Page 40 of Running to the Mountain Man

Louisa and Olivia look like they want to vomit.

Georgie remains stoic in the face of this wild turn of events. “What do you need Orlyn for?”

“Failure to appear.”

Olivia curses under her breath. Wylie slips an arm around her.

The Prophet is on the run again.

The man in the leather jacket hands over a business card to Georgie. She looks down at it and reads the name out loud. “Jefferson Hope.”

She looks back up at the man. “You’re a bounty hunter?”

Jefferson clears his throat. “Among other things. I also juggle and sing karaoke in my spare time. Shit, I don’t know why I told you that.”

Georgie smiles. “If I see him, I’ll tell him you’re looking for him.”

I exchange looks with Louisa and Olivia. We communicate volumes with our eyes.

“Sorry, I’m fucking this all up,” Jefferson says. “I meant you should call me if you see him, okay? Do not under any circumstances approach him or tell him that I’m looking for him. He’s a very dangerous man.”

“Oh, we know,” Georgie says.

Jefferson reaches out and plucks a bit of lint from her sweater.

“Are you sure there’s nothing you want to tell me?”

Georgie turns bright pink and says breathily, “M-my name’s Georgeanne Turner. If you need me, I mean, if you have any questions. I mean, I’ll call you.”

This hulking biker-type dude runs a hand through his hair and laughs awkwardly. “Okay, perfect. Sounds good.”

Georgie turns to all of us, looking at me with a grimace. “Orlyn knows about the safe house. That’s the only thing that can explain how Mark gave him this address.”

“Although,” Jefferson offers, “he’s been pretty busy lately, what with the campaign and all, so it stands to reason he gave me the wrong address by accident.”

Ellis takes a step forward, his face ashen. “What campaign?”

Jefferson scans the room, looking like he’s just encountered a crown of people living under a rock. “Well, now, I’m sure you heard. Sheriff Ogle isn’t running again, so the position is open.”

“He can’t run. He just got his officer certification months ago. Less than that,” Louisa says, her voice quavering.

I rest a hand on her back, trying to keep her calm.

Jefferson puts his hands up in surrender. “Look, I don’t know that you necessarily need certain qualifications. From what I understand, anybody can run for just about any office.”

I look at Olivia and Louisa and shake my head. “We have to focus on one problem at a time.”

“I should be going. Nice to meet you, Georgeanne.” Jefferson disappears out the door and bounds down the steps. Olivia, Louisa, Wylie, and Ellis peek through the blinds of the picture window and watch the man hop on his motorcycle and rumble away.

“Elder Mark found out about the safe house and gave the address. He knows full well that Orlyn’s not here. We have to get everyone to some other safe place,” I say.

Louisa and Olivia nod in agreement.

Georgie shakes her head. “No. I have to go back to the compound.”

All eyes turn to her. “Are you crazy?” I ask.

“Mark has his eye on all of us. He’s not going to stop following us, and he’s not going to stop helping the Prophet. If I go back to the compound?—”

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