Page 134 of Ten Mountain Men

He holds it out to me, and I indeed see something black and metallic glinting inside it.

Luke, who’s been silently stewing by the window, turns sharply at Ash’s words. “What do you mean it’s not a figurine?”

Ash holds up the broken snail. “Well, it’s not just a figurine. I think this is a camera of some sort.”

There’s a stunned silence that follows, the weight of what Ash said sinking in. My jaw drops and Clay’s looking like someone just smacked him upside the head with a shovel.

Luke’s eyes flash and he stomps over to Ash, snatching the snail from him.

Recognition dawns on Luke’s face, his expression turning from confusion to anger. “I know exactly what this is,” he says grimly. “This thing’s high-tech, probably meant for wildlife surveillance—camouflaged for the outdoors. Picks up sound and video. I saw them in a catalog Ma had.”

Clay, still looking dazed, stumbles over his words. “But…who the hell would put it here? What are they trying to see?”

Luke’s lips curl into a snarl, his eyes blazing. “Oh, I think we know exactly who’s behind this.”

His gaze falls on me and Ash. “She loves you all, huh? Yeah, she loves you all right. She loves how easily you’re played for fools. Please tell me again how we can trust her, Ranger.”

I open my mouth, but not a damn thing comes out, because it’s always my first instinct to tell the truth, but I don’t know what the blasted hell the truth is anymore.

Chapter 43

Goldie

Ipoke my head through the back door, forcing a smile even though my heart’s racing. I hope that Ash and Ranger managed to calm Luke down, managed to make him see their side of things. Our side of things.

But no. Something’s off. Way off. The cabin is as quiet as a tomb.

Things are worse now, not better.

“Hey…is it okay if I come in?” I whisper.

No one speaks. Their faces are unreadable—Ash’s lips pressed tight, Clay’s eyes downcast, Ranger’s expression a blank slate. But Luke…his glare is enough to make my stomach churn with nausea. So they haven’t calmed him down.

Is it possible they didn’t hear me? No.

But no one told me not to come in, so I step inside cautiously, the tension thick enough to choke on.

It’s Ranger who finally breaks the silence, his voice low but steady.

“That belong to you, Goldie?” He points at something in Ash’s hand.

My stomach drops.

The snail.

The last camera.

It’s cracked open, the damn camera actually exposed now.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck. I’m fucked.

I open my mouth to speak, but before I can say a word, Luke cuts me off, his voice sharp as a knife, and as deadly.

“Don’t. Don’t even start. I don’t want to hear another damn word out of your lying mouth.”

He storms into the bedroom and storms back out with my bag.

“Wait, Luke, please—just let me explain!” I plead, panic rising in my chest. But he’s not listening. And can I blame him? No. I can’t. Not a bit.

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