But then, a closer sound pricked his awareness.
Footsteps, crunching in the snow. And coming straight toward him.
He pressed himself back against the pine trunk. Maybe the shadows would conceal him. His heart pounded his aching ribs as the footsteps drew nearer, louder.
He held himself utterly still, not even blinking, as he made out a dark figure through the cedar needles—just a few steps away. The man paused, his head turning to scan the area.
Please, God, don't let him see me.
The man's gaze swept the shadows, and Sampson held his breath, willing himself to melt into the darkness. His heart hammered against his ribs, each beat sending a fresh wave of agony through his battered body.
Please, keep moving. Nothing to see here.
But the man took a step closer, his hand dropping to the pistol at his hip. Sampson's pulse roared in his ears, drowning out the voices from the camp. He couldn't fight, not in this condition. And he couldn't run.
The cedar branches rustled as the man pushed them aside, leaning in to peer at Sampson's hiding spot. In the faint light filtering through the trees, Sampson caught the glint of cold eyes fixed on him.
"Well now." A slow grin spread across his face. "What have we here?"
CHAPTER17
Agony burned through Sampson as he stumbled into the camp, his captor dragging him in an iron grip. The man clutched his good arm, thank the Lord, but still the jolting seared through his body. Black spots danced around his vision as he struggled to keep up.
At last, the stranger halted, though his hold on Sampson’s arm tightened like a vise.
He struggled to take in enough air to clear his focus. To see where he was.
“What is this?” Jedidiah’s voice blazed with barely concealed fury. “Where didhecome from?”
The captor jerked Sampson forward a step. "Found him skulking outside camp. Thought you might like to know it."
“I thought he was dead.” McPharland’s voice held that eerie coldness Sampson had heard too many times.
Sampson strained to focus enough to see the man.
McPharland looked to Jedidiah, and his tone turned almost teasing. “You told me you’d had him killed, did you not?”
“I did.”
Sampson had never heard Jedidiah defensive. Never heard the two men at odds with each other. But Jedidiah looked almost cornered.
And when cornered weasels turned desperate, they usually lashed out.
“Albert!” His roar made Sampson’s captor jump, as well as the guard he called.
Albert and Joe both appeared at the edge of Sampson’s vision. They were the man’s usual henchman and must have been the ones ordered to kill Sampson. The thought fueled the anger in his gut. Jedidiah had actually tried tokillhim. Only by God’s mercy was he still alive today.
For now, anyway.
Maybe kept alive to stop him. To stop both of these mole rats.
"You incompetent fools!" Jedidiah snarled at the guards. "I told you to kill him. Finish the job now, here in front of me."
Both men moved to obey.
"Hold on just a minute." McPharland’s voice halted them. He spoke in a smooth drawl. Relaxed and fully in control.
He sauntered over, dark eyes appraising Sampson like a prize horse. "We might still have use for this one. A tool, maybe. Or bait. One never knows."
