Page 62 of Saved By the Mountain Man

But Jethro pulled her tighter again.

“If you run now, you can still get out of here,” Bear said coolly. “But if you kill her, we’ll get our hands on you before they do, and trust me, you’re not going to like any of what will follow.”

Jethro glanced over his shoulder.

“Run,” Bear said in a low voice.

Jethro did just that. He let go of Rae, turned around and high-tailed it into the trees like the pussy he was. Rae sank to theground, and I grabbed her, pulling her into my arms. “Rae,” I said. “Stay with me.”

She nodded, tears streaming down her face. “I’m okay,” she whispered, but her pupils were too dilated. At least help was on the way.

I looked at Bear. “We owe you.”

He nodded, his expression softening slightly. “Take care of her.”

Then, he disappeared into the trees.

We made our way to the police cars in the road, some of the officers already heading into the trees.

“Tanner.” Sheriff Caleb Johnson looked at me and then at Rae. “We were just about to look for you.”

“The guy you’re looking for is up there, somewhere. But I have a feeling if you sit tight, Bear might bring him to you.”

Sheriff Johnson grinned, his blue eyes settling on Rae. “You doing okay?”

“Just fine,” she said, but she sagged against me, her knees buckling.

“We need an ambulance.”

Paramedics arrived as if on cue, and they took Rae away. I let her go—she was safe now.

“How did you know where to find us?” I asked.

“We got an anonymous tip about something happening up at the old warehouse, and then we heard gunshots. So, here we are. Looks like we were just in time, too.” He rubbed his hand over his neatly trimmed beard.

He had no idea. I frowned. There had never been any gunshots that I’d heard, but maybe Bear—who undoubtedly left the tip—had arranged for something like that to spur the police on.

“Come on, Tanner,” Sheriff Johnson said. “Let’s get out of this cold. It’s a bitch up here in winter.”

I nodded, grateful that I’d found Rae, and we headed toward the cop cars and the ambulance.

The danger was averted, and somehow, it felt like even the danger from my past was gone. By choosing Rae, I’d defeated the demons that had kept chasing me, and for the first time since escaping Vito, I felt like I was truly free.

“How are you feeling?” I asked Rae when I got to the ambulance where they were doing a checkup.

“She has a concussion,” one paramedic said to me. “I’m surprised she was able to function the way she has until now.”

“My back hurts,” Rae said.

The paramedic doing the checkup frowned and pressed his fingers against her skin, looking for bruises or signs of a break of some kind, but there was nothing.

“It’s really bad,” Rae whispered.

“Is there anything we should know about?”

“I’m pregnant,” Rae said, glancing at me.

The paramedic nodded and they jumped into action, getting Rae on a gurney, and the sirens were suddenly on.

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