Lisa’s breath caught. Nina. Even from a distance, she could tell by the twitch of the ears, the small frame, the barely-there bell that glinted in the light. Caleb grabbed her arm just as she almost rose. “Wait,” he whispered. “Don’t move.”
“But she’s—” “She’s alive. But if you scare that thing, it might bolt or drop her. We watch. Then follow.” Lisa’s fingers dug into the dirt. Her whole body screamed to run, to reach, to rescue. But she held still. The mountain lion padded down the slope and vanished behind a cluster of boulders and brush.