Chapters (77)
- Cover
- Endorsements
- Books by Elizabeth Goddard
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- A Preview of Book 2 in the ROCKY MOUNTAIN COURAGE Series
- Author’s Note
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- Back Ads
- Back Cover
The tension rolling off Owen was palpable. Jack edged closer too, hoping to take the gun from him before he did something crazy and Terra got caught in the crossfire.
“Owen, please.” Terra pressed Owen’s arm until he lowered the gun.
Rotors thrummed in the distance, the sound growing louder. Terra snatched the flashlight and waved it toward the sky to signal their location.
Briggs kicked out his leg, knocking Owen over.
“Terra, shine the light on them,” Jack said. “I can’t see.”
She flashed the light on the fighting men. Marcus had Owen pinned.
“Owen!” Terra rushed forward.
“Terra, watch out!” Jack called.
Marcus pushed her away, and she teetered on the edge of the cliff.
“Briggs,” Jack said, “you have two seconds to get away from Owen before I shoot you.”
Briggs tore the gun from Owen and rolled, then aimed at Terra, knowing he would inflict the most pain on both Jack and Owen by killing her.
“Noooooo!” Jack pulled the trigger at the same moment Briggs fired at Terra.
Briggs went limp and dropped the gun, just as Terra disappeared over the cliff.
SIXTY-THREE
Heart pounding, eyes squeezed shut, Terra clung to the tree root bursting from the bedrock. Her breaths quickened as fear snaked around her throat and tightened.
She forced back the screams that threatened to erupt. The whimpers from her anguished soul.
Just hang on. You can do this.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Briggs’s aim had been off, and she hadn’t taken a bullet. She was still alive. But she could very well die anyway. The root she clung to for dear life hung precariously over a drop of hundreds of feet.
Terra tried again to calm her breaths—she needed to think clearly.
When I am weak, you are strong, God. I couldn’t be any weaker than I am at this moment. Be strong for me.
Terra worked to stave off the panic. She waited and listened. The only sound other than her pounding heart was the river’s roar from below as it echoed against the granite-faced cliff. But the sound failed to soothe her nerves.
Her arms started cramping. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on to the root. Had Jack been shot? Owen hurt?
Terra would have to get herself out of this. She attempted to climb up the root, but it shifted as if it would break away from the bedrock. Dirt and pebbles poured over her. Squeezing her eyes shut again, she pressed her forehead against the root.
A few minutes had passed already, though it seemed like hours, and she knew she couldn’t stay like this forever—the root wasn’t going to last much longer, even if she could.
God, where are you?
“It’s okay, Terra. I’m here.” Jack’s calm voice washed over her from a few feet above.