Deadly Mountain Refuge: Mountain Ambush ; Mountain Hideaway

by Christy Barritt

  “Some men are after me. They came to my house. We got away but they found us again. I’ve got to get out of town. I hate to ask this, but could I borrow one of your cars?”

  “Men are after you?” Salem repeated.

  Tessa nodded. “It’s a long story. The less you know, the better.”

  “Shouldn’t you call the police?”

  “Right now, I’m better off running.”

  Salem started at her another moment. “You’re sure?”

  She nodded again. “Unfortunately.”

  “Oh, Tessa.” Wilma pulled her into a hug. “Why is this happening to someone as sweet as you?”

  Trent knew this was an emotional moment, but time was of the essence right now. The longer they stayed here, the more likely it was they’d be discovered. But not only that, it increased the chance that someone innocent would get hurt.

  Trent paced to the windows and pulled down the shades. Then he urged everyone to move toward the center of the room, just in case any bullets started flying. He had to take every precaution possible.

  Tessa pulled away from Wilma’s hug and glanced at Trent. “Let’s just say someone very powerful wants to get revenge on me. Anyone I’ve had contact with is in danger.” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I tried to keep my distance. But you both were so sweet that it was hard.”

  “Oh, darling,” Wilma said. “You know we’d do anything for you. Of course you can use one of our cars.”

  Salem nodded solemnly. “I’ll get the keys.”

  “Thank you for your help,” Trent said. He switched one of the lamps off and surveyed everything outside from his position at the window. “We appreciate it.”

  “And who are you, exactly?” Wilma asked. Gone was her compassion and instead her shoulders rose, her eyes taking on a sharp, protective expression.

  “Right now I’m her bodyguard.”

  Tessa’s cheeks reddened. “He’s someone my family trusts.”

  Salem returned with the keys and an envelope. “Here you go. There’s some cash to hold you over.”

  “I couldn’t possibly—” Tessa started.

  “I insist.”

  He thrust the envelope into her hands. She looked down at it. She opened her mouth, but then closed it again as if she was speechless. “Thank you,” she finally said.

  “Where will you go?” Wilma asked, wringing her hands together.

  Tessa glanced at Trent before shaking her head. “I have no idea.”

  Trent put a hand on her elbow, hating to break up the moment. He had little choice, though. “We need to move.”

  “We do,” Tessa said, shoving the money into her pocket.

  “There’s one other thing,” Trent started, his voice softening with compassion toward this couple who’d shown them so much kindness. “Is there anywhere the two of you could go for a few days? I fear you’re in the line of fire because of your association with us.”

  “I couldn’t stand the thought of anything happening to you,” Tessa said, reaching for the older woman in front of her. The two of them stared at each other, something unspoken passing there. Compassion, understanding, concern for each other.

  “We can go to stay with my sister,” Wilma said. “She lives in Kentucky, and she’d be tickled to see us.”

  “What about the store?” Tessa asked.

  “We’ll put Dale in charge. You remember him? We’ve left him running the place before. He used to work for us full time, and he still fills in on occasion. He’ll be fine while we’re gone.” Wilma glanced at her husband. “What do you say? It would be good to get away, right?”

  Salem nodded. “It would.”

  “I think you should go now,” Trent said. “We’ll wait for you to grab a few belongings. But please hurry. There’s not much time.”

  * * *

  Trent’s empathy for the couple warmed Tessa’s heart. Maybe he wasn’t the person she’d assumed he was when they first met. Of course, still believing he was an enemy seemed much safer than the alternative. The alternative meant her heart might feel free to explore her gut-level attraction toward the man. That possibility was crazy. The last thing she wanted was to entertain the idea of romance and love and happy-ever-after—they were all out of the reach of reality as far as she was concerned.

  Salem nodded again. “Let’s go grab a few things, just enough to hold us over. I’ll call Dale on the road and tell him I’m taking Wilma somewhere as a surprise.”

  “Good idea,” Trent said, glancing out the window again. “The fewer people who know, the better.”

  The couple disappeared for a moment. The jitters in Tessa’s stomach intensified as the impending feeling of doom continued to close in. This could get uglier before it got better—if it even got better.

  Trent squeezed her shoulder and pulled her from her morbid thoughts. Electricity rushed through her with such intensity that she startled.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  She nodded, almost robotically. “Yeah, I guess so. As well as anyone would be in this situation.”

  “You’re hanging in like a trouper.”

  “It’s not even me that I’m that worried about it. It’s Salem and Wilma. It’s my family. There are so many other people who could be hurt because of my actions. And nothing you tell me is going to change my mind about that, so you can save your breath.”

  “I was going to say that I know this must be stressful for you.” His gaze lingered on her, more insightful and perceptive than she would like.

  Her cheeks heated. It had been a long time since her feelings were that transparent to someone. It bothered her and comforted her at the same time.

  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.

  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 surp
rise. “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.”