But he knew one thing. They were in danger.
“Run!” he shouted.
He and Brynlee took off.
34
Brynlee’s lungs burned. Her muscles felt tight. Sweat covered her skin.
As a roar sounded behind her, her fear only intensified.
It was the beast. The Skookum. Whatever it was.
He’d found them. And now he would kill them—unless they got away.
As the trail disappeared around them, she prayed harder. Moved faster.
The beast was close. Close enough she could hear its grunts. Feel the branches breaking around it. Feel that death was near.
Breathing down her neck.
They had to find somewhere safe. They had to find it now.
She only hoped her initial assessment was correct.
Was this the area where her family’s old house was located? She’d seen that waterfall. She knew her father talked about Lost Falls being close—just to the north. She’d seen that roughly drawn map.
Please be there. Please.
Boone’s pace quickened. He pulled harder.
She could still feel the beast. Feel that it was on their heels.
Hear its growls and rapid breaths.
Then she heard a moan.
Brynlee glanced over her shoulder in time to see that the beast had stumbled.
His fall would buy them some time.
Thank goodness.
Boone continued to pull her forward. Brynlee could hardly breathe. Hardly think. She just moved.
As they rounded some trees, a building appeared.
Was this it? The house Brynlee had been looking for?
It didn’t matter.
All that mattered right now was that this building offered safety. For a moment, at least.
Boone seemed to spot it at the same time. He pulled harder. Moved more quickly. “We can make it there.”
Brynlee didn’t dare glance behind her. Didn’t want to see how close the creature was. If he’d caught up with them. But she didn’t hear it now. Didn’t hear his footsteps or branches breaking or heavy breathing.
Maybe they did have a chance.
They reached the old cabin. Boone reached for the door.
It was unlocked.
He shoved her inside and slammed the door. He reached for a lock.
There was nothing.
They kept moving.
Boone kept pulling her. Up the stairs. Into a closet.
He closed the door and sat down, pulling her against him.
They sat so close that Brynlee could feel his heart beating into her back. That she heard his quick intake of air.
“Quiet,” he whispered.
They weren’t out of danger yet, she realized.
And Brynlee prayed with everything in her that they might stay safe.
Boone pulled Brynlee closer and listened.
He’d like to think they were out of the woods—literally and figuratively—but he wasn’t ready to let his guard down.
That creature had been close. Too close.
He waited to hear a telltale sign. There was nothing.
The air around them felt charged with danger, though.
As silence marched around them, he caught a whiff of Brynlee’s hair. What was that scent? It reminded him of coconut and flowers. And it was divine.
As Boone held her right now, he knew with certainty that he would do whatever it took to protect her. She’d quickly gained a place in his heart. And no one had done that since Katherine.
He didn’t even think it was possible.
Silence passed. Nothing. Had they lost the beast?
“Do you think he’s gone?” Brynlee whispered.
She craned her neck until Boone could vaguely make out her face. See her hopeful eyes. Hear her breathless voice.
He wanted to say yes. He wanted to confirm that they were finally safe.
But something internal told him to stay.
He put his finger over his lips again.
He felt the tremble that raked through Brynlee’s body as he did.
He wanted more than anything to alleviate her fears. But that would be foolish. It wouldn’t help either of them.
A creak sounded nearby.
That had come from inside the house, hadn’t it?
Brynlee seemed to hear it also. She froze so quickly that Boone wasn’t even sure she was breathing.
Another creak sounded. Then another.
The creature was definitely inside.
And those creaks . . . they sounded close.
Had it come upstairs?
A shadow passed by the slit at the bottom of the door.
As Brynlee gasped, Boone put his hand over her mouth. They could not give away their location. Their lives depended on their silence right now.
35
Brynlee felt like she was suffocating. Like she couldn’t breathe.
Death felt close.
Like it lurked right outside the door.
And every creak, every shadow that fell seemed like a nail in her coffin.
Boone pulled her closer, his breathing steady and even beside her.
She closed her eyes, finding a moment of comfort in that fact.
But as another squeak sounded, her nerves ratcheted up again.
That beast was outside the closet. Only wood stood between them.
Would he find them?
And, when he did, what would he do? Boone had lost his gun.
She remembered watching the beast’s claws slash into the neck of that hiker. She remembered the blood. Death.
A whimper wanted to escape, but Boone’s hand pressed into her mouth again.
Both of them kept deadly still.
More heavy footsteps sounded.
Then paused.
She pressed her eyes closed.
Had the creature discovered she and Boone were there?
Fear clutched her, stabbing at her heart until she wanted to bend with pain.
Then the footsteps quickened.
Hurried.
Went . . . away?
What?
They still didn’t dare move. No, it was too risky.
Neither said anything as the minutes ticked by.
Finally, when they’d heard nothing for what seemed like an hour—though she was sure it hadn’t been that long—Boone moved his hand away from her mouth and relaxed a little.
Still, neither moved.
That’s when Brynlee realized just how tangled she and Boone were. She was snug in his embrace, her back against his chest, his body acting like a shell around her.
And she liked the security she had with Boone. She liked feeling his closeness. Smelling his ruggedly earthy soap. Feeling the bristles of his unshaven face.
In fact, she never felt as invigorated as she did around him. Never. Not around Will. Not around anyone she’d ever dated.
There was something about Boone Wilder that was different.
And Brynlee wasn’t sure if she liked that or if it terrified her.
She froze again and held her breath so she could listen.
There was still nothing.
No sounds in the house.
No creaks or shadows.
Where had that beast gone?
Boone leaned back, pulling away from her before whispering, “I need to go check things out.”
Brynlee wanted to cling to him. To tell him not to go. Beg him to stay with her.
But she didn’t. She knew it would be no use.
Instead, she nodded. “Be careful.”
Boone’s gaze met hers, sending an unspoken message. He didn’t have to say anything. She knew he wouldn’t let her down.
“I will be,” he finally said. “Stay here.”
Carefully, Boone stood. He counted to three before opening the door.
He had no idea what to expect on the other side.
Was the beast waiting them out? Hiding? Anticipating attacking when they were least
expecting it?
Or had the creature left, as it sounded like had happened?
Boone scanned the room.
It was dark in here. Wood walls. Ceiling. Floor.
Only small windows.
The creature was nowhere in sight.
Carefully, he stepped out. Closed the door behind him.
He hated to leave Brynlee in there. But he couldn’t risk taking her out here either. Not until he assessed the risk.
Slowly, Boone moved toward the stairs, remaining near the wall with his pocketknife in his hand, blade extended.
His heart pounded into his chest, reminding him of his military days. Of special operations. Of going into battle with an unseen enemy. He was honored to have served his country. But that kind of life wasn’t for him. No, he was more of a free spirit than what the military had required of him. And this situation right now was bringing all that back.
He reached the stairs. His throat ached with dryness as he took the first step down, uncertain what he’d face when he reached the bottom.
The wood cried out from beneath his feet. He froze for a moment, expecting to see movement. Expecting a jump scare.
Nothing.
Light filtered in through the windows. Instead of finding comfort in the sight, the scene was eerie. How long had it been since anyone was in this place? And how had Brynlee known it was here?
He’d have to ask her that—later.
For now, Boone had to ensure they were going to get out of here safely.
But as he paused near the door, another realization hit him. Whoever had come here had opened the door.
A bear wouldn’t have been able to turn this knob.
No, the creature had definitely been a human.
Boone didn’t know if that made him feel better or worse. But he knew one thing: they weren’t safe, and they wouldn’t be until they caught whoever was behind this.
36
Brynlee remained huddled in the closet, her knees pulled to her chest, muttering prayers. At any moment, she expected to hear a roar. A scream. A thud.
Every time she imagined those things playing out, a new round of panic rose in her.
She didn’t want anything to happen to Boone. But she also didn’t want to be left alone in these woods with that creature.
She held her breath.
Were those footsteps? Coming toward her?
It was Boone, right? Not the creature.
But, until she saw it with her own eyes, she couldn’t be sure.
A moment later, the steps stopped near the closet. Her head swam as she waited. Dreaded.
The door flung open.
Brynlee drew back, unsure what to expect.
But Boone stood there.
The air left her lungs.
Boone.
Thank goodness. He extended his hand to help her from the closet. As his fingers closed over hers, Brynlee’s heartbeat accelerated a moment. Why did the man keep having that effect on her?
“You’re okay,” she muttered, quickly scanning him for any sign of injury.
He nodded, his gaze still checking everything around them. “I’m fine. But it’s not safe for us to continue back this evening.”
Another round of fear seized her at the implications of his words. “So what are we going to do?”
“I think we should hunker down here until morning. The last thing we want is to traverse these trails at night. We’ll just be setting ourselves up for failure. And failure means . . .”
“Death,” she finished, her throat dry. “But won’t we be sitting ducks here?”
“At least we have shelter here. That will go a long way.”
“But doesn’t that creature know we’re here? He followed us . . .”
Boone frowned. “I don’t know. We lost him for a few minutes. If he knew we were here, why did he leave? Why didn’t he just finish us off when he could?”
“Great question.” Brynlee shivered and looked around the dark space. “There are worse places to stay, I suppose.”
“Let’s see if we can find some blankets. We won’t be able to start a fire—it will draw too much attention and let him know we’re still here. It’s going to get cold, so we’ll need to stay warm.”
Brynlee nodded and began wandering around the space. They could take some blankets off the beds, but they were going to be dusty. It was obvious no one had been here for years. Though the place was neat and tidy, it was also abandoned and unused.
She opened a trunk and found some quilts. She brought one to her nose. To her surprise, it smelled fairly clean—like mothballs. Maybe the trunk had protected the fabric from the elements.
“I think we can use these,” she told Boone.
“Perfect. I think we should set up camp upstairs. Put as much space between the front door and ourselves as possible. I’m going to push some furniture in front of the doors, as well as set a few other traps that will alert us if someone comes in here.”
“Sounds like a plan.” She began shaking out the quilts, preparing for the coming evening. It was already getting dark outside. Once the sun sank, darkness came quickly.
Brynlee wasn’t sure exactly how to set up or where. But as she worked, she paused and looked at some of the quilts. They were beautiful. Intricate. Told such wonderful stories.
Stories that her grandparents wanted to pass on.
Yes, this was the cabin her dad had told her about. She felt certain of it.
Because this mountain had belonged to that side of the family.
A swell of longing rose in her. She wished she could enjoy exploring this space, that she could relish in her family’s history. But this wasn’t the time.
As she pulled out another blanket, she saw a book tucked there. She picked it up. It almost looked like . . . a journal.
She ran her hand over the leather cover and then opened it, staring at the brittle page below.
Yes, this was a journal. She began scanning the entries. The scrawl made it look like a woman had written the words there. It was dated thirty years ago.
Thirty years?
This would have most likely have belonged to her grandparents then. Grandparents she’d never met.
An entry on one of the last pages caught her eye and she gasped.
There’s a creature out in these woods. He’s been stalking the cabin. We awoke this morning and found claw marks outside the door. Herb says we can’t stay here anymore—not until this creature is caught. But no one believes us. I don’t know where we’ll go or what we’ll do. I hate to leave this mountain . . . but we have no other choice.
Tears pressed into Brynlee’s eyes.
That creature . . . he wasn’t a figment of Brynlee’s imagination. No, he’d stalked these woods for decades.
And now he was stalking Brynlee.
Brynlee stuffed the journal into her backpack as she heard footsteps coming up the stairs.
“I did the best I could to secure this place,” Boone said. He placed something on the table. “I found some knives. At least it’s some kind of protection if we need it.”
“And I found these old quilts. They should keep us warm.”
“Perfect.” He walked over to the little nest she’d set up. After grabbing his backpack, he lowered himself on the floor and pulled up a blanket. “It’s already getting cold, isn’t it?”
She shivered at his words. She’d been thinking the same thing. “It is.”
He patted the space beside him. With a touch of nerves, she lowered herself there. He shared his blanket with her. They both leaned back against the wall for a moment, neither saying anything.
“How did you say you knew this place was here?” Boone turned toward her.
Brynlee shrugged, trying to figure out how to respond. “I did research on this area before I came. That included looking at some old maps.”
“It’s just that I’ve been up this mountain many times. I’ve never seen this before.”
“Well, I am an int
erior designer. I have an eye for detail . . . sometimes.” Guilt beat at her.
Tell him, an internal voice urged.
But the words wouldn’t leave Brynlee’s mouth. She knew how things would change once Boone knew the whole truth. She wasn’t sure she was ready to face that yet.
Thankfully, he didn’t press anymore. Instead, he grabbed his backpack and began scrounging through it. “Either way, it’s a good thing we found this.”
“I agree.”
He reached inside his bag, grabbed something, and handed it to her. “For you.”
Brynlee stared at the muffin he pulled out of a plastic container.
“What’s this?” she asked. “Did you bake this morning before we left?”
He shrugged. “What’s the big deal? It’s a muffin . . .”
“I see that, but . . .”
He raised his eyebrows and held it up like a prize. “It’s vegetarian. And it’s blueberry.”
Her throat tightened. “Blueberry?”
He shrugged again. “Yeah, I noticed you like blueberry so I decided to get this kind. I know the woman who owns the bakery in town, so I wanted to grab something for the trip there. I thought this was perfect.” He did a double take at her. “Am I wrong?”
Tears pressed at her eyes—tears that she wanted to go away. “No, this looks great. Thank you.”
“If this is great then why do you look like you’re going to cry?” Boone broke off a piece of his own muffin and put it in his mouth.
Brynlee let out an airy laugh, realizing how silly she must look. “I’m sorry. It’s just that . . . well, I don’t know. It sounds crazy, but it just touched me that you even noticed that.”
“I’m glad I did something right.” He handed her the muffin.
“You’ve done a lot right.” Brynlee swallowed hard as she said the words, knowing how they might sound.
Boone’s gaze caught hers. He reached up and ran a finger across her cheek. “I think that was a compliment.”
Her throat felt so dry she could hardly swallow. Why was Boone having this effect on her? It didn’t make any sense.
But as his fingers lingered near her neck, her heart rate continued to ratchet up.
She wanted to reach up and feel the hair on his cheeks. Run her fingers through the curls at his neck. To explore the lines on his face.
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