Mountain Hideaway

by Christy Barritt

  Trent...

  Now, somehow, their lives were intertwined. But what happened when all of this was over? Would their lives ever return to normal? And what exactly was normal for Tessa? Would she actually be able to go home, to see her family? Could she look for a new job and start her life again?

  The idea of all of this being over almost seemed too good to be true. There were so many things that could go wrong.

  But for a moment—and just a moment—she dreamed about what it would be like to actually put this behind her. To actually trust again. To believe in someone. To put her faith in God.

  She closed her eyes. Lord, I want that peace that Trent has. I want to trust. I want to be a rock that doesn’t move in the middle of a storm, instead of being tossed by every hardship that comes my way. I want to get right with You again.

  When she opened her eyes again, she felt renewed. She was going to get through tomorrow, one way or another.

  NINETEEN

  Trent tugged on his uniform: blue pants and a button-up blue shirt with the name of the HVAC company—Thomas and Sons—proudly displayed on a label. He had to make sure everything was in place before he stepped inside the annals of the art gallery.

  The McAllister Gallery was no mom-and-pop storefront. No, it was a grand building located in Arlington, and no expense had been spared. The exterior appeared to be marble and stone, the shrubs were well manicured and the entrance had a pricey-looking statue out front.

  Trent slammed the door of his van. It was a plain, nondescript white one that could easily pass as one of the HVAC company’s. He had the van for his PI work, and it had come in handy on more than one occasion. Thanks to an old friend, he’d also been able to collect some of the basic heating and air-conditioning supplies, including an anemometer to test airflow. He’d picked them up last night and gotten a rundown on HVAC basics.

  Now it was time to put his plan into action. This was where the rubber met the road. This could blow everything open or end very poorly.

  He prayed it was the former.

  Adjusting the bag on his shoulder, he approached the back door. Even the back of this place looked nice and well kept, with not a speck of dirt in sight.

  He hit the back doorbell, a tremor of anxiety rushing through him. Some nerves were healthy, he reminded himself, especially in situations like this. A touch of fear kept a person sharp and alert; it helped the fight or flight kick in.

  A trim woman wearing a stylish black business suit pulled the door open. She held a clipboard and pushed up her dark plastic-framed glasses when she spotted Trent. “Can I help you?”

  “Ms. Clark, I’m here with Thomas and Sons HVAC. We had an appointment.” It paid off that Tessa had done her research and discovered this woman’s name. It lent credibility to him being here.

  The woman tilted her head, studying him for a moment. “I don’t recall an appointment.”

  “We come out twice a year to check out your system as part of your service plan. We scheduled this in advance, but our secretary, Barbara, should have called to confirm the appointment.”

  “Right, Barbara.” That seemed to appease the woman a moment. She stepped back and allowed Trent inside.

  Obstacle number one: check.

  He only had about fifty more to get past before he could breathe easy again.

  “You must be new. I haven’t seen you before.”

  Trent flashed what he hoped was a charming smile. “I am. I’ve never been here before, but my girlfriend loves this place. I’ve been meaning to bring her here sometime.”

  He glanced around, hoping that he wouldn’t see anyone he recognized—or anyone who recognized him, for that matter. Even with his hat on and the uniform covering him, there was little else he could do to conceal how he looked.

  “Well, there’s not much to see here behind the curtain except a lot of boxes and cleaning supplies.” She spread her hand to showcase the back office area around them. “But beyond this area is fantastic. We feature some world-renowned artists, including Alejandro Gaurs.”

  She tucked a hair behind her ear. “Anyway, the thermostat is over there.” She pointed to the wall next to an interior door.

  “I’ll need to check each of the vents, also.” He raised the anemometer. “I run the meter over them so I can make sure they’re running at full capacity. This harsh weather we’ve had already can overtax heating systems. It’s better to discover it now than to wait until something goes wrong. Then you’ll just have a lot of cold visitors to the gallery. No one wants that.”

  “Of course. No problem. Is that where you’d like to start?”

  “That would be great.”

  “This way,” Ms. Clark said to him.

  Trent followed her out of the back office and into a hallway. Four doors were located there. The offices, he realized. This was exactly where he needed to be.

  As he passed one of the doors, he heard someone talking on the other side. Two or three voices. All men. At least one seemed to have an accent. Could it be Leo and some of his cohorts?

  Any relief he’d felt earlier disappeared. This could get sticky, and fast.

  Ms. Clark opened the door. “This is my office. How about you start here?”

  “Sounds great.”

  “I’m just going to step out to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”

  “Sounds great.” He walked over to the vent and held his meter over it.

  As soon as she disappeared, he put his equipment down and quickly pulled up the vent.

  If this didn’t work, then Trent didn’t know what they would do. This was their only lead and at times it seemed like their only chance.

  He pulled out a flashlight and shone it down into the dark recesses of the vent.

  He saw nothing.

  Wasting no time, he reached his hand down into the metal shaft. He felt around carefully. If there was something down there, he didn’t want to send it deeper into the duct.

  Nothing.

  He reached a little farther, knowing he was on borrowed time.

  His fingers connected with something.

  Could it be...?

  His hand emerged from the vent. A flash drive was wedged between his fingers.

  Bingo! The device had still been there, and Leo had been clueless about it the whole time.

  Just as he slid it into his pocket, he heard movement behind him.

  He turned in time to see Ms. Clark standing there, staring at him with obvious distrust. “What are you doing?” she demanded.

  Trent had to think quickly.

  * * *

  Tessa was walking on eggshells. Her mind wouldn’t stop racing as she thought about what Trent was doing at the moment. She paced the house, ran through scenarios in her mind, prayed.

  It felt good to pray, especially since her life had been so absent of faith recently. Giving her cares to a higher being brought great comfort. But even with her renewed trust in God, there was still the human aspect of living—the fear that wanted to creep in, the uncertainty and the anxiety.

  Lord, please watch over Trent.

  Best she could tell, she’d gone onto Leo’s server undetected last night. Trent was risking his life for her, and she wanted to do whatever she could to ensure his safety.

  A small niggle of doubt still crept into her psyche, though. There were so many uncertainties, so many things she couldn’t be sure about.

  She allowed herself to dream for a moment about what life would be like without living under this kind of strain. Even more so, how much safer the world would be without a family like the McAllisters out there, smuggling out blueprints for weapons that would destroy lives. This whole thing was bigger than her. Bigger than her family. Bigger than the McAllisters, even.

  With the right evidence, maybe the authorities would believe her. Maybe they would take her off the wanted list and actually take action against this powerful crime family.

  Then there was a chance she and Trent could truly explore a rel
ationship together. The idea of beginning something like that in the midst of all of this craziness seemed like a bad idea. Their emotions were just too heightened and enlarged.

  Zach walked into the room at that moment.

  “Did you hear anything?” Tessa asked, turning her full attention on him.

  He shook his head. “Not yet. I wish we’d had more time and resources. We could have wired him or put a camera on him. But we couldn’t do that. So we just wait instead.”

  “Do you really think this is going to work?” Tessa dared to ask. She wanted more than anything to believe that this was possible. But then the fear came. The fear of something happening to Trent, of being discovered, of Leo capturing her and exacting his torturous revenge.

  “If anyone can do it, it’s Trent. I know the stress right now is probably overwhelming, but all we can do is wait.”

  “I’d rather be doing something.”

  “The safest thing you can do right now is to stay right here. All we can do is trust that God is in control right now and that all things will work out the way they’re supposed to.”

  “Even when the lives of millions of people are on the line,” she whispered.

  He squeezed her shoulder. “Even when the lives of millions are on the line. It’s a tough world we live in, filled with hard stuff. Stuff that makes you sick and turns your stomach.”

  “So we cling to the unseen instead of what we see here in this world,” Tessa said.

  “Exactly.” Zach settled against the wall. “You know, Trent is a great guy. He was devastated after what happened with Laurel. I didn’t know if he’d ever fall in love again.”

  “He’s not in love,” Tessa was quick to say.

  “Maybe not yet. But he’s on his way. I can tell by the way he’s acting. I’m really happy for him.”

  Tessa let his words sink in. Could he be telling the truth?

  Even more so, this conversation made Tessa realize something else: against all odds, she was beginning to fall in love with Trent, too.

  * * *

  Trent stood and held up a wad of dust and dried leaves from the ficus tree nearby. “There was quite a bit of dust in this duct. I pulled the cover off so I could get a more accurate reading. Tell me, does it get cold in here often?”

  The woman shifted. “I suppose I do always wear my sweater. I thought I was just cold natured.”

  He shook his head. “No, these vents need to be cleaned out. Of course, that’s more than I can do today, but I’d guess some of the ductwork under the building may need to be touched up. The temperature in here should be sixty-eight, but it’s only sixty-two.”

  She shivered at his words. “I’m glad I’m not going crazy. I always felt like a whiner when I brought up how chilly I was.”

  He tucked his meter back into pocket. “Don’t worry. I’ll have everything checked out. I’m going to have to come out with some help, though. This is more than a one-person job. It is covered by your warranty, so price shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “Price usually doesn’t matter with Mr. McAllister anyway, but that’s good to know. It will be one less channel I have to go through, since there’s no budget approval needed. When can we schedule you?”

  “I’ll have to get Barbara to give you a call back. I’ll mention it to her when I get into the office.”

  “Thanks for coming in.”

  Trent’s heart slowed for a minute. If he could just get out of here and into his van, he’d be home free. He’d take this information to his contact with the FBI, and then he’d pray that everything else fell into place.

  He took a step into the hallway and balked. Leo McAllister stepped out of the office, two men behind him. Trent tugged his hat down lower, but made sure to keep his chin up. He couldn’t afford to look guilty or bring any unnecessary attention to himself.

  Leo didn’t seem to see him. He continued to talk to the two men beside him as he walked down the hallway toward him. He did cast a look of approval at his secretary before mentioning something else about a shipment they had coming in.

  He’d just taken one step past Leo when the man paused.

  “You’re with the HVAC company?” Leo said.

  Trent composed himself and turned halfway. The man had talked to him before, but only once and only briefly. Still, there was a chance he might recognize Trent. “That’s right. Just doing some maintenance.”

  Leo stared at him, something cold, hard and unreadable in his eyes.

  Trent steadied his breathing. Had he been made?

  TWENTY

  Why hadn’t Trent called yet?

  Tessa continued pacing the living room. He’d been gone for three hours now. Certainly that was enough time to get in and out. So why hadn’t he made contact?

  Zach was talking to a former colleague on the phone, trying to ascertain the best person to hand over the information to once they had it.

  This seemed like the longest day of Tessa’s life.

  Lord, please watch over him. Keep him safe.

  She walked over to the window and peered outside, hoping to see Trent coming down the lane. Instead, she saw a yard covered with pristine snow.

  It really was beautiful out here. Under different circumstances, there’d be so much to enjoy about being here. But at the moment it felt desolate and isolated and like a prison.

  Much like what her life had felt like for the past year.

  Desperate to keep her thoughts occupied, she began to review everything she would tell the authorities once Trent returned with the information. She would leave no detail out. She knew the names of associates, dates of business trips abroad, large sums of money that had been exchanged. Of course, all that meant nothing without proof.

  When Trent returned—because he would return, she told herself—he would have that evidence to finally nail Leo.

  Her gaze paused at something in the distance. She squinted, uncertain if she was seeing things. But down by the tree line, she thought she’d seen movement.

  She shook her head. No, she must have been seeing things. She looked closer, stared harder, but all she saw was trees. Underbrush. Dark recesses.

  If there had been movement, it was just the wind. Maybe a bird. It could even be a deer.

  She was so used to living in fear.

  But there was no way she could have been discovered here. She’d taken every precaution yesterday when she’d accessed those computer files. She’d redirected the server, made dummy locations, the works.

  She stared at that spot in the distance again until finally her heart slowed. She was overreacting. She hoped her paranoia would soon become a distant memory.

  * * *

  “We’ve been having hot and cold spots. I’m glad you’re here,” Leo said.

  As he walked away, Trent tried to relax. But when he heard the man’s phone ring, his steps slowed.

  “You’re there now?” Leo said into the phone. “Perfect. Bring her to the location we discussed. We’ll go from there.”

  Tessa? Was he talking about Tessa? There was no way she could have been discovered.

  “Are you okay, sir?” Ms. Clark said.

  He nodded and kept walking. Better not to draw any attention to himself. Besides, that wouldn’t stop anything that was happening at the house. That would only delay him getting back to Tessa.

  “So you’ll be in touch?” the woman said.

  He gave her an assuring smile. “Definitely.”

  “Great. Stay warm out there. I hear there’s more snow coming.”

  He walked calmly back to the van, placed his supplies in the back and then climbed inside. To err on the side of caution, he started the van and pulled out of the parking lot. He stopped the next block down and pulled out his phone.

  Zach picked up on the first ring. “What’s going on?”

  “Where’s Tessa?”

  “In the living room. Worrying. Why?”

  “I think Leo’s men know where she is.”

  “That�
��s impossible.”

  “I don’t know what happened, but I need you to be careful. Very careful. I’m on my way there now.”

  Before he hung up the phone, he heard a gunshot sound on the other end the line.

  * * *

  Tessa heard glass break at the other end of the house and her heartbeat ratcheted.

  She didn’t even take time to examine possible alternate causes for the noise. She only knew trouble was here.

  The sound had come from the end of the house where Zach was staying.

  She grabbed the gun from the table where she’d left it, held it near her chest and rushed toward the door. Moving slowly, carefully, she checked down the hallway. It looked clear.

  She moved quietly down the corridor, clearing each room as she went. She knew where she needed to go: Zach’s room, at the end of the hallway. She dreaded what she would find when she got there. In her heart, she already knew it wouldn’t be good.

  With trembling hands, she searched the second-to-last room. It was clear.

  Finally, she approached the closed door to Zach’s room.

  Part of her wanted to run. To flee. To stick her head in the sand.

  But she couldn’t do that. Trent and Zach both had gone out of their way to help her. She couldn’t abandon either of them now.

  It was silent on the other side of the doorway. That realization in itself sent a shudder through her.

  Had a shot been fired through the window, hitting Zach and rendering him immobile? Or were there men inside, crouching and waiting to attack?

  Drawing in a deep breath and trying to summon her courage, she held her gun in position and pushed the door open. To her dismay, she spotted Zach. He was on his knees. Hands behind his back. Blood trickled down his forehead and his shirt had red stains. He hadn’t been shot—not yet. But the window was shattered behind him.

  A man stood on the other side of him, a gun to Zach’s forehead. Tessa recognized him as one of the men who’d been chasing them.