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Back The Last Mile Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Epigraph
  5. CHAPTER ONE
  6. CHAPTER TWO
  7. CHAPTER THREE
  8. CHAPTER FOUR
  9. CHAPTER FIVE
  10. CHAPTER SIX
  11. CHAPTER SEVEN
  12. CHAPTER EIGHT
  13. CHAPTER NINE
  14. CHAPTER TEN
  15. CHAPTER ELEVEN
  16. CHAPTER TWELVE
  17. CHAPTER THIRTEEN
  18. CHAPTER FOURTEEN
  19. CHAPTER FIFTEEN
  20. CHAPTER SIXTEEN
  21. CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
  22. CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
  23. CHAPTER NINETEEN
  24. CHAPTER TWENTY
  25. CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
  26. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
  27. CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
  28. CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
  29. CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
  30. CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
  31. CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
  33. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
  34. CHAPTER THIRTY
  35. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
  36. CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
  37. CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
  38. CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
  39. CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
  40. CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
  41. CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
  42. CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
  43. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
  44. CHAPTER FORTY
  45. CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
  46. CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
  47. CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
  48. EPILOGUE
  49. Teaser chapter

She noticed the tight muscles across his back and his stiff shoulders as he retreated. She’d been bluffing about Kyle. As much as she wanted to find the treasure, the two of them going in without backup, without Gage and Mateo, would be stupid.

She ached to tell him the truth. And find away to convince him to forgive her.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

FOLLOWING GAGE’S GPS COORDINATES, THE HELICOPTER ARRIVED within the hour, landing on a flat spot on the slope of a mountain a hundred yards away. Four people got out: two uniformed sheriff’s deputies and two CSIs, one of them a woman.

The female CSI, with a camera slung over her shoulder, headed directly for the body, accompanied by her partner. While the deputies surveyed the storm damage and prepared to interview Gage and the others, the CSIs worked the death scene, which included photographing the surroundings and extracting the body from the debris.

Deputy Christopher Mayes, a muscular African American man in his forties, began asking questions, starting with Gage. His partner, Deputy Salazar, younger, with coarse black hair and dark eyes, led Kyle aside and interviewed him.

Since McGrath’s death was almost certainly an accident, the questions were straightforward and didn’t take long. Gage had talked to Abby, and they had agreed not to mention the possible connection between Boyd McGrath and the attack on Abby in Denver. There was no proof, and they had enough trouble already.

The deputies completed their questions before the CSIs were finished removing the body and dealing with the death scene, but the afternoon was beginning to wane, so the cops released them to continue their journey.

Gage had spoken only a few words to Abby since their earlier argument. Every time he thought of her defiance, her willingness to ignore his dictates and put herself at risk, he got angry all over again. Though he admitted to a grudging hint of respect.

Abby’s determination was one of the things that had attracted him to her in the first place. Along with her willingness to go head-to-head with him, which few men and even fewer women had the nerve to do.

It took several hours of hiking through unexplored territory, much of it uphill, to find the original trail marked on King’s map. Gage and Kyle were now both openly carrying weapons, Gage’s. 45 caliber Smith and Wesson holstered on his belt, Kyle armed with a Glock 19. Now that they knew they were being followed, it was better to be prepared.

The route forward was even more difficult than what they had endured so far, with sections of the trail crumbled away, leaving only a ledge barely wide enough for the sure-footed mule to pass.