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

kept her safe. He was still a man and men always let you down in the end.

“I don’t like liars either, Isabel, but if I tell you what is going on, it puts you at greater risk.”

Jason’s voice had a soothing quality, not the anger or impatience she would have expected. She laced her fingers together and clenched her jaw.

Don’t be taken in.

He turned from side to side, searching. “At least put some cardboard around it. If it gets damaged, it loses its value.”

“Maybe you are a detective, but I think you are on the take.” Her accusation lacked conviction. She could feel her resolve to not trust him weakening in the face of his gentle response.

He tore a section of cardboard off an empty box. “Give me the bookmark. I promise to give it back to you if that’s what you want.”

She unzipped the coat and slipped her hand into the inside pocket.

“I promise,” he repeated.

How many times had she heard that?

She grasped the bookmark and handed it to him. Their fingers touched briefly. He placed it carefully in the folded cardboard. She tensed, waiting for the moment when he’d shove it in his pocket and pull the gun on her.

He held it out for her to take.

She let out a breath. “Keep it.” So he’d kept one small promise. He still had a lot of explaining to do.

A light flashed outside.

“He’s coming this way.”

The light had shone through the windshield.

Jason touched her arm. “Out the back. Hurry.”

He pushed open the van doors. They bolted toward the house, pressing against the brick walls. The eaves of the roof provided even more darkness to hide in as footsteps pounded around the van and drew closer.

Jason pushed on Isabel’s shoulder, indicating she should keep moving. The cold seeped into her face as she made her way along the outside wall. They needed to find a good hiding place.

Isabel thought about the layout of the house. The wine cellar in the basement had a stairway leading up to the outside. They wouldn’t be trapped if they hid there and needed to make a run for it.

“This way.” She tugged on the sleeve of his coat and led him around to a side entrance.

Isabel pressed her hand against the exposed brick and struggled to get her bearings in the dark house as they moved down a set of stairs. Footsteps pounded on the floor above them. They’d lost their pursuer for now.

Her heart raced as she felt along the wall, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She pushed open a door. The shelves of wine were barely discernible.

Jason slipped in beside her. His shoulder pressed against hers. A tense silence fell around them, interrupted by footsteps above them that came in short bursts.

“They’re still looking,” she whispered.

“It’s just a matter of time. We have to find a way to get out of here. They have a car parked somewhere close by.”

“We could freeze trying to find it.”

“We need a sure thing. Aren’t there any neighbors close by?”

Isabel shook her head. “The nearest one might be miles away. They are up the road, not down. This is the first house in the subdivision.” Though the storm had let up, it was still dark and cold out there. She squeezed her eyes shut, mulling over what Jason had said. A sure thing. There were no other vehicles on the property or houses close by, but... “There’s a communal building. That is one of the perks of this subdivision.”

“This is a subdivision?”

“Yes, but the houses are miles apart.”

“What’s in the building?”

“I’ve only seen it on a map. But it’s like a clubhouse where you can have get-togethers, and there’s a building with snowmobiles and ATVs. My boss explained to me what the building was used for.”

“How far is it from here?”

“I’d estimate less than a mile. We can use the trees for cover but we’ll get lost if we don’t keep the road in sight.” In these conditions, she’d be guessing at the location of the building.

His voice dropped half an octave. “That’s a long way to go in the cold.”

Footsteps pounded down the stairs. Both of them pressed deeper into the shadows. The footsteps drew closer. Doors opened and shut. The thief was searching all of the rooms in the basement, making his way down the hallway. Isabel’s heart beat so loudly she feared it would give them away.

They had only seconds to make a decision. “We stay here, they will find and kill us.” His hand slipped into hers as he led the way up the stairs to the door that took them back out into the cold night.

A blast of cold air hit her face, causing her cheeks to tingle. His gloved hand gripped hers.

“Which way?”

She pointed as the chill settled on her exposed skin. He ran toward the trees. She held on to his hand. When she glanced over her shoulder, she saw light glowing in the dome and a silhouetted figure.

By the door through which they’d just exited a light also bobbed. It loomed toward them for some time and then stopped. Would they give up the chase that easily? Somehow, she doubted it.

The trees grew thicker as the outline of the house disappeared. She focused on the sound of her feet padding on the soft snow. Her breath came out in vapory puffs as she struggled to keep pace with Jason.

Doubt plagued her every footstep. Would they be able to get into the clubhouse garage? She wasn’t sure they’d even find the place in the dark.

She heard the sound of a motor, a car on the road.

The clang of an engine revving up landed on her ears. Headlights cut through the trees behind her. The thieves had gone back for their car. She quickened her pace. Jason grabbed her and pulled her into the trees as the thieves’ car drew near.

Heart shifting into high gear, Jason climbed uphill through the trees to get off the road.