Page 83 of Unlawful Seduction

Guide Beckett. He’s not a bad man no matter what he tells me.

Nothing seemed appropriate.

I was completely out of practice.

Another slight sound drew my attention.

Boots on the front deck.

As a scream bubbled to the surface, I willed my feet to move.

I didn’t make it to the kitchen before the front door burst open and all I could see was the barrel of a gun.

CHAPTER 21

Beckett

Danger.

I’d faced it countless times in my life, barely flinching when someone had a gun pointed in my face or when I was facing the throes of certain death with a knife driven into my jugular. Hell, even the two times I’d been arrested by a crooked cop, tossed in a jail cell as if I was an animal hadn’t bothered me in the least. I was a tough man, more so than almost any other.

But I’d been entirely alone in my endeavors and whenever I’d been forced to face my maker. Not so this time.

There was no time to waste. I was shocked the cabin hadn’t been overtaken by men wielding weapons. My only guess was that they were waiting until it got dark. That could provide them with an advantage. With only an hour of daylight left, I’d been forced to make a decision and act fast. We could either stay and face the music, which meant we’d be sitting ducks, or attempt to get the hell off the mountain.

I’d chosen the latter. There was too much to lose and my guest wasn’t prepared to face a fight.

It had taken me a few minutes to see the direction they’d come from. The fuckers had painstakingly covered their tracks, but I’d eventually discovered the deep grooves in the bottom layer of ice and snow from oversized tires. My question was what the hell were they waiting for?

The moment I burst into the front door, the level of fear I’d seen in Mallory’s eyes brought the strongest wave of rage I’d felt in all my years.

“Christ, Beckett.” She gasped for air.

“You okay?”

“Not really. I’m scared shitless.”

“We’re leaving,” I told her as I rushed through the house toward the hallway leading to my stash of weapons.

“What’s happening?” She trailed behind me.

“We’ve been made.”

“What does that mean? How?”

“The truck has been disabled. I can’t see how they managed it.” I bolted into my office, immediately yanking the closet doors open and yanking out a duffle bag that I’d put together well over a year before. The go bag not only contained additional weapons and ammunition, but items I’d need while on the move.

“Oh, my God. What are we going to do?” To Mallory’s credit, she was right there in my face, doing everything in her power not to fall apart.

I moved to my safe, not wasting any time unlocking it. As I tossed additional weapons into the bag, I finally heard Jax whining from behind us. Taking him with us would be difficult.

“We’re leaving. Once we’re off the mountain, we’ll be fine.”

“Fine? You have fucking killers coming after you. How in the hell is anything going to be fine? What are we doing, walking?”

I said nothing and she grunted.

“The snowmobile,” she half whispered.

---