Page 2 of When the Silence Breaks

But to accomplish her mission, she needed someone who knew their way around the mountains—thesemountains—like the back of their hand. And from what she’d read, Ryder Goodwin was the right man for the job. She’d done her research. His great-grandfather had built the town. After Ryder’s stint as a Navy SEAL, he’d returned to Mercy Ridge. She’d probably read too much about his past because she knew how to get access, but regardless of what had happened, he had carved out a new life working as a guide for Good Adventures and running wilderness training exercises.

His picture wasn’t on the website, but his name had been listed along with several other guides. She didn’t want to ruin his life by dragging him with her into whatever this turned into, but she needed his help.

Would he even be there? Could she convince him this was a good idea? Could she accomplish her self-imposed task without raising too many questions? She didn’t know.

Pausing to catch her breath, Sarah looked out over the town in the valley below. She still had a hundred feet or so to go before she hit Five Cedars River at the bottom, flowing out of an expansive waterfall. Sarah swiped the sweat beading her forehead—even on this cool mid-sixties day—and adjusted her backpack straps.

Then she felt it.

A slight tremble beneath her boots. She frowned and scanned the ground, searching. Had she imagined it? Unease shivered over her.

The earth shifted beneath her feet, suddenly giving way with a sickening lurch, crumbling and morphing into liquefied dirt. A scream ripped from Sarah’s throat as she was carried away in the muddy gush racing down the slope. Plunging her body toward the river below, the torrent of slurry whipped her side to side like she was a rag doll on a natural waterslide. More terrifying was that she had no control over the landing at the bottom. The raging river and the base of the cataract waited to swallow her.

I have to stop this!

Her arms flailed and fingers clawed anything solid—a rock, a branch, roots—anything to stop the momentum of the churning sludge, until cold, thick mud coated her, even clogging her mouth and nose. Rocks and broken branches nicked her arms and legs.

The roar of the river grew louder.

No, no,no!

If she was going under, she had to suck in a breath before she hit that frigid water.

Panic built in her chest as she struggled to spit out the muck. Then she saw him.

She must have been seeing things. Had to blink the grit out of her eyes.

A man leaned out over a thick, sturdy branch as if bracing to grab her. She didn’t know how his rescue would be possible. His eyes locked on hers, willing her to understand. She barely made out his tense features.

Oh, Iunderstand. God, please let this work!

She rushed toward his outstretched arm... I have this one chance.

Her only chance.

She reached out, stretching, her muscles screaming.

Then he clamped onto her wrist, holding her as mud poured around her. Arms straining, she willed him to pull her up and out. Except the forces of nature had other plans. Gritting her teeth, she clawed toward him.

But the mud wouldn’t let go.

Two

The ground beneath Ryder Goodwin moved, dropping away until he was swimming upstream through the churning muck. Gripping the thick fallen branch, he refused to let go of the struggling slide victim. Muscles burning, Ryder hauled them both out of the violent flow of debris and rolled onto solid ground.

That was too close.

Along with the roar of the liquefied earth pouring into the river below, the sound of the waterfall filled his ears. Heart still pounding, he caught his breath. The river was one thing, but the mudslide would have taken them both under and out. Failure wasn’t an option. And it pained him to the core that, yes, in the past, he’d failed when it mattered most.

Ryder pushed up and hovered over the muddy body he’d saved from certain death. Realization dawned. A woman stared up at him. Covered in mud, she looked beyond haggard.

He had to look equally awful. “Are you okay?”

Her caramel-brown eyes flashed bright. “I’ll be better once I can breathe.”

Oh.He hadn’t meant to hurt her. He rolled away to lie on his back. Looking up, he let the raindrops that found a waythrough the dense canopy hit him in the face and wash away the mud. He took a split second to even out his breathing and think clearly.

Then he pushed to his feet. “This ground isn’t stable. We need to move.” He’d stated the obvious, but in case she had any questions, he’d made it clear.