Hunted Read Online Free PDF Page B

man left and Mike went to the kitchen. He heard footsteps on the stairs, and soon he saw Becky.
    “What’s this?”
    “I'm going to get the snowmobile from the caretaker. I'll only be gone a little while.”
    Becky looked behind her to make sure Sam wasn’t around. “I don’t want to be here alone. What if—?”
    “There’s no way he could be here this soon, even if he did know where we were. Which he doesn’t. I want to get this over with. We might need the mobility.”
    She didn’t look happy about it. “Sam says the old man is creepy.”
    “Not creepy. Lonely. He was trying to be friendly.”
    “I don’t like this, Mike. I don’t like the idea of you leaving.”
    “I would never go if I thought you were in any danger. You know that.” He zipped up his parka and put on his gloves. “I'll make this as quick as I can.”
    He had the urge to touch her, to make her look into his eyes to see she had no reason to be afraid. Not yet, at least. But he kept his hands to himself. “Just lock up behind me.”
    He walked to the door and went out.
    Becky followed him and set the dead bolt. She leaned her head against the cold wood. She felt as if she were living in a nightmare. What was she doing here? She should be home. She should be cooking the turkey she’d taken out of the freezer. There were the drawings she wanted to do for the florist, and she was supposed to confirm Sam’s field trip chaperons. There were a million things to do, none of which included hiding in a cabin with Mike. Damn him for dragging them into this. Damn his job and his guns and his madmen. He had no right.
    “Geez, Mom. That guy was such a goober.”
    Becky spun around. She hadn’t heard Sam come up the stairs. Her heart was racing and she took a deep breath to calm herself down. “Don’t say things like that.”
    “I only said goober. I can’t believe there’s no TV. How long do we have to stay here, anyway?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Sam moved to the couch and sat down. “You think they'll catch that guy soon?”
    Becky was only a little surprised that Sam knew. He was a bright kid, and they hadn’t been completely discreet. She only hoped he didn’t realize the depth of the danger they were all in. “I don’t know that, either, Sam. But if you're worried about this, don’t keep it to yourself. Talk to me or your dad.”
    He nodded. “I'm not worried about anything but dying of boredom.”
    Becky studied her son as she walked over to the sofa. She saw so much of Mike in the boy. Not just his looks, but in his quiet ways. He hardly had any friends, just those computer ghosts. Every time she tried to get Sam involved in activities with other kids, he resisted. When he did go, he hardly said two words. The last thing she needed was for him to be scared that some maniac was coming to get him.
    “Have you set up your computer yet?”
    “I can’t find a phone plug for the modem.” His eyes widened with horror. “They have phones here, don’t they? I mean, come on. No TV, no phones. I'm in the middle of a game with Warren, and I haven’t answered any of my e-mail.”
    Becky walked over to the staircase. “Let’s go see what we can find before we panic, okay?”
    Sam shot up from the couch and passed her on the stairs. Why couldn’t he use some of that energy to play ball or ice skate?
    The second floor wasn’t large, just one room with two single beds and a tall dresser. Sam was looking at the baseboards for a phone jack. Becky thought about the layout of the room, and figured there were only a few places to wire for phones. She walked to the bed where Sam had piled his stuff and moved it aside.
    “Hey, kiddo. Look what I found.”
    Sam was next to her in a flash. “Cool.” He unzipped his computer case and pulled out a telephone wire. He handed one end to Becky and he plugged the other end into a slot on the side of his computer. Becky hooked him up, then moved some sweaters aside so she could sit next to