Page 59 of Saved By the Mountain Man

“Through there,” he said. “Make it quick.”

When I walked to the door, Burke followed right behind me. No doubt, he would block the door with his burly body, waiting for me to finish and then he’d tie me up again.

My mind spun, and the moment I closed the door behind me, I looked for a way out. Above the disgusting toilet, the window didn’t have any glass. That was a plus.

It was a small window, which didn’t count in my favor.

I stepped on the porcelain bowl—there was no ring—and reached up to the window. Outside, the trees weren’t very far off. If I could get out through the window and get between those trees it would be easier to lose them. I didn’t know where I was or where I would go, but I would figure that out later. For now—

“Are you almost done in there?” Burke called out.

“Almost,” I said.

I tried to hoist myself up and through the window, but the metal frame bit into my chest, and I cried out through gritted teeth.

“What’s going on in there?”

“Nothing,” I called over my shoulder, but he got the idea that something wasn’t right and pushed open the door.

I pulled back, still on the toilet, and turned around.

“What the fu—”

I kicked my foot up and since I was higher up, I hit Burke underneath the jaw.

He staggered back, and then his body went down like a log.

I jumped off, stepped over him and started to run.

A large hand shot out and grabbed my ankle.

“Not so far,” he said, but the fight had ignited within me, and when Burke pulled me back, I rolled onto my back, aimed with my free foot, and kicked him in the face another time.

16

TANNER

Ididn’t even feel the cold air as I made my way through the forest, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I had to find Rae, no matter what.

There was no other plan than this: get in, get her, get out.

Hopefully with everyone alive, but her life was my priority.

The warehouse Jethro and his men used wasn’t far, and I hoped I wasn’t too late. The black SUV that they’d put her in was parked to the side, proof that I was in the right place.

I moved quickly, tense, worried. The trees loomed dark and silent around me. It was funny how the forest had always been a refuge since I’d run from Vito and the life I’d left behind, but now it was imposing and villainous. I guess it was all about context.

That counted for a lot in life, actually.

I pushed forward, focused on what I needed to do, not letting myself get distracted by my past and by what I hoped to God would still be there so I could build a future.

I reached the edge of the forest and the warehouse came into view. I crept closer, moving slower now that I neared it so that ifsomeone was standing watch, they wouldn’t hear me. I crouched behind a tree when I had a good view but I was still hidden from sight.

The warehouse was a decrepit building with sheet metal roofing, dirty windows where there was still glass, but a lot of it had been thrown out with rocks by rebellious kids, or it had broken during storms. The warehouse was just an old ghost now, a relic from an industrial past long gone.

I scanned the outside of the building and saw no one. Moving in a crouched form behind a cluster of trees, I assessed the situation.

The place looked abandoned, but I knew better. The movement behind some of the dusty windows—just shadows, but they were there—told me everything I needed to know.

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