However, when hours of tracking the rugged terrain produced no evidence of any possible trails, she’d barely managed to suppress the guttural roar that had been building up inside her. Consumed with a burning rage, she’d hiked back to her truck and headed down the mountain. If she couldn’t take care of the girls – yet – she’d just have to go deal with the other issue that threatened to topple her house of cards – Elizabeth Monroe.

But before this day was over, she vowed, all her problems would be solved once and for all, including Adam.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Tuesday, October 8

Pareidolia. The phenomenon where a person saw shapes in everyday objects – like the rusted metal grate sitting cockeyed above Addis’s head and currently mocking her with its smirky smile as it dripped moisture into the shallow hole she and Em had agreed would be their best option for ‘refuge’ for the night. Now peeking over at Emerson’s restless, shivering, semi-sleeping form, she began to wonder about the intelligence of their choice.

As yet another night had fallen, leaving them once again lost in the literal darkness of this nightmare and a forest filled with the eerie calls of wildlife, Emerson had tripped and fallen onto a metal grate, wrenching her wrist in the process. Too weak to help her up, Addis had collapsed next to her, where the two had clung to each other, neither wanting to admit they could no longer go on.

It was only when the clouds veiling the meager light from the moon lifted that Addis finally saw what Em had tripped over. ‘A cattle guard,’ she whispered. She may not know much about the not-so-great outdoors, but she did know that, supposedly anyway, these were meant to stop livestock and wildlife from crossing. Her heart thumped painfully inside her chest. If there were cattle guards, there might be ranchers nearby.

As quickly as the excitement ignited, it fizzled out. Even if they did magically stagger upon another living soul in the inky blackness of the night, how would they know who they could trust, especially since they’d never seen their kidnapper’s accomplice? Logically, she knew they would eventually have to trust someone, but for some reason, the thought of doing so in the dark was something every fiber of her being shied away from.

When she spotted the broken gap in the cattle guard, a wisp of an idea shaped itself into an action. If they crawled into the space beneath the metal, they would be better hidden as well as protected from hungry animals.

‘What if – what if we squeeze down there’ – Addis jabbed her finger toward the hole – ‘and shelter for the night? I mean, it won’t protect us from the weather, but it’ll help keep the animals away.’

Emerson hesitated. ‘How far down does it go?’