Her hand rose to her throat.
These prints were from a four-legged creature.
She touched her belt to reassure herself her pepper spray was still there and had not gone the way of her battery. Then she squatted down for a closer look.
M shaped.
Three pads.
Not a bear print—the bears would already be hibernating. This print was large . . . and catlike.
Her heart picked up speed.
A mountain lion.
But, if she was right, there was no need to panic. Mountain lions didn’t usually trouble humans—at least not fully grown ones. They preferred to prey on smaller creatures, though she was certain if provoked, they would attack. She made a clucking sound with her tongue, and found a stick to tap the rocks to give plenty of warning. She didn’t want to surprise a mamma lion and her cubs, and she had to hope that if Laura was out here, she’d welcome a rescue party.
The more noise Caitlin made, the better.
She reached the talus-covered slope, and sure enough the trail disappeared. With nothing but instinct to guide her, she decided to skirt the slope, rather than climb it. As she marched ahead, continuing to give as much warning as possible, she heard a melodic sound coming from the east.
She aimed her flashlight in that direction.
Its beam found a grove of dwarfed bristlecone pines. She headed toward them, her boots thudding loudly on the ground. And then she heard the soft noise again.
Her breath whooshed from her chest.
A human voice.
It wasn’t the wind whistling through the trees as she’d imagined before.
“I’m here!” The feminine voice unscrambled itself into words as Caitlin drew nearer.
Pandy.
Or perhaps . . . “Laura!” Caitlin cupped her hands around her mouth. “Laura, help is on the way! Stay right where you are. I’m coming to you.”
A thunder of branches answered back.
“Don’t run! I’m here to help!” she yelled, tearing across the rough terrain toward the little grove of trees. From nowhere, a root jumped up and caught her ankle. She sprang forward, reached out to stop her fall, but it was too late. Her head thunked against the hard ground, narrowly missing a pointy rock. Her cheek pressed against the earth, and the earth rumbled beneath it.
A loud roar set her body vibrating, rattling her teeth.
A bone-chilling scream sounded, just as she lifted her chin and saw a blur of muscle covered in sleek, tawny fur flying through the air.
Oh dear God!
The dark cavernous jaws of the mountain lion gaped open. It sprang again, knocking the slight, redheaded figure to the ground. The sound of thundering branches had come from the charge of a wild beast, not from a woman running away.
“Pandy!” she cried out.
About a dozen yards from where Caitlin had fallen, the petite ranger now lay stretched out, unconscious, like a Raggedy Ann tossed away by a child.
As it circled the fallen ranger, the lion’s roar changed to a low growl.
Caitlin’s pulse boomed in her ears, and her breathing all but ceased.
Time slowed as she struggled to process the situation.
Child-sized Pandy was completely vulnerable, a choice target for the beast. But what had angered the mountain lion? The cougars weren’t docile creatures by any means, but they didn’t hunt humans. Something must’ve provoked it to attack.
Had Pandy surprised the animal?
A thousand thoughts flashed through her aching head.
If she jumped to her feet, she might startle the lion. It hadn’t made contact with Pandy after knocking her down. It continued to circle her, ominously enough, but a sudden movement might spur it on to deadly action.
Still, she couldn’t just lie there with Pandy in jeopardy. Her entire body went numb, as her thoughts continued to race. How did one handle a mountain lion? Not by fleeing. That much she knew for sure. It was either freeze, or make yourself big and bad to frighten it away.
Two completely opposite tactics, and she couldn’t recall which one was supposed to work.
She had her pistol, but from this distance, the chance of infuriating the cougar was far greater than the chance of hitting it.
Her heartbeat counted down the seconds until she would be forced to make a decision, knowing the wrong one might cost both Pandy and her their lives.
Chapter 19
Thursday, October 24
6:00 P.M.
Eagles Nest Wilderness
Colorado
The open terrain, save for a few scattered boulders and dwarfed pines, made it difficult to follow the dark-haired woman undetected, but Laura did her best. Luckily, the woman moved with great care, so it was easier to keep up. Each step she took seemed to be in slow motion, and she kept her gaze ahead, rarely looking back at ground already covered. Twice, Laura was able to read the woman’s body language and anticipate her turning in time to conceal herself.