her arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
    “Get on and let’s get out of here,” Leon said. “Thanks for bringing Lily here,” Emma said.
    Leon grunted. Emma swung into the saddle and turned Lily’s head higher up the hill.
    “Where you going?” Leon said. “It’s the wrong direction. My place is downhill.”
    Emma shook her head. “I’m not looking to implicate you in my search,” she said. “Once I find Ryan, I’m gone. You have to live here.”
    Leon jerked a thumb toward the girl on his horse.
    “This is Carrie. She’s Brink’s sister. He doesn’t know that she was taken.”
    Ann’s note, Emma thought.
    “He may have been tipped off this morning,” she said, and told Leon about the note. “So all the more reason not to head that way. First place they’ll check. My cabin is about two miles up, and if they take a car they’ll have to off-road it to reach it. That’s assuming they even know it exists. I doubt they’ve heard about it at all. It’s owned by a friend of mine who does extreme skiing.”
    Without waiting for a response, Emma turned Lily uphill and kicked her into a fast trot. The path wound up, and she kept the horse moving ahead. The moon that was anathema to her earlier was now her friend, because it illuminated the trail enough to allow Lily to spot the biggest of the rocks strewn around. Still, the horse tripped and stumbled. Emma kept pressing her faster despite the risks, only slowing when she entered the narrow stone tunnel. She wound the rest of the way upward, and an hour later emerged through the arch to finally get a view of the cabin and hauled on Lily’s reins.
    The front door hung open. Leon came up even with her, and she motioned for him to remain quiet.
    “You see that?” she said.
    Leon nodded and removed his shotgun from the scabbard.
    “You should know I’m out of ammo. My spares are back at my campsite.” Leon whispered this depressing news to Emma.
    “How far?” she said.
    “Five miles wrong direction.”
    The cabin interior remained dark, but Emma had the impression of a hint of movement. Someone was in there. Either she had surprised him as he was leaving the cabin or he’d just stepped inside when she appeared.
    “Someone’s in there, can you see the movement?” Emma asked.
    “I don’t see anything,” Leon said.
    “I did,” the girl said. “They’re inside to the right.” It was the first time Carrie had spoken during the entire ride.
    “Helps to have young