Page 17 of Good Girls Don't Cry

Emily nodded. “It would be better than walking through the forest. Without a GPS signal we could be walking around in circles forever.”

“That wouldn’t happen. I know my way around the forest, but I don’t know how far reaching the rockslide is right now.” Raven opened the back door for Ben to hop inside and slid behind the wheel. “The thing is, I navigate from different points in the forest. Like the two boulders on top of each other alongside the river, or the bare space where the mudslides ripped a path. We don’t know what landmarks the rockslide took out.”

Emily climbed into the passenger seat. “Until they can get a chopper up, I guess we’re on our own.” She sighed. “Although we do know Kane and Jenna are heading in our direction.” She stared out of the window. “What if the killer is the shooter? He might be stalking us.”

“I’d say he hightailed it out of here at the first tremor.” Raven grimaced. “No one is stupid enough to follow us with rocks slipping all around.”

A sense of foreboding washed over her as they pushed the truck between trees and deep underbrush. Beside her, Raven gripped the wheel and scanned the path ahead as he navigated through the dense forest. They had traveled about three or four hundred yards, when the GPS screen lit up. Emily searched the map, trying to find an alternative route. She turned to Raven. “I believe there’s an old logging road ahead. If we can find it, we might be able to get around the rockslide.”

“Which way do we go?” Raven shot a glance at the screen. “Left or right at the end of this trail?”

Emily leaned forward and ran a finger across the map. She could easily follow the truck’s path, but according to the map, it was just moving through the forest. The small trail that they were following wasn’t there. “When we get to the end of this trail maybe I can tell you, but for now, we need to just keep going forward. According to the GPS, we’re not on a road.”

The truck suddenly jolted as the ground beneath them shook violently. She clung to the side of the seat as Raven fought to keep the truck on the narrow path. All around them trees swayed and bent over, threatening to break off at the roots and crash down in front of them.

“That’s another tremor. Hang on, Emily.” Raven leaned forward over the wheel, staring at the mountain. “We need to keep going.” He accelerated. Tree branches cracked and splintered as he pushed the truck through the narrow trail.

The shaking intensified. Loose rocks and debris tumbled from the sky, bouncing off the roof of the vehicle like gunshots. Terrified, Emily gaped in horror as a large boulder smashed into the hood. The windshield shattered and glass shards flew through the air like a thousand scattered diamonds. She ducked, covering her face. “Don’t stop! We need to get out of here, fast.”

“I can’t see.” Raven stopped driving and pulled an ax from beside his seat. “Get down and cover your eyes.” He swung it at the windshield, forcing a hole in the shattered glass. “Okay, put on your sunglasses or the glass will get in your eyes.” Raven’s jaw set with determination as he pressed down the accelerator and urged the truck forward. “Have you found the logging road yet? We can’t go back now.”

Cold damp air surrounded Emily and fragments of glass bounced across the hood. Trees swayed as the mountainside continued to tremble. She enlarged the map on the GPS and tried to estimate the distance between their position and the easiest way to the logging road. It was proving difficult because the map represented them as a small blue arrow in the middle of nowhere. “We are heading in the right direction but none of these old trails are listed on the GPS map. I’m just guessing if we’re on the right trail or not.”

As the tremors continued and the front of the truck bounced up and down, Emily swallowed her rising fear. Beside her, Raven fought to keep the track in the right direction. As he maneuvered the truck around fallen rocks, the sides of his shiny new truck scraped against the trees. The path was getting narrower and more difficult to navigate by the second. Emily lifted her gaze from the GPS and stared into the forest, trying to get her bearings. “There is a wider trail on the left. We’ve got no choice but to take it. This one is going nowhere.”

“Okay.” Tires skidded on loose gravel as Raven swerved the truck onto the trail.

Sighing with relief, Emily stared ahead as the trail opened out. It was much wider than the one they’d been on previously. The next moment, a massive boulder rolled down the hillside and crashed through the trees, leaving behind it a trail of destruction. Bracing herself against the impact, Emily cried out as the boulder hit the back of the vehicle and spun it around. The engine roared as the truck came to a sudden halt wedged between two massive rocks. When Raven slammed it into reverse, the wheels spun but it didn’t move an inch.

“Dammit!” Raven smashed his palms down on the steering wheel. “We’re stuck and we need to get out of here now. Grab what you can. We need to get out of the impact zone.” He grabbed two of the backpacks and slung one over each shoulder before whistling to Ben to jump out of the truck.

Shaking with fear, Emily collected her backpacks and scrambled out of the truck. Underfoot, the ground vibrated as they dashed into the forest dodging falling debris. “Which way? It all looks the same to me.”

“Follow me and stay close.” Raven ran into the dense underbrush.

Terrified, she dashed after him. The sound of crashing rocks and trembling earth was a constant reminder of the danger. The smell of dust and freshly cut timber filled the forest as each boulder destroyed another line of trees. They kept moving and each step became a battle against the rugged terrain. Gasping for breath and arms aching from carrying two backpacks, Emily fell behind. She slowed, unable to get enough breath to call out to him, but as if sensing her missing, he stopped and turned around. She stared at him. “Wait!”

“Give me one of your backpacks.” Raven put his down, shrugged one onto his back, one on his front, and slung the other over one shoulder. “Try and keep moving.”

At that moment, the tremors slowed. Emily stared all around, conscious of the eerie stillness in their wake. So quiet. It was as if they were the only people alive on earth. “Is it over?”

“I sure hope so.” Raven pulled out his phone and checked the signal. “Okay, I have the GPS screen. We’re not far from the old mining road. We keep moving.” He stared at the sky and then smiled. “The mist is clearing. We can get a ride out of here. The mining road will be far enough from the rock face to fly a chopper.” He scrolled on the screen and made a call. “Kane, we’ve found an old mining road. I’ll send the coordinates. My truck is wrecked. It was smashed by a boulder. I hope it’s insured.”

“It’s all good.” Kane sounded relieved. “I’ll call Carter and then head back to town. We’ll get there within the hour. There are flares in the survival pack. Set one off when you hear us coming. Is anyone injured? Any sign of the shooter?”

“No, and we’re both fine.” Raven frowned and looked at his dog. “We’ll need a harness for Ben. Do you have one available?” He cleared his throat. “He’s heavy and it’s too risky to try and hold him in the wind gusts.”

“Carter has one in his FBI chopper for his dog. It will be fine.” The engine of Kane’s truck roared in the background. “We’re back on the highway now. Brief Em on the rescue protocol. I figure I’ll come down for her and you can come up with Ben. He’ll feel safer with you.”

“That works for me.” Raven pushed a lock of hair from his forehead and smiled at Emily. “We’ll see you soon.” He disconnected.

A slight tremor bounced the ground under Emily’s feet and she gasped. She grabbed Raven’s arm and moved closer. When he gave her a long silent stare, she cleared her throat. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be.” He indicated ahead. “This way, let’s keep moving.” He turned to look at her. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep you safe.”

Emily hurried to keep up. In that second, the attraction Jenna had for Kane was explained. Jenna had always complained that Kane was overprotective but she married him anyway. Of course, she’d always had her dad to protect her, but this was different. She stared at Raven’s wide back and sure steps through the forest. In all this time, she’d never seen him scared. He’d been strong when she’d fallen to bits. She blinked. Oh, get a grip, now you’re suffering from hero worship. This guy is way out of my league. Stop acting like a dizzy female.

She followed, stepping in his footprints. They wound through dense forest and sidestepped fallen rocks. The next moment, a ripping sound slashed through the silence. The ground under Emily’s feet bounced and trees swayed and groaned. Terrified, she cried out. Ben barked and Raven swung around, clasped her by the waist, and dived to one side. As they fell, Emily gaped in horror as, in a roar, the path split into a wide chasm so fast she didn’t have time to react. Raven held her tight and Ben was rolling over. They all tumbled out of control into the screaming forest. She clung to him as the mountain tore apart right in front of her eyes.

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