Deadly Mountain Refuge: Mountain Ambush ; Mountain Hideaway

by Christy Barritt

  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.

  Leo had fit right in with that side of her. She’d loved the luxuries he’d provided; she’d even reveled in them. But looking back, she’d felt hollow inside during that time. All of those things hadn’t brought her the satisfaction she’d hoped for. All it had done was to leave her wanting more and more.

  When she’d gone on the run and everything had been stripped away, Tessa had to come to terms with who she was as a person, without the fancy clothes or perfect hair or admirable career.

  She hadn’t liked the image that stared back at her. Her changes had happened so slowly that she hadn’t even realized they’d taken effect. Sin was like that: people could dip a toe in and before they knew it be fully immersed.

  But those were things she’d think about later. Her thoughts turned to Trent. Despite her doubts, he’d been kind. He could have left her in the middle of the craziness, like most sensible people would have. But he’d stuck by her, even risking his life.

  Her family trusted him. Maybe she could, too.

  As she turned over in bed again, unable to sleep, her mind drifted from Trent to Chris. Why had her boss had such a strange reaction to her? Of course it was strange that Chris had found her here. Tessa couldn’t deny that. But there was more to it.

  Did Chris think that Tessa was up to no good? That almost seemed to match her reaction.

  She and her boss had always had a peculiar relationship. Chris didn’t really need to work or generate income. Her late husband had left her with a lot of money, enough to own three houses and take vacations whenever she wanted. But the woman liked traveling so much that she’d decided to open her own travel agency in town. They hardly ever had any clients. Tessa hadn’t complained because the jo
b helped her to pay the bills and the lackluster business kept her isolated.

  Chris was in and out, though—more out than in. She basically trusted Tessa to run the business from the little storefront in downtown Gideon’s Hollow. It was a nice, quiet job with very little interaction with those in town—ideal for Tessa.

  Now she wondered if Chris had bought Trent’s story. He’d told the truth. But Tessa knew that despite their best efforts, they’d been acting suspiciously. She’d never been a good liar. Even though Trent had sounded calm, one look at Tessa and Chris would have known that something was off.

  She wished she could stop fretting about it, though.

  As she started to drift off to sleep, she heard something downstairs. Just as she jolted upright in bed, her door flung open.

  “Freeze! Put your hands up!” A police officer stood there, his gun drawn and aimed at her.

  * * *

  Trent kept his hands raised in the air, his gaze quickly surveying the men around him. Five men had burst into the house from both the front and back doors. They wore SWAT gear with helmets and carried military-grade weapons.

  He’d taken one look and known he had no chance of taking them all down. So he’d risen from the couch and tried to keep his cool instead. But his thoughts clashed inside his head.

  How had these men, whoever they were, found them here? He had his suspicions.

  Chris had stepped out of her bedroom fifteen minutes ago, said she needed some air, and five minutes after she returned the men had invaded the house.

  At the moment, Chris appeared unbothered. She stood by the front door with her arms crossed and a look of worry on her face. She’d been the one who led these men here. But why would she do something like this? What would her motive be?

  A moment later, Trent saw one of the officers leading Tessa downstairs. Her arms were raised also, and terror stained her eyes. Anyone would be scared in this situation. Her gaze met his and he saw the questions there. He wished he had answers to give her.

  A man—the one who appeared to be in charge—strutted up to Trent and got in his face. The man stared wordlessly, waiting for Trent to flinch, to break his gaze. Trent refused.

  When he got no reaction from Trent, the man took a step back and glowered. “Arrest both of them.”

  “On what count?” Trent asked.

  “Conspiring with terrorists, for starters.”

  “What evidence could possibly prove that?” None. There was no way they had any proof.

  “Tessa has been on our watch list for quite a while. Unfortunately, you’ve proved to be her accomplice,” the man continued. “We take threats like this very seriously.”

  This wasn’t making any sense, not by any stretch of the imagination. “What agency are you with?”

  “The West Virginia State Police. We’re bringing you in, but I’m sure the FBI will want a piece of you, also. You two have a lot of explaining to do.”

  Something still wasn’t settling right in his gut. There were six men altogether and four had guns trained on Trent and Tessa. There was little he could do at his point.

  One of the men pulled Trent’s hands down and cuffed him. Another officer did the same for Tessa.

  “You have the right to remain silent,” the officer started.

  Tessa struggled against the man. It was just the distraction he needed. As the man in front of him looked away, Trent reached back and grabbed an upholstery tack from the breakfast bar. Chris must have been re-covering one of her chairs. Working carefully, subtly, Trent pressed two tacks into his leather belt, praying no one would notice.

  Just as he secured the second tack, his captor jerked his arms back and began leading him outside.

  Tessa swung her head toward Chris as she passed.

  “You did this, didn’t you?” Hurt and betrayal were evident in her voice.

  The woman shook her head, sorrow in her eyes. “I was already on my way home when they called me a few hours ago and told me what you’d been up to. I had to do my part to help. I always thought your background sounded kind of suspicious, Tessa. I just never imagined you were capable of this.”

  “I’m not. I’m not guilty of anything here,” Tessa said, squirming as the office behind her shoved her forward. “Chris, you have no idea what you’ve done...”

  The woman raised her chin. “I’m just being a patriot.”

  With another rough shove, the officer pushed Trent outside to a police cruiser. His eyes soaked in the unmarked car. It must have pulled up after the men got inside the house. Otherwise, Trent would have heard the car approach. After all, he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. His mind was too busy turning over things.

  He glanced around. Four men still had their guns in hand, ready to use. And Trent was handcuffed. This was no time to make a move or try to escape, especially if it meant that Tessa would be in the line of fire.

  Right before he was escorted into the backseat of the cruiser, he let one of the tacks drop from his hands. With any luck, the tip would pierce the tire and maybe buy them some more time.

  Thankfully, Tessa tumbled into the backseat beside him. He’d prayed they wouldn’t be separated, because that would only make things more complicated.

  The door slammed shut but no officers climbed in. They stayed outside in the lingering darkness, talking quietly among themselves. Chris stood on the porch, watching everything with her arms crossed and a look of both anxiety and pride across her face.

  “I’m scared, Trent,” Tessa whispered.

  “You should be.”

  “Do you think they’ll let us go if I tell them the whole story?” Her voice trembled.

  He wanted to say, to do something to comfort her. But he had to tell her the truth. “Tessa, these men aren’t the police.”

  Her eyes widened. “Then who are they?”

  “My guess? They’re men your ex-fiancé sent.”

  EIGHT

  Tessa felt as though she might pass out. She’d thought she’d been anxious before, but what she experienced now was beyond any of her earlier apprehensions. She was downright panicky, to the point of fearing she might hyperventilate.

  “What do you mean?” she whispered. “They had uniforms on.”

  “You can buy anything online. SWAT uniforms, fake badges. You name it.”

  A shiver raced through her and didn’t cease. Her body continued to tremble and cold washed over her. “They’re going to kill us.”

  “Listen, don’t let on that you know anything. Okay? We’ll figure a way out together. But we need to play it cool.”

  “So you have a plan?” She desperately hoped he did.

  “Considering I have no idea what’s going to happen, it’s really hard to create a firm strategy of how to escape. So I’ll do the next best thing.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I’ll wait for the right opportunity.”

  “Here they come,” she whispered.

  Two men climbed into the front seat. The other four climbed into another cruiser. Tessa cast one more glance at Chris as they pulled away. How could her friend think that she was guilty? Didn’t she know her any better?

  Of course, Leo could be convincing. He could talk the most intelligent person into believing whatever lies he wanted to sell. Besides, if there really had been something suspicious, it was Chris’s duty to report it. The woman had no idea the web of deceit that had been spun around her.

  Okay, God, I’m listening. Maybe that’s been the problem. It’s not that You’ve been silent. It’s that I haven’t been ready to hear. I’m ready now. I’m sorry that it’s taken this moment of absolute desperation to get me to this point.

  The sun started to peek over the mountains as they headed east. Tessa assumed that meant it was probably approaching seven. The sun was coming up later now that it was getting cooler outsid
e.

  She tried to focus on the things she knew. The definites were more comforting than the uncertainties. That was why she watched the landscape out the window as they passed. That was why she concentrated on the sunrise. Why she listened to the men’s voices in the front seat as they muttered quietly to each other. Glass separated them and she couldn’t make out their words. But they definitely didn’t have West Virginia accents. Trent was right.

  She glanced at him then. She could see from the look in his eyes that he was mulling the situation over and running through possibilities. As strange as it might seem, she was glad he was here with her. Even though the situation felt practically hopeless, he was the reason she had a small grain of hope that they’d survive. Alone, she’d be dead by now.

  He caught her looking at him and sent her a questioning look. “You okay?”

  She shrugged. “Depends on how you define okay. I’m sure you’re regretting taking this assignment, huh?”

  “No, not at all.”

  “You could die because of it.”

  He leaned closer, close enough that she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Tessa, if what you’ve told me is true, this family needs to be exposed. I’m going to do everything I can to fight for justice.”

  Something welled in her—she wasn’t sure what. Pride? Gratitude? He had the heart of a soldier, of a fighter, and she could appreciate that. The world needed people who weren’t afraid to battle for what they believed in, to fight for the rights of others.

  She wished she had some of that same resolve. Maybe she wouldn’t be in this situation. Maybe she wouldn’t have retreated in the first place.

  Suddenly, the car lurched. It jerked to the right so hard that Tessa tumbled into Trent. Had one of the tires been shot out?

  As the car pulled over to a stop on the side of the road, Tessa held her breath and waited to see what would happen next.

  Was this the moment of opportunity Trent had mentioned?