HauntedLaird Read Online Free PDF Page A

falling.
Then it hit him. Lynn had been tied with a rope that she’d removed when she
relieved herself. He’d seen the rope and knew she had to be the one tied to it.
From her position behind the bush, he knew what she was doing and had given her
some privacy until she was finished and started to run. Thinking back, he
wished he’d approached her differently. She was scared and hadn’t realized it
was him who had his arm around her and his hand over her mouth. Travis
regretted that move.
    He took off his pack and hid it. Without it, he could make
better time back to the rope. His only hope was that it was forgotten and still
lay where it had been dropped. The closer he got to their campsite, the louder
the voices became. Fin was the object of their anger. They hadn’t found the
woman and it was all Fin’s fault, because he was supposed to be their expert
guide.
    Travis worked his way closer and remained hidden as he
watched. Fin sat quietly on a rock, taking the verbal abuse from one of the
men. The man yelling lifted his hand as if he were going to smack Fin. That got
a reaction out of Fin. He sprang to his feet and leveled the man with a solid
two-handed shove to his chest. Before the guy could move, Fin was on top of him
with his knee in his stomach and his collar fisted tight, lifting the man’s
shoulders several inches from the ground.
    “Don’t you ever try to strike me again. It will be your last
mistake.” Fin shoved him hard against the dirt as he stood. Staring down at the
man, he spat, “We start the hunt again at first light. I told you these woods
swallow people whole at night.” He stomped toward his tent. Travis made sure
only Fin saw him for a split second then melded into the darkness again. Fin
looked over his shoulder and in an ominous tone added, “There’s creatures out
there that feed on human flesh. If’n I was you, I’d seek shelter before they
find you.”
    Taking his cue from Fin’s words, Travis made a horrific
growling sound low in his throat and threw a rock into the bushes behind the
campsite. Fin disappeared into his tent. The other two couldn’t move fast
enough, stumbling over each other to get into their tent. It was all Travis
could do not to break out laughing at the sight. As soon as Fin appeared at
Travis’ side with his gear in hand, they hurried away from the campsite, but
not before Travis gathered the rope.
    “I sort o’ found Lynn,” Travis stated the second they were
far enough away to not be heard.
    “What do you mean, sort o’?”
    “She went over the ledge into the ravine. I needed the rope
ta follow her.”
    “Damn,” Fin replied on a hurried breath as they increased
their pace.
    They had to find her and somehow do it before the other two
grew a set of balls and came out of their tent. They reached where he’d stowed
his pack just as the skies opened up. Driving rain and high winds caused them
to seek shelter.
    Luck was definitely not on their side or Lynn’s at the
moment.
    * * * * *
    Lynn woke to the sound of rain, yet she was dry. A fuzzy
sensation tickled her nose. Warmth cocooned her, making her feel safe. Prying
her eyes open, she came to the sudden realization she was covered with a
blanket. She bolted upright, letting the blanket drop to her lap as she stared
wide-eyed at it. It appeared to be an animal skin of some sort. She was
guessing deer maybe. It was soft to the touch. But she had no idea where it
came from.
    Slowly, she stood. Every ounce of her balked in rebellion
and made her feel a hundred years old. Lynn stretched and turned then stopped
as she realized her location. The mouth of a cave had been her shelter from the
elements. If she hadn’t been so worn out and it hadn’t been the dead of night,
she might have found this and slid farther in for more protection rather than
lain in the opening. She stepped through the entrance. Lynn walked several feet
then came to an abrupt halt.
    An apparition stood in her path. Clear as day, she