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faces and knew he had the same look on his face. They had a job to
do, and emotion was the last thing they needed crowding their minds
and their judgment. They needed to be detached, hard-ass warriors.
The Osborn brothers, with Sheriff Luke Sun-Walker and the
Delaney brothers, got to work, searching the area with a fine-tooth
comb. A yell from Daniel Delaney had Sam and everyone else rushing
over to where he stood studying the ground behind the small cabin.
She headed west. Let s go, Daniel s deep, rough voice
commanded.
Sam and the others walked for hours, their direction changing as
signs of flight caught their eyes. They reached a deep ravine, and Sam
searched down the sheer cliff face, praying their woman wasn t at the
bottom.
Over here, Luke yelled. He pointed to the disturbed ground, a
scuff mark from a shoe and a broken tree branch indicating which
way to go.
They made it to the place Rachel had gone over the edge of the
cliff just as twilight set in. They were going to have to wait until
daylight before they went any further. As much as Sam wanted to
keep going, his training kicked in, knowing he would endanger his
own life and the lives of the men with him if they tried to keep going.
Daniel and Britt Delaney got a fire going and handed around
energy bars and water canteens they d pulled from their backpacks to
all the men. The brothers were veritable Boy Scouts, having
everything needed for a night out under the stars. The eight men
relaxed around the fire, some dozing, the others conversing as they
whiled away the hours until dawn.
Sam saw Daniel pull his portable tracker from the clip on his hip,
and wondered why he looked annoyed.
What s wrong? Sam asked.
Her Ex-Marines 101
My tracking device still isn t working.
Hey, Daniel, where did you get that thing? Luke asked from
across the fire.
Standard issue.
Shit, man, what the hell are you and your brother into? Tyson
asked.
Classified, Britt answered.
Sam sighed as the conversation died down with the fire. Most of
the men looked totally relaxed, but looks were deceiving. The
slightest out-of-place sound would have him and the others all
drawing their weapons. They were all warriors, some more elite than
others, but they all lived to protect the innocent. It s what he and the
rest of the group had been trained for.
* * * *
Rachel shifted on the hard rock beneath her tired, aching body for
what felt like the hundredth time. She was so tired and hungry, but she
was alive. Her right ankle hurt so badly now that the adrenaline had
worn off, and she was on the verge of tears. She felt sick to her
stomach with the knowledge she wouldn t be able to continue on. She
either had a very bad sprain or she d fractured a bone in her ankle. It
was almost three times its normal size, black and blue all around her
ankle. Her feet hurt from all the cuts and scrapes, and they felt like
they were on fire. It felt as if they were scraped raw, no skin left to
protect her soles. She dozed on and off, every little rustle and sound
bringing her alert to listen for danger. She was shaking with cold, but
knew it was more in reaction to her situation than the ambient
temperature. She wished she had had the foresight to keep her cell
phone in her pocket instead of her purse. Hindsight was a wonderful
thing, after the fact. There probably wasn t any reception out here
anyway. Rachel finally drifted down into a deep slumber, emotional
and physical exhaustion catching up with her. She dreamed of her
102 Becca Van
men, safe and sound, out looking for her.
* * * *
Okay, let s head out, Damon stated, eager to find their woman.
The sun hadn t risen completely yet, but there was enough light for
the men to work and move by. Sam was the first over the cliff. Damon
watched as his brother moved with stealthy grace, his muscles
rippling as he moved steadily down the cliff side.
She made it safely to the ground, Sam called up to the other
men when his feet touched flat, firmer ground. I ll scout her
direction.
Damon watched as Sam followed Rachel s track and found where
she d stopped to drink. Damon praised her in his mind. He followed
as Sam tracked her path silently, steadily. Pride filled his chest at what
their woman had endured. She was a lot tougher than he or his
brothers thought. The instinct for survival had kicked in, and he knew
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