Page 18 of Silver Hills' Christmas Miracle

“Yup. There’s a fire exit on the west side. If you can open that for us, we get a clear shot at that meeting, and the mayor and those assholes won’t know what hit them.”

“What do you plan to do?” There was an odd eagerness in Anton’s eyes. It could just be his passion for protecting the forest and the town, but there was something slightly unsettling that I couldn’t put my finger on.

“Scare them, that’s all.” Anton suddenly smiled a toothy grin. “Throw some paint and some sap, be a hassle. The usual. We need them to know that they can’t make these kinds of decisions without the input of the town. Do you have any idea how old some of the trees are in that forest? How catastrophic the damage will be to the ecosystem and the stability of this very land? Those tree roots are the only thing stopping this town from being washed away. You saw that flood last spring, right? That’s just the start.”

Ahh, the spring flood. We’d suffered a little structural damage during that, but no one had been hit as hard as my best friend. She’d had to shut down the old barn she’d used for events and dancing, which was a loss for the community and her books.

“Okay, I get it,” I assured him. “You have to promise me something, though.”

“Sure thing.”

“No one gets hurt. Because that definitely won’t help our cause. I know my father. If you injure anyone in any way, he’ll turn that around and double down on the deal. You have to keep this peaceful, or at least firm enough that he knows you’re standing your ground.”

“Don’t worry.” Anton chuckled. “While it’s tempting to make them pay for each tree they’ve torn down, we won’t be doing anything like that. Just want to scare them. Getting in the building might be enough to do that.”

“Alright. I guess I’m going to that meeting, then.”

“Excellent.”

“You’ll have to text me when you’re ready. It shouldn’t be too hard for me to sneak out and let you in, but you have to be ready,” I said. “And no fuckery.”

“Got it. No fuckery.”

“You'd better get out of here before the guards come back and find you.”

Anton nodded and then performed a mock salute. Then he melted back into the darkness from where he came. I waited for a few minutes just to listen out for any sounds of Anton accidentally walking into anyone from the security team, then I turned and headed back toward the manor.

Would my father listen? Would he even care? The protests against this project had been going on for months, but he hadn’t shown any signs of wavering. There were too many dollar signs in his eyes for that. How extreme would we have to get for him to start listening?

Melanie, my best friend, had already suffered a loss from the flooding but that wasn’t enough to sway my father. Neither were the countless stories of gardens being washed away and hiking trails being lost under loose ground and mudslides. Bit by bit, this place was getting washed away in the name of progress. As I reached the manor, I thought back to the man in the grocery store.

Rook had said men like him only wanted to share their pain, that it was the only way they would feel better. How many other people in this town were in the same boat? How long until another one snapped and Rook wasn’t fast enough to stop them?

I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn’t notice how off-path I was walking until a shadow fell across my face.

“Oi!”

I jumped out of my skin at the barking voice and looked up to see one of the guards who had passed me earlier. His face wasshadowed with anger, and he reached for his radio as he grabbed my arm.

“Don’t you know we’re on lockdown?”

“Hey!” I tried to pull my arm free from his grip, but he was much stronger than me. “I know we’re on lockdown, I was just?—”

“Let her go.” A familiar, deep voice cut through the night air, and the guard immediately released my arm.

“Sir.” The guard straightened like a board. “I found Miss?—”

“I can see that,” Rook cut in. “I’ll take care of it. Carry on.”

The guard glanced between me and Rook and then left without saying a word. I puffed out my cheeks and groaned softly.

“Thank you. I was a little worried I’d have to pull out the claws on him,” I said, smiling up at Rook.

Rook didn’t smile back. Instead, he took my arm and began pulling me toward the house. “Kitty, I locked you in your room to keep you safe. What the hell are you doing out here?”

My mind ran rampant, searching for an excuse that would be good enough before finally settling on one that was mostly the truth.

“I was looking for you. I needed to see you.”

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