Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Cooper cursed and stalked over to the tree. “Alex, get the hell over here. You’re supposed to be the tracker. Read the tracks. Tell me who was here and where they went.”
Alex sent him a wary look and shuffled forward until he was near the tree Leila had been hiding in. She hadn’t left anything behind, but the impression of her body had to be pressed into the soft ground. If the man could read tracks at all, he should be able to find her, or at least know approximately where she was.
Her heart accelerated just a little as she watched Alex cast around on the ground and even crawl partially between the roots.
“You have to see this, Kyle, or you’re not going to believe it,” Alex eventually called out. He sounded intrigued. Something had captured his attention.
Kyle crossed over to crouch beside him. He let out a low whistle and then threw a look over his shoulder to Cooper. “There are no tracks, just a carpet of beetles. Thousands of them. They’re not only beneath the tree but surrounding it, obliterating any tracks that might have been in the dirt.”
He stood up slowly and turned to the other soldier. “We’re dealing with someone who is enhanced. We have to be. No way did these beetles just coincidentally show up in this exact spot. Why aren’t they swarming over Devin’s carcass if they’re looking for food? Someone arranged this, and that person is powerful enough to take command of insects.”
Kyle’s voice was leery. For the first time he appeared shaken, and both Cooper and Alex recognized the shift in his demeanor.
“What are you thinking, Kyle?” Cooper demanded. “Spit it out.”
Kyle sighed. “Whitney has a bad habit of sending out his soldiers to pit them against GhostWalker teams. He doesn’t tell anyone what they’re going up against; he just sends them. As soon as we were given this assignment, even though we were going up against Chariot’s soldiers, it occurred to me to do a little research so we didn’t walk into a trap.”
Cooper cursed under his breath. “Are you telling me you think Whitney sent us up against the GhostWalkers and Chariot’s soldiers?”
“I think he should have been a little more forthcoming about who owns the land we’re traveling through. You ever hear of the Campos brothers? Rubin and Diego Campos?”
There was silence after Kyle’s question. Leila could have sworn Alex looked pale enough to faint.
“Don’t know much about Rubin,” Cooper finally conceded, “but even though he supposedly flies under the radar, rumors have turned Diego into a legend.”
“Rumors aren’t always true,” Alex contributed.
“I think in this case,” Kyle said, “we’d better treat them as if they’re gospel. Rubin and Diego Campos were born right here. They still maintain the property and come up a couple of times a year to help out the locals.”
“I’m going to kill Whitney myself,” Cooper declared. “He sent us here to get us killed.”
Kyle shook his head. “Maybe not. I checked how often and when the brothers come to this area, and they aren’t scheduled for a few weeks.” He pushed his hand through his hair, another display of nerves. “Having said that, it doesn’t mean they haven’t arrived early. Something or someone took charge of those insects. I believe it has to be a GhostWalker.”
Cooper swore again. “One of them could easily have made that shot.”
“Rubin plays doctor to his neighbors. He’s a doctor in their unit, and they send him out on rescue missions. Diego goes along as the big gun protecting his brother and the rest of the crew,” Kyle said. “If I had to guess who made that shot, I think it would have to be Diego.”
Alex backed away from the tree, realized he was getting closer to the fallen Devin, and swung around and hurried across the small clearing, putting distance between the other two soldiers and himself. “We should leave. Get the hell out of here. I heard he was a damn ghost in the woods.”
“Rumor, Alex, remember?” Kyle taunted.
“Don’t be such an ass, Alex,” Cooper added. “This is all speculation. We just have to find Bridget’s sister and bring her back with us. We’ll avoid any confrontation with GhostWalkers. If we’re not a threat to them, they won’t hunt us.” There was the tiniest sneer in his voice, as if he looked down on the GhostWalkers for having a code.
Off to the left, in deeper forest, the sound of a twig snapping was muted but loud enough that all three soldiers froze. Cooper reacted first, indicating with silent hand signals for the other two to separate by several feet and enter the forest. He took up a position several feet from Kyle, so Kyle was in the middle between the two other soldiers.
Leila watched them until they were swallowed by the dense trees. The wind touched her face with wet drops. Mist. The fog that often appeared in the Appalachian Mountains was creeping in. It would provide more cover for both sides. It muffled sound and distorted sight. Diego had cautioned her about getting lost in the mountains due to the heavy forest and the shroud of dense fog.