She was fucking gone.
Laila’s teeth chattered as she wrapped her arms around herself and darted along the edge of the campground, looking for lights that might indicate friendly people willing to help. She’d underestimated how cold it was outside and regretted not swiping one of Trees’s flannel shirts from his bag when she had taken twenty dollars from his thick wad of cash. But her guilt had been too great to take anything more. Once she reached Louisiana and her family, she would return every penny.
For now, she shelved her remorse and scoured the area, knowing she wouldn’t get far on foot, especially in flip-flops. But other than the campground’s streetlamps, she saw no lights. Had everyone already gone to bed? She had no idea what time it was, except late.
Now what?
Every bone in her body screamed at her to go back to the RV and rest, back to Trees and the seeming safety she suspected he actually could give her.
But he wouldn’t give her freedom or take her to her sister—two things she desperately wanted.
There must be someone awake in the campground. It wasn’t full since it was a Wednesday night, but there were public facilities of some sort at the end of the lane. It was fully lit. Did that mean someone was using it? She didn’t see anyone.
Then a door slammed behind her.
“Laila!”
Her heart stopped. Trees was already awake and after her? How? She’d left the RV three minutes ago.
Ducking behind a dumpster, she squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind raced. If she returned to him, she would be no closer to her family. If she ran from him, how far would she make it alone?
No, she couldn’t be defeatist. She was resourceful. She was resilient. She had once survived for ten days on a canteen of water and a bag of flour. She could reach Louisiana.
“Laila!” His voice sounded farther, as if he’d headed toward the entrance to the campground.
Following him wasn’t an option. Nor was remaining here. There were too many lights; he would find her. That left trying to hide in the public facilities, where he would undoubtedly track her, or heading into the thick line of trees a few trailers away.
The forest it was.
She would hide there, wait until he gave up, see about keeping herself warm in a tree or with some leaves. Come morning, she would find civilization elsewhere. And help. She would be wrapped in her sister’s embrace by tomorrow.
Peeking around the dumpster, she caught a glimpse of Trees’s retreating back as he headed for the campground’s office, now dark. She looked longingly at the RV. He had warmer clothes inside… But no, she had taken from him all she intended to. She had survived the last eighteen months in her brother-in-law’s compound on her own. She would do the same here.
Sucking in a fortifying breath, she took off, darting toward the thick copse of trees less than fifty meters away. There was nothing between here and there to hide her, and the waxing moon was bright. But she made it, disappearing between a pair of tall trees and running headlong into the woods.
Branches overhead, mostly devoid of leaves, looked like jagged daggers against the moon. Laila shivered and circled around, trying to get her bearings, but the dense branches and the thick, rolling clouds soon swallowed up the moon.
Suddenly, the sky turned dark. Panic pressed in. She shivered, arms clasped around herself, in the pitch black.
A thousand terrible memories pelted her, threatening to unravel her.
Then she heard the howl of a coyote—too close for comfort. As if that one sang to the rest of its pack, others answered, even closer. More clouds drifted across the sky. The darkness turned blacker, thicker. Then she heard the crunch of leaves. A growl sounded nearby. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. She swallowed a scream.
Laila tried to penetrate the darkness to find a tree she could climb for temporary safety, but she could no longer even see her hand in front of her. Panic flowed like ice in her veins as she spun in a circle to find the direction the growl had come from. She heard it again, this time so near she let out an involuntary shriek.
Run. She could run. Out of the forest. Back to the campground. Hopefully, the people there would scare away the predatory pack.
But in the dark, surrounded by trees seemingly closing in, she no longer knew which direction she’d come from.
Another howl resounded, now right behind her. There was another growl on her left. Then she heard the stampede of animal feet in her direction.
With a cry, she dashed to the nearest tree and jumped to a low branch, trying to scramble up the rough-barked trunk. It scraped the skin off her knees and flayed a raw patch on her inner thighs, but the snarling below and the snap of sharp teeth blunted everything except her fear.
Laila could all but feel the coyotes nipping at her heels, hungry for their next meal as she hugged the trunk with all her might. Blood ran down her calves and rolled beneath her feet, warm in the bone-chilling cold, as she reached for the branch directly above.
It snapped off in her hands and sent her sliding down. Frantically, she clawed at the trunk, reaching blindly for another branch…and wishing like hell she could go back in time even fifteen minutes. Valeria had always said she was too headstrong and independent, that it would be the death of her.
Laila began to fear her sister was right.
If she failed to save herself, would Valeria ever know what had happened to her? Or would the coyotes consume her so completely that her body would never be identified?
No, she couldn’t think that. She could endure bloody knees and raw fingertips. But she could not give up.
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. She started and bit back a cry of fear. Who was out there? Why?
At her feet, a coyote yelped. Then two more shots rang out with deafening bangs. The other two animals scattered, fleeing quickly until she heard nothing but her own harsh breathing and runaway heartbeat. Was the shooter looking to kill her next?
“Laila!”
Trees. His footsteps closed in. Clutching the sharp, crumbling trunk in terror, she glanced over her shoulder. He came toward her with long, sure steps, holding a semiautomatic in one hand and a heavy-duty flashlight in the other.
“Laila! Can you see me? Follow the light.”
“Trees.” Her whimper cracked.
He jerked the flashlight her way, and the bright beam landed directly on her. “Son of a bitch!”
In seconds, he was beside her, wrapping his arm around her and lifting her into his embrace.
Laila couldn’t remember ever being happier to see anyone in her life.
She scrambled to face him, throwing her arms around him and clinging to him as if her life depended on it. In truth, it had. If he hadn’t come along and saved her from the coyotes, how much longer could she have dangled before her legs gave out and her fingers bled too much, and she fell to her doom?
He held her tight against him, as if he’d never let her go. “Are you all right? I saw blood…”
“None of them bit me. The tree… I was trying to get away.”
His mouth flattened. “I know you were. Can you walk back?”
“I think so.” Honestly, she wasn’t sure. Adrenaline scorched through her veins as it drained out, and her legs felt like noodles. But she’d already shown weakness. She refused to crumble and fall now, especially after being so stupidly impulsive and impatient to escape.
With a clipped nod, he took her hand in his. She hissed at the contact of his skin against her raw abrasions. He released her immediately, giving her palm a once-over. Then he guided the light down her body, focusing on her legs.