Betrayal in the Badlands by Dana Mentink

Author:Dana Mentink
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Romance - Suspense, Fiction - Religious, Christian, Romance: Modern, Religious - General, Family Life, General, Romance, Suspense, Fiction, Religious, Romance - General
ISBN: 9780373674350
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2010-10-15T23:31:47.296000+00:00

TWELVE

Isabel thought it felt like an eternity, standing there in the stifling woods, listening to the sound of someone approaching. Her fingers gripped the back of Logan’s shirt, and she could feel the tension radiating from his muscled back.

The sun burned down, bathing her in sweat, but she dared not raise a hand to wipe the salty trickle from her eyes.

A shout rang through the woods. “Police.” Bentley and another officer pushed through the tree line, guns at the ready. “You guys okay? We heard shots.”

She felt Logan exhale and he allowed Isabel to ease out from behind him. He stowed his pistol. “Autie took a few shots. I winged him in the shoulder. He headed east.” Logan pointed to Autie’s escape route.

The officer accompanying Bentley unclipped a radio and stepped away to talk.

Bentley came closer to examine the blind. “Nice setup. We totally missed it in the initial search.”

Bentley’s uniform was disheveled, his shirt showing dark sweat stains.

“Has anything come to light in my sister’s case?” Isabel asked him.

He shook his head. “Coroner hasn’t reported to me yet. Still looking over the files. We found nothing in our search for Autie so far. I’m going to take a look in here and see if he’s left anything helpful.”

He unzipped a flap that had been so cleverly constructed, Isabel hadn’t known it was there. Bentley stepped inside and gestured for both Logan and Isabel to remain where they were. They contented themselves by looking into the small space, which contained a canvas blanket and a rucksack neatly stacked in the corner. A Coleman lantern and a tattered copy of Custer’s Last Stand were the only other items.

Bentley used a pen to upend the rucksack, dumping a canteen, an apple and some silver pouches on the floor.

“MREs. Meals ready to eat,” Logan said in her ear. She wondered why he looked so worried when it seemed as though they had finally gotten a break. Autie slipped up. He’d left himself exposed. Now he was the one on the run and scared. She couldn’t suppress a surge of satisfaction.

A cell phone fell from the pack and clattered to the floor. Bentley took a pair of latex gloves from a pouch on his belt and slipped them on before examining the tiny screen.

“We’ll have the tech guy analyze the call history.” He squinted. “Looks like our Autie is a real texting nut. He’s got three right here from the same person.” Bentley frowned.

Isabel leaned forward. They might finally know who was behind Autie’s campaign to terrorize her. “Who?”

He studied the screen and then raised his head. “Why don’t you tell me, Ms. Ling?”

Isabel gaped. “How would I know who has been texting him?”

Bentley’s jaw tightened. “Because the three that I’m looking at appear to have come from you.”

Isabel felt the ground shift under her feet. She tried to summon up something to say, but all she could do was stare at him.

Logan stepped in. “What makes you think the texts are from Isabel?”

Bentley did not offer the phone to him.

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