Page 56 of Saved By the Mountain Man

He sauntered over to me, his smile widening. “You know what I want, McKenna,” he said as if he was reading my mind. I cringed when he called me McKenna. “I want the evidence you stole from me. And I want to know who else knows about it.”

I shook my head, trying to appear braver than I felt. My head hurt when I shook it, and I squeezed my eyes shut, breathing for a moment to let the pain subside. Maybe I had a concussion.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” My voice sounded brave. Good for me.

Jethro’s smile faded, replaced by a cold, hard stare.

“Don’t play games with me, McKenna. You took something very important from me, and I want it back.”

“I don’t have it,” I said, my voice firmer this time. “And even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to you. It’s just copies, anyway.”

Jethro’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned in closer, his face inches from mine. “I don’t think you understand the situation you’re in. There’s no one here to protect you.”

I swallowed hard when he got so close to me. His cologne was cloying. I couldn’t believe I’d let him this close once upon a time;his cologne used to have a good connotation. Now, it smelled of danger and fear coiled tightly in my stomach. I knew what Jethro was capable of now.

He knew what I knew—that some of the documents I had weren’t on his hard drive anymore. That I had the only existing copy because before I’d left, I’d deleted something crucial so he couldn’t keep doing what he’d been doing.

I’d thought I was clever then. It was only after running that I’d realized how serious the mistake was. That I’d put my own life in danger by doing that; I hadn’t only gotten back at Jethro for using me.

I forced myself to hold his gaze. “I don’t have it.”

He straightened, a look of frustration flashing across his face. “You’re being very foolish, McKenna. I can make this much easier for you if you cooperate.”

I set my jaw, refusing to give in. “I won’t help you.”

Jethro’s expression darkened, and he grabbed my chin roughly, forcing me to look at him. His face twisted in an ugly snarl, and I saw what he’d been all along—a monster.

“You’re going to regret this,” he growled.

With a sudden, violent shove, he pushed me back, the chair tilting dangerously before settling again with a thud that shocked through my body. Another sharp pain shot through my head. My head jerked forward, my hair a curtain around my face. I gasped, my heart pounding in my chest, and I swallowed hard, taking the moment where my face was hidden to compose myself. The last thing I wanted him to see was that he was getting to me. I couldn’t let him win.

Although, maybe it was all over and I’d already lost. I was tied to a chair in a warehouse, after all. And no one knew where I was.

Jethro began pacing in front of me, his anger raging just under the surface, barely contained, and I slowly lifted my head to look at him again.

“You think you’re so clever, don’t you?” he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty warehouse. “You think you can steal from me and get away with it?”

I stayed silent, my mind racing. I fought to keep my face expressionless so that he didn’t know what I was feeling, what I was thinking, but with the fear and the pain throbbing equally, it was getting harder and harder.

The evidence I had taken was crucial, and I couldn’t let him intimidate me into giving it up. He was a bad man—worse and worse by the second—and someone had to stop him. I’d been too scared to go to the police with it, not knowing which cops were in his pocket, too. Now, I thought maybe I should have taken the chance.

I didn’t know what would have happened, but could it have been worse than this? The fear was overwhelming, and I knew I was in over my head.

Jethro stopped pacing and turned to me, his eyes cold and calculating.

“Who have you talked to, McKenna? Who else knows about it?”

“No one,” I said. “I haven’t talked to anyone.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “You expect me to believe that? You’ve been gone for months. Someone must know.”

“I swear, no one knows,” I insisted. There was no way in hell I would have told anyone. I was stupid enough to put my own life in danger. No way would I put someone else in danger.

Except, I wasn’t the only one in my life anymore, was I? I was pregnant. There was a baby growing inside me, and that was the most unfair of all. He or she had donenothingto deserve thiskind of horror. But maybe I wouldn’t even live long enough for the baby to come into this world…

I stopped my thought process and forced my face to become neutral again. If Jethro knew about anyone or anything in my life, they would be in danger, too. I would never forgive myself for that.

Jethro stared at me for a long moment, his eyes searching mine for any hint of deception. Then, with a growl of frustration, he turned and stormed out, leaving me alone in the cold, empty warehouse.

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