Smoky Ridge Curse by Paula Graves

Author:Paula Graves
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2013-10-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

“Careful...” Delilah sucked in a deep breath as Brand cautiously shifted dirt away from the little plastic triangle sticking up from the dirt. “It might be booby-trapped.”

“Yes, I know.” He darted a quick look at her, not bothering to hide his frustration.

“Sorry.” She winced as he touched the plastic. Nothing happened, so he gave a tug and a rectangle of plastic slipped free of the dirt.

“Hmm.” Brand sat back on his heels and dusted crumbs of dirt away, holding up the object for a better look.

Bending closer, Delilah saw that the piece of plastic was about the size of a business card. Something was etched into the surface of one side. “What does that say?”

“‘The Devonian Project,’” Brand read aloud.

“The what?”

Brand scanned the woods around them, as if he expected someone to step out from behind a tree and intone, Greek chorus–style, the meaning of the mystery. But the woods remained still and unhelpful.

“Someone left this here for a reason,” he said finally, looking back at the patch of disturbed dirt at his feet.

“Do you think your supplies are still there?”

Brand picked up the camp shovel and started digging again. About six inches down, he uncovered the top of a black vinyl backpack. He gave a tug and the bag came free from the loosened dirt. Opening the flap, he checked inside.

“Well?”

“Everything seems to be here.” Brand looked around again, a spooked expression on his face. “Let’s get out of here.”

He handed her the plastic rectangle and started hiking back toward the clearing where they’d left the Camaro.

By the time they reached the car, the darkening clouds that had been brewing in the west were overhead, thick and threatening. Fat drops of cold rain splatted against the windshield as Delilah stopped at the intersection with the main road, forcing her to engage the windshield wipers.

“Go right,” Brand said.

She glanced at him. “Right?”

“Right takes us closer to Travisville.”

“We’re still going to Travisville after someone messed with your stuff?”

“Where else are we going to go?”

Squelching the urge to argue, she took a right onto the county road, while Brand opened the backpack and started digging through it.

“Don’t suppose you have body armor and a rocket launcher in there?” Delilah said with a forced laugh.

“Sadly, no.” Brand pulled out a cell phone and a wallet. “I do, however, have a new identity and a brand-new phone.” He traded the wallet for his old one and put the old wallet and his old phone into the sack. “This will make it easy to check into a motel in Chilhowie.”

“Is that where we’re going?”

“For tonight. There are a couple of places we can stay there, and it’s close enough to the interstate that we can make a fast exit if need be.” Brand hooked the new phone up to an auto charger and plugged it into the cigarette-lighter socket to charge. “Unfortunately, I can’t promise there’ll be internet connections where we’ll be staying, but there should be restaurants nearby with free Wi-Fi.”

“Why does the word Devonian sound familiar to me?” she asked a few minutes of silence later.

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