Target on the Mountain by Elizabeth Goddard (the chimp paradox .txt) 📕

frightening words hung uneasily between them. “Let’s just hope they haven’t found them already. They certainly have enough men out here to search the entire mountainside.”

“Where is Liam?” Rachel shook her head, and Alex could see her frustration. “I can’t help but believe he’s up here somewhere still. There’s so much territory to cover up here. It could take weeks to locate him. By then it will be too late.”

He stopped walking and faced her. “You can’t think like that. We need to trust God to take us to where Liam is.” He did his best to sound convincing, but it was hard to keep positive after everything they’d been through. He wanted to believe God was directing their footsteps, but his faith was faltering.

Help my unbelief. The last thing he wanted was for Rachel to see him give up.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just tired. Liam wouldn’t give up on either of us if the tables were turned. I won’t give up on him, either.”

He tucked her hands in his. “Good. I can’t help but think Liam had a backup plan in place when he came up here. Maybe he even had some supplies stashed somewhere. I know Liam. He’s a stickler for details and he always was the most prepared of the three of us.”

She smiled at the memory. “Yes, he was. He left me the map and his phone for a reason. The same way he left you that letter. Of course he’d be prepared for whatever came his way. He’d be expecting trouble. He was expecting it.”

Her confidence in her brother was well deserved. Liam was a seasoned agent. He would be okay and so would they. Once they reached the ranger station, they’d radio Jase with their location. Praise God, this thing was just about over.

The thought had barely cleared his head when a noise nearby captured both their attentions and sent them running for the cover of a nearby grove of spruce trees.

Alex could make out voices. More than one and they were almost right on top of them.

“The boss said he saw smoke over this way. I don’t see anything, do you?” There was no mistaking McNamara’s voice.

Alex tugged Rachel closer. Her eyes were filled with an uncertainty that he couldn’t begin to assuage. His own pulse was threatening to explode in his chest.

“Did you hear something?” one of the men asked in a somewhat uneasy tone.

“No, but you two check it out,” McNamara ordered. “We can’t afford to let them get away. Too much is at stake.”

Alex heard footsteps coming toward their hiding spot. One of the men was almost directly in front of them. If he turned slightly, he would see them. If they were found now, his gut told him they wouldn’t walk out of the wilderness alive.

He prayed with all his heart and left the fear in God’s hands.

“There’s nothing here,” the man closest to them grumbled. “Come on, it’s freezing up here. I don’t see anything that resembles a fire, anyway. The boss must have been mistaken.”

The second man stared straight at the tree they were standing behind, then abruptly turned on his heel. He and his partner headed back to where McNamara and another man waited.

“Let’s get out of here. Chances are, they headed back down the mountain another way,” McNamara told them. “We can still head them off before they reach the town and we have men waiting there if they give us the slip.”

Alex clutched Rachel close as the noise of the men’s footsteps slowly disappeared.

When he felt it was safe, he eased out from behind the tree with Rachel still tucked in his arms.

“That was too close,” she whispered, her breath fogging the air between them.

“Yes, but it sounds as if they aren’t expecting us to be here, which means they won’t be looking for us up at the station. That’s something,” he managed without really feeling confident.

“It should give us time to finish the climb without looking back over our shoulder. Either way, let’s keep pushing forward. We’re almost there, Alex. We’re almost there.”

He brushed back some escaping hair from her face and looked into her eyes. There was still a lot of danger between them and getting the answers they wanted. He needed her to listen. He’d been holding these feelings inside for way too long and there was no promise of the future. They faced armed men, the elements of the mountain and physical exhaustion. There were no guarantees.

If they were caught, if they didn’t walk out of this thing alive, he wanted her to know the truth. He loved her. He wanted to be with her. And he’d do whatever it took to convince her he was serious this time.

THIRTEEN

She held her breath, waiting for him to say something. Hoping he did. Praying he wouldn’t. She couldn’t lose her heart to him again.

His hands still rested on her shoulders. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. “Rachel, I know things ended badly between us before because of me. I know I hurt you terribly, but I want you to know that I learned a lot after you left.”

She tried to pull away, but he didn’t let her. “No, wait.”

She couldn’t do this now and not fall apart. “Alex, please...”

“Rachel, look at me.” Slowly, she did, because in spite of everything her heart desperately wanted to hear what he had to say. “I know I messed things up between us, but I’m not the same person I was back then. I’ve changed. God changed me,” he amended, and she believed him. She’d seen this change in him.

“I’m not asking for you to forget what happened, and I don’t expect you to answer me now, with our lives on the line like this. I just want you to know that I still care about you. I never really stopped caring.”

Tears filled her eyes. She turned away and he let her go. Why now? Why did he have to tell her these