Free Bitter Wild by Jennie Leigh Page A

broaching the subject he knew had to be dealt with.
    “Is
there any way you can tell how close we are to Jester?”
    Casey
put the dishes into the pack, then sank to the ground before answering. Her dog
moved to her side and laid his head in her lap. She slipped her fingers into
his fur as she lifted her gaze to meet Jack’s.
    “I’d
say we’ve gained a couple of hours on him. He’s bound to be moving slower than
we are. He’s unfamiliar with the area and that means he can’t move too fast.”
She paused for a moment, then shook her head. “I’ve got to say, your fugitive
is either incredibly lucky or damned smart.”
    Jack
frowned. “Why?”
    “Because
he’s been following a serpentine path that would probably shake most trackers.
He’s crossed his own tracks a couple of times, which would probably trip up
most dogs. At the least, it would slow them down. Now either he’s half lost and
is just accidentally managing to keep himself moving in a generally straight
direction or he’s as wily as a fox. I tend to think the latter.”
    Skip
spoke up. “Any specific reason why?”
    She
shifted her gaze to him. “The fact that he is, despite all the twists and
turns, heading virtually due North. I’d say he has a destination in mind and
I’ve got a feeling I know what it is.”
    Jack
leaned forward. “What?”
    Her
amber gaze came back to him. “There’s a ranger station about a dozen miles away
from here. It’s on the map and if he keeps heading in the same direction, he’s
going to run straight into it.”
    Jack
glanced at Skip, then back at Casey. “Is it manned?”
    Casey
nodded. “Yes, and all the rangers have been warned to be on the lookout. I
could be wrong about this, but my gut tells me that’s Jester’s destination.”
    The
logical thing to do would be to avoid all possible contact with other people,
but Russell Jester was hardly logical. All Jack could do was hope Casey was
wrong. Because unless the ranger shot Jester on sight, he wouldn’t survive the
encounter.
    They
said little as they hit the trail again the next morning. Jack and Skip were
both tense, worrying about another potential victim. Casey was her usual
reticent self, speaking only when she had something important to say. She led
them through the trees, her eyes scanning the ground as they went. Jack was
starting to pick up some of the marks she was following. He had little else to
do with his time so he figured he might as well learn a new skill. He was still
amazed that she managed to follow a trail. Jack only caught sight of a mark
once or twice in a single hour. Surely she was seeing more of them that he
hadn’t caught.
    He was
studying a spot on the ground so intently that he didn’t even realize Casey had
come to a stop in front of him. Fortunately, his horse was more aware than he
was. The animal came to a halt and Jack looked up just in time to see Casey
slide down off the back of her horse. His hand tightened reflexively on the
reins.
    “What
is it?”
    She
shook her head and waved at him to be quiet. Then she knelt and stared at the
ground for a few seconds. She stood back up and glanced off to her right. A
moment later she turned back to the left. Jack bit his tongue to keep from
repeating his question. Finally, Casey turned around and swung back up on her
horse. She nodded to her left.
    “Jester’s
trail heads this way, toward the ranger station. But there’s another set of
tracks overlapping his.”
    Jack
shook his head. “What does that mean?”
    “It
means someone else came along behind him, going the same direction he was
headed. They’re on foot, which means they shouldn’t be too hard to catch up
to.”
    She
didn’t wait for comments from Jack or Skip. Instead she just spurred her horse
forward. They rode in silence for several minutes before she suddenly stopped
and jumped off her horse. The dog was circling her excitedly and Jack knew
something was up. She knelt and touched the ground then