Her hand shifted to his crotch. “Finding something to do is not a challenge.”

“You have a dirty, dirty mind,” he said, and he leaned over to kiss her.

A branch cracked out in the dark.

Adam froze.

Emma saw his fear. “What—”

“Shh.” He listened to the night. “Someone’s out there,” he whispered, his words barely a breeze. “Get in the car.”

“Just an animal, maybe?”

“No.”

“I didn’t hear anything.”

Another crack. Adam didn’t have time to explain the seriousness of this. Only people walk carefully and stop after they make noise. Animals would just attack. If it was a friendly visit, the approaching person would intentionally make noise so as not to worry the other party or startle them.

They needed to retreat away from the light of the fire and get back to the Bronco, where all the weapons were. Adam started scooching across the ground, his eyes never straying from the direction of the noise. The problem was, the fire was between him and the noise, ruining his night vision.

“Hold still, boy!” a voice yelled from the dark. “Just don’t move, and I won’t have to kill you.”

Emma sat up. “We’re not here to do anybody any harm.”

A tall, wiry man with disheveled hair and beard stepped into the fire’s light ring. “I wish we could say the same,” he said.

We.

The man held a lever-action hunting rifle and had a revolver strapped to his hip, cowboy style. A lady with a bolt-action rifle stepped up to join him. Adam figured her to be his wife, but she also could have been his daughter. She was filthy in a way that does not happen in a day, or even a week. Her hair hadn’t seen a comb in a very long time.

Adam sat up and rose to his knees.

The man raised his rifle, and the lady copied him.

“We seen you drive up the road days ago,” the man said. “Been waitin’ for you to drive back down.”

“Do you need something?” Adam asked.

The guy coughed out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, I do. Your truck. In fact, I think I’ll take everything you got.”

Adam’s heart stopped. This guy looked like he was serious.

“Thanks for markin’ your camp with the fire, by the way. Made it easy as can be to find you.”

Adam said nothing. First, there was nothing to say. Second, he kept his focus on Bubba’s gun muzzle, wondering why he didn’t just shoot them.

“You don’t say a whole lot, do you, boy?”

“I guess I get quiet when guns are pointed at me.”

“How about your wife over there? I know she’s got a tongue because I already heard her use it.”

“I’m not his wife,” Emma said.

Adam felt a flash of anger. You don’t give up anything to guys like this.