Terri Reed - Secret Mountain Hideout

Not wanting to alarm Jane, Chase slid into the back seat next to her and shut the door. Jane was watching Kaitlyn ride by on her horse, a big roan with a black mane and tail. The pair stopped for a moment. Kaitlyn appeared tiny on top of the huge beast. Her blond ponytail hung down the back of her brown uniform.

“What’s she doing?” Jane asked, leaning forward to watch Kaitlyn through the SUV’s front window.

“Plotting out her course down the side of the mountain,” Alex supplied as he started the engine.

Kaitlyn steered the large animal to the left, skirting around the metal barricade and slowly began a crisscrossed descent down the side of the hill until she disappeared from sight.

“Okay.” Jane turned her troubled gaze to Chase. “But why is she doing that?”

“She’s going to locate the body. And help coordinate the recovery from down below,” Chase answered without sugarcoating the work that would need to be done.

Surprise widened her eyes. “Is that safe for her to do?”

“Kait’s an accomplished horsewoman and a member of the mounted patrol,” Alex replied from the front seat. “Her family breeds and trains horses. Plus, she knows this mountain like the back of her hand. She grew up here, unlike me or Chase.”

“The sheriff wouldn’t have asked her to do this if he weren’t confident in her abilities,” Chase added. “All the members of the mounted patrol are highly trained. With terrain like we have here, there are places only accessible by horseback.”

“Are you on the mounted patrol?” Jane asked.

Chase met Alex’s gaze in the rearview mirror. “Not yet. Alex has been teaching me how to ride. One day I hope to be trained enough to join the patrol. But for now I’m content to be ground support to the others.”

“Leslie offered to give me a riding lesson,” Jane said.

“You should take her up on the offer,” Chase said. “She’s an auxiliary member of the mounted patrol.”

“Auxiliary?”

“A fancy term for volunteer,” he told her. Like many western state mounted patrols, the members were a mix of paid law enforcement and trained, unarmed civilians.

“Perhaps I’ll take a riding lesson.” Jane turned to stare out the window. “If I live long enough to.”

He didn’t like to hear the despair in her tone. “You’re safe, Jane.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not.” She faced him. There was determination in her expression. “That man was sent to kill me. There will be more. I have to leave Bristle Township. Disappear again.”

“You can’t,” he told her. “You said you wanted to be brave and do the right thing.”

“I don’t want to die,” she said.

How did he get her to trust that they could protect her?

He needed to know what they were dealing with and why so they could form a plan to keep her safe. “Tell me about the night you witnessed a murder.”

Dread twisted low in Ashley’s gut. She blew out a breath. Dredging up the nightmare wasn’t something she wanted to do but there was no way around it. Chase had to know about the monster after her. And once he learned the truth, he’d want nothing more to do with her. He’d be happy to let her slither away into the shadows.

She flicked a glance at the intimidating man named Alex in the front seat, wishing she were alone with Chase. But then again, maybe it was better that they both hear this so she wouldn’t have to repeat it. “I was waitressing at an upscale restaurant in Burbank, The Matador.”

Chase’s eyebrows drew together. “It recently burned down, right?”

Her chest tightened. She lifted the restricting seat belt strap away from her body to suck in air. “Yes. It was reported on the news. I’m sure the fire was set because of me.”

“Why would you think that?” Alex asked from the driver’s seat.

She let out a small dry laugh. “Because the only person injured was the man who helped me escape California.”

Chase’s intense gaze locked with hers. “Did your friend know you were here in Bristle?”

Shaking her head, she said, “No. I was so careful.” Remorse swamped her. “Until this morning.”

“What did you do this morning?” Chase asked.

“I called the hospital where my friend was taken.” She wiped at fresh tears slipping down her cheeks. “I had to know if he was alive.”

“Is he?” Chase’s intense gaze locked with hers.

“For now,” she said. “He’s in critical condition.”

Sympathy crossed Chase’s face. “Were you able to talk to him?”

“No. And I didn’t leave a name or number,” she said. “I don’t know how they found me. But they did.”

“Probably tapped the hospital phone and traced the call,” Alex supplied.

Her stomach knotted. She should have thought of that. Another move that put her life in jeopardy.

“Let’s go to a year and a half ago,” Chase urged. “What happened?”

With one hand, she pinched the bridge of her nose, forcing herself to go back to that horrible night. Her heart rate picked up as she spoke. “We were going through our closing duties like any other night. I went to take the trash out to the dumpster in the back.”

She pressed her lips together for a moment as a flush of anger robbed her of speech. Finding her voice, she continued, “I forgot to put the doorstop in the door.” She couldn’t keep the self-recrimination from her voice. “If I had just remembered to prop the door open.” She pounded her fist against her thigh. “I forgot and the door locked behind me.”

His hand covered her fist. “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. Everyone makes mistakes.”

She glanced over at him and stifled a scoff. “A mistake that could get me killed.”

“Not going to happen. Not on my watch.”

She wanted to believe him, but there was no way he could make such a promise. Though the sentiment was heartwarming to hear and to know he meant it filled her with tenderness. But he didn’t know her. And she feared if he ever really did, he’d think twice about his promises. “I’m always such a mess. I can never get anything right. I would have been fired from that job long ago if Gregor, the restaurant manager, hadn’t taken a shine to me.”

“A shine? Was this man taking advantage of you?”

His voice held a hard edge that startled her. His reaction gave her pause. But he was a cop. Of course his thoughts had gone to a dark place. She gave a quick shake of her head. “Oh, no. Gregor was more like a grandfather to all of us. I never knew my own grandparents. Gregor was kind and generous. He didn’t deserve to be hurt.”

Her words seemed to nullify the sharpness of moments before. “No, he didn’t if he was willing to risk his own life to protect you.” He considered her a moment. “You didn’t have a spouse or boyfriend to keep you safe?”

She tucked in her chin. “Oh, none of those. I mean, I’ve dated, but most men either consider me more of the sister type or the best friend type.”

He remained silent for a heartbeat, then said, “You took the trash out and then what happened?”

At his prompting, she refocused on telling her story. “There were people in the back alley.” She bit the inside of her lip as the memory assaulted her. “Mr. Sokolov was arguing with a man.”

“Who is Mr. Sokolov?”

“He owns the restaurant. I’d never seen the man he was arguing with. I tried to go back inside, but I was locked out, trapped.” The helpless, vulnerable sensation she’d experienced that night was back tenfold. She smoothed her hands over her thighs, needing something to do with her hands other than wringing them like some victim.