Page 22 of Valor

When he almost walked into one of the brown cabins, he had to swallow the urge to laugh. If it had been a snake, it would have bitten him. Placing his hand on the side of the cabin, he tried to get his bearings. They’d passed three cabins on this side of the road before reaching the one they’d been assigned. He was fairly certain this was the second of the three.

Easing along the side of the building, he peered around the corner. This close he could see the glow of light was coming from one of the lodge windows. He spotted the cabin number six and realized he was closer than he’d realized.

He scooted backward until he was in the woods. Then he adjusted his angle to reach Emily’s cabin.

Fifteen minutes later, he found it. He frowned when he realized the place was dark. Not even the light of a phone could be seen through the windows. Had she somehow already left the Elk Horn Lodge with her brother? No, that was impossible. He glanced at his watch, realizing only ninety minutes had passed since he’d left her. No way could Doug have driven all the way from the Sullivan K9 Search and Rescue Ranch so quickly. And if the guy had flown there, Owen would have heard the plane or helicopter.

She was probably asleep. She had worked three night shifts in a row and had barely gotten three hours of sleep in before they’d been forced to go on the run.

Yet he wouldn’t be able to relax without knowing she was okay.

Moving slowly, he crept toward the window closest to the bed. The last thing he wanted was to wake Bear. Or Emily for that matter.

Hearing nothing from inside the cabin, he pressed his back against the wall and took a deep breath. Then he edged closer to peer inside. It took a moment for him to see Emily curled up in the bed, with Bear tucked in beside her.

They painted a poignant picture. The flash of relief that she was unharmed morphed into longing. His heart ached for something he’d never have. Owen had to force himself to turn away, to follow through on his promise of ensuring Emily’s safety.

Not satisfying his own selfish wishes. With steely resolve, he silently retraced his steps until he was hidden in the shelter of the woods.

The light in the main lodge abruptly turned off. He stood for a moment, waiting for his eyes to adjust. Then he continued moving through the foliage until he found a spot where he could keep an eye on both the front door of the cabin and the window closest to where Emily and Bear were sleeping. Then he settled on the ground, bracing his back against the base of a thick tree trunk.

Maybe this was an exercise in futility, but now that he’d made it this far, he might as well stick around for a while. Hopefully, Doug Bridges was already on his way. Sure, it would take another hour or two for the DEA agent to get there, but that was okay.

He could wait.

Resting his head back against the tree trunk, he closed his eyes and tried to relax his tense muscles. Around him, the night scents and sounds filled his senses. Buzzing insects, the evergreen scent, the occasional throaty belch from a bullfrog and the hoot of an owl.

Owen hadn’t spent much time outdoors until this past year. His dad was in the army, and he and Oliver had moved from one base to the next every few years. It wasn’t easy to start over, making new friends, but a lot of the other kids on base were in the same predicament. That had only lasted until his seventeenth birthday when his parents had separated. A few months later, they’d reconciled but then his dad had unexpectedly died of a brain aneurysm. After burying his father, his mother had made her home in Denver, Colorado.

Owen had graduated from high school, then got a job building houses. He’d liked working with his hands, creating something that would last. Then his mom had gotten sick. His brother, Oliver, had turned twenty-one but was still living at home. Unbeknownst to Owen, Oliver, who was three years younger than he was, had made the bad decision to join the local drug ring to make easy cash. By the time Owen had found out what was going on, their mother had passed away from her pancreatic cancer, and Oliver was in way over his head. Owen had urged his brother to break free, to get out of the drug trade. Oliver had mentioned his boss, Domingo Hernandez, and had sounded scared to death of the guy.

Three short months later, Oliver had been found with his throat slashed, his body left on the front porch of his mother’s old house in a clear message.

Nobody walks away from Domingo Hernandez.

Owen must have dozed off because the sound of a twig cracking startled him. He opened his eyes and carefully scanned his surroundings without moving a muscle.

That was when he’d realized the night sounds of insects, frogs, and owls had gone silent.

His pulse kicked into high gear. Yet he tried not to overreact. He couldn’t see anything alarming nearby. Cabin 9 remained dark and quiet.

Another muffled footfall convinced him he wasn’t imagining things. Someone was out there.

Doug Bridges? Or someone else?

Moving with exaggerated slowness, he slowly pushed himself up and into a crouch. He still had his weapon, but only half the bullets were left. He didn’t want to use it unless absolutely necessary. He’d already killed two men, and that did not include the number of drug overdose deaths he may have been partially responsible for.

Domingo Hernandez was the real culprit. But Owen knew he wasn’t innocent either.

Another footstep reached his ears. This time he could tell it came from his left side. As if someone was stealthily coming up the dirt road toward the cabin.

There would be no reason for Doug to skulk around like that. The DEA agent would come barreling up in one of those Sullivan SUVs, likely having broken every known speed record to get there.

Owen narrowed his gaze, watching the road. When he saw a man dressed in black moving down the dirt track straight toward cabin 9, his gut clenched. He slowly lifted his weapon, holding it in two hands as he waited for the man to come closer, needing to be sure he wasn’t Doug.

The light in the lodge window popped on, and the man spun toward it, lifting his weapon. Owen used the distraction to take a few steps closer to the cabin. When the man dressed in black turned back around, Owen caught a glimpse of his facial features.

Not Doug. And no one else he recognized either.

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