The Forbidden Mountain Man

by Bonnie Paulson

  “You don’t have any evidence with you. As far as I know, you never had it.” I raised my hand before she could get overly defensive. “Look, I’m not saying that. I would never try to do that. I honestly don’t want to take advantage of you in this situation. You’re still healing and we aren’t in a place where I can date you properly.”

  “Wait, you would date me?” Her expression softened as she studied me.

  “Of course. I like you.” My directness cut through the extra words I had no doubt other men would use, but I didn’t see any point in wading through all of that. I liked her and found her extremely attractive. Why lie and say I didn’t?

  “I like you, too.” Her voice was soft and I didn’t push her for more. What more would we say?

  Another moment passed as we both fell into a comfortable silence filled with what-ifs. I couldn’t help wondering just how much of my future desires would eventually include thoughts of Stephenie. How much of my dreams would even be possible?

  Stephenie suddenly leaned forward, pressing her hand to my knee. “Carter? I’ll do everything I can to help you. I wouldn’t mind being able to make plans.” Her promise left me reeling with possibilities but also worry.

  If she helped me, would she be betraying her family? Essentially, she’d give me a chance at having my life back while she gave up hers. There was no way she could ever go back to the safe fold of the Rossi empire after she turned on them.

  Stephenie would have to run from their revenge for the rest of her life. Was it fair that I got to live normally while she gave everything up?

  Nothing about the situation was fair and it had never been more obvious than in that moment.

  Would I ever get what my heart desired?

  Chapter 11

  Stephenie

  Time passed almost too fast with Carter in that cabin. We stole kisses here and there but he never let me push us past the occasional embrace and it became a game to see if I could seduce him and where, but I didn’t press the situation hard. Part of me longed for the respect he offered. It was rare and refreshing and I didn’t want to change that part of him.

  But I also didn’t want to die or have him die before we had the chance to be together. Selfish, I know, but I couldn’t help it. There was a push-pull between us I couldn’t deny nor escape and it stung into the depths of my heart.

  We’d also grown complacent. The first week I was there, Carter went out every morning and night – rain or shine – to check the area for evidence of any trespassers. The second week, it was one or the other. The last couple days he hadn’t gone out to check and I hadn’t pressed to look for my bag. I was in denial and I didn’t care.

  Maybe it was better not to look too closely at the evidence. Maybe it was better to leave that part of life wherever it had fallen so I wouldn’t have to implicate my family. At the same time, I’d promised I would help Carter.

  If I wanted to help him, I would have to break the peace we’d seemed to come to, not that we fought about searching for the bag, but more like Carter didn’t want to take the chance I would get lost or someone would find me.

  After dinner, I curled up on the couch in the same position as the night before and the night before that and waited for Carter to pick up the book where he’d left off. As part of my attempt to seduce him, I’d asked him to read me the romance novel I hadn’t been able to get into. With the whiskey tones of his voice and the crackling of the wood in the fireplace talking about the main character, Rolf’s chest and hair, I suddenly couldn’t get enough of the story.

  The book obviously had an effect on Carter. Every time he turned the page, he raised his eyes to stare at mine, his gaze full of something I both craved and wanted to run from. I’d obviously added gas to a fire we both didn’t want to fight, but were obligated to hold back.

  Plus, there was a very real possibility that one of us wouldn’t be alive in the next five to seven days. If I turned in my evidence, Carter would most likely go free but I wouldn’t be safe ever again. I would break the very code my family had lived by over the last century and a half.

  When I’d been alone, it hadn’t bothered me so much, but now, as I wanted a chance to pursue Carter, I had to accept the fact that one of us wasn’t going to be available after next week. In either scenario, one of us wouldn’t be free.

  We were set up to fail from the get go. That reality made my eyes sting and I blinked at the sudden burning sensation behind my lids. I reached out and slowly pulled the book down and stared at Carter. I took a deep shuddering breath and shook my head. “We can’t fight this anymore, Carter. In the next few days, one of us isn’t going to make it and then we’ll have lost our chance.” I swallowed the sob working its way from my chest. “Can we just spend this time together, pretending we have forever ahead of us? Please?”

  Begging. The daughter of Giovanni Rossi had begged for a man’s touch. Where had my pride gone? Had I no shame? I didn’t care, though, since time was running short and my desperation and fear had grown insurmountable.

  A log on the fire shifted, resettling deeper into the coals and I worked on my breathing. I didn’t want to miss any more chances.

  Carter didn’t say anything, but the look in his eyes gave in to my demands and had deepened in blue with relief. Was he struggling with our situation as much as I was? I didn’t usually have to deny myself things I wanted. I could never admit to anyone, even the monsignor at church, that Carter was the first man I actually wanted and I was doing everything in my power to break through his defenses. My inexperience was showing as I hadn’t been able to get through to him yet.

  “Let me get some more wood on the fire, if we’re going to do this. I’m not going to leave your side the rest of the night.” He stood and moved toward the door, tossing me a teasing grin over his shoulder.

  So, wait, was he joking about us taking this a step further or was he grinning at me like he couldn’t wait? I was suddenly besieged with nerves and I swallowed, clasping my hands around my knees.

  But Carter didn’t open the door. Instead, he slid the bold into place slowly and quietly and dropped into a hunkered crouch as he moved quickly back to the couch. Kneeling in front of me, Carter glanced back at the door, then at me. “Stephenie, I need you to go back into the bedroom and crawl under the bed. There’s a hatch there, find the lever against the wall and it will drop it down into the crawlspace. Follow it out and wait for me to come get you.”

  I searched his face, the worry in my gut echoed in his eyes. “What’s going on?”

  “No questions. Someone is out there. Get going.” He pulled me to the ground beside him and prodded my shoulder in the direction of the bedroom. I reached down and snagged my tennis shoes from their spot by the couch and dropped to the ground.

  My heart pounded as I crawled on my hands and knees past the kitchen and into the bedroom, slowly closing the door and trying to control my breathing. What had he said? Get under the bed and look for the lever. I could do that. I pulled on my shoes and stood.

  I’d be outside. I grabbed in the closet for a coat and a sweatshirt, anything I could find and pulled them on. I ended up with a thick hoodie and a Sherpa-lined denim jacket. I dropped to the ground again and Army-crawled under the bedframe. I ran my fingers along the wall, stopping when I found a metal piece that was shaped like a bicycle brake handle.

  Shimmying further under the bed, my other hand brushed over what felt like a tube of lipstick. I didn’t think as I grabbed it and tucked it into my pocket. Pressing the lever, I gasped as the hatch opened under me and I fell into a hole. I landed with an oomph. The hatch reclosed and I blinked in the sudden almost-complete darkness.

  The crawlspace wouldn’t be long and it would only span the length of the cabin. I rolled onto my hands and knees, careful to keep my head down. The fall hadn’t been far, but it had been enough to knock the wind from me. I struggled to get a full breath while shuffling forward on my hands and knees.

  Lattice wood slats gave g
limpses of moonlight through the small holes which I treated as my target. I tried not to think about what was down there around me like spiders, mice, or something worse. Although, I wasn’t sure what was worse than spiders.

  A gap in the lattice showed itself as I got closer to the edge of the house. Long blades of grass grew up along the edges of the wood. Tendrils of moonlight shown through the holes and I stared out into the night, watching what I could see of the clearing at the back of the cabin. Where was Carter and what was happening?

  I took a steadying breath that failed. My pulse hadn’t calmed down and I didn’t want to think of the cozy situation I’d been run from.

  Living with Carter over the last couple weeks had been a glimpse into what my life could be like, if I wasn’t in one of the families. I could be happy, if it weren’t for the choices of my father. Blinking back hurt tears, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the item I’d found under the bed.

  Desperate for a distraction while I waited, I held up the lipstick in the meager light and squinted. I was just barely able to make out the color’s name on the side of the tube – scarlet dawn. My shade. I special ordered it from the east coast. Not many people could even afford the lipstick brand.

  How had my lipstick gotten under the bed of Carter’s cabin? I couldn’t remember if I’d slipped it back into my purse when I’d left my dad’s or if I’d tucked it into my pocket at the time. Nothing was clear right then as I fought to ignore a tickling sensation across the back of my hand and the dirt under the front of me that I’d crawled through.

  All of it aside, I couldn’t help but wonder just what I’d gotten myself into and what was taking Carter so long? What if the person out there tried to kill Carter? Or succeeded and then found me? My chance at temporary happiness faded before my concern and I closed my eyes. How many Hail Marys could I trade to keep Carter safe?

  How many seconds and minutes would I have to stay hidden under the cabin before I would give up and take part in Carter’s fate?

  I clenched my hands into fists and started counting. I would count as high as I could and then I’d leave the safety of the porch. Instead of running for my life, I would go back and fight for Carter.

  Wasn’t that what you did when you had feelings for someone?

  Chapter 12

  Carter

  Everything I ever wanted could have been mine, if I’d taken my father’s advice and stuck with the tire business he’d gotten from his father and wanted to hand down to me. I could have been a normal man with a normal life. Instead, I’d followed my dreams of defending the law and I’d gotten mixed up with the likes of the Rossis, Capones, and Bianchis.

  A heavy hand knocked on the door and I waited as long as I could to give Stephenie more time before moving to open the panel. I could follow her, but that would give them reason to search the perimeter of the house or at least surround the area to see where I was.

  The only way to keep her safe from whoever the visitor could be was for me to confront them head on. I pulled open the door, ready to take a bullet if that’s what they were there to do.

  Matteo Bianchi stood at the door, swiveling behind him as he searched the woods and clearing around the cabin. Blinking in surprise at seeing me, he turned back. He didn’t let his shock stop him from stepping inside when I opened the door.

  “Matteo, what brings you here?” I shut the door behind him, motioning toward the couch. The man was a friend I wasn’t supposed to have and yet I’d known him long before I’d ever entered the scene of family business.

  He shook his head, his dark curls long enough to fall across his forehead but short enough to have a professional bend to the style. He didn’t sit, but rather continued searching the cabin. He turned back to me, worry in his eyes. “Are you hiding the Rossi woman here?”

  His directness set me on edge and I stepped back, narrowing my eyes. “What are you talking about?” I hadn’t told Matteo where I was going or where I was staying. How had he found me? “What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

  Matteo shook his head, thrusting his finger toward the wood floor. “No, I didn’t know it was you that lived here. I knocked on the door expecting to find some old man hunter who hates being with people or something. Why are you here? This is where you’ve been all this time?”

  “I had to get out.” I didn’t expand on the situation further. How much did he know and why was he after Stephenie? “What did you mean, am I hiding the Rossi woman? What are you talking about?”

  He furrowed his brow. “You don’t know?” Matteo glanced around the cabin, taking in the lack of television or other electronics. “Oh, man, you don’t.” He sank onto the couch and braced his elbows on his knees. “A Rossi daughter, one of The Rossi’s princesses, betrayed them. She drove her car off a cliff, but her body wasn’t in the wreckage when they were able to get down there a couple days ago and check.”

  “Wow.” I didn’t shift my gaze or give any indication that I had any idea what he was talking about. “That sounds crazy. A Rossi turned on her family? I thought Giovanni took pride in the family loyalty to each other.” How long would I have Matteo there?

  My friend shook his head and sighed. “I know. I’m not sure how to explain it, but there’s something wrong with the whole thing. This trial is supposed to be about the Capones and the Rossis, but the way my family is acting about everything, you’d think it was centered around us.”

  I wasn’t sure just how much he knew and how much he fished for. Matteo might be a friend, but when it came to protecting family, I would never expect him to put me before the Bianchis. That’s not how it worked and I would be stupid to expect otherwise. “What can I do?”

  “Have you seen anything or anyone? If we could get the information she had, we might be able to just hand it over to the lawyers and let them deal with it.” He stood, moving nervously around the front of the cabin.

  What if he wanted to search the building? Had Stephenie done what I said and gotten out? I wouldn’t be able to hide her, if she hadn’t.

  “I found a bag the other day when I was out walking. I hid it. Do you want me to go get it and bring it back? It was south of the highway about four hundred yards.” I could lie to the man and make promises I had no intention of keeping. We were friends and I wasn’t trying to protect my family. He had no idea that I was attached to the woman he accused of betrayal so he had no reason to think I would do whatever it took to protect her.

  His eyes lit up hungrily as he stepped toward me. As if struggling with his zeal to get the information, he shoved his hands into his pockets and smiled at me. “That’d be great. It might have been hers. She wasn’t found in the wreckage, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t die of injuries or anything else or even just lost her stuff. I don’t know. It might help me, though.”

  I nodded, then jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “Did you want to go with me? It’s just on the edge of the clearing down past the trailhead.” But it wasn’t and I hoped he’d think I was trying to get him away from the cabin. If he thought that, then he wouldn’t leave for quite a while.

  As if trying to read my mind, he cocked his head to the side and then softly shook his head. “Nah, bro. We’re good. I’ve been outside in this mist for a few hours, looking for someone to talk to. I’ll just use the john and wait for you by the fire, if it’s all the same to you.” He would search the house when I’d left. I had no doubt about that.

  Any signs of a woman wouldn’t matter. I just had to get around the edge of the cabin and grab Stephenie so we could run. That’s all that mattered. I smiled and motioned toward the kitchen. “Grab something to eat, too. I think I have some stuff in there for a sandwich. Help yourself. I’ll be right back.”

  Matteo nodded, heading into the kitchen. He wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, if Matteo had been the oldest born to The Bianchi, he’d have been the underboss and probably pushed to be more dominating and cruel. As it was, he was training to be a capo and that was all he wanted
in life.

  I smothered the twinge of guilt niggling in my gut that I lied to one of the only friends I had. In the name of survival, though, I would have to suck it up. Mine and Stephenie’s.

  Rather than grab a coat, I left in my flannel, hoping to add to Matteo’s complacency that I wouldn’t go far if I wasn’t dressed in a jacket. Ducking out the door, I inhaled sharply at the chill in the air that would soon soak through my skin and down to my bones.

  Once I’d tromped down the steps, I glanced back at the house and then ducked around the corner. I scanned the area for anyone who might be with Matteo and then I dropped into a hunched over position as I rushed toward the back of the cabin.

  At the bottom of the lattice, I whispered. “Stephenie? You okay? Come on, we gotta hurry.” I turned, crouched down as I studied the area around the cabin. There was no light back that way except for the light of the moon which worked its way through the edges of the low hanging clouds.

  Stephenie crawled from under the cabin, clutching something in her hands. A dark streak of dirt smudged the pale creamy curve of her cheek. In my relief I couldn’t imagine I’d ever seen anything as beautiful.

  “Are you alright?” I reached out and claimed her empty hand in mine. “We need to run. We don’t have time to take it slow. Can you keep up?” I should have made her walk with me or run or something over the last couple weeks while we’d enjoyed being around each other. There hadn’t been any other pressures around and I’d grown lazy with my concern.

  Any blame for the situation belonged to me. If I’d stayed on top of my morning and nightly walks, I would have seen the work at the wreckage site. I would have noticed there were more people in the woods than normal. I could have been on guard to protect Stephenie and myself. As it was, I had to get us out of the situation we were in and I had to do it immediately.

  She nodded, holding her questions for a time when I wasn’t pulling her across the clearing and into the trees. I led the way down the trail she’d followed me on and we took the first left.