CHAPTER 55
Kori watchedWyatt slip through the barn door and disappear.
She let out a slow breath and counted seconds.
The yard stayed quiet.
Snow fell harder now, thick and purposeful, blurring the edges of the buildings and muffling the world around her. She could barely see the shed on the far side of the property.
Anxiety thrummed through her. So much could go wrong.
But she needed to focus on what could go right.
The front door to the farmhouse opened, and a man stepped onto the porch.
He stood there a moment, scanning the yard. Then he stepped down and started moving—not toward the woods or the shed.
Toward the barn.
Kori’s stomach dropped.
He hadn’t seen Wyatt go in. She was almost certain of that. But he would reach that door in less than two minutes.
She couldn’t call out. She couldn’t chase Wyatt down inside. But she had to do something!
Her mind scrambled to come up with a plan.
Then she dropped to one knee and felt along the base of the tree. Her hands pushed through the icy snow until her fingers closed around something solid.
A rock, fist-sized and heavy. She found a second one beside it.
These would have to work.
She watched the man walking toward the barn. She maybe had thirty seconds to do something.
Before she could second-guess herself, she drew her arm back and hurled the first rock as hard as she could toward the farmhouse—away from the barn and away from her position.
The stone crashed through some dried shrubs, snapping branches and scattering snow.
The man stopped and turned toward the sound.
Kori held her breath.
She waited, praying her idea had worked.
The inside of the barn was dim and cold.
Wyatt stayed low and let his eyes adjust. Stalls ran along both sides—old wood, worn smooth, the kind that hadn’t seen livestock in years. A few bare bulbs hung from the rafters, casting more shadow than light.
He edged along the wall, checking each stall as he passed.
When he reached the third stall, he saw her.
Mackenzie.
She sat against the back wall with her knees drawn up and her wrists bound in front of her. A gag had been tied across her mouth, and her eyes were closed.
He crossed to her quickly and crouched down.
