Target on the Mountain Elizabeth Goddard (dark academia books to read .txt) 📖

things now, after all the heartache and pain she’d gone through? Why couldn’t he have loved her the way she needed him to back then?

“Alex, I can’t do this now.” Her voice was little more than a broken whisper.

When he didn’t respond, she looked at him. Her answer couldn’t be the one he’d hoped for, yet he slowly agreed.

“Okay.” Without another word, he started walking and, after a much-needed moment to regain her composure, Rachel followed, her thoughts disjointed. Her heart was in her throat.

Through the clearing in the trees, she could see the ranger station up ahead. They were almost there.

“Alex, look.” She pointed up ahead and he followed her direction. The relief on his face was easy to read.

Just seeing the station gave them both an extra boost of energy. They were almost to the building when a debilitating thought occurred and she grabbed his arm.

“What if someone is waiting for us in there?” Rachel could tell he hadn’t considered it.

They ducked behind a tree. “I can’t see anything, can you?”

She squinted hard but could see nothing in the twilight of the wilderness. “There’s no movement that I can tell. What do you want to do?” She was grateful that at least they were both armed now.

“Let’s ease up to it. Try to stay in the cover of the trees as much as possible.”

She nodded and waited until he’d made the first move and then she followed. Each step echoed in her ears. So far, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Still, they’d been through so much already. What if there were men waiting inside to finish the job?

Still some distance from the station, Alex stopped suddenly.

“Did you hear that?” He barely got the words out when the silence around them was shattered by an assault rifle discharging.

Rachel dove for the cover of the closest tree, with Alex in tow.

They hunkered low as the shots continued to ring out. With the distance between themselves and the person firing on them, it was impossible to make out anything about him.

“I only hear one shooter,” she told him.

He listened for a moment. “You’re right. Whoever it is, they’re alone. Can you cover me? I’ll try to circle around behind the station and go up that way. Maybe I can take him out.”

She nodded, but before he left the protection of the tree, she stopped him. “Alex, wait.”

He turned to her, those piercing eyes undoubtedly seeing what she could no longer hide. “I still care about you, too. I always have... I always will.”

The joy on his face sent her heart soaring. Alex took her hand and slowly raised it to his lips. He held it for just a second longer and then slowly let it go.

She was more fearful than ever before. She had so much to lose. “Be careful,” she urged, and he smiled down at her.

“I will.”

She watched Alex run for the next tree up. The person firing on them was quick to spot his movements and another round of bullets kicked up the dirt near where Alex stood.

Keeping as flat as she could, Rachel edged around the tree and opened fire. She caught a glimpse of a man standing in the open station window before they ducked out of sight.

Alex took advantage of the down time and rushed to the back of the building. Once he was in place, Rachel would draw the shooter’s attention away from him.

She aimed for the opening and fired off several rounds. She could see Alex slowly easing up the stairs. If she could keep the man’s attention on her, Alex might be able to take him by surprise.

Rachel fired off several more rounds, giving Alex the time he needed to charge the station. She heard a brief scuffle, then silence. Alex! He needed her. She ran as fast as she could to give aid.

With her heart pounding out the rhythm of her footsteps, she took the steps two at a time.

Once she reached the landing, she was boosted by adrenaline every step of the way to the open door. The station consisted of one circular room that afforded a three-hundred-sixty-degree view around them.

Through the filtered light, she saw two men standing close. Something was wrong. There were no weapons drawn. Alex jerked toward her. As she drew near, the look on his face was one of sheer disbelief.

“What is it?” She barely managed to force the words out.

And then the second man slowly turned to her. Two things quickly became apparent. He was injured, his shirt covered in blood. She couldn’t tell the extent of his wounds, but he’d obviously lost a lot of blood. The man staring back at her had Rachel dropping her weapon and running into his arms.

This was her brother. They’d finally found Liam and he was alive.

Alex watched as Rachel hugged Liam, and his exhausted mind struggled to take it all in. Liam was here. He was alive.

Liam staggered under Rachel’s embrace and she pulled away, somehow managing to catch her six-foot, one-hundred-seventy-pound brother before he could fall.

“You’re hurt.” She slowly eased him to the floor. The amount of blood on his shirt was alarming.

Alex tucked his weapon behind his back and knelt next to Rachel as she carefully unbuttoned Liam’s shirt.

“I’m okay. I bandaged it up, but we need to get out of here as soon as possible. They can’t find it.” Liam tried to get up but slumped back onto the floor.

Alex tried to quiet his friend. “We will. Help is on the way. I just need to let them know where to find us.” He glanced around the circular room, looking for the radio. He spotted a flare gun and quickly pocketed it. But then he saw something that threatened to take away his last bit of hope. Someone had deliberately smashed the machine. His spirits sank.

“What happened to the radio?” he asked Liam.

Liam shook his head. “It was like that when I arrived. They must have beat me here. I