The Heroes of Eastbrooke Christian Romantic Suspense Series eBook Bundle

Prologue
They were trapped.
Panic rose inside Junia as the reality of the situation sunk in. The adrenalin that had kept her going through the crazy events of the last hour had subsided. In its place, terror curled in her stomach.
Below, smoke blanketed the horizon, darkening the sky and thickening the air. Above reared the mountaintop, high and forbidding against an azure sky. She swallowed hard, fighting to keep her cool, but her body began trembling uncontrollably. Their route off the mountain was blocked in every direction except up.
“Junia,” Max said, his voice low but urgent, and threaded with pain from his gunshot wound, “Did you hear me? The radio signal isn’t coming through...I can’t get hold of my brothers.”
She sucked in a breath. If only her thighs and hands would stop shaking. “What do we do?” Her voice sounded muffled.
“We have to go higher so we can get around the other side.” His mouth was set in a grim line.
She gave a slow nod, trying not to voice her immediate fear. They could only go so high. She was no mountain climber, and if the fire came in their direction, it would catch them in minutes.
“Will we get a signal if we go higher?” She was grasping at any slight hope. If they could get through to Joseph, who worked in Mountain Rescue, to give him their location, the Rescue helicopter could pick them up.
“Maybe. We’ll keep trying. Come on.”
But she couldn’t move. Her ears still rang from the gunshots which had seemed impossibly loud on the quiet mountain. They had no idea where the gang members had gone, if they were looking for Max to finish him off, or if they’d managed to catch Tasha.
Where was she? A fresh wave of panic surged through Junia. The girl was as trapped as they were, but she was alone with no survival skills, and the gang members were after her, intent on dragging her back to the city.
Even worse, she’d fled straight in the direction of the fire.
Junia stared at Max, her lip trembling. “I’m...I’m scared.”
He held her gaze, and for a moment she thought he might hug her. But of course, he wouldn’t. They’d only known each other a week, and she’d already gleaned that he was far from a touchy-feely person. Instead, he narrowed his gaze. “I’ll look after you. We’ll be fine.” His voice was gruff but held a small amount of compassion. But how could he be so sure they’d be fine? He suffered from a gunshot wound and a raging bushfire was hot on their heels.
“We need to pray,” she said. Only God could help them out of this mess.
He nodded. They might not see eye to eye on everything, but they both had faith in God. That was something. Taking her elbow, he led her to a rock where they sat next to each other.
He enclosed her shaking hands with his. This token of empathy was totally out of character for the gruff wilderness guide who’d kept himself at arm’s length all week. If they weren’t fearing for their very lives, being close to him could have been pleasant. In that moment though, she was simply grateful for his strength.
She swallowed hard, closing her eyes and trying to go within, to reach the peace that was always there, deep down, but terror welled up in her again. Throwing herself on God’s mercy, she prayed aloud for them both.
“Lord, lead us through this danger to a place of safety. Guide our steps that we might find rescue and refuge. Calm the fires with Your mighty hand. Heavenly Father, watch over Tasha. Keep her safe from her pursuers. Blind their eyes so they don’t find her. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.”
“Amen,” Max echoed.
Raising her head, Junia met his gaze. Pain filled his eyes. She lifted one of her hands from his and placed it gently over the roughly bandaged wound in his shoulder.
“Lord,” she prayed again, “send Your healing to Max. Bind his wounds and heal his flesh. Take his pain from him. I beseech You in the name of Your Son. Amen.”
He drew a deep breath and released it slowly, as if allowing God’s healing presence to touch the injury, before lifting his gaze and nodding. “Thanks. It feels a bit better.”
Still seated, with one of her hands in his, Junia sensed something had changed between them. Perhaps because they faced a common enemy. Their gazes held, and she felt her face warm as she suddenly realised how close they were. They both dropped their hands and gazes at the same time, and an awkward silence filled the space between them.
Max coughed and stood, and the moment was gone. “Come on,” he said briskly. “We need to move. The further we can get away from that smoke, the better. Even if the fire doesn’t reach us, the smoke will kill us.”
With his words, Junia was again reminded of how desperate their situation was. They had to go up before they could go down, because there was no way they could traverse the sheer cliffs on either side. They couldn’t go back, because that would put them in the direct line of the fire.
As she followed him up the mountain, she tried not to think what would happen if help didn’t come soon. They were truly in the wilderness, and right now, there was no escape.