Page 13 of Battle Mountain

“You can’t stay much longer, I’d guess. Your Wyoming winter is coming. You’ve got your falcons to think about, even if you don’t think about your own welfare.”

Nate reluctantly agreed. As the days got shorter and the nights longer, he’d been thinking about that. Game in the canyon was getting harder to find, and soon the creek would freeze over. It had already snowed a couple of times.

“Will you go home?” Geronimo asked.

Nate shook his head. “I’m not ready yet. I may never be.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t be near anyone who could get hurt. Not again.”

Geronimo said, “If things were normal in my world, I’d offer to let you stay at my place in Colorado. You know we have a couple of guest rooms.”

“I remember,” Nate said.

“But my circumstances have changed.” As he said it, Geronimo’s expression darkened. “I’m on the run like you are, just for different reasons. That’s why I’m here.”

“What are the circumstances?” Nate asked.

“For one thing, I’ve heard through some friends that the FBI is looking into us. Some agent named Orr has been asking questions.”

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” Nate said. “But I’m not familiar with Agent Orr. What else made you go on the run?”

It was Geronimo’s turn to look away. “I’ll tell you all about it, but not right now. You need to shake free of all of this and come with me. I need you at your best.”

“What if I’m not there yet?” Nate asked.

“Then I’ll go it alone. But I’d rather not.”

—

When he’d arrived,Geronimo had unslung a shotgun and propped it against the cave wall behind him. Nate now eyed it and asked, “New shotgun?”

Geronimo’s previous weapon of choice had been a unique triple-barrel 12-gauge. He said, “It’s a Benelli M1014 semiauto. It’ll hold six in the tube and one more in the receiver with that extension on it.”

Nate raised his eyebrows.

“I figured I’d need more firepower for what comes next,” Geronimo said.

“What comes next?”

“That’s what I’m here to talk to you about,” Geronimo said.

“Axel?”

Geronimo nodded. “He came after me and my family, too. Or at least his goons did.”

Nate felt a sharp twinge of fear. “Is Jacinda…”

“She’s all right. I packed her and Pearl up and drove them to her mother’s house in Detroit. But it was a close call, and the only reason I’m here today is pure luck.”

“What happened?” Nate asked.

“I’ll tell you all about it,” Geronimo said. “We’ll have plenty of time together now that I’ve found you.”

Nate didn’t reply.

Geronimo glared at him. “So let’s get you off your skinny grieving ass and go after that son of a bitch and his pack of animals, since you missed him the last time.”

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