Page 6 of Saved By the Mountain Man

After all these years, had she really just stumbled into my life again by accident? Shit like this didn’t happen. Too serendipitous. In my line of work—before I became an outlaw the way I am now—serendipity didn’t exist.

It was almost meticulously planned.

What if she was planned, too?

Planted? The thought gnawed at me. Had my ex-boss sent her? Was she here to drag me back into the darkness I’d fled? If there was one person who could crumble the walls around me, it was her. What if someone knew?

But I’d kept her away from that life, away from that world, for a reason.

Not just to keep her pure, but to keep her safe.

To keepmesafe.

They couldn’t use her against me if they didn’t know her.

A rustle in the underbrush yanked me back to the present, and I froze, lowering my rifle slowly. A deer emerged, its ears flicking in the morning breeze. I took aim, holding my breath. Slowly, nibbling, the deer walked in front of my scope. I took a deep breath in, exhaled, paused, pulled the trigger before I continued the exhale.

The shot rang out, and the deer fell. For a moment, I squeezed my eyes shut.

I would nevernothate killing. But this wasn’t for the sake of killing. This was for the sake of survival.

Meat for the next few weeks.

I shouldered my rifle and approached, my steps silent on the forest floor.

After dressing the deer, I made my way back to the cabin, the weight of my thoughts heavier than the animal over my shoulders. When I arrived, Bear was waiting by the firepit. Graying hair and a thick beard made him look like he belonged here as much as the pines and rocks.

“Morning, Tanner,” he greeted, his voice a deep rumble. “Got yourself a good one today.”

“Morning, Bear.” I dropped the deer beside the pit. “Yeah, should keep me fed for a while.”

Bear’s eyes studied me.

“Nice pile of wood, too.”

I nodded.

“What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing.”

Bear leaned back and chewed on something, kicking his legs out. He stared at the firepit as if it had a fire, and I stood in silence for a while.

Mason Thompson lived in the mountains and as far as anyone knew, he’d always been here. He’d earned the name Bear when he’d fought off a real bear, claiming his territory with his bare hands. Or so the story went.

I trusted him. He’d lived in the mountains for so long; he understood what life meant when we returned to our roots and lived the way our ancestors used to.

He understood what it meant to leave all the demons behind and flee into rough country so deep that they couldn’t follow.

“Rae’s here,” I said, the words tasting bitter. “She showed up at the cabin last night.”

Bear raised an eyebrow, exhaling a plume of smoke. “Rae? That’s a name I haven’t heard in a while. What’s she doinghere?”

“That’s the problem.” I sat down opposite Bear and sighed, leaning my elbows on my knees, planted wide. “I don’t know.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “She says she’s got nowhere else to go, but I don’t buy it.”

“What do you think’s going on?”

“I don’t know… she’s hiding something.”

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