“Are you sure that’s the safest option?”
“Samuel and Elijah will go with you, while Mason and I stick with Jack.”
“Jack—” I tried to argue.
I could see the indecision on Jack’s face. He stared at Graham, seeming to contemplate his words carefully. “I think he’s right, Cassie. I am a target, and I think getting out of here is the safest option for all of you.”
“And what about you?”
“I trust Graham and the others,” he stated firmly.
“You hardly know them,” I countered.
“Yeah, well, they’ve saved my ass at least twice now.”
“Twice?”
“Once before, when a pickup went south. Graham stepped in, but I didn’t know who he was at the time.”
“And why do you care so much about Jack?” My eyes narrowed on Graham.
“Because he’s our brother,” Graham stated simply as if that was all the explanation that was needed. I wasn’t sure what to think or to believe, but Graham’s words felt sincere. His face softened. “Our dad regretted not protecting Jack. It’s our duty to make up for that.”
“I’m not even going to pretend I understand,” I said with a sigh. “But if you trust them, I guess I do too.”
“So, are we clear on what needs to be done?” Graham asked, looking at Teddy.
“Yeah, I think we are. Get out of town as soon as possible,” Teddy recounted. “Somewhere not connected to us.”
“Do you have a place like that?” Graham asked.
“I might,” I piped up. “I just need to contact my father.”
I cringed at the very thought of going to him for help, but it was likely the only choice. Jack kissed my forehead. “I need to speak to you, Cassie. Alone, please.”
He pulled me off to the side, out into the hallway. He held my hands in his, stroking my knuckles with his strong, rough fingers.
“If anything happens to me, Cassie, I want you to take your dad up on his offer. That way, you don’t have to work at a restaurant, and you can have the life you were always meant to have.”
I stepped back, feeling as if I’d been slapped. “Owen will know you’re his father, Jack. No matter what. And if my dad isn’t going to allow that, I’m not accepting his offer.”
“Please, Cassie,” he begged. “I want you to have a good life.”
“And I think Owen knowing you’re his dad is more important than all the money in the world.” Tears welled in my eyes. “I refuse to deny him the opportunity to know you - the real you, not my dad’s version of who he thinks you are.”
“Cassie…”
“No. Can we not spend our last few moments together arguing about this?”
Owen had previously fallen back asleep in my arms, but my crying had woken him again. I cursed to myself, feeling like a total failure at this point. Jack pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around my shoulders. He left plenty of space for Owen, who was fussing between us as Jack leaned down to kiss my forehead.
“Let’s feed him,” he murmured.
“Shouldn’t you be leaving?”
“After I help feed my son.”
Jack
The Harvey brothers took me back to their cabin. It hurt like hell to leave Cassie and Owen again, but it was for the best. I’d left them in good hands. Still didn’t make it any easier.
Graham handed me a beer, which I took. But I put it down on the table, having no interest in drinking. Mason hadn’t touched his either, and Graham didn’t even have one for himself. He took a seat across from me. I was in a leather chair facing a fireplace. Mason was on my right in a matching chair, while Graham took the couch, spreading out completely.
“So, how did you and Cassie meet?” Graham asked.
I gave him a weird look.
“What? I figured we’d be up for a while, might as well get to know my brother a bit more.”
I sighed. “Yeah, sorry. It’s just chaos right now. Not sure I’m really up for small talk.”
“It’s alright. It’s clear you love her, though,” he said.
“Yeah,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair and leaning back in the chair.
“She seems like a good mom too.”
“Yeah, thankfully so, since I haven’t been around as much as I should be,” I said, staring down at my hands.
“You’ve done everything you can. And I’m sure once this is all over, you’ll be there for your son.”
“Can we talk about something else?” It felt like a knife was stabbing me in the chest every time I thought about Cassie and Owen - how I’d fucked up their lives, how I couldn’t be the man they needed me to be. And how I might never see them again.
“Yeah, sure.” He paused briefly. “What do you want to know?”
It didn’t take me long to think of a suitable distraction. “Tell me about your father. I mean, well, you know…”
Graham nodded. “He was a good man. He worked too damned much, so we didn’t see him a whole lot. Mama always said he was married to his work first, that she always felt like the mistress in her own marriage. Which is why they split. They remained on good terms, though, and he was around when he could be. He said he was working toward leaving us a legacy. I had no idea what he meant by all that until recently.”
“Graham…” Mason spoke for the first time since we sat down.
“What? Don’t you think Jack should know?”
“Know what?” I asked.
Mason and Graham shared a look; they weren’t telling me something. And from the looks of it, Mason didn’t want him to tell me.
“What are you keeping from me?” I asked.
“We said we’d talk about this as a group—”
“It’s not what Dad wanted. He didn’t say if we felt like Jack was deserving,” Graham countered.
“Deserving of what?”
Both men stared at each other in silence.
I repeated a little louder, “Deserving of what?”
“It’s just that Dad, well, he left us all with—”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and Graham went silent. I reached into my pocket and pulled it out. Blocked number, but I answered anyway. “Hello?”
“You’ve fucked up this time, boy,” Hank’s voice was barely understandable. The reception out there was terrible, but I heard him plain as day.
I sat straight up.
“Who is it?” Mason asked, leaning closer.
I didn’t answer him. I focused on Hank instead.
“I mentioned going after your sister before, but I won’t stop there. Oh no, your entire family, including your son, will be at my mercy now.”
The hair stood up on the back of my neck, and it was like fire through my veins. “Leave them the fuck alone, you asshole,” I growled.
“I’ll have some fun with your girlfriend before I kill her too.” The line went dead.
I was squeezing my phone so tightly, it felt like it might break under the pressure from my hands. “They know about Cassie and Owen.” I barely got the words out before the glass window near the door exploded beside us.
All three of us fell to the floor. Mason and Graham had their guns out and ready. Mine was on the table next to me, and I grabbed it as gunshots filled the room.
We’d parked the truck in the garage, which meant we’d have to get through the kitchen to get out. From the hail of gunfire, it was obvious we were outnumbered.
Graham called out over the deafening sound, “Follow me.”
We were on our hands and knees using furniture to block us as we hurried toward the kitchen. The crackling of wood signaled the front door being opened. We had to hurry if we wanted to get out alive. Footsteps flooded the living room just as Graham stood up and unlocked the door. Mason was behind me, hidden behind a wall, ready to shoot anyone who came down the short hallway to the kitchen.
Graham checked the garage and motioned for me to go out. He tossed me the keys. “Get in the truck, get it started,
” he said. “We’ll be there in two seconds.”
I did exactly as I was told, climbing into the pickup truck and starting the engine. The loud roar of the motor likely gave away our location. The passenger side door flew open, and Mason climbed into the backseat.
“Where’s Graham?”
“He’s coming.”
Each second that ticked by felt like an eternity. I wasn’t leaving without him, but I worried he might have been shot in the chaos.
The passenger side door flew open again, and Graham hopped into the seat. He barely had a chance to close the door before Mason opened the garage door and shouted, “Go, now. Hit the gas and just go.”
I sped out of the garage and onto the road. Up ahead, I saw a truck blocking the exit. My heart pounded in my ears, unsure if we could get past it.
“Take a sharp right now,” Graham commanded through gritted teeth. He sounded like he was in pain.
I glanced over and saw blood spewing from his shoulder. Mason was leaning over from the backseat, giving him orders. “Get the first aid kit from the glove compartment.”
Graham was more focused on giving me orders. “Right, Jack. Take a right now.”
“There’s no road—”
“Trust me,” Graham said, his breathing heavy and ragged. “Do it.”
I didn’t have time to argue, even if I’d wanted to. Shots continued hitting the truck. We were blocked in.
I took a right through the thick woods, surrounded by trees. I kept my foot on the gas even though the path grew unwieldy.
“Keep driving; this will take you to a road,” Graham said. “From there, take a left.”
I nodded, too focused on the path to answer.
The gunshots had stopped; they hadn’t been prepared for us to literally go off-road. As I approached the road, I noticed it wasn’t the same road that led to the driveway, the one that was blocked. I took a left as instructed.
“You can slow down now,” Graham told me, heaving a deep sigh. “We’ll be in the city limits soon. They aren’t going to be shooting at us in the middle of town. Not if they’re smart.”
We entered the town of Sunville a few minutes later.
“How you holding up?” I asked Graham.
“I’ve been hit worse. It’s just a flesh wound.”
Mason had managed to stop the bleeding. Graham’s shoulder was wrapped pretty well with what looked to be an old t-shirt.
“Where should we go now?” I asked.
The truck was quiet. Apparently, no one had an answer to that question.
Cassie
I made the call I’d been dreading. It was very early in the morning; my dad might not even be awake, but he answered on the second ring.
“Cassie?” His voice was rough as if he’d been awakened. “Is everything okay?”
“Not really, Dad.” My voice cracked. I took a deep breath and made my request. “I know you’re not willing to help me, but we need somewhere to go. I know you still have the spare key to Vince’s condo at the resort. We need to go somewhere not connected to any of us.”
Vince was a friend of my dad’s; they had gone to college together. We’d stayed at his condo once, and he told us to keep the spare key, just in case we ever needed to get away. It was a nice gesture, one that we hadn’t taken advantage of until now.
“What kind of danger are you in, Cassie?” He sounded more alert. “Whatever it is, I can help you.”
“Thank you. For now, that’s all we need.”
“Come home, Cassie. Whatever’s wrong, I can fix it.”
I remembered being a child and thinking my parents could fix anything that ever went wrong. I had trusted them. I still trusted them, for the most part, to at least try to keep us safe. Even after everything, I could tell my dad was sincerely worried about me.
“I just need the key, Dad. You can’t fix this, but don’t worry, I’m with Teddy, we’ll be okay.”
“Teddy’s with you? He’s taking care of things?”
Teddy wasn’t going to the department, no, which is likely what Dad meant. He was a lawyer; he trusted the police.
“Yes, he’s aware of everything, and he agrees this is what we need to do.”
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “Cassie, I’m sorry about everything. I really am. If you come home, I promise we can work this out.”
Samuel popped his head into the hallway and mouthed to me, “We need to go.”
I nodded. “I don’t really have time to talk right now, Dad, I’m sorry,” I said. “I just need the key. We need to get out of town.”
“Well, if Teddy thinks this is best, I’ll give you the key. But please, sweetie, be careful.”
My father rarely ever called me sweetie. Something had changed in him since our argument weeks before. Something had shifted. It gave me hope that maybe, once this was all over with, we could find a way to work through our differences.
Samuel gave me a look. It wasn’t the time to talk over our problems. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll be over there soon.”
I hung up the phone and went back into the living room. My son was asleep on Madison’s lap, safe and sound for now. I was determined that no matter what, I would protect Owen.
“He said it’s fine. We’ll get the key and head out,” I said. “It’s a couple of hours away from here.”
“Everything ready to go, then?” Elijah asked.
“I think so.” I had packed everything of ours, and Teddy and Madison had done the same. No matter what, we would’ve had to leave, and we were ready.
“Good. Samuel will drive you in Teddy’s car. I’ll take Madison, Teddy, and Zoey in the truck.”
My hands were shaking. Hell, everything on me was shaking. But I managed to nod. “Sounds good.”
“Let’s go. Samuel will protect you and Owen, and I’ll be right behind you. Get in the car as quickly as possible, and let’s hit the road.”
I picked Owen up and cradled him in my arms. He fussed a bit; this was so hard on him, and I felt horrible for it. My poor boy just wanted to sleep for more than a couple of hours without being woken up. “Soon, baby. Soon,” I whispered to him as we hurried from the house and to the car.
I got in the back seat of Teddy’s car with Owen, buckling him in as Samuel started the car. Elijah was already in the truck, and we pulled out together. They were right behind us, nearly tailgating us.
I leaned down low in the seat, hiding from view. I rested against the car seat and kept talking to Owen, telling him that everything would be alright. Mostly I was talking to myself, but I had no one to comfort me. I had to comfort us both.
I gave Samuel my parent’s address, and Teddy ran up to get the key. I remained in the car, tucked away safely. I didn’t even get to see my father, as I didn’t want to sit up. It only took a second before we were on the road again.
“It’s a long drive,” Samuel said from the front seat. “You might want to get some rest.”
My eyes were wide open. Even though I could feel exhaustion taking its toll on me, there was too much adrenaline running through my body. I would never be able to sleep. “I doubt I can.”
“Understandable. Just know that we’ll do everything in our power to keep all of you safe.”
I hardly knew this man, but Jack trusted him. Even if I didn’t understand the reasons behind him helping us, I trusted him. I had to.
I wasn’t sure we had any other choice.
* * *
The sun had come up at some point in our drive. The sunlight seemed to bring a renewed hope. Scary things always happened at night, in the midst of darkness, right?
My eyes were growing heavier with sleep and had just closed when Samuel announced, “We’re here.”
I sat up in the seat and stared out the window at the familiar ski resort. It was the off-season, and the snow had all but melted. But the town had a small lake, and people still came to stay and enjoy the great outdoors year-round. Just not as many. It was less crowded, but there were still
people around - some folks lived here permanently in the condos nestled against the lake.
“It’s beautiful up here,” Samuel remarked.
“It is. My family came up last winter to go skiing,” I said. “If you think this is something, you should see it in winter.”
“I bet it’s something,” he agreed.
I directed him to the private parking spot reserved for the condo. There were two spots, so the truck pulled up beside us.
The men swarmed Madison and me as we got out of the car and hurried toward the elevator. An elderly couple smiled and cooed at the babies as we walked past. We had to wait a little longer since the first elevator was full of college kids.
Jack had said to go somewhere with other people. We were safer in numbers. So seeing all these people around made me feel safer, but I just wanted to get up to the condo and out of sight. The longer we lingered, the higher the chance someone would see us. We could have been followed, even though the guys were looking for that. Anything could happen.
The second elevator arrived, and we crammed into it – Madison and Teddy had to wait for the next one with Elijah. There was simply not enough room for all of us because of the giant men with us.
My hands were shaking as the elevator opened, and we hurried to the condo. I unlocked the door, and Samuel rushed us inside. He stayed by the door, directing me to step further inside, away from the door and window.
My heart raced as I waited for my best friend and her family. I heard the elevator beep, and I prayed it was them. Samuel checked the peephole, then opened the door. Even though I’d only seen her moments ago, it felt like an eternity. I ran to Madison, and we did our best to hug each other even though we were carrying our children. Tears streamed down our faces.
“We’re safe here,” I told her, speaking as much for myself as her. “I’m confident about that.”
The men had already scoured the place, checking for God knows what, and Samuel said, “It’s clear.”
Elijah nodded. “There are two bedrooms, so the women can have those. Teddy will stay with Madison at all times, and one of us will be with Cassie at all times. The other will stay in here, watching the door.” Samuel nodded.
Take a Mountain Man Home for Christmas: A Mountain Man Romance Christmas Collection Page 118