“I’ll talk to Scoffield the minute I get back. Will you let Angel know I’m coming back for her?”
He shook his head. “That’s too dangerous. This is just between you and me.”
“Hey, man, thanks. I won’t forget this.” I headed along the river. If I moved fast enough I could cover a lot of ground before nightfall.
Chapter 17
Luke
Twenty-five flat miles could have been covered in four or five hours. I could have run at least half of it, but the same distance with rocks, tree roots and chunks of earth that had been worn away by rain made the trek much slower. And given that I’d already hiked for several hours up the ridge earlier in the day and had only eaten a slice of apple pie for sustenance, my strength was not at its peak. But the adrenaline of being free, the mind blowing rush of having resigned myself to a bloody death and then finding that I would live, gave me enough energy to surge on.
Cash had been holding as many lies as me, it seemed. I wondered how long he’d been wanting out. Angel had told me that he’d been taken in by Dreygon at seventeen. Cash had basically been homeless, and his courage had impressed her grandfather. But now the man who had given him a home had gone mad. The club had saved his life, but he wanted out. And from what I knew about outlaw MC’s, getting out was harder than getting in. Cash would most likely have to go into hiding once he was free of the club. Especially if he was turning in evidence against Bedlam members.
I’d traveled in the shadow of the mountain for several hours. But enough sunlight had trickled through the heavy pine canopy to allow me to see my way without falling into any deep crevices. The river smoothed out in some areas, and I’d considered jumping in and floating downstream to give my feet a break. But the sun would sink behind the mountaintops soon, and the temperature would sink with it. It had already cooled significantly since I’d started.
Unlike when I’d been dropped in the desert, this time I had plenty of the one essential for survival. Water. I’d come to an area where the bank dropped low enough to make access to the water easy. I slid down a mushy slope, crouched next to the river, and scooped up some of the icy water. It was crystal clear, but there was a slight algae taste to it. I lapped it up like a thirsty dog and then splashed some on my face. Somewhere in the chaos of the last few hours, my jaw had been cracked or badly bruised. I wasn’t sure which, but it hurt like hell.
I sat down to rest, and my mind went straight to Angel. We’d spent all our waking hours together for these past weeks, and now, being without her felt completely wrong. Even after she’d been the one to save me, and more than once, she was convinced that she’d stumbled upon me because was I meant to save her. And that hadn’t happened . . . yet. But once I got the hell out of the wilderness, I’d be heading straight back to the compound. I wasn’t sure how any of this would unfold yet, but I was coming back just as soon as I could. Not being there now, when Dreygon was obviously growing more insane each day, made me nuts with frustration. I had to trust that Jericho and Cash would keep her safe until my return. Cash’s dire warning had replayed more than once in my head. I needed to get her out of there soon.
I pushed to my feet and hiked along the river until the path was cut off. I pulled myself up the embankment and found solid ground. My stomach churned with hunger, and my ill-fitting shoes had already ground blisters into my heels. The sun was dropping, and I had less than an hour of light. Travel in this unpredictable terrain would be impossible at night. I would need to find a place to stay for the night soon.
With the insomnia that had plagued me these past weeks, my body had somehow grown used to going without much sleep. It was a newfound skill that would come in handy in the dark. Most of the day critters had stayed out of my way. But the night prowlers were considerably more dangerous and predatory.
As I walked along, I kept an eye out for a good place to wait out the night. Cold air crept down the mountainside, and the thin shirt on my back provided little protection. Each step was taking more and more effort. The rough terrain made it hard to gauge how far I’d traveled. There was still no sign of a road or any civilization. I was completely alone. . . but I was alive.
The forest floor grew soft and loamy as I traveled into an area where I was sure few people had been. The musty smell of tree moss overwhelmed even the pungent smell of pine. Only a few strands of weak sunlight were brave enough to push through the shield of branches overhead.
One wrong step took me careening down a small slope. I lost my balance and fell head over heels until my back smacked against a rock, stopping my progress. I laid there for a long minute catching my breath and letting the pain in my back subside. The shards of blue sky above slowly turned to the pink slabs of dusk.