AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Brett started running again. “Right now, I’m in pursuit of Dania.”
“What? And you’re talking on the phone?” He could imagine Gabe’s eyes bulging.
“I can talk and run at the same time. I saw her from the chopper.” He switched topics. “How’d it go with the AG?”
“About how I expected. He seemed happy to hear that you were leading the search for her.” Gabe’s voice took on a curious tone.
“You know me. I always get my man, except in Colombia.” Brett darted around a boulder in his path. He hated bringing up his one and only failure, but the truth needed to be spoken and never forgotten.
“Not your fault. You took a bullet. You’re lucky to be alive.” Gabe had helped Brett through that difficult time. “You’ll deliver. I’m confident.”
“Thanks. That means a lot.” Brett cut under a pine bough and stopped, catching his breath. He had been very lucky to have Gabe for a boss. He’d heard that some chief deputy marshals sometimes yelled at their deputies and motivated them with threats. Not Gabe. He seemed to know what the people under him needed to make them successful: a belief that everyone gave all they had to their jobs, that they were basically good, and that if they ever needed to talk, his door was always open, day or night.
Gabe cleared his throat. “Just remember the AG is watching your every move. Your career and mine are on the line.”
“In that case, I’d better go. Please keep me posted about Olivia.”
“Will do.”
Brett clicked off his cell and scanned his surroundings. Where could Dania be?
For the first time, he wondered if he really could deliver the bandit he chased.
Chapter Eight
Dania raced through the brush,skirting trees. She glanced behind, checking to see if anyone followed. No one. Her heart pounded so hard her chest might burst. Still, she kept running.
Dania, stop!Brett’s voice over the loudspeaker of the chopper still echoed in her ears.
She panted, hardly catching her breath. She tripped over a rock and flew into the trunk of a mighty conifer tree. It knocked her on her bum, and she bit her tongue.
Sucking in deeply, she fought to stay conscious. She raised her palm to her forehead. Already, a bump was forming. She heard something and leaned against the tree trunk, holding herself upright. Someone or something crashed through the brush, coming toward her. Dazed from her fall, she fought off dizziness, glancing around and wondering where she could hide.
All at once, a golden retriever leaped from the bushes. He looked an awful lot like the dog she’d rescued years ago in the rain. She looked at his collar and spied a name on the dog tag. “Jasper?”
The canine wagged his tail.
Relief sprang through her as she hugged the dog. The retriever licked her face. She hugged him again.
Wait!
Where Jasper was, Brett would be close behind. He’d take her into custody.
She pushed the retriever away. “Go back. Leave me alone!”
Jasper tilted his head as if he couldn’t figure her out.
“Shoo!” She motioned for him to leave.
The dog started, then stopped and turned, looking at her as if making double sure.
“Go on, get!” She picked up a small pebble and threw it at him. The dog raced away.
Leaning against the tree trunk, Dania rose to her feet and forced herself to run in the opposite direction, heading deeper into the forest.
After what seemed like hours, she came to a huge pine that had fallen. Scrub brush and starts of aspens and pines had grown around it. She got on her hands and knees and crawled beneath the hollow of the huge tree, scooping dead leaves that had gathered in the crevice over her. Spiders and bugs had to be in the mix and maybe even snakes, but right now, she didn’t care.
Her head pounded.
