Megans Mark (Breeds 6)

He was smooth, she had to give him credit for it. If she hadn't watched him move into the brush and boulders then she would have never known he was there.

But that was okay, she wasn't too damned shabby there herself.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Now.

She moved away from the boulder, sliding to the right, careful to stay low as she began to shimmy up the side of the trail at the opposite angle.

Of course, he would know what she was doing; there wasn't a chance he wouldn't catch sight of her. But those below, and whoever the hell waited above, wouldn't have a clue. She knew this area like the back of her hand, had played here as a child, hunted as an adult. She and Lance had trained in this area with her father and grandfather as teachers. She knew how to stay hidden.

Staying on her belly, she used her knees and elbows to scuttle along the slope, staying low, moving between and around the brush and craggy outcroppings of rock. The paths worn into the steep slope made it hard to stay under cover, but her grandfather had taught her how to blend into the landscape around her and to use even the most insignificant cover effectively.

Within minutes she was edging over the bank, watching with her eyes, feeling with her mind as she kept the gun balanced in her hand. Braden was moving through the brush and tall grass several hundred yards across from her, working his way to the Raider.

She couldn't see him, but she could feel him. And boy was he pissed.

Now was the time to find their watchers. She focused on the land around

her, her eyes scanning as she felt for the odd, the unnatural_ the evil. The Raider was parked beneath the pines in the distance, hidden from sight. They would be where they could watch the vehicle as well as any paths to it.

There.

Her gaze swung to the pines, lifting, narrowing as she fought to catch sight of anything unusual within the branches of the tree.

A tight smile curved her lips as she began to move quicker now, heading for a point between the Raider and that particular tree as she kept an eye on the unassuming little splotch of color that almost blended perfectly with the tree.

Almost. Once she knew where to look, picking out the different shade of green wasn't that difficult. Whoever it was, they were well trained.

As she moved Into position behind one of the thick tree trunks between the Raider and the watcher, she searched behind her, around her. She could sense nothing, no eyes on her, no prickling awareness of a weapon aimed her way. There was more than one, but evidently not within sight of her.

Moving easily, she leveled her weapon at the watcher, seeing just enough of his camouflaged body to know that if she had to shoot, she

could take him out.

Now, where the hell was Braden?

He was going to beat her ass.

Braden stifled the growl in his throat as he caught Megan inching her way from the safety of the boulders and working her way to the top of the canyon. There were at least two snipers hiding somewhere in the field, perhaps more farther ahead.

They weren't Breeds. This was military, or at least military trained. Cold and efficient, aware that any hint of emotion would give their positions away. He could sense them, but he couldn't follow the path of that knowledge to their location.

They were in the pines. He paused as he moved over the rim of the canyon, staring into the pines that hid the Raider from view. They would be in there, most likely in the trees rather than on the ground. The scent was too diluted, to hard to follow for them to be accessible. So that left no place to go but up.

As he snaked his way through the gently swaying grass, keeping close to the scattered boulders and thick vegetation. he watched the trees, narrowing his eyes as he sought any sign of movement.

They were good. They weren't moving.

He checked Megan's position and began to push himself closer. The watchers' vantage point from above gave them an edge on him. They could watch the Raider as well as the field and have a bird's-eye shot on anything that moved.

But that was okay. He could move pretty damned fast, and once the first shot went off, the watchers'

position would be compromised. Tightening his lips in renewed fury, he watched as Megan quickly made her way toward the pine thicket. She was good. And fast. He could barely catch sight of her as she crawled the distance on her belly.