Cindy Spencer Pape - [Guardian Investigations 01] by Heart of the Bear (html) Read Free Book Online

called on
the winds to offer their help, just like my grandfather had taught me.
    I took several long slow breaths, trying to
focus on nothing but Ericka Carter and the sound of the wind. Very slowly, I
began to detect a change in the breeze. The gentle current shifted, becoming a
strong force pointing directly west.
    “That’s where she is,” I murmured.
    The wind gusted in that direction as if in
reply.
    “Can you tell me how far?”
    There was a pause. Then I felt the answer
more than I heard the word. I just knew in my gut that we’d find her somewhere
about ten miles west of here. And there was one more word that burned into my
brain, leaving my stomach roiling in its wake. Hurry.
    I opened my eyes and leapt down off the
rock. Leah Carter was waiting for me, just inside the open sliding glass door.
“Anything?”
    I nodded. “I need a map.”
    “The men are in the office on the
computer.” She led the way through the family room to another large comfortable
room, this one furnished with three oak desks and a vast array of high-tech
computer equipment. Evan and Derek were each on one of the desktop machines,
working furiously. Something was spooling off of one of the printers.
    “Hannah.” Evan was out of his seat and at
my side before I could blink. He moved with unbelievable speed and grace for
such a big man. He cupped my cheek in his hand. “Any news?”
    “Ten miles west,” I answered. I kissed the
palm of his hand then slid away and sat at the computer desk he’d just vacated.
“And we need to hurry.”
    “I’ve got a list of property owned by known
cult members,” Derek told me. “There are two of them in that area. Let me see
if I can narrow it down. Due west?”
    I nodded. “And as close to ten miles
exactly as possible.”
    “Got it.” He hit a key and another page
began to print. “I’m pulling up satellite photos now.”
    “Thank you, Google Earth,” Evan said. “Every
second grader in the world now knows how to pull up the image of their
neighbourhood.”
    “Should we take the car?” Leah asked. “Or
will that draw too much suspicion? If they hear us coming… Derek and I can go
in as wolves.”
    “They’ll be looking for wolves,” Evan
argued. “In fact, it may be a trap specifically to capture you two. Hannah and
I will go alone. You can wait here for Rhys and Gavin then send them on as
back-up.”
    I could see the struggles going on inside
each of them before they reluctantly nodded. I hoped like hell Evan and I would
be able to return their child to them, unharmed.
    I moved to look at the satellite photo over
Derek’s shoulder. The small cabin looked like it had been there for years,
nestled into a small rocky valley. Behind it was a fire circle, with a big flat
rock in the centre—almost like an altar. Even in the grainy satellite photo,
the area seemed to show the marks of repeated use by a large number of people.
Shit, this was definitely the site of the cult’s rituals. It wasn’t going to be
easy to sneak up on, but I wasn’t my Granddad’s granddaughter for nothing. I
could do it. And Evan…something told me he could manage too.
    “We’ll take my Jeep up to this bend in the
road.” He pointed to a spot about a mile from the cabin. “From there, we’ll go
in on foot, through the trees. Once we’ve taken out any sentries we can find,
I’ll create a distraction so Hannah can slip inside.”
    “And how will you manage that without
getting yourself killed?” I was none too fond of that idea. I was still
confused by my new relationship with Evan, but I knew I wanted more than just
last night. And that couldn’t happen if he was dead.
    He drew in a deep breath and looked me in
the eyes. “There are a few things we didn’t have time to talk about this morning.
I said they’d be on the lookout for wolves. But they won’t be expecting an
eight-hundred pound bear to show up on their doorstep.”

    Chapter Five

    “But how…” My throat constricted as I made
the connection. “You. You didn’t rescue me from the grizzly. You