Was she making a mistake?
No. Death waited for her at the cabin if she didn’t leave. She eyed the frozen lake topped with many layers of white frosting. It was much quicker to cross here than to go all the way around. Nothing but mountain ranges were at her back. She wasn’t going over those.
She wouldn’t make it around the lake before dark, maybe not even across it. If she made it across at all, then she would face miles of wilderness.
The thought almost paralyzed her. Maybe she should go back.
She glanced over her shoulder at the cabin.
No—her only hope was out there. Another dwelling. A hunter. A snowmobiler. A forest ranger. Even a forest road.
Another ounce of hope.
Someone else was out there. Earlier in the day, she’d heard rifle fire. A snow machine.
Her kidnapper didn’t realize her drive to live.
She took one step after another, willing herself to keep moving. Willing herself to survive. Unfortunately, with the deep snow she couldn’t be sure what she was stepping on. March could warm the ice beneath the snow cover, creating treacherous breaks.
She plodded on, gasping for breath with each lumbering step. A half hour. An hour. Her movements kept her warm. If she stopped, she would die. She had to keep moving until she found shelter or help. The temperature dropped as night fell, but at least the moon lit her path so she could see the far shore that stretched before her.
There is still hope . . .
A crack resounded and she stopped, feeling it to her bones.
The white powder covering the sheet of ice beneath her shifted.
And she knew how this would end a split second before the ground beneath her fell away.
Elizabeth Goddard is the award-winning author of more than forty romance novels and counting, including the romantic mystery The Camera Never Lies—a 2011 Carol Award winner. She is a Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense finalist for her Mountain Cove series—Buried, Backfire, and Deception—and a Carol Award finalist for Submerged. When she’s not writing, she loves spending time with her family, traveling to find inspiration for her next book, and serving with her husband in ministry. For more information about her books, visit her website at www.ElizabethGoddard.com.
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Table of Contents
Cover
Praise for Never Let Go
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
Contents
Epigraph
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Acknowledgments
Sneak Peek at the Exhilarating Conclusion to the Uncommon Justice Series
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
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