Read Online Jackson by Leigh Talbert Moore - Free Book Online Page B

onto his best friend’s back, but we didn’t have time to discuss it. Breathless with worry, I led the way down the second hill to where the small pool lay black in the night. I wasn’t sure if they’d pursue us, but I wasn’t going to give them the chance at recapturing us.
    “How do you know about this?” D’Lo was breathing hard.
    “Sometimes when it was hot, we’d come here.” I whispered.
    In a fast reel, images filled my head of the first time I was brave enough to lie down on the blanket in the sun, rewarming my body after swimming in the frigid pool. My hip still ached that day, but I remembered Gallatin’s smile. He was happy I finally trusted him, and his eyes were merry as he jumped a cannonball into the sparkling water.
    “Good way to get information,” Dee said.
    “It wasn’t like that. For the most part.”
    I went to the hillside and desperately felt around the ground for the rocky outcropping. I couldn’t remember exactly where I’d been when Gallatin asked me to dance. I’d resisted at first and walked away, but he’d caught me. And after that first attempt, we backed up...
    “Here!” I cried. “The rocks are here. Gallatin said there’s a cave straight over the hill from this spot.”
    D’Lo came to where I stood and we both looked up. “That’s pretty steep,” he said.
    “You can do it. I know you can.”
    “Good thing your boyfriend’s still small. In fact I think Jax has lost weight.”
    “If he’s been out here, living in the woods, I’m sure he has.”
    We dug our hands into the hillside and started to climb. I led the way, and I tried to dig out handholds for my giant friend to grasp. With the leaves wet from the rain, we kept slipping. My feet shot out from under me more than once, and every time, I heard a grunt and a cuss from below.
    “We should’ve tied him on,” D’Lo called to me. “He’s slipping.”
    “Almost there,” I gasped.
    It felt like hours, but we made it to the top of the hill. There wasn’t a cave in sight, and my shoulders dropped. Had I gotten the directions wrong? Had Gallatin remembered them wrong? Had he gotten them wrong on purpose...
    “Cave’s probably down the side,” D’Lo interrupted my rambling thoughts. “Unless it’s a well.”
    “Right!” I rolled to my belly and started down the steep side of the hill. Sure enough, in a few moments, my foot hung down into the mouth of an opening. “I’ve got it! It’s here! Can you get him to me?”
    “I’m going to lower him by his arms. You pull his legs inside.”
    “He’s bigger than me, Dee!” My voice was frantic.
    “You can do it!”
    We struggled and pulled, and with Jackson coming around, it was easier to get him downhill. He landed on his feet and caught me around the waist sooner than I’d thought possible. He still wasn’t fully himself, but being in the cave gave me the first spark of hope I’d had in almost two days.
    We were filthy, with mud and leaves stuck to our clothes. D’Lo helped me drag Jackson as far back as we could go in the darkness. Then Jackson slumped down to the floor and leaned back against the wall.
    “We’ll spend the night here,” I whispered.
    Jackson blinked up at me and smiled, and although my emotions were all mixed up and torn, I smiled back. I’d wanted to see him so long, and here he was. Alive.
    * * *
    P rentiss finds what she’s long been seeking, but instead of getting easier, her situation becomes more complicated.
    The lines between aggressor and defender are blurred, and instead of a justifiable rescue mission, the rebels in the woods plan a vengeful massacre.
    Unable to be party to a slaughter, she runs away, back into the arms of her captors. Only now she’s facing the same brutal fate as them.
    Pre-Order “Into the Woods” Today: Amazon | Google Play | iTunes | Nook | Kobo

Did you love
Jackson
? Then you should read
Into the Woods
by Leigh Talbert Moore!

    Prentiss finds what she’s long been seeking, but instead