Mountain Hideaway

by Christy Barritt

  What if Trent had tricked her? What if he really was working for Leo?

  That had to be it, she realized. Trent had convinced her that her mom had sent him, but that was all a lie. He was working for the enemy. He’d led her right into the lion’s den.

  Panic rose in her.

  She couldn’t take this risk.

  She had to get out of here. Now.

  FOUR

  Tessa grabbed her backpack and slipped out the back door, trying to remain in the shadows. She looked toward Trent’s cabin then toward the woods, but saw no one.

  Moving quietly, she headed for the trees. As soon as she took her first step into the depths of the forest, she realized what a precarious place she was in. These woods could kill her.

  But it was a chance she had to take.

  Everything inside her told her to run fast, but she knew she had to take it slow. She couldn’t be careless. One wrong step and she could break a bone. Even worse, she could fall to her death from one of the many cliffs in the area.

  Slow and steady won the race. That was the saying, at least.

  As Tessa left every bit—however small—of security behind, her trembles deepened. How was she going to get out of this situation? How would she last out in the wilderness? She’d read books on surviving out in nature, but everything she’d learned seemed to leave her thoughts. She only hoped the information would return as instinct kicked in.

  That same intuition had kicked in when she’d grabbed Trent’s gun in the car. All of those days at the shooting range had paid off. She’d been unable to buy her own gun—she’d never get past the background check, especially not with her fake name. But at least she’d picked up a few valuable skills in the process.

  Tessa manipulated herself between the massive oak trees, over boulders and down steep declines. This area was so vast, so wild, so beautiful. But it could also be deadly, especially in the pitch-black. A hunter had died only a few months ago when he’d gotten lost out here. His body had been found downstream a week later.

  Her mind churned as she continued her trek. When she started to maintain a steady pace, her thoughts went from survival to Trent McCabe and that painting she’d found in the cabin. It linked him to the McAllisters.

  Leo was a powerful man. He was capable of extraordinary farces that could fool the wisest of people. He had to have some connection with that cabin. It was too much of a coincidence otherwise.

  How had she been fooled again? The kindness in Trent’s voice was deceitful. He’d sounded so trustworthy. He’d even used a story about her mother. He probably knew how to manipulate. Those were the worst kind of criminals, the ones who gained a person’s trust only to stab them in the back. Sometimes literally.

  She squeezed her eyes shut at the memories.

  Just then, something snapped behind her.

  She froze. What was that? A nighttime creature? A mountain lion? A bear?

  Her pulse spiked again.

  She looked for the reflection of eyes—either human or animal predator—but saw no one. Was something stalking her out there, just waiting for the right moment to pounce?

  Tessa picked up her pace. Slow and steady only worked if a person wasn’t being chased.

  She had a phone in her backpack. But who would she call? Who could she trust to help her?

  No one, she realized. Except her family, and she couldn’t pull them into this.

  As she glanced around, every direction looked the same. Which route led away from her cabin? Which path would keep her safe from the deadly bluffs that dropped hundreds of feet to the river below? One moment of distraction and now she was turned around. She’d lost her sense of direction.

  Panic began to rise in her.

  Another twig snapped in the distance.

  She was definitely being followed.

  By Leo’s men? By Trent—who was also one of Leo’s men, apparently? By an animal?

  None of the options were comforting.

  Despite her earlier mantra of remaining slow, she burst into a run. She had to move, and fast. Every second she lingered could cost her life.

  Branches slapped her in the face, gnarled tree roots reached out to trip her and rocks tried to twist her ankle. She pushed forward, her breathing too shallow for her own good.

  She could feel a presence behind her now, sense that her pursuer was closing in.

  Just then, her foot caught on another root. She started to lunge forward but caught herself on the rough bark of a pine tree.

  She gasped as the prickly wood cut into her skin, as her ankle throbbed.

  Tears tried to push from her eyes—from even deeper than that. They tried to push up from the deepest part of her heart, which felt too battered and bruised for words. She was so tired of living in fear, of constantly looking over her shoulder.

  “Tessa!” someone said.

  She knew that voice.

  Trent.

  Of course he’d been watching her. He’d probably just been waiting for her to run. But why was he drawing this out? Why didn’t he just kill her while he had the chance?

  Unless there were other motivations at play.

  Did he plan to torture her? Find out how much she knew? Whom she might have told? Where she might have hidden any documents she’d kept as proof of what Leo’s family had been doing?

  The thought caused a new surge of panic in her.

  She pushed herself from the tree and hobbled forward. Kept moving. What other choice did she have?

  She tried to keep her eyes on the ground, to watch her steps. But it was so dark out here. There were so many trees and so much underbrush.

  “I won’t let you out of my sight, you know,” the man called.

  She looked behind her again and spotted Trent. He walked toward her, his actions measured and controlled. He wasn’t even panting with exertion as he took long strides her way. Meanwhile, her legs kept pumping as she tried to keep pace.

  Fabulous.

  “Just leave me alone!” she mumbled.

  “I don’t want to hurt you, Tessa.”

  “You can’t prove that.” She stopped trying to run. Even though she’d been jogging every day and trying to build up both her strength and endurance, the upward climb on the mountain was doing a number on her legs and lungs. Her ankles throbbed. Her lungs refused to get enough oxygen to fill them.

  She’d done a lot of things in preparation for a moment just like this—shooting lessons, working out, reading survival guides and forming emergency procedures. All of her planning seemed to disappear into a haze, though.

  Fear and exhaustion did terrible things to people; the emotion robbed them of any security. It didn’t seem as if that long ago she’d been confident and self-reliant and living her dream life. Today she was always looking over her shoulder, questioning every move and second-guessing every decision.

  How had an ordinary girl living an ordinary life somehow turned into this? This wasn’t supposed to happen. She should still be at home with her family. Still working in the art museum. Back then, life had seemed so safe and comfortable. What she wouldn’t give to go back and return to the way it used to be.

  That wasn’t an option, though. She had to keep fighting. She couldn’t let her enemies win.

  Speaking of enemies, Trent was getting closer—close enough to grab her.

  Suddenly, some kind of survival instinct took over. Adrenaline surged in her, giving her a strength she didn’t know she had. She sprinted through the darkness.

  Don’t let him catch you.

  “Being out here isn’t safe, Tessa,” Trent continued. “Let’s talk this out.”

  She rounded a bend of trees and, before she knew what was happening, the ground crumbled beneath her.

  She desperately grabbed the air, trying to find anything possible to grip on to as she slid downward. Failure meant she’d slip to her death, hundreds of feet to the river below.

  It was too late: her life flashed before her eyes.

&
nbsp; * * *

  “Tessa!” Trent saw Tessa disappear, and panic engulfed him. He charged toward her, no longer fearful of jolting her into doing something stupid. She’d already done that.

  He rushed toward the decline and peered down, expecting the worst. His heart slowed, but only temporarily. There she was, hanging on to a tree root, her eyes wide with despair.

  “I’m going to get you up, Tessa. Just hold tight.” He dropped to his stomach, trying to secure himself so he could grab her.

  She moaned, her eyes squeezing shut. “Why don’t you just kill me now? Why are you drawing this out and pretending to be a good guy?”

  He grabbed her wrist. “I am a good guy.”

  “You’ve fooled me once. Not again.” She refused to let go of the root she held on to.

  What was she talking about? This wasn’t really the time to argue. This was the time to get her to safety. “Let me help you. Then you can ask me whatever it is you want.”

  “You work for Leo McAllister.”

  His muscles tightened from the strain of trying to grab her, of trying to make sure her grip didn’t slip and send her plunging to her death. “Leo has been worried about you. He put up a monetary reward for your return. But I’m not working for him.”

  “What?” Her voice sounded breathless.

  Her wrist slipped. He needed a better grip and a little cooperation from her or they’d both end up tumbling down the mountainside. “I’d be happy to chat more in a minute. Right now, I need to make sure you don’t die.”

  “Stop playing games—”

  Before she could argue anymore, he grabbed her arm with both of his hands and heaved her onto the ledge. She landed beside him, and they both sprawled backward onto the hard rock beneath them. Silence fell between them as they each sucked in air.

  That had been close. Too close.

  Trent willed his heart to slow, but his adrenaline was still pumping at the close call. With one more deep breath, he propped himself up on one elbow and turned toward Tessa. “Why would you think I’m working for Leo?”

  She cringed as if in pain but still managed to scowl. She pushed herself up also, rubbing her wrist as if it was sore. “One of the paintings from his gallery is hanging in that cabin.”

  “If I understand correctly, the paintings from his galleries are sold all over the world. Prints of them are sold all over the world. I do know that much.”

  “It’s too big of a coincidence.”

  “There is such thing in life as a coincidence, darling. That’s what this is. I’m not working for Leo or his family. I take it that would be a bad thing if I were?”

  She stared into the distance, resting her arms on her knees. “I’ve already said too much.”

  “What’s it going to take for you to trust me?” He peered at her, trying to get a better look at her face in the deep blackness of the forest.

  “The only person I can rely on is myself.”

  “Your mom is Florence. She loves lilacs, makes the world’s best chicken Parmesan and she has your eyes. Your sister looks more like your dad, who died of cancer five years ago. He was a good man. Quiet, a hard worker and he could build anything out of wood.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes. Finally, some of her walls were coming down. He was able to see beyond her facade, and the woman lurking there was broken, scared and alone.

  A fierce surge of protectiveness rose in him.

  He had to keep pushing. The mention of Leo had caused a reaction in her; it was his best lead. “Your family trusts Leo.”

  Suddenly, she straightened. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that Leo has been working with your mom to find you. He seems very concerned.”

  She let out a moan and ran a hand over her face. “But Leo didn’t hire you? That’s what you’re saying?”

  He shook his head. “No. Your family hired me.”

  “Does Leo know where you are?” Fear crackled in her voice.

  “No one knows where I am. I update your mom weekly. Last she heard, I was in the DC area. Coming here was a last-minute hunch. I wanted to be certain before I gave her any hope.” If Leo really was the bad guy here, just as Tessa seemed to be claiming, had he used his supposed concern for Tessa as a ruse for following Trent here and locating her himself? It was a possibility he had to consider.

  Tessa’s head dropped into her hands, and for the first time since he’d met her, she looked defeated, ready to give up. At least, ready to cry.

  He needed to do something to relinquish her defeat. Sitting here wouldn’t help, and he didn’t know her well enough to give her a hug.

  Finally, he stood. They couldn’t sit here all night. It wasn’t safe. “Let’s go back to the cabin. Please. We can talk there, make sure you’re okay and figure out what happens next.”

  With hesitation, she put her hands into his. It wasn’t a romantic gesture, though she was certainly beautiful enough that the idea could be entertaining. No, it was a matter of survival, of the two of them sticking together in the middle of this bleak wilderness.

  He glanced her over, looking for a sign of broken bones, of deep cuts. “Are you hurt?”

  She shook her head, her expression still listless. “Only my ego.”

  “Stay close to me. Understand? Next time you might not be so lucky.”

  She nodded. Without saying anything else, he led her up the mountain, taking it slow this time. His thoughts turned over what she’d said. Whether she’d meant to or not, she’d given him insight into her past. She’d all but admitted that she really was Theresa Davidson. She did know Leo. Yet, all of that noted, she seemed terrified.

  He needed to get to the bottom of her story, but now wasn’t the time to do so. He needed to take her somewhere safe. He hated to see a woman look this frightened, to see someone this shaken. If there’d been a different way to do things, he would have changed his plan of action. If he’d known earlier what he knew now, his approach would have been different. But what was done was done.

  As they neared his cabin, he pulled Tessa behind a tree, his muscles tightening as instinct kicked in. That instinct told him that something indiscernible was wrong.

  “What it is?” Her eyes were as wide as the full moon overhead.

  He put a finger over his lips and nodded toward the distance. “Listen.”

  Silence stretched—the only sounds were that of dry leaves clicking together and rustling in the breeze. Occasionally, an owl hooted or a squirrel scampered past.

  Then he heard it again. A crackle. He exchanged a glance with Tessa. She’d heard it, also.

  A roar sounded. A burst. An explosion.

  “What is that?” Tessa whispered.

  “That was my cabin. It just went up in flames.”

  FIVE

  A shudder rippled through Tessa.

  They were here. Those men had found them. Again.

  She looked over her shoulder. Their pursuers could be anywhere. They could be within reaching distance. Their guns could be pointed at Tessa and Trent now.

  Trent’s hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality.

  “What are we going to do?” Her voice sounded as raw as her throat felt.

  She’d said we, she realized. Somewhere in the process she’d decided she was in it with Trent. She had little choice in the matter, it seemed. Not if she wanted to stay alive.

  “We need to lie low until we know the coast is clear.” He took her arm. “Come on. Let’s start moving.”

  She wanted to argue, wanted to give a million reasons why venturing back into the woods was a bad idea. But she didn’t. Almost on autopilot, or perhaps it was the shock—whatever it was kept her moving silently through the woods. She was too scared to stop, too charged with adrenaline to grow weary, too on edge to feel safe. Even the autumn chill didn’t bother her as much as it normally would.

  They moved briskly through the woods, putting distance between themselves and the flames. Where would they go? They couldn’t go
back to Trent’s Jeep. Besides, the tires were probably melted from the heat of the blazing inferno that used to be Trent’s cabin.

  But Trent and Tessa couldn’t meander through these woods all night, either. Trent might be built like a soldier—a very handsome soldier—but he was still human. She couldn’t expect him to work wonders.

  “Salem,” she muttered. The older gentleman’s kind eyes fluttered through her memory, solidifying her idea.

  Trent looked back at her. “What?”

  “We’re going to need help. I bet Salem would let us borrow one of his cars.”

  “Who’s Salem?”

  “He owns the hardware store in town. He only lives a mile away from my cabin.”

  “You sure you can trust him?”

  She nodded, not a single doubt in her mind. “Yes, I’m sure. Believe me, people go through a rigorous criteria with me before I’m able to put any faith in them. Experience has taught me it’s better that way.”

  Trent nodded. “Okay. We need to figure out how to get to his place.”

  “It was west of my cabin, just a little farther down the road.”

  Of course, a mile in this terrain was different than a mile of highway. Especially at night. So many things could go wrong.

  He froze and put a finger over his lips. Prickles danced across Tessa’s skin and she held her breath. What did he hear?

  She scooted closer to him. That was when she heard it, too. A twig snapped in the distance.

  Trent grabbed her hand and tugged her closer. Quietly, they moved toward a grove of trees. Trent pulled her between a huge boulder and a fortress of foliage, then squeezed in beside her. They both remained motionless.

  Tessa could hardly breathe as she waited to see what would unfold. Maybe it was just a wild animal they’d heard and not one of the men desperate to kill them.

  Just as the thought entered her mind, she heard another movement. The sound was so subtle that she thought she’d imagined it. But then she heard the rustling again. And again.

  Someone was walking. Close. The footsteps seemed to barely hit the ground, but the crunch of dry leaves gave them away.