Indoors was dark and gloomy, and it was surprisingly in pretty good shape considering it was open to the elements from the hole in the roof. She peeked in the bedroom, which had more illumination because of the hole, and she found the cause in the middle of the bed. A smaller boulder must have rolled down the cliff and crashed through the roof. There didn't seem to be anything else in the room that was useful, so she pulled the door shut when she went back out in the living room.
The cabin had a damp smell probably caused by rain pouring in the bedroom, but it wasn't horrible. The old sofa was dry, and she plopped down on it to figure out her next move. While she had worried about the first cabin, this one was much better hidden, and it would protect her from the elements better than sleeping on the ground.
Her stomach growled, and she pulled out a can of raviolis that she had grabbed from the first cabin. She popped the top off and dug in with her fingers. "You're not even on your own for half a day, and you're already eating like a caveman."
When she finished, she licked her fingers before she finished exploring the cabin. This one had no photos, no dishes, and didn't look like it had seen a human for a long time. She sighed before she went and locked the front door.
"This won't keep anyone out if they really want in, but at least it'll give me a little warning."
She sat back down on the sofa and pulled the blanket over her. She toyed with her pendant and looked up at the ceiling.
"I wish you had told me the story of this thing, Daddy. You'd be saving me a lot of trouble right now." She felt silly talking out loud to herself, but the sound calmed her nerves a bit.
"Did we ever talk about anything that involved this necklace?"
She thought back over conversations with her father, but nothing came to mind about the pendant or how he thought she had a gift. She laid her head back.
"If you can hear me, Daddy, please make sure Drake finds me."
If he didn't, she was out of options. No food, no water, and nowhere to go except back to the ranch.
Chapter Twenty Two: Love in the Eye of Danger
Drake Hale
Once airborne, Drake could see Percy's men scrambling around like rats in and out of the barns and all around the staging area for the campers. He could only assume that they were searching for Joey. Two of the goons on horseback were headed toward the trail. Luck was on his side that he knew every inch of the mountain, and after growing up there, he knew all the best places to hide.
The problem was he had no idea if Joey continued up the mountain, or if she took the trail around the base of the mountain and headed toward Active Assets. Hiding at the luxury resort would be a good option, but somehow that didn't fit Joey's personality, nor did he figure she would want to check herself in.
He rolled his eyes at his own thoughts. Going to the resort really made no sense at all. He stayed high in the clouds as he flew up the mountain, his eyes scanning through the mist to find any sign of her.
When he reached the cabin at the end of the trail, he landed and shifted back. The cabin wasn't used very often, but they kept it clean and stocked just in case of emergency. The last time it had been used for any length of time was when Colton brought his now-wife up there to avoid the paparazzi. But she hadn't been hunted in the same fashion as Joey.
He started at the barn but saw the vines holding the doors together. None of the windows were broken, so she hadn't gone in there. He made a mental note to come up and do a little maintenance and upkeep just in case someone needed to use it. But that was a job for another time.
The door was unlocked as always, but when he went inside, it didn't look like anything had been disturbed. If Joey had made it this far, she may have decided that it was too easy to find. There were slight marks in the dust on the floor, but despite his best efforts, Drake wasn't able to tell if they were footsteps or just random patterns.
"Where did you go, Joey?"
His voice echoed in the empty cabin. He was disappointed but not surprised that she wasn't there. His mind raced at other possibilities. There wasn't much mountain left to climb up, and if she had been forced to start back down for lack of options, she was heading right into a bee's nest.
He started out the door when he happened to look at the kitchen area. While coffee mugs were normal, he walked over to the teacup that sat in the dish strainer next to the sink. He walked over to it and smiled.
"Good job. Very sneaky."
He got Joey's message loud and clear. Without a little digging in the cupboard, he knew the teacup hadn't just been sitting out in the open. He put it back on the top shelf and headed out. No one else would know the inside joke, but it never hurt to cover his tracks if the circus made it up to the cabin.
Drake didn't waste time shifting as he headed into the woods. The underbrush was thick, and now that he knew she was up here, or had been, he didn't want to risk overlooking her from the sky.
The only other shelter besides the cabin was an old hunt shack. He didn't even know if it still stood. They hadn't been to it in years, and it had been used as a play fort more than for actual hunting. He wasn't even sure exactly where it was; it had been so long. His older brothers had used it more than he had, but he knew it was there somewhere.
He walked in a zigzag pattern as he searched for any signs of Joey. He knew she was on foot, but he had no idea if she had been able to grab any gear or supplies. He kicked himself for not grabbing some food and blankets at the cabin, just in case. He stopped and looked back while he debated if he should do just that, but he had come too far to stop his search. He would just fly them out.
Plan it as you go. Just find her.
Fear spurred him on as he headed for a rocky outcrop. If memory served, he remembered the shack being surrounded by huge boulders. He hurried forward, anxious to get his arms around her and get some answers. He hated himself for giving Percy's words any weight at all, but all of the signs weren't adding up. He wanted to give Joey the benefit of the doubt, but the red flag still waved.
He made his way around one of the larger boulders and walked right to the shack. It was in better shape than he had expected considering it hadn't had any upkeep in years, minus the hole in the roof. As with the other cabin, there were no signs of life.
