“Yes, but—” The line disconnected.
Merinus took a deep breath, staring down at the paper. Could she get there in the dark? It wasn’t too late. There was still at least a good hour left of light. And it wasn’t like she could sneak up on the house anyway.
Throwing off her robe, she dressed quickly in jeans and a sleeveless blouse before slinging her purse over her shoulder and rushing out to the jeep. The turnoff she was given was only a few miles up the road. Cold Springs, he had said. She remembered seeing the little green sign on her excursions to the neighboring county.
She had him now. She contained her whoop of joy as she jumped into the jeep and started the ignition.
He could run, but if she could find that road to his home, there was no way he could hide from her any longer.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nearly an hour later, she was clenching her teeth in sheer desperation as she made yet another turn along one of the country back roads she had taken in her search for Callan’s home. The written directions beside her were giving her few clues to where she actually was as her jeep bumped and nudged itself along a pitted dirt road that seemed to lead to nowhere.
Applying the brake, Merinus sat and looked around in confusion. How had she done it? She could have sworn she had taken the right road a few turns back.
“Lord, save me from simple minded directions,” she groused.
Pushing her hair back from her forehead, she put the jeep in reverse and turned around in the wide grassy shoulder that bordered the track. Surely it couldn’t be this difficult, she thought. Hell, she had never gotten lost in any big city she had ever been in, and now this little hick county was getting the best of her. It couldn’t be happening, her brothers would laugh her out of the nation if they found out.
“Dammit.” She pulled off the road again several miles later, looked around and admitted defeat. She was lost. Well and truly and irrevocably lost, and she had no one to blame but herself.
Heaving a sigh, she looked around wearily. There had to be a way out of here. Something she had missed somewhere. Getting out of the SUV, she stretched her tired muscles, then paced over to the edge of the road, looking into the valley below for some sign of civilization.
There wasn’t a sign to be found. All she could see was the same thing around her, trees and thick brush, and not even the roof of a house or a barn. Not that a barn meant anything around here, she had seen many of them, ransacked and falling down from neglect, nowhere near a house.
After looking around for a moment longer, she walked to the other side of the road and began to climb the forested rise there. Maybe, if she could get further up, she could see something. There had to be a house somewhere. It wasn’t like she was in the desert or the rainforest, dammit. People lived here. That farmer had assured her earlier that if there was a road, then it led somewhere. So something or someone had to be out here. And she was going to have to find them soon. It was getting dark, and she sure as hell didn’t want to be stuck out here alone after dark.
As she entered the thicker part of the forest, she turned around to make certain she could still see the SUV. As she did, a noise behind her startled her, causing her to turn in fear.
The man stood several feet in front of her, his eyes dark beneath the camouflage brim of his hat as he watched her. Merinus felt her heart begin to race rapidly in fear as his eyes traveled over her body, sparkling with a deadly intent.
“Well, what do we have here?” The man was tall, his camouflage hat pulled low over black smudged eyes, his face hard and menacing in the shadows of the forest.
Merinus felt fear skate through her body. Her heart pumped quickly in her fear, the blood thundering in her ears as she took in the cold, harsh expression of the man’s face.
“I’m lost.” Merinus backed up as the man loomed over her, a leer spreading across his face. “I was just looking for a way off the mountain.”
“Lost are you?” he sneered, his gaze stripping her. “Poor little thing. You need some help, do you?” He sounded suspiciously like the guy who called with the stupid directions.
“I’m sure I can manage.” Merinus backed away slowly, fighting the panic spreading through her body.
As she tried to back away, her arms were grabbed from behind and fear shot through her with the force of a tidal wave. She felt her system clog with hysteria as she felt the hard grip, felt the harder body behind her.
“Maybe we can help you find your way.” The voice behind her suggested as the steel hard hands pulled her closer against his tall male body. “Maybe you’d like to party with us a little first, though.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement of intent. Merinus swallowed tightly as she fought to keep her sanity as the fear washed over her. She was in a shitload of trouble and she knew it.
God. What did Kane tell her? What did he say to do?
As the man behind her tightened his grip, she released the muscles of her legs, lifting her feet from the ground. A startled sound from the man behind her was her only warning. As she began to fall, Merinus tucked her body and rolled away from the men then jumped to her feet to run.
Her screams shattered the forest as she heard the first guy give a quick order to catch her. She ran, and she screamed. She didn’t try to conserve energy, because she knew she most likely wouldn’t make it to the jeep anyway, so she used it to pierce the lonely countryside with her terrified cries.
She almost made it to the jeep. She was within feet of the protective shelter when she was tackled, her body slamming into the hard, gravel encrusted ground with enough force to knock the breath from her body and to still her cries.
“Bitch,” the man cursed as she cried out. He jerked her arms behind her and she was hauled roughly to her feet.
Fighting to breathe, the metallic taste of her own blood in her mouth, the sickening stench of her own terror wrapped around her as she was once again face to face with one of her attackers.
“I’m a journalist,” she gasped. “Merinus Tyler. The National Forum. There will be people looking for me.”