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Rifle sights.

Seeing other people in this section of the wilderness wasn’t completely unusual, although there were much more popular areas for both hiking and rafting. So Tanner wasn’t concerned, but he was definitely aware.

When he saw the brief reflection again fifteen minutes later, on par with their location and pace, then he became concerned.

But not overly so. Yes, there were people ahead of them, moving at the same pace as them, and looking over their shoulder to make sure he and Bree and the kids were still moving. But whoever it was couldn’t mean them harm, or at least didn’t mean to shoot them outright, because they had more than enough opportunity to do it. Their watchers had the higher ground, they were hidden and Tanner was unarmed.

Until there was reason to change the plan, he wasn’t going to. Nevertheless, he subtly picked up their pace.

He saw the reflective glimmer one more time before they curved around the ridge and came to the suspension bridge that would lead them over the river and back to safety.

Except the bridge had been destroyed. Pieces of rope and lumber hung in disarray, still attached to the cliff on the other side of the river, but completely removed from their side.

How the hell had that happened?

The bridge had been around as long as Tanner could remember. The river was relatively narrow at this juncture, so the catenary rope bridge had been built across it. The thing had scared him to death the first couple of times he’d crossed it, the way it would sway with each step. It was only as he got older and became more aware of physics and mechanics that he’d come to understand how safe and secure the bridge really was.

Of course, he hadn’t been up here in at least two years, so it was possible there’d been some damage before now and Tanner just hadn’t realized it.

“Houston, I think we have a problem,” Bree muttered. “I hope this isn’t the only way across the river.”

“No, there are three more bridges farther downriver.” And they would go to them—but first he wanted to check this one out. Handing out another protein bar to the kids for them to split, Tanner scooted down so he could get a better look at where the rope bridge had once been secured into the hard rock of the ravine.

When he saw it, he had to swallow his curse.

The bridge itself had definitely been cut by hand. More than cut. It had been completely destroyed. The rings attached to the wall of rock were still solidly embedded, but just beyond the metal the rope had been destroyed. It looked like someone had taken a blowtorch to it.

“Anything interesting?”

The kids were chattering as they continued munching on their bars.

“Definitely wasn’t destroyed by mother nature.”

Bree helped hoist him back up to ground level. “Why would someone want to destroy a bridge?”

That was the real question, wasn’t it? And Tanner had a bad feeling about the answer.

There were three more bridges they could use, but getting to them was going to take them directly through an area that would leave them completely vulnerable, especially if the people who had been tracking them the last couple of hours intended them harm.

“What will Noah and Marilyn do when they get to their side of the bridge and see that it’s unusable?”

“Noah knows about the other bridges. There is a secondary base camp five miles from here. If I were him, that’s where I’d assume we would go.”

Bree had already caught on to the tension in his voice. “Is it time to be concerned yet?”

Was it time to be concerned? At one point in their relationship Tanner would’ve tried to shelter her, to keep the truth from her. But he’d learned the hard way that wasn’t a good idea. Bree could handle herself and was an asset in almost every situation.

He cupped her cheek. “There’s no need to panic. And this could all still be coincidence. But yes, there is reason to think it might be time for concern.”

Eva walked over to them and stood right next to Bree. “Are we not going to get to see Mommy?” she asked, her little lip quivering.

Bree smiled, but it was tight. “We are, pumpkin. We’re just going to need to go to another bridge.”

“Hey, Eva, you’ve been walking a long time. Can I give you a piggyback ride?” Tanner asked with a wink. “Then in a few minutes you can give me one.”

The little girl giggled at his silliness and he took the opportunity to swing her up and around on his back. He gave Bree a nod, which she returned, and then looked over at Sam. “You ready to pick up the pace a little bit, champ? If we’re going to beat your mom and Noah to the next bridge, we’ll have to double-time it.”

More like if they were going to make sure they beat the people who were tracking them, but no need to worry the kid with that info.