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

Meral said. “I’ll let Buck know. He’s taking a nap. All this excitement has been draining to both of us, as I’m sure it has been to you.”

That was an understatement.

“I’ll meet you downstairs,” Jewel waited until Meral was gone, then slipped the Glock out of the drawer in her nightstand and into her bag.

Her efforts at self-defense hadn’t worked that well. She couldn’t count on those skills. Still, she hoped she wouldn’t be forced to use the gun. Silas had taught her about using weapons, and she was a decent marksman. Living on the edge of the wilderness, she needed to know how to use a gun in case a wild animal accosted her or a guest. But Jewel hadn’t wanted to use such a deadly weapon to protect herself from another human being, hence the self-defense classes.

At any rate, now she would be doubly armed, if she counted her meager self-defense skills. Wouldn’t it be nice to face off with her attacker, Jed’s killer, and end this once and for all?

She could almost pray she would see the man again today. Almost.

As it turned out, arming herself didn’t matter. Officer Roberts wouldn’t let her drive into town without him. She would go crazy if this didn’t end soon. Because he was driving Jewel, Meral decided to stay behind after Buck asked her to. Not that Jewel could have had her conversation in the same vehicle with Officer Roberts.

Jewel got into her old Dodge Durango, and Officer Roberts rode in the passenger seat, leaving the unmarked vehicle behind for the officer remaining at the house. As she steered along the bumpy drive on her property to the road back to town, Jewel’s palms grew moist. She felt uncomfortable, as though Officer Roberts was watching her every move, scrutinizing her for some mistake. But it had been days since she’d gotten the concussion. She was fine now.

Except that she was nervous under Officer Roberts’s gaze as though she were guilty of some crime.

Well...

Maybe the officer was still unhappy that she had insisted on going. When she had first told him that she wanted to drive to the station, he had demanded that she tell him what she wanted to say to Chief Winters, and then he would relay the information.

Jewel had had to stand her ground and remind him that she wasn’t a prisoner in her home, and she was going to town with or without him. He was a younger officer. Nice and friendly. But she had given him a choice. He could go along or not, but she would only speak to Colin. Chief Colin Winters was the only person she could trust with her secret, though she knew he would be more than conflicted with the news. If it helped them solve the murder of an officer, to catch the killer before he struck again, then Jewel had to reveal her past.

I can do this.

Have to be strong. Stronger than I’ve ever been.

It surprised her just how hard this was going to be.

“You seem very tense, Mrs. Caraway, if you don’t mind me saying so.”

“It’s Jewel, please. Everyone calls me Jewel.”

“Yeah, even the chief, I noticed.”

“We’ve known each other a long time.” Jewel noted that Officer Roberts didn’t ask her to call him by his first name, which was Matt. She stifled a chuckle. He’d want to keep himself official, especially when he was working, which she understood.

“Well, Jewel, you seem nervous to me. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive? You can pull over, and I’ll drive and you can relax.”

“You promised you wouldn’t give me a ticket if I messed up.” She forced a laugh. “I just need to drive, to feel like I’m free. To do something with my hands.”

“I understand.” Officer Roberts stiffened next to her. His hand fisted around the handgrip on the door.

She picked up speed as she drove a lonely stretch of road with a great view of the mountains and the glistening blue waters of the channel, as well as the town of Mountain Cove, in the distance. This scenic drive into town was one of the reasons Silas had bought the property. Jewel let herself smile, if only for a moment.

“How’s your family doing?” she asked, wanting to keep Office Roberts talking. She knew his parents had moved to Mountain Cove from Juneau when he was in his early teens and now he was a police officer. They had to be proud. Maybe a normal conversation would relax him and her.

“Watch out!” Officer Roberts yelled, then grabbed the steering wheel.

At the same moment, Jewel saw the grill of a big-wheeled black Suburban heading straight for them from the woods across the road. She punched the gas pedal to move them out of the way at the same time Officer Roberts yanked the wheel to the right.

The Suburban slammed into them.

Behind her, metal crunched and twisted.

She could have been killed instantly had Officer Roberts not reacted. But it wasn’t over yet. The Suburban kept pushing, tires grinding and squealing as the Durango slid dangerously toward the edge of the drop-off.

She couldn’t get out, and before Officer Roberts could open his own door, the Durango rolled onto the passenger side. Jewel’s body jerked to the right, and she hung there, her seat belt keeping her in place. The vehicle tilted, hesitated.

Jewel screamed.

Officer Roberts yelled, “Hold on!”

The momentum rolled them over again. Now they hung upside down as the Durango tilted and rolled again.

And again.

In slow, wavering revolutions.

Each roll had Jewel squeezing her eyes, gasping for breath as she prayed for their lives.

The cab of the Durango shrank, the ceiling punching in as the weight of the vehicle slammed against hard ground and rock with each turn.

Finally, the Durango stopped with a jolt after crushing against a tree on the passenger side and jarring every bone in her body with the impact. She could only be grateful they had stopped rolling.

Am I still alive?

Her heart beat wildly against her