Mountain Secrets by Elizabeth Goddard (good books to read for teens txt) 📕

staying close on his heels, she glanced over her shoulder at the dark figure pursuing them. The terrain became rockier as they ran past some large boulders. She could see her breath in the cold night air. Her legs pumped hard as they worked their way uphill.

Jason grabbed her and pulled her into a crevice between two boulders. She was so out of breath she was afraid the man would hear her inhaling and exhaling. The rock was hard and cold against her back as she faced Jason.

Were their tracks visible in the snow?

The crunch of footsteps landed on her ears. She took in only a shallow breath, fearing that the pursuer might see her breath.

The man turned a half circle, searching. Both of them slipped deeper into the crevice. She willed herself to be smaller.

Fear settled in around her, heavier than the snow falling from the sky. If Mr. Gun was at that warehouse too, there was something going on with that place other than snowplowing.

Mr. Gun spotted them and lunged in their direction. They slipped through the other side of the crevice and kept running. They were getting farther away from the warehouse. Would it even be safe to go back down to the parking lot? What choice did they have? They had to get out of here.

They ran for several more minutes before Jason glanced over his shoulder and then stopped, surveying the snowy hill below. They’d just come through an open area. “I think he gave up.”

“I doubt it. He probably went back for reinforcements,” she said.

“You’re probably right. The fact that two people connected to a smuggling ring are working there can’t be a coincidence,” he said. “We need to get this information to someone we can trust.”

That was a tall order. The men in the warehouse would probably be watching the parking lot by now. “How far away was that house we passed on the drive here?”

“It didn’t seem that far when we were driving, but on foot—” Jason shook his head “—it could be an hour or more of walking.”

“It’s closer to get back to the parking lot. Maybe we can catch them with their guard down.”

Her heart raced at the thought of plunging into the danger that awaited them. If the kingpin was one of the men in that building, he would be combing the mountain for them soon enough. The man in the glass office kissing the younger woman must be the owner or manager of the place. Was he the kingpin?

They ran along the ridgeline and then dived back down the mountain, passing another rock outcropping and coming out on an unplowed road. Isabel mulled over all they had seen. She slowed her steps. “I know who that woman was.”

“The woman in the office?”

“Yes. I couldn’t place her because she wasn’t wearing the uniform, but it just clicked in my head. She was the maid who handed Nick that envelope. Whatever was in the envelope, he needed it before he got to the warehouse.”

Jason nodded as though he were making sense of the information. “The guy with her was probably in charge of the snowplow business, maybe even the owner.” Jason trudged along the unplowed road.

“They were clearly romantically involved. I don’t know what it all means—maybe he has nothing to do with anything, but she does.”

“Would maids have access to security codes?” Jason said.

“Yes, they would. And snowplow operators would know when a house was empty.”

Before she could process all the conclusions they had come to, a mechanical roar filled the forest. A snowplow rounded a curve in the road. In the cab of the plow, Isabel could see Nick behind the wheel, barreling toward them.

EIGHTEEN

Jason turned and ran in the opposite direction as the snowplow loomed toward him. With Isabel right beside him, he searched the woods for a place to escape off the road.

The road had been cut into the side of a mountain. One side was sheer cliff and the other a steep rocky drop-off.

The rumble of the plow’s motor was menacing. Isabel skirted toward the edge of the road and then jumped down the incline. Jason followed her down the steep slope.

Above them, the plow stopped. When he glanced up, Nick had gotten out of the cab and was stalking toward the edge of the road, holding a rifle. Jason grabbed Isabel and pulled her behind a boulder. The first shot glanced off the rock just above their heads.

He surveyed the area around them. Nick would probably chase them down the mountain on foot. The incline was steep and treacherous. He pointed to the next rock they needed to make it to for cover. Half crouching and half running, they dived toward the boulder.

He caught a flash of movement in his peripheral vision, the reflective material on Nick’s snowsuit. Nick had not left the road yet. The rifle had substantial range, hundreds of yards.

Jason huddled down behind the rock. Isabel pressed close to him. He couldn’t see anything below him that would shield them. They’d have to move sideways, which meant they were still within rifle range.

“He can’t shoot at both of us at the same time. I’ll go first. Then you run and get behind that outcropping as fast as you can.” He pointed. “I’ll get to you as soon as I can.”

She tore off her glove and pressed a hand to his cheek. Her round brown eyes filled with warmth. “You’re making yourself a target...for me.”

“It’ll be okay.” Her touch, the softness in her expression, drew him in and warmed him to the marrow of his bones.

“You could die. I don’t want you to die.”

He kissed her forehead and then her lips. He loved her. In that moment, he knew that he loved her. Even if they couldn’t be together, he loved her. “I don’t want to die either but this is the best way for us to get a safe distance from him. We have to work our way down the