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“Yeah, let’s go!” Sam responded.

They walked at a pace faster than they’d been going before, but not fast enough to clue in the people watching them that Tanner was onto them. Bree did a great job keeping the kids talking—about computers, no less—and Tanner kept an eye on the ridge above them as the path they were on started to take them closer to the river’s edge once again.

They’d gone about a mile when Tanner saw the light reflected up off the ridge again. When Bree stopped talking for a moment and caught his eye, he realized she’d seen it too. It wasn’t until a couple of moments later when he saw a second reflection from the northeastern ridge that he realized they were actually in trouble.

It wasn’t one person following them—it was two. At least two.

And if Tanner kept them on the path they were walking, they would be moving straight into an area where their followers held all the high ground, and all the advantages. It would make them sitting ducks.

He could be wrong. It could be two sets of hikers just out on their way not even thinking about the reflections their cameras or binoculars were making. It could be hunters up on the ridge, aware of his and the kids’ presence but not intending any harm.

But it could also be someone who had already sabotaged their raft and forced their party to separate.

Tanner wasn’t willing to take the chance.

There was only one way to know for sure, and that was to lead Bree and the kids deeper into the wilderness.

Catching Bree’s eye, he tilted his head to the side and led them off the worn path.

She continued the ongoing conversation with the kids and Tanner didn’t discourage it. Their followers were too far away to hear them at this point.

Away from the clearer path the ground was harder to navigate. Tanner would’ve liked to go much faster, but if somebody twisted an ankle it would definitely slow them down. He hated to add three or four extra miles to an already full day of walking for little legs, but doing this would give whoever was watching them the chance to move on.

Or let Tanner know for certain that they were in trouble.

The kids walked for a while, then Tanner gave Sam a piggyback. Bree, trouper that she was, held Eva for as long as she could, giving the little girl a break. After two miles Tanner swung them back toward the main path again. They walked parallel to it for a good half a mile, and even though he’d kept a close eye out, he didn’t see any trace of anyone following them. Maybe he had been paranoid. A good cop was always a little paranoid, and maybe this time it was nothing.

“How are we doing?” Bree asked as the kids walked a few steps ahead of them.

“I haven’t seen anything to make me suspicious for the last half a mile. I’m thinking maybe I was a bit overzealous.”

She reached over and squeezed his hand. “I like it when you’re overzealous. Although generally you’re not in the middle of the wilderness when you decide to be.”

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her up against him, kissing her forehead. “Let’s get back on the main path and deliver these kids to their mom.”

They were almost to the clearing they would cut through to get back on the main path when Eva let out a disgusted sound.

“Ew. That’s so gross.”

When Tanner crouched down next to her to see what had gotten her attention, he expected some sort of bug or dead critter. But it wasn’t. It was three cigarette butts.

“Mommy says smoking is gross,” Eva informed him.

“Do people smoke even out in the woods?” Sam said.

“They do if they’re addicted to cigarettes,” Bree responded.

Tanner picked up one of the butts, much to the kids’ dismay.

“You don’t smoke, do you, Lips?” Sam asked.

Tanner brought the butt up to his nose and breathed in. The scent of tobacco was still very present. These butts weren’t more than an hour old.

Someone had been sitting here, waiting. No hunter would smoke out in the open like that. It would scare all the prey away. Someone had been waiting for something much more specific.

“Everybody, back into the tree line,” Tanner said, pushing them rapidly in that direction. He could tell by the kids’ faces that he was making them nervous, but it couldn’t be helped.

They were definitely being followed. And he was afraid not just followed...