Mountain Hideaway

by Christy Barritt

  Just then, Salem and Wilma appeared with bags in hand. Tessa saw the fear in Wilma’s eyes, and her guilt grew. She pulled the woman into another hug.

  “Please be careful,” Tessa whispered.

  “I’m a tough old broad.” She shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to say that, at least. I’ll be fine. You just take care of yourself.”

  She gave Tessa a good motherly pat on the arm, matronly concern written across her expression.

  After Tessa hugged Salem, they all went outside. Tessa made sure the couple was safely in their car before climbing in their loaner car herself. They’d been able to borrow a ten-year-old sedan. Salem liked to fix up cars in his free time, so he always seemed to have a couple of extras around.

  Against her logic, she lifted up a prayer for the couple as they pulled away. Lord, please give them safety. Cover the eyes of my attackers. Help them not to see my friends leave. Protect them.

  She opened her eyes and felt better immediately. She’d forgotten how much comfort could be found in lifting her worries up to her Creator.

  Trent was staring at her as he cranked the engine. “Praying?”

  She nodded reluctantly. “Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

  “Desperate times can teach us to depend on a higher power, even when there’s no storm raging around us. That’s the key we have to remember.” He put the car into Drive and took off down the road.

  The night was dark and Tessa kept expecting to see another car pull out behind them and another chase to begin. Thankfully, the road remained clear. She wondered how long that would be true. She wasn’t naive enough to believe her troubles were over.

  * * *

  Trent glanced over at Tessa and saw that ever-present worry in her gaze. She was right to be so. This situation was strenuous and taxing, even for the most levelheaded person. Her concern for others—for Salem and Wilma specifically—had touched him.

  All of those theories people had about her, he couldn’t imagine them to be true. Obviously, she’d fled out of fear. And she was still scared. Terrified, really.

  Trent had been through war zones, and this situation still felt especially intense and dangerous, much more so than he’d anticipated.

  “Where are we going?” Tessa asked, wrapping her arms over her chest. Clearly, it was her way of putting up a wall, of guarding herself and protecting the little security she had left.

  “I don’t know yet,” he answered honestly. None of this had been planned. He’d thought he’d track Tessa down, convince her to go home to her family and that would be the end of it. He’d had no idea how intricate this web of danger would be.

  She remained silent a moment, her eyes fluttering back and forth in thought. “My boss has a rental house about twenty minutes away from here. I think it we could camp out there for a day or so.”

  “And your boss?” Trent asked. “Where will she be?”

  “She’s been away at a spa for the past two weeks. But she said I could use the house whenever I wanted to. Even told me what the code is to get into the lockbox where the key is located.”

  “Let’s try that. But we’ll only stay for as long as absolutely necessary—maybe one night. The longer we remain in one place, the more likely we’ll be found.”

  “Understood.”

  They drove silently, except when Tessa would throw out a direction. Thankfully the road behind them remained clear, without any warnings signs of danger to come. Just where had that man gone? What was he planning next? And what had he meant when he’d said, This woman has taken up too much of our time and energy. We need to put this behind us, and there’s only one way to do that?

  There were so many questions and so few answers. He didn’t want to push Tessa too hard, not right now. They’d actually made some progress in trusting each other, and he didn’t want to ruin it.

  The tension didn’t leave him. He knew at any moment, the seemingly peaceful drive could turn dangerous. Leo’s goons obviously wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted—and what they wanted was Tessa dead.

  “What do you think they’ll do next?” she muttered, staring straight ahead. “How would you track someone down if you were on their side?”

  That was a great question, but it was complicated. He let out a deep breath. “Considering the fact that I believe they followed me here, I think they’re probably looking into your life in Gideon’s Hollow now. I assume they left someone to keep watch over your house to see if you go back. They’ll think of ways to talk to anyone you had contact with and look for any indications as to where you might run.”

  “What about my boss, Chris? Do you think they’ll look for us at her place?”

  “It’s a risk we have to take right now. I’m hoping we’re far enough ahead of them that they won’t catch up yet.”

  “I see.”

  “If you left any emails on your computer, they’ll examine those. They’ll try to access your phone records.”

  “So how much time do we have?” She almost sounded resigned as she asked the question.

  “Maybe a couple of days.”

  “It sounds as if we—I—need to go somewhere totally off the radar.”

  He stole a glance at her, trying to gauge her emotions. As the moonlight hit her profile, he sucked in a breath. Man, was she beautiful—take-his-breath-away beautiful. “You don’t think I’m going to leave you alone, do you?”

  “As far as I’m concerned, we’re not in this together. You should go back and tell my family that you weren’t successful. Maybe just tell them that I’m most likely dead. Whatever it takes to ease their pain. I’m assuming the not knowing is probably the hardest part for them.”

  “I led these men to you, Tessa. This is partly my fault. I can’t abandon you.” Leo must have been tracking his moves. Especially if it was like Tessa had said—the man had pretended to be a friend to her family when all along he was behind everything. The realization had solidified in his mind the longer he thought about it. That meant it was partly Trent’s fault that Tessa was in her current situation.

  “I don’t want you to feel obligated. This is my problem, not yours. You should get out now while you can.”

  He couldn’t imagine leaving her behind at a time like this. It wasn’t even that he felt obligated—there was just some part of him that knew he couldn’t abandon her now. The girl would be a sitting duck. Besides, no one should be terrified and alone.

  He intended on sticking with her until this was resolved. He had a feeling her life depended on it. And, by default, so did his.

  * * *

  Tessa hated to admit it, but she felt grateful for Trent’s steadfastness. Most people would have jumped ship at the first opportunity. But Trent was here and, even if she wanted to get rid of him, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to. His presence comforted her, as did his size and skills. He’d proved himself to be more than capable.

  But reality still haunted her. Leo’s men had found her. If they went through her emails, they’d find correspondence with Chris, her boss at the travel agency. Thankfully, Salem didn’t believe in email, so maybe those men wouldn’t connect Tessa with the hardware-store owner and his wife.

  Salem and Wilma were now out of town. Chris was also out of the area. Tessa could only pray they’d remain safe. They seemed to be the most at risk.

  “Chris’s cabin should be down this road,” she said, her voice sounding more like a croak.

  Trent turned down a narrow road. At the end of the street, a house appeared. Even in the dark, Tessa could see a gentle stream rippling behind the property. Trent pulled around behind the structure and cut the engine. “So we rest up and then we hit the road again in the morning. Sound good?”

  Tessa nodded, overwhelmed by the task ahead of her. Was there anywhere she’d be safe? She typed in the code on the lockbox by the front door and found the spare key inside. They unlocked the door and stepped inside, hitting the light switch on the wall. A cozy cabin came into view.<
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  Her throat tightened at the thought of staying here with Trent. It wasn’t ideal. But what other choice did they have? At least the place was large enough that one of them could stay upstairs and the other downstairs. And she’d sleep with her door locked. She wouldn’t take any chances, despite his dedication so far. One could never be too careful.

  “We’ll take off in the morning,” Trent said, turning toward her.

  As she glanced up at him and realized how close they were standing, heat rushed to her cheeks. She’d known he was handsome. But standing here in the light right now, there was no denying that the man was attractive.

  She swallowed hard and took a step back, surprised at how appealing he seemed at the moment. “That sounds good. I’ll stay upstairs.”

  He nodded, his eyes still on her as if he was trying to figure her out. He’d obviously noticed the change in her, seen the flash of embarrassment in her eyes. “Good night, then.”

  Before either of them could take a step away, a sound outside caught their ears.

  Tessa saw Trent tense also, then he grabbed her arm, cut the lights and pulled her against the wall. Her senses came alive as adrenaline pumped through her.

  No way had those men tracked her down already...had they?

  Then they heard the sound again. It was clearly a car. Pulling down the lane. Coming toward the cabin.

  SEVEN

  Trent knew something wasn’t right. No way would these guys pull up to a cabin in the middle of the night and practically announce their arrival. They were more cunning than that.

  So who was here?

  He peered out the window, saw a sedan pull up and the headlights go dark. Then a woman stepped out.

  “Blonde, heavyset, midfifties.”

  Tessa visible relaxed beside him. “Chris. That must be Chris. But she wasn’t supposed to be back for another week.”

  “Come on. We don’t want to scare her.” Trent pulled her away from the wall and opened the door just as Chris stepped onto the porch.

  The woman gasped in surprise. “You scared the living daylights out of me!” Then her gaze fell on Tessa. “Tessa? What are you doing here?”

  “I didn’t mean to scare you. You said I could use the cabin whenever I wanted, and I thought you were at a spa.”

  Chris’s eyes went to Trent, and she gave him a knowing look. “I see.”

  Tessa shook her head, her cheeks reddening. “No, it’s not like that. It’s actually a really long story. I just needed some place to go because of some problems at my own cabin. Like I said, I didn’t expect you to be here.”

  “I decided to end my vacation a little early and have some downtime here at my mountain retreat.” She held her flowered luggage up a little higher.

  “We can leave,” Tessa said, apology in her tone.

  Trent wondered if Tessa realized exactly what she was saying, because they had nowhere else to go.

  “No, no.” Chris waved a hand in the air, suddenly acting as if this wasn’t a big deal. “Please stay. Just let me get inside and put my stuff down.”

  “Of course.” Tessa stepped aside, offering a fleeting glance toward Trent.

  Trent could tell she felt awkward. Anyone would in her situation, and his heart twisted with a moment of compassion. Usually when he got focused on a task, he tried to clear away any emotions in favor of logic. Logic could help keep them alive.

  But at the moment Tessa seemed so alone. There was something deeper inside Trent, something he couldn’t exactly pinpoint, that kept him here. It wasn’t an obligation. It wasn’t duty.

  It was purpose, he realized. It was no accident he was here to help. He believed God had ordained the timing.

  Chris pushed past them and deposited everything inside the door before flipping on the lights. Once they were all inside and the door closed, she turned to them. “Anyone care to explain?”

  Tessa cast another glance at Trent, and he could tell she was struggling to find the right words. He decided to step in. “Someone broke into Tessa’s place, and she needed to go somewhere else for the night.”

  Chris eyed him suspiciously. “And you are?”

  “I’m just a family friend who came to visit.”

  “I thought you didn’t have any family,” Chris said, turning back to Tessa.

  Tessa laughed nervously. “I mean, everyone has family, even if there are some members you’d like to forget. Besides, he’s a family friend.”

  “Well, I’m sorry to hear about your home,” Chris said, accepting her answer. She walked into the kitchen and fixed a glass of water, taking a long sip before clanking the glass on the counter. “That must have been scary, and I’m glad I can be of help. You’re welcome to stay here. There’s one bedroom upstairs and I usually stay down here.”

  “I’ll take the couch,” Trent offered.

  “Very well, then. I’m exhausted, so I’m going to turn in. I’ll see you both in the morning.”

  She grabbed her things and shuffled off to the bedroom, shutting the door behind her. A moment later, the lock clicked in place.

  “Thanks for covering for me,” Tessa whispered, stepping closer and glancing toward Chris’s closed door. “My mind went blank.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  She nodded upstairs and let out a deep sigh. “I’m going to turn in. I know we have a long day ahead. Good night.”

  His gaze lingered on her as she disappeared upstairs. She really was lovely. He’d known that even before he met her. But there was something about her that made it hard to pull his eyes away. Maybe it was the way her glossy hair swept over her shoulders. The way she nibbled on her lip when she got nervous. How her eyes told the story of what was going on in her head and heart.

  When Tessa disappeared from sight, Trent pulled out his cell. Could they be tracking him through his phone? Was that how they’d found him here?

  It was an idea he definitely needed to consider. But right now he needed to call for help. When he finished this conversation, he’d ditch his phone, just to be on the safe side.

  He dialed one of his old friends from the police academy, Zach Davis. The two had started on the force together in Richmond, Virginia. Later, Zach had moved up to Baltimore and then to a little island on the Chesapeake Bay. The bonds they’d forged through the academy had never faded, though. Trent knew Zach had a few weeks off before starting a new job as sheriff, so he would be the perfect person to help.

  Zach answered before the second ring, his voice scratchy but alert. “Trent?”

  “Sorry to wake you.” Trent paced to the far side of the house and lowered his voice so no one would hear. The situation would be tricky because Leo McAllister was a man with connections. Plus, even though he’d chided Tessa for her trust issues, he had some himself.

  The police had investigated Leo after Tessa had disappeared, but they’d found no evidence of wrongdoing. It didn’t help either that no one, not even law enforcement, wanted to mess with the McAllister family. They were powerful, made big donations to charities, including the Fraternal Order of Police, and they had the ear of senators and other legislative leaders.

  If Trent was wrong about Leo—if Tessa wasn’t telling the truth, for some reason—then they’d be opening a can of worms that was best left untouched. That was why Trent knew there were only two people he could trust—Zach and their mutual friend Gabe Michaels.

  For all he knew, the McAllisters could have men in the local police or even with the FBI. They were rich enough to buy anyone willing to sell themselves for a price.

  “What time is it?” Zach asked, his voice groggy.

  He glanced at clock in the distance. “Three thirty.”

  “I’m assuming this is important.”

  “Life or death. There’s no one else I can trust. I need you to look into someone for me. His name is Leo McAllister.”

  “Okay...”

  “He may have ties with terrorists.”

  “Sounds serious.”

>   “I did mention life or death. However, this could go a lot deeper than just my life.” Tessa entered his mind. But this was also greater than even her life. If what Tessa had told him was true—and he had no reason to believe it wasn’t—then the lives of a lot of Americans could be at stake. A terrorist cell developing weapons was huge.

  Trent filled Zach in on the other details about Leo that he knew.

  “I’ll see what I can find out and get back to you.”

  “There’s no time to waste on this, Zach,” Trent said. “You should be careful, too. If you try to breach their computer system, they’ll be alerted. It’s important to circumvent anything you do on the web.”

  “I’ll start now,” Zach said. “And I’ll be cautious.”

  Trent only hoped he wasn’t already too late.

  * * *

  Tessa couldn’t relax. She’d forced herself to lie in bed, but she’d left all of her clothes on, even her shoes. Instead of crawling under the covers, she’d lain on top of them and pulled a spare blanket over her legs in order to stay warm. She felt better being dressed and ready to run if necessary.

  Just one more rule of survival: always be prepared.

  Her body was tired, but her adrenaline made it hard for her to sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying everything and fretting about what the future would hold.

  What would it be like to believe that God was in control? That whatever happened, He could work it for good? Right now, she needed some hope and comfort. Relying on herself—even relying on Trent—just didn’t seem like enough. It was going to take a force greater than the two of them in order to survive this.

  She’d gone to church growing up, so she knew the scriptures. She just felt as if God had been silent in her life for the past year. Or was she the one who’d stopped talking?

  When Tessa really thought about it, she realized her relationship with God had dwindled before all of this had happened with Leo. In college, she’d drifted away from her beliefs. She’d considered herself a Christian in name, but she hadn’t lived like someone who followed Christ. No, she’d let worldly lures take hold in her life. She’d enjoyed the finer things—designer clothes, pampering herself, making her career her number one priority.