Torched: A Thriller Read Online Free PDF

just
itching to run. You up for it?”
    “Absolutely!”
    They slapped
reins and the horses shot forward, and it wasn’t long until they were in the
woods. They backed the animals back down to an amble, the trail thin and
bisected by gnarled tree roots and slippery shale. A few miles in, Bo pulled
Curtis to a stop in a tiny, nondescript meadow.
    He swung out of
his saddle and took the duffle bag from Terri’s shoulders before helping her
dismount.
    “This is it?”
she said, incredulous.
    “What, you
thought you had to climb a fence?”
    Her cheeks
flushed. “Sort of.”
    He laughed.
“Sorry. Nothing that dramatic. But you know what? I saved a life here once.”
    “Yeah?”
    He nodded.
“Little girl. She collapsed. When we found her, she was unconscious. Poor girl
was out here all by herself, sick half to death with dehydration.  Her folks
had either left her behind, or they were captured and deported; maybe they went
for help and they just never quite made it back.”
    “You saved her?”
    Bo spat a
streamer of tobacco. “I did. Brought her home at a full gallop. We got some
fluids into her, and my old man called in a doctor.”
    “What happened
to her?”
    Bo smiled.
“She’s fine. Healthy as a horse, actually. She’s my little sister—name’s
Esmeralda. You didn’t meet her because she attends a private school back in
Brownsville. Spends her weekends and summers with us at the ranch.”
    Terri mulled it
over for a moment. “Why are you telling me this, Bo?”
    He sighed,
looking away. “Dad told me where you’re headed. I, uh…I don’t much like putting
my oar in, but I just wanted to say it. Mercy and forgiveness, Terri—those’re
Godly qualities. Just,” he shrugged, “I just wanted to say it. And I did, and
now I’m done.”
    She scowled.
First Benny, then these people! Jesus, what were they trying to do? “Thanks,
Bo. I’ll keep it in mind. This path, then?”
    “Yes, Ma’am.
It’ll take you straight through to the Rio Grande. Chaco will help you out from
there. Good luck.”
    He swung into
the saddle, took the reins of her horse, turned the animals on the trail and,
without sparing so much as a glance over his shoulder, headed back toward the
ranch.
    Terri breathed
deeply. She turned, studying the narrow, meandering path cutting through the
woods.
    Mexico.
    Right there, that was the way to Mexico.
    She swallowed
thickly and started down the path.

EIGHT
    Terri pushed
forward, sensing the river growing nearer with each step. The morning bloomed
in full—hot and humid—and she stripped down to a tank top, pausing from time to
time to mop the sweat from her forehead and drink from her canteen.
    The further she
pushed, the more the landscape shifted. The vegetation thinned, the larch and
pine trees yielding to yucca and scotch broom. The soil grew sandy.
    The trail cut a
steep angle up an enormous dune, a few hundred feet or more in altitude, and
she plodded up it, her duffle growing heavy on her shoulders for the first time
since leaving the ranch. When she crested it, her breath caught in her chest.
    There it was—the
Rio Grande.
    It spread
beneath her like a length of muddy ribbon, the banks surprisingly close in
places where the river narrowed. No wonder so many hopeful immigrants swam for
it.
    It stood before
her—that final barrier to Mexico—just a few hundred yards away! Her heart raced.
It was her last chance to turn back, her last chance to turn around and return
to a life that was consistent and solid and safe back in Colorado.
    It was a good
life, being at home with her children. In time, Erin and Mike would get better.
In time, they would put the things that Vivian had done to them in the past.
    She turned and
started back toward the Pinkertons’ ranch. Christ…what had she been thinking ?
She was halfway down the dune when she stopped. A large part of her wanted to
keep going, to walk all the way back to the Subaru and the embrace of her
children, but she simply