Protecting Tova (Iron Mountain Book 1)

by Havana Wilder

  Slowly approaching Tova, I ask, “Spitfire, are you ok?”

  She dips her head low, answering, “I’m fine. I’m sorry I woke everyone.”

  Carefully lowering myself on her bed beside her, I wrap my arm around her waist. “Don’t apologize.”

  Tova merely leans into my chest and whispers, “Thank you for coming to check on me. I don’t know if I can go back to sleep.”

  Knowing the rules, that no guy can sleepover in a girl’s cabin and vice versa, I suggest, “There are a few empty cabins for future betrothed Protectors to live in. I’m sure Kage will let us stay in one tonight. I’ll go ask him. After tonight, we’ll stay in the loft if the cabin is out of the question.”

  Her trembling eases up as she raises to a sitting position. She rasps, “I need some fresh air.”

  Dani-Jo, kneeling at Tova’s bed, pats her leg. “Do you think you have the strength to walk? You’re pretty shaken up.”

  Tova pulls the cover from her legs. “I think so.”

  She’s wobbly on her feet at first as she collides into me. I put my arm underneath her shoulders so she can steady herself.

  “The rest of the guys from my cabin are outside on the porch. I don’t want you to be alarmed when you see them.”

  Turning to face me, she asks through sober eyes, “Oh ok, thank you. Are they upset?”

  I take her hand in mine and declare, “No. Why would they be? They’re just worried. We had no idea what happened. We just heard screaming. We envisioned the worst. I hate to admit it, but I’m glad it was only a nightmare and not a physical injury to one of y’all. I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you.”

  Standing on the deck with Tova, I inform the guys what happened and about Tova’s nightmare. Then I pull Kage aside and request that Tova, and I sleep in one of the vacant cabins; he’s quick to oblige.

  The guys all pat us on the back, grateful everyone’s ok. The two scouts are still manning their positions to watch over Adi and Dani-Jo while Tova and I head to the nearest available one-bedroom chalet.

  Once inside, I lock the deadbolt and fasten the chain lock. Pilfering through a drawer near the bed, I find and light a candle. Now that I can see better, I pull the covers back for Tova and me. She crawls into bed first and scooches over to let me in. I scoot up behind her, draping my arm over her middle.

  Inching her back into my chest, she sighs. “I think it’s safe to say that you’re my only peace and comfort. I knew those guys were watching over us, but I had the worst dream as soon as I dozed off. I feel horrible that I woke everyone up. I wished all the tormenting dreams would vanish forever.”

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask as I pull her closer to me.

  “I normally don’t like talking about them; they don’t feel fictitious. It’s as if they’re really happening,” Tova utters as she places her right hand over her forehead.

  “Perhaps if you talk about it, it’ll help you overcome your fear. Do you want to try and see?”

  “I guess... I’m willing to try anything at this point,” Tova proclaims.

  “I’m listening whenever you’re ready,” I coax.

  As Tova is pressed against my chest, she begins trembling. Through a quivering voice, she begins, “Well, I’m running through the woods. Then I notice the trees are reaching out, grabbing my jacket, but as I’m being grabbed, I notice it’s not the trees reaching for me. It’s the shadows looming in the nightmares. They're always out to hurt me. I’m thrown to the ground, and as my face pounds into the dirt, my mouth is split open from the force of the blow. As my mouth fills with blood, the shadow pounces on top of me, binding my hands and feet. As I lay on the ground with my hands and feet bound, the rain is stinging my skin hammering down on me. And after the shadow tightens my bindings, it retreats to go get another figure lurking behind the trees.

  “I struggle to free myself from ropes cutting into my flesh. Unable to free myself, I scream and cry as both of the shadows prowl toward me, one waving a machete while the other fans a dagger at me.”

  “Holy Shit! That’s one hell of a nightmare. I feel like if you knew Cladec was, in fact, dead and it didn’t seem you were actively pursued, then maybe you’d sleep without terror, and these nightmares might actually go away.” I brush her cheek with my lips and reassure her “We’ll get to the bottom of this. I’m here now. Try and get some sleep.”

  Resting her head on my arm for a pillow, her shaking stops, and she mumbles, “Mmm-k.”

  There’s no way in hell I’m going to sleep tonight. So, I simply watch over Tova for the next couple of hours.

  There’s a little daylight outside when I hear a small rap on the door. Slipping my arm from under Tova’s head, I sneak out of the cover and head to the door. When I open it, Kage is standing there, all ready to go.

  “We still on for today to complete the loft?”

  I push my unruly hair to the side with my hand. “Yeah, let me tell Tova I’m going with you. Are the guys still watching over the cabins and girls?”

  “Of course. I think we’ll be done with your loft in a few hours. You’ll be back here in no time. I’ll be waiting for you to get ready, then we’ll all go.”

  “Ok, just give me a few minutes.”

  Kage nods, and I close the door. Walking over to a literal sleeping beauty, I tap Tova on the shoulder. “Tova, love, I’m going to head out with Kage to finish a project. We’ll be gone for a few hours, but I’ll be back soon. Are you okay with that?”

  Tova grumbles, rubbing her eyes when she rolls over to face me. “Mmm, yeah. I’ll get up and go stay with the girls.” She tosses the covers aside. “Don’t rush whatever y’all are doing. We’ll be ok. I’m going to make sure we stay around here today.”

  Stepping outside, I see Kage is already back at the guys’ cabin, so I walk Tova over to join the girls.

  Ready and out the door, we all trudge to the loft. Most of the walk there is in silence. All of us are still on edge about yesterday’s shooting and the terrifying scream that woke most of us in the middle of the night has us even more tired and on high alert. Looking to my left, then to my right, I reflect, these guys are so loyal and hardworking. I’m very fortunate to have them in my life.

  Unlocking the gate for us to enter, Kage stands beside me, waiting for everyone to come in before I close and lock it back. I guess that big brother watching out for me will always be a part of who he is. After all the guys are in, we meander up to the barn. Everything has been wired, and plumbing is completed. Now, all we have to do is finish the appliances and minor details.

  Jace and I grab the toilet and assemble the bathroom together as Kage heads up putting the kitchen together. Jace gives me a silent but hard stare.

  “What’s on your mind, Jace?” I ask.

  “We got to find who this maniac is. I don’t know about you, but I say no training tomorrow, and we search for this asshole. We have Superior Protectors with mad tracking skills. They may even find the bullet and see what kind of gun shot at them, and we can narrow it down to people owning guns. Few people in our territory actually carry guns aside from us Protectors. Just a few farmers and those who hunt for food.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me, but do you think some Superiors wouldn’t mind staying back? I know that the other girls wanted to learn self-defense skills.”

  “Well, after we’re done here today, we can teach them. It won’t take us but a few hours here.”

  “You’re brilliant. Let’s haul ass and get this job done.”

  The loft is complete, and it’s only lunchtime. I’m pretty sure that’s record-breaking time for us to put together a living space. Looking around the completed area, it’s quaint yet simple. I sure hope Tova likes it.

  Climbing down the ladder, I round the corner of the barn to see a lovely display of food for all of us. Shenan strolls up, dusting her apron off. “You fine gentleman, eat all you want. I’ll come to clean it up when you’re done.”

  I answer, “
Thank you so much. We’ve been at it all day. It’s finally complete. Once we’re done eating, we’re heading back to the girls, but I don’t want you cleaning all this up by yourself. We’ll make sure to clean up after ourselves. Do you want to go see how the area looks? Make sure you think Tova will like it?”

  Beholding all of us, Shenan grins from ear to ear. “Oh, Pierce, I’d love to. I can’t believe you all got done so quickly.”

  Jace hints, “We’ve had a little more motivation today to complete the task early, Ms. Campbell.”

  Eyeing us suspiciously, she crosses her arms across her chest. “Guys, what drummed up this insistent motivation?”

  Kage is the one to infer, “Ma’am, no one got hurt, if that’s what you’re thinking, but when the girls went on a hike yesterday… They were shot at.”

  Clutching her chest in shock, she stresses, “Oh my gracious alive. Are they ok? I know you said they weren’t physically hurt, but I bet they’re shaken up.”

  “Yes, ma’am, they were yesterday when we got back to the cabins. However, we didn’t leave them alone. There are several Superior Protector’s there keeping an eye on them.”

  “What are y’all going to do about this? How do you think you’ll find the perpetrator? Do you have anyone in mind that would do such a thing?”

  Pointing to our circle of guys, Kage informs her, “All of us discussed it while we were working up in the loft. We’re going to go back and teach them self-defense skills. The girls are already armed with weapons.

  “Tomorrow several of us will go to the area where the attack happened. We’ll drum up clues and put the puzzle pieces together. We’ll get to the bottom of this. I promise. Don’t worry, we’re going to take care of Tova, Adi, and Dani-Jo.”

  Shenan folds her hands together in front of her. “I know they’re in excellent hands. I guess I’ll go see what you all worked so hard on. Thank you all for taking the time to gift my sweet little girl and Pierce this nice loft.”

  Kage tips his head. “It was our pleasure.”

  Finishing our lunch, we clean the tables off and throw out our trash.

  Shenan comes down from the loft.

  “Oh guys, it’s lovely. Tova’s going to love it.”

  I mention, “Thank you. It’s a labor of love, that’s for sure.”

  She hugs me, her head barely coming to my chest, uttering, “I know it was, son. I can’t wait until next Saturday.”

  I sure hope Tova likes it. I’m a guy with no interior design experience. Still, it’s not like Tova has to have fresh-cut flowers on the table every day or a perfect quilt on the bed with the perfect little throw pillows that have been hand sewn. Looking back at the barn as we walk toward the gate, I convince myself.

  She’ll like it. She takes pleasure in the simple things.

  Hiking back to the cabins, Kage walks alongside me, deep in thought. I’ve been mulling over how to get the attacker to reveal himself. One way that I think will work makes my stomach turn, but it’s almost a sure-fire guarantee. So, I put my thoughts to words and suggest, “I think we need to bait the assailant.”

  Kage looks at me, bewildered. “Yeah, how do you propose we do that? It seems that it’s two different people. The arrow came from outside the wall, and the bullet came from inside. Unless it’s someone that comes in and out or someone who has breached the wall, then we may have two different people.”

  “Well, we can do one or two things. First, we can let the girls have every afternoon off from class and let the stalker learn their new routine. We stay away from them, appearing to let our guard down, but really, we’re just all hiding in plain sight. But honestly, I think the second idea I have will work faster.”

  Kage has a glint in his eyes. “What is it?”

  “We go outside the border pretending to quail hunt for a few days because it’s not deer hunting season. We appear to leave the girls alone in a tent while we’re ‘hunting,’ but we’ll all hide in the woods. When the attacker comes, we make his life a living hell.”

  Massaging the back of his neck, Kage replies, “I think I like the second plan better myself. So, let’s hash out the plans… For today, we’re going to do hands-on self-defense training. Then tonight, we’ll pack up and get ready to go camping on a fake hunt and bait the idiot. So I guess we need to leave out at dawn tomorrow?”

  “That works for me.”

  We are almost to the common grounds, when Kage prompts, “I think it’s best if you and Tova stay in the same cabin again tonight. Then we’ll all be camping this week. Good thing we got the loft done this weekend because this week is going to be crazy with us leaving.” He slaps his hand to my back. “Perhaps this additional living space can be a wedding gift. She’ll be able to appreciate it more after the moron is taken care of.”

  “That’ll probably be best. I appreciate you letting us stay there. I know it’s essentially breaking the rules.”

  Kage chuckles, “Man, after that scream Tova let out last night, I’d let y’all have the place.”

  36

  Pierce

  Once we’re back in the common area, we meet up with the girls. They’ve obviously hung around here all day. When we hike up the hill to greet them, Adi hops out of her rocking chair.

  “You guys have fun this morning working away?”

  Larson heads up the steps and grabs her by the waist, spinning her around in the air, kissing her neck. Adi pretends like she doesn’t like it and pushes him away the best she can. “Ew, you’re gross and sweaty.”

  Larson sets her down and cynically points out, “Well, we had a mission to complete. We couldn’t stay at the cabin and lounge around in rockers all day.”

  Attempting to escape his grasp, Adi cries, “Ha, ha! Someone thinks he has jokes.”

  I interrupt their reunion, easing over to Tova. “Have y’all had any suspicious activity today?”

  Rising from the rocking chair, she tucks a few stray blonde hairs behind her ears. “No. These goons wouldn’t leave the cabin until y’all got back. I tried to get them to go to the gym with me, but nooooo. They said it was better to wait… So, we’ve been playing cards, charades, and been bored out of our minds. I’m so glad you’re back, and so soon. I wasn’t expecting you until later.”

  “I told you we’d only be a few hours. Did you not believe me?” I ask, a teasing light in my eyes.

  “Yes, but a few can mean three or more, so I just didn’t know. I’m just happy to see you,” she admits with a soft smile.

  “You still want to go to the gym?” I ask.

  Jumping up and down, she exclaims, “Yes!”

  “Good. Actually, Adi, Dani-Jo, can y’all get ready to go to the gym as well. We were discussing on the way back here that we need to teach y’all self-defense.”

  Adi looks confused. “Aren’t Sundays free days?”

  “Yes, technically they are. However, we’ve devised a plan that’s going to trap the idiot trying to hurt y’all. That’s going to require our training today.”

  Placing her hand on her hip, Tova sternly demands, “And just how exactly do you suggest we trap the attacker?”

  Gathering everyone around, I explain, “We will pack up tonight and leave out early tomorrow to go on a fake hunt.” I give the girls stern looks., “You girls are going to have to trust us. We’re going to leave you three alone in a tent as all of us leave on this bogus hunt.”

  Dani-Jo shouts, “What? NO! No way am I going to be a sitting target for some idiot to kill.”

  Raising my hand to stop her rant, I insist, “I never said we were going to let the attacker kill y’all. You three will have weapons on you at all times. They’ll just be concealed. We’ll be staked out in the forest, waiting for him to rear his ugly head. He’ll be stalking y’all... Well, all of us really. He’ll learn our routine, when we leave, come back, every move we all make… he’ll commit to memory. That’s why I believe it’ll take a few days.” I scratch the scruff on my chin. “It may not be only one person ei
ther. We just don’t know yet.”

  Tova takes my hand in hers, and I know my palm is searing hot from my anticipation, but she doesn’t seem to be bothered by the heat. Tova gives me a reassuring look. “We’ll be fine. I trust you guys. Plus, we’ll all have weapons and self-defense skills.”

  Kage steps forward, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, looking at everyone. “Alrighty then. We’ll all meet in the gym in thirty minutes.”

  Crossing the threshold of the gym door, I set my sights on Tova. Noticing my arrival, she leaves Adi and Dani-Jo’s side and treads my way, sizing me up and down. “Looking good in that tank and running shorts, Pierce. Ready to get your butt kicked again?”

  “Hahaha. That’s what you think. You knew what tactic I was going to use. Today’s a different story. You’re not going to know which of us will attack, what maneuver we’ll use, or what direction we’ll be coming from. Today you will be blindfolded.”

  Her posture stiffens and she crosses her arms over her chest. “Seriously? What about Dani-Jo and Adi?”

  They obviously hear us talking about them and stride over to us.

  I speak up, addressing all of them. “First off, you’ll just learn the skills, then as y’all progress, we’ll blindfold y’all too.” I turn my gaze to Tova. “You’re going to have to tune out all the commotion going on around you. It echoes like crazy in here.”

  Tova’s hands move to her hips. “Challenge accepted!” She shifts her weight to her left leg and cocks her right knee out, slanting me a sidelong glance. “Can I use my ability?”

  “Of course! When we’re out there, I want everyone to use their gifts. We have them, might as well use them to our advantage.”

  Hearing a slamming door resonating a low rumble throughout the gymnasium, we all turn to see Kage strutting in our direction. He’s definitely a man on a mission. Taking charge of the session, he requests everyone to meet in the center of the hardwood floor. He divides us into three groups—one girl to each group of about ten guys. Once we’re subdivided, he instructs us on how to proceed through the training.