Going to Extremes. Amanda Stevens

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СКАЧАТЬ of it, either. Cudlow would never let her live down the fact that she’d passed up an exclusive with Prince Petrov in order to cover a prison break from the state penitentiary located a few miles west of Ponderosa.

      But this was no ordinary prison break. Not only had the convicts pulled off the impossible—escaping from the Fortress—but they were led by Boone Fowler, the notorious militia member who had masterminded the bombing of a federal building five years ago.

      So Kaitlyn had had to make a hard choice…a dangerous terrorist or a real-life Prince Charming.

      Some choice.

      What were the chances of two such major stories colliding in Montana, of all places? Granted, the state capital routinely had its share of political squabbles and backroom deals, but Ponderosa—Kaitlyn’s home base and the town closest to the prison—was normally a snooze fest.

      Not so these days with Boone Fowler on the loose.

      Ruthless and demented, the man would destroy his own mother if he deemed the sacrifice necessary to advance his glorious “Cause.” He had a lot of blood on his hands, including that of Jenny Peltier, who, along with Eden McClain, had been Kaitlyn’s best friend all through school.

      Not that Kaitlyn’s hands were exactly clean in Jenny’s death, either, she thought bitterly. She’d used Jenny to further her own agenda just as surely as Boone Fowler had.

      Sweet, impressionable Jenny.

      She’d come to Kaitlyn for help, and what had Kaitlyn done? Kind and loving friend that she’d been, she’d sent Jenny back into the lion’s den. Without regard for her safety. Without regard for anything except getting a story that would make her Pulitzer prize winning father sit up and take notice.

      Yes, she had actually been that selfish and that blindly ambitious, so much so that she’d been willing to betray a friend without a second thought.

      Kaitlyn wanted to believe that she was a changed person, but she was very much afraid there was a special place in hell reserved for friends like her.

      Maybe she would see Boone Fowler there…if not before.

      A shiver tingled down her backbone at the prospect of meeting such a monster face-to-face. It was one thing to write about Fowler’s criminal exploits from the safety of her cubicle at the paper; quite another to actually confront him. And yet that was what she had sent Jenny to do.

      Kaitlyn tried to will away the guilt that still ate at her after all these years. If she’d learned anything from her mistakes, though, it was that dwelling on the what-ifs and the what-might-have-beens did little good. She needed to concentrate on what she could do to send Fowler back to prison.

      Covering the warden’s press conference was a start, but unfortunately, the weather refused to cooperate and the situation was becoming extremely dire.

      Kaitlyn tensed as water sloshed over the hood of her vehicle, threatening to stall out the engine. She couldn’t keep going. The road was virtually impassable.

      In her tenure as a reporter, she’d covered the aftermath of flash flooding, but she’d never actually been caught in one herself. Now she knew firsthand just how terrifying it could be.

      After squelching her initial panic, she quickly came to the conclusion that her only recourse was to abandon the vehicle and head for high ground.

      Stuffing her cell phone and a flashlight into the zippered pocket of her waterproof parka, she opened the door and climbed out.

      The floodwaters were already knee-deep and so cold she could hardly catch her breath. She clung to the door for a moment, trying to get her footing as the flowing water threatened to sweep her off balance.

      Bracing as best she could, she waded toward the embankment at the shoulder of the road and, using roots, her fingernails, and sheer determination, she climbed her way to safety, then turned to survey her surroundings.

      The vista was breathtaking. The highway was almost completely flooded, and the water continued to rise. Her SUV was slowly being swallowed, and as rain beat down on Kaitlyn’s face, she tried to figure out what to do. She could make her way along the top of the embankment, staying in sight of the highway, and hope that someone came along. But if the road had been closed, that possibility wasn’t too likely.

      Her best option was to keep climbing, Kaitlyn decided. At some point, she was bound to get a cell phone signal, and then she could call for help. And if she kept walking, she would eventually reach Eagle Falls, a small logging community seven miles north of the highway.

      Striking out alone through the wilderness with dangerous convicts on the loose normally wouldn’t have been her first choice, but the prisoners had been on the run for nearly twenty-four hours. It was doubtful they were even still in the area, and besides, Kaitlyn wasn’t so sure she’d be any safer sitting on the side of a deserted road. She had no idea how long it would take for the water to go down, and even then, her vehicle would be inoperable. No one would miss her until morning so it was likely she would be sitting there all night. If she wanted to reach Eagle Falls before dark, she’d have to leave now.

      Taking one last glance at her submerged vehicle, she squared her shoulders and began to climb.

      TWILIGHT FELL early across the mountain, but Kaitlyn resisted the temptation to use her flashlight as she trudged along an old hunting path. She needed to conserve the batteries because, if she didn’t reach Eagle Falls soon, her flashlight could very well be the only thing standing between her and the coyotes and mountain lions that prowled the area. Not to mention the grizzlies.

      Lions, coyotes, and bears, oh, my, she thought with a nervous laugh. She’d definitely been out in the elements too long.

      Ever since she’d left the highway, she hadn’t seen one single sign of human life. Even the animals had taken to high ground, and it was as if she was alone in a watery universe. Kaitlyn had never realized how profound complete silence could be, nor had she grasped the vastness of the Montana wilderness. She now had a new appreciation for the frontier men and women who had been able to navigate their way through the mountainous terrain with nothing more than their own keen sense of survival.

      Even though she had yet to reach the top of the summit, the ground had leveled off a bit. The going was easier now, but Kaitlyn’s spirits had plummeted. She was wet, exhausted and freezing. All she could think about was a hot bath and a warm bed, preferably in that order.

      She’d been hiking for the better part of two hours when she finally saw a glimmer of light through the trees.

      Civilization! At last!

      Kaitlyn’s heart leaped in anticipation.

      She stumbled over a tree branch in her excitement and forced herself to slow down. A twisted ankle—or worse, a broken leg—was the last thing she needed.

      As she emerged from a thicket of ponderosa pines into a small clearing, she realized the light came from what appeared to be an old hunting lodge.

      She scanned the area immediately surrounding the rustic building. There were no utility poles or wires that she could see, and she couldn’t hear a generator. Someone had probably lit a lantern. Another stranded motorist perhaps who’d arrived at the lodge before her.

      Kaitlyn doubted the cabin was equipped with a phone line, СКАЧАТЬ