Alpha Agency Protectors 1
Mountain Man Guardian
By:
Scarlett Winters
Copyright 2020 Scarlett Winters
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any way or by any means. Including but not limited to recording, photocopying, any electronic methods, without the prior written consent of the publisher. This book is strictly a work of fiction, any references to persons, places or things are all completely fictional.
Warning: This book is for adult audiences.
Contents
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NEWSLETTER
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
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Chapter 1
~Carissa~
I’d long since pulled of the I-15 when I next see a sign for a gas station. I figure I better stop and fill up the tank- who knows when I’ll next find a rest stop on the back roads. Sure, I’d consulted a map when I was planning my trip into Montana but I hadn’t exactly considered the boring stuff like gas for the car.
I had been planning this trip to Montana for what felt like ages. Living in Washington was fine, but I’d long since explored all the sites. But Montana? Montana sounded new and exciting.
The idea of living off the land, surrounded by tress and open sky had always sounded so wonderful to me. I’d been fascinated with history since I was a child, especially the idea of pioneers in log cabins with cozy fireplaces, chopping wood to keep warm… Well. I certainly don’t know how to do it, but maybe I’ll run across a handsome, rugged stranger, willing to teach me.
Adventure was just what I needed. I’ve been working as a receptionist at the veterinary clinic in my hometown since I graduated from high school. It’s made me decent money, and I’ve only been there a year, but is it really what I want to do with my life? The head veterinarian there said that I was a natural with animals. She even suggested that I go to college for veterinary medicine!
While I appreciate her confidence in me, I’m not sure if I could do it. Oh, I can do the schooling, but the nature of the work… I don’t think I could handle that. There are some days I come home from work and start crying- I hate seeing the animals in pain! Even though the job of a veterinarian is to make them feel better, it’s still so hard. I can’t imagine being the one to give them shots or stitches.
Maybe I’ll figure out what I’m meant to do with my life on this trip.
When I reach the gas station, I’m quick at the pump. I start to make my way to the building to pay when I stop. The sky out here is amazing. It’s a gorgeous fall afternoon, and with the mountains so close by I just have to grab some pictures. It’ll be evening soon, and maybe I’ll even catch a sunset. Everywhere I’ve been, I take pictures. It’s one of my favorite parts of history- looking back and seeing everything.
Where is my camera? I have to practically crawl into the back seat of my car to get at it. The duffel bag with my clothes in it had tipped off the seat and fallen into the foot well, burying my camera case.
“Oh, come on!” I grumble to myself. “Ha! Gotcha.” My fingers grasp the strap and I sit up. Whoa. I have to pause for a minute to let the dizzy spell from stretching in such a strange position to pass.
As I regain my bearings, movement outside the passenger window catches my attention. Two cars had pulled up while I had been head-first in the backseat.
I’m just switching out my camera’s memory chip when I hear a shout. Looking up, I’m horrified to see a girl who can’t be any older than me being pulled out of the first car by a man in a denim jacket. I fling myself across the seat, doing my best to hide in my small sedan.
Don’t move, don’t move!
The girl is screaming now, and I brave a glance out the window to see at least two more men get out of the other car- some type of SUV, maybe?
Oh God, this is a kidnapping, isn’t it? This girl sounds terrified, but what can I do? I’m not exactly an athlete and each of these guys have to be at least twice my size!
As I shift against the seats, something presses against my stomach. Wait a minute…
My camera!
I grab for it and carefully align the lens against the passenger window. Just… a bit… higher… there! As soon as the cars are in view, I start snapping pictures as fast as I can. The girl, the men, their cars—all of it.
It feels like an eternity as I lay there before the poor girl is finally shoved into the back of the SUV. As it races out of the gas station parking lot, I jump out of my car and keep clicking, hoping to get a clear picture of the license plate.
As soon as the SUV is out of sight, I race to the building, almost tripping on the uneven pavement as I go.
I slam open the door, already yelling. “Call the police! Please!”
The cashier, an older man with bottle cap glasses, gives me a dubious look but picks up the landline anyway. I probably should’ve grabbed my cell phone from the car, but all I can think of is that poor girl! She looked so terrified.
Who would do such a thing? Just kidnap someone like that? I knew why- I may not be experienced in the ways of the world, but I do know what happens in it. I just can’t understand the type of person who would hurt someone else like that.
When I said I wanted adventure, this isn’t what I meant at all.
All I wanted was to go on a road trip, feel independent and free. I wanted to take some pictures, assemble my scrapbook and explore, meet interesting people.
I never wanted to get involved in something like this!
When the police finally arrive, I’m sitting in the corner on a box of vodka, clutching my camera to my chest. The whole time I was waiting, the cashier had been giving me funny looks. He probably thinks I’m crazy, but I know what I saw. I even have proof!
The officer who walks over to me looks like a cliché out of a bad eighties cop show. He’s moustache is seriously bad, I can’t stop looking at it. I feel a hysterical giggle rise in my throat, but I bite it back. I don’t want the police officer thinking that I’m crazy like the cashier does.
“Hello Miss, I’m Officer Nelson. Jerry,” that must be the cashier, “called me and my partner over there, said that you believe you witnessed a crime?”
“Yes! Yes, I did!” I stand up, attempting to meet Officer Nelson’s eyes. I’m so short, people don’t take me seriously and I really need him to take me seriously, for the sake of that poor girl. “I had just gotten gas for my car and I was just about to go in and pay when two cars pulled up and—”
“What type of cars?” Officer Nelson interrupted.
“Oh um, a normal
sized car? And an SUV?” I tell him. Shouldn’t he be taking notes?
“Alright, carry on.” This police officer doesn’t seem at all concerned! I glance behind him and see that his partner is talking to Jerry at the counter. Well, hopefully Officer Nelson will be more interested in doing his job when he hears what I have to say!
“I saw several men get out of the SUV and grab a girl out of the other car. She started screaming but they forced her into their car and drove off with her!”
“Are you sure that’s what you saw, Miss?” Officer Nelson asks, condescendingly. “Are you here with anyone else? Did they see anything?”
What?! “You don’t believe me!”
“This is a rather elaborate story,” he continues like he didn’t hear me.
“I know what I saw!” I shout. I’m about to say that I have proof, that I took pictures when he continues, looking annoyed at my raised tone.
“Miss, I’m going to have to ask you to calm down.”
Calm down? I can’t calm down!
“Now,” the officer continues, “why don’t you just come with me and we can get this all sorted out, okay?” He takes a step closer, reaching for my arm. I automatically step back. Something doesn’t seem right.
The other police officer comes to us. “Jerry says he didn’t see anything. What’ve you got, Nelson?”
“The girl here claims she saw everything.”
“Shit,” the other police officer hisses. Shouldn’t they be happy I was here? I’m a witness to a crime, it should make their jobs easier!
Suddenly, Officer Nelson reaches out and makes another grab for my arm.
“Miss, I’m going to ask you one more time. Come with me.” Officer Nelson and his partner are practically looming over me now. That’s when I realize.
They must be in on it.
There’s no other reason that I can think of for them to be acting like this! A young girl being kidnapped? That’s the type of story that you hear about on the news, whole police forces go out to search for her. But from the look on the police officers’ faces, they have no intention of filing a report, much less looking for the poor girl I saw.
Now I’m scared… just like the girl who was kidnapped.
I take a shaky breath and do the only thing I can think of. I keep hold of my camera and run for my life.
Chapter 2
~Tyler~
When I left the CIA, I didn’t look back.
I ran hard and I ran far, all the way from my debriefing in Langley, Virginia to the mountains of Montana.
I hadn’t done anything wrong—well, nothing that I hadn’t been ordered to do- but I needed a change.
My life up here is about as different from my life back then as it could be. Things are so much simpler now. It’s just me and Sparks, a mutt that looks more like a wild beast than a domesticated dog. I don’t even have electricity or running water up here; I’ve got a big fireplace and a nearby well with cool, clean water.
My only human contact is when I make the trek to the nearest town at the base of the mountain for supplies. I’ve got a sat phone for emergencies that my buddies insisted I take when they got wind of what I was planning, but that’s it. I can’t even remember the last time I spoke with another person, let alone touched one.
When I was younger, less damaged, I wanted to build a life with someone. Nothing fancy, I just wanted to settle down, raise a few kids, be happy.
Now, that’s out of the question.
I can’t imagine building a life with someone after the things I’ve seen… the things that I’ve done. I don’t want to be one of the guys who is so traumatized by his past that he takes it out on his family. Fuck that. I’ve seen too much cruelty in the world to add to it. Besides, no woman would be able to handle the baggage that I come with- she shouldn’t have to.
Can’t say that I don’t miss some human companionship though.
That’s about all that staying in a city would have offered me: My choice of bed warmers. Sure, it would be nice to get my dick sucked a few times a week, but that’s about it.
As it is, I’ll get my pent-up sexual energy out with my hand and manual labor.
I’m so lost in the past and the rhythm of my ax slicing through wood that I don’t hear the car until Sparks perks up. Nice going for an ex-CIA agent.
The large mutt takes off like a shot through the trees, barking as he goes. I yank the ax out of the tree stump and cautiously follow him.
Cars don’t come up here. I’ve got a run-down truck parked out back next to the shed, but I hardly use it, even for making trips to the nearby town, preferring to walk.
I consider grabbing some wood that I haven’t split yet, but figure between Sparks and me, anyone who may be a threat is well-matched. Plus, I’ve got an ax. I’m not concerned.
When I get to the car, the driver’s side window is open, but I can’t see anyone inside. I make my way around the small sedan slowly, trying to figure out why someone would take a car this small on roads as rough as these. This can’t have been a planned trip.
A whimper gets my attention.
Sparks is on his hind legs, leaning into the car and nosing at the driver.
“Sparks, heel!” The dog obeys my shouted command, loping to my side. I absently pat him on the head and make my way to the person in the car.
From the length of the dark hair spilling out, I’m assuming it’s a woman, further confirming my theory. A woman in a sedan, on these roads? Definitely not a planned trip. I went into the CIA thinking that I would be doing good, protecting my country and helping people. I lost sight of that at times but here, now, knowing that there’s someone in front of me in distress? I can’t just walk away, I need to stay and try to help, if I can.
I lean down a bit to try and get a glimpse of her. Is she injured? Sheltered as it is by a cascade of hair, I can’t see much. “Excuse me? Ma’am, are you alright?”
She jumps slightly and lifts her head.
Her eyes lock on mine and I’m frozen.
I’ve met a lot of people doing… what I did, but never anyone with eyes quite like this young woman’s. They’re the color of honey, so rich they practically glow. There are tears clinging to her long black lashes and running down her pale face. I’m so entranced by her eyes that it takes me a moment to ask her what happened.
“Hi there, what happened to you? Do you need help?”
As she blinks up at me, all I want to do is scoop her up into my arms and protect her from whatever it is that sent her running.
Chapter 3
~Carissa~
I had started crying almost as soon as I pulled out of that gas station parking lot and have not stopped since. Driving blindly, I made my way up a quiet road and into the mountains. I didn’t want those police officers to find me, so my first thought was to hide but I got so turned around that I ended up just stopping my car in the middle of the road.
With trees all around me, it seemed like a safe enough place to just let it out, so I did. The window was open, since without some fresh air I was pretty sure I was going to pass out.
It was as I was sitting there, no idea what to do next that I realized I had company.
A dog barked close by and all of a sudden, a big dog was sticking its furry face in through my car window. I absently pet it on the head, then start crying again. Why couldn’t people be more like animals? This dog doesn’t know who I am, it probably just came over when it heard me crying and wanted to check out what was going on. It could probably smell how upset I was and all it wanted to do was make me feel better.
That makes me cry even harder.
“Excuse me? Ma’am, are you alright in there?”
A man’s voice startles me, and I lift my head. I should’ve been expecting somebody to be around. The dog was friendly enough that it had to be a pet.
There’s a man looking at me… a very attractive man at that. Despite the cool fall air, he’s only wearing a flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up
. He must live up here in the mountains.
I sit up straight in my seat and meet bright blue eyes. They’re the exact color of the sky I saw earlier, and they instantly soothe me. Distantly, I register that he asked me a question but I’m still distracted by his… well, everything.
He’s older than me, I can tell from the lines around his eyes and firm mouth. The stubble around that mouth and his strong chin matches the sandy blonde hair waving over his forehead. He looks a bit disheveled, but in the best way, like he’s been working.
And damn, he smells like it too. I never thought I would like the smell of sweat, but combined with the fresh air of the forest, it’s really quite appealing.
“Ma’am?”
He’s still talking to me.
Oh, he must think I’m an idiot! Sitting here staring!
“You seem really upset. Do you want to come inside? Warm up a bit? You might be going into shock, I have a cabin just through these trees.”
“Oh, I’m… I’m okay,” I stutter out, quickly glancing to my lap. How am I expected to form coherent sentences when there’s a man who looks like my daydreams standing right in front of me?
I open my car door and scramble out, the man stepping back to give me room. Now that I’m out of the car, I can get a better look at him. And what a look it is. He’s taller than me, by a lot and very… broad. Burly, one might say.
“You… you said you lived around here?” I ask.
“Yeah. Name’s Tyler, you met Sparks.” He gestures to the big dog standing off to the side. “Do you need help?”
His question snaps me out of my daze, and I start talking. “Yes! Yes, I do! I, I didn’t mean to come up here but I was at the gas station and there was this girl and, and these men, they grabbed her and the police didn’t care at all, they seemed annoyed that I told them and—”
Mountain Man Guardian (Alpha Agency Protectors Book 1) Page 1