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

the cabin. Nick was nowhere in sight. The trees hid the view of the truck.

He dashed to the front of the cabin and stuck his head in the door. “Hurry.”

She ran toward him. He reached a hand out for her.

Through the trees, the sound of the diesel truck starting up reached them. Isabel seemed to understand the plan without his having to explain. If they couldn’t get under that tarp without being spotted, they would both freeze out here.

He slipped behind a tree.

Nick would take a few minutes to let the engine warm up before taking off down the road. They’d have to jump in once the truck was rolling and Nick’s focus was on his driving.

The grind of gears shifting reached Jason’s ears. He ran out toward the tailgate. The truck couldn’t be going faster than five miles an hour. Still, it was a challenge to climb over the tailgate quietly. He reached out a hand for Isabel, who struggled to run in her sheepskin slippers. She leaped and got a foothold on the bumper, then piled in. Glancing over his shoulder to a view of the back of Nick’s head, Jason lifted the tarp and they rolled under it. He drew her close so they were completely covered.

She was shivering. He unzipped his coat, drew her to his chest and wrapped the coat around her.

He listened to the rumbling of the truck motor. Her soft hair brushed his chin as her shivering subsided.

“Are your feet cold?”

“Some. The sheepskin lining is pretty warm,” she whispered.

He prayed Nick would stop at a gas station soon. Somewhere public so they could slip out before Nick noticed the extra lumps beside his toolbox underneath the tarp.

“Jason, one of the agents is dirty. That’s how Nick found the safe house.”

“Really?” Not Michael, surely not Michael. Yet they couldn’t take a chance until they knew for sure. They were on their own for now.

The truck continued to rumble on, though the change in pitch of the rolling tires told him the road had gone from snow packed to paved. They must be getting close to something.

The truck slowed and the road changed again. Judging from the sound the tires made, they might be on dirt. Finally, Nick braked and turned off the engine. The truck door eased open and slammed shut. Jason didn’t hear any retreating footsteps.

Jason tensed, fearing they’d been spotted beneath the tarp.

Isabel gasped. She pressed closer to him.

Tension covered them like a shroud as they lay still, clinging to each other and praying.

The vague padding of footsteps in snow pressed on his ears. He remained still, not even daring to breathe yet.

When he could hear no more noise, he rolled free of Isabel, turned over and lifted the tarp just enough to see above the edge of the truck. Isabel scooted beside him to watch, as well. They were parked in what was in the summertime a recreation area with picnic tables, playground equipment and a lake. But this time of year, it was completely abandoned.

Nick had walked less than twelve feet away from the truck, too close for them to risk climbing out. The closest hiding place was a cluster of bare bushes by the lake.

Nick’s back was to them. He checked something on his phone and peered toward the road as if waiting for someone. A car appeared around the curve leading into the parking lot. It stopped, and Nick walked toward it as a woman in a uniform, maybe a maid’s, got out. She handed Nick an envelope.

Now was their chance, while Nick was distracted. Isabel followed as Jason crawled under the tarp to the far side of the truck away from Nick.

Jason slipped out from beneath the tarp. He was exposed for only a second as he swung his leg over the side of the truck and crouched down. As Isabel did the same, Jason could hear the car starting up and speeding out of the snowy parking lot.

Nick got into his truck and started it up. The motor ran for several minutes warming up while both of them crouched close to the passenger side. Isabel rested her hand on Jason’s back. They’d be seen if they made a run for it now.

If Nick pulled out and didn’t look back, they’d have a chance.

Jason’s gaze darted from the picnic table to the bushes a little farther away.

The truck eased forward. Heart racing, Jason glued his gaze to the back of Nick’s head. Even the slightest movement meant they were dead.

Isabel dashed toward the picnic table. Nick’s head tilted as though he were checking his rearview mirror. His truck continued to roll forward.

Jason froze. He was exposed, but movement might alarm Nick, as well. The truck reached the edge of the parking lot.

Isabel crouched on the far side of the picnic table, which didn’t entirely conceal her. She was probably cold again. It wasn’t that far back to the edge of town, but it would be an arduous journey for her dressed the way she was.

Nick’s truck rumbled as it pulled out onto the road.

Jason raced toward the picnic table. The truck disappeared around the curve.

He reached Isabel. “There’s a hiking trail on the other side of the lake. Houses at the end of it.”

They sprinted through the snow. He was grateful it was only a few inches deep.

They both heard the rumble of the diesel truck at the same time.

Nick had turned around and was headed straight for them. His big truck lumbered over the barriers in the parking lot and bore down on them.

They edged toward the frozen lake, running along the bank. Nick’s truck turned around. The driver’s-side window rolled down.

Jason caught the glint of metal just before the first shot was fired. He stepped out onto the frozen lake. The ice looked thick and solid. Across was the fastest way to get to the trailhead and the shelter of the trees there. He knew the lake was solid. Kids played hockey on it.

Nick got