Wilderness Pursuit. Michelle Karl
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thought.
And then the shadows in her room moved.
She screamed as a hand flew out of the darkness and covered her mouth. Another hand clamped around her arm and yanked her out of bed, throwing her into a chair in the middle of the room. She tried to lash out with her limbs, but a sudden sensation of cold metal against her neck stopped her short.
“You’ll stop moving if you know what’s good for you,” a low, masculine voice growled. The cold metal pressed harder, and she felt the sharp tip of a blade at the hollow of her throat. Rough hands grabbed at her, pulling her arms behind the chair. The crackle of zip ties and pressure against her wrists told her she’d been secured in place. Her legs were still free, but with the knife digging into her throat and the room in complete darkness, she had no way to know where to kick or whether fighting back would send the knife plunging deep into her flesh.
“I don’t have any money,” she said, surprised at how steady her voice sounded. “My wallet is in the bag by the door. Take the credit cards, take whatever you want. You don’t need to do this.”
“After I leave,” the intruder growled, “you’re going to pack up and leave town.”
Kara could hardly hear over the pounding of her own heart. “Who are you and what do you want?”
“The next time, you won’t get away with just a scratch,” the man said, ignoring her. “If you value your life, get out of town and don’t come back. Now.” The pain at her throat intensified, the tip of the blade digging into her neck with each word.
“I can’t very well do that when I’m tied up, can I?” She knew she shouldn’t have said anything the moment the words left her lips. She felt his anger increase as lightning flashed outside, and through the faint light that filtered through the crack in the curtains, she saw him rear back, his arm raised and ready to swing down on her—
And then the motel door flew open with a bang. Another body dived into the room and tackled the person who held her captive. They both tumbled to the floor and she heard a grunt of pain, and when the next flash of lightning came, she saw Sam struggling to take control of the knife in her attacker’s hand. The man swung at Sam with his free hand, trying to distract Sam so he could bring down the blade, but Sam kicked out and connected with the man’s stomach. He toppled backward, but the sudden movement meant the knife swung down anyway. It sliced across Sam’s forearm, and he shouted in pain.
“Sam!” Kara tried to rise, but the zip ties held her back against the chair. But her legs were free! She scooted forward and kicked at the downed man, knocking the knife from his hand. She tried to kick at the man’s face, too, but Sam’s injury and her partial incapacitation gave the attacker an advantage. The man scrambled to his feet and plunged out into the storm.
Sam rose to go after him, but paused in the doorway as lightning cracked and thunder roared almost simultaneously.
“Sam, don’t,” Kara pleaded. “Don’t go after him. It’s too dangerous.”
Sam stumbled back into the room and shut the door, then clicked the light switch. Nothing happened. “Power’s out.”
Kara gaped at him. “No surprise there. But Sam, how did you...what...”
Sam swept to her side and checked her bindings. “I saw his outline through the window when the lightning flashed. I was coming over to see if you’d rather ride out the storm in my parents’ basement. They have a generator and you won’t be next to a—” they both flinched at the sound of another crack of lightning “—picture window when there are tree branches coming down and debris flying around outside. And definitely no intruders. It’s up to you, but this place clearly isn’t safe.”
“All right. Yes. Thank you.” Kara’s heart leaped back into her throat. Did she want to be around Sam’s parents? Of course not. Was there a better alternative? Staying here certainly wasn’t an option. “Sam, he told me to get out of town. He threatened my life, and I’m fairly certain it was one of the same guys who attacked me and Mike at the dig site. He knew I’d be here. Someone doesn’t want that site dug up, and they seem willing to kill to make sure it doesn’t happen.”
* * *
Sam couldn’t sleep. He hoped that Kara was getting some rest in his parents’ guest room in the basement, and while he’d tried to catch some shut-eye on the couch upstairs, every new rumble of thunder pulled his consciousness right back to full alert. As soon as the sun came up and it was safe to head outside, he needed to get to the site of yesterday’s attack. He’d already called his brother Aaron and asked him to check out Kara’s hotel room, but Sam had a sinking feeling that neither attack location would yield much information of value. The storm might have washed away clues out in the forest, and the intruder at the motel had been wearing gloves, a mask and nondescript clothing. That didn’t mean it wasn’t still worth taking a look at both locations.
The basement steps creaked, and Kara’s sleepy face crested the stairs. Her black hair was rumpled and messy, in desperate need of a brush, and she looked as exhausted as he felt—and yet he couldn’t take his eyes off her. What is that about?
How did they end up in the same place at the same time again, anyway? He’d literally never expected to see her again, and thought he’d gotten over how much he’d missed her during those first few months—no, years—after she pushed him away. But having her here right in front of him...it was a reminder of their shared moments of laughter, of deep conversations, of stolen kisses as he’d walked her home after youth group on Wednesdays nights. He’d been a bit of an aimless teen, sure, and she’d had her life more or less planned out, but he’d believed they would make it work.
And then she’d gone and stomped on his heart and ruined everything.
“Coffee,” she groaned, pulling Sam back to reality. He might not be able to help his outward attraction to her, but it held no lasting meaning. She’d shown her true, inner self eighteen years ago.
“Nope, sorry. Power’s still out.” Kara sighed as his phone buzzed. The middle Thrace brother, Leo, was calling. Sam headed toward the front door, gesturing at Kara to put on her shoes while he spoke to his brother. “What’s the situation, Leo? Anyone have power yet, or are we looking at multiple downed lines?”
“Good morning to you, too,” Leo said, sounding remarkably alert for so early in the morning. “There’s a crew out now working on getting critical power restored, but another team is on the way from Fort St. Jacob to handle the residential grid. South of us didn’t get hit nearly as hard as we did, but it’s going to be tricky for them to get to us. It’s not pretty out there.”
Sam’s hopes plummeted. “Besides the downed lines?”
Leo sighed. “Trees, too, and large broken branches. The western road into town is covered with debris. The other guys have set up a roadblock until it gets cleared and the live power lines are raised again. Way too dangerous for folks to be driving around on it.”
“Well, that’s inconvenient.” Sam rubbed his eyes and glanced at Kara, who regarded him with an unspoken question. “Did Aaron fill you in on the attack at the Number Six motel last night? I know it’s technically my morning off, but it sounds like you and the others will have your hands full with storm recovery. I wanted to head out to the Gaida Industries pipeline site in the forest where the attack happened yesterday, see if anything pops out at me. If the same people are responsible for multiple attacks on Ms. Park, then I want them found and brought to justice immediately. She’s in Fort Mason to do a specific, time-sensitive job, and she can’t do it while she’s a target.”
“Ms. Park?” Hesitance crept into Leo’s voice. “That wouldn’t be the same Ms. Park who turned you into a blubbering mess when we were kids, would it? Please tell me it’s not. I know that’s a common Korean last name.”
Sam’s stomach dropped at his brother’s guess. “It’s the same woman, yes. Kara Park is the lead archaeologist on the project.” His brother’s silence spoke volumes. Sam lowered