Page 87 of Mountain Mens' Curvy Obsession

“Chance,” she whispers, “you know what this means.”

“It’s not exactly a secret that we live up here,” I say, trying to comfort her. “We’ve got security in place, though. The cameras will have caught him.”

“You said you had motion sensors,” she manages, but the tremor in her voice sends my blood racing. “Why didn’t the motion sensors get triggered and alert you on your phone?”

That is a good and downright alarming question. “You’re right. I’m calling Nico and Booker back in to figure out what happened.”

“He stood right here on this porch, Chance.”

“Leo Sokolov isn’t getting anywhere near you, Anya.”

I take her in my arms and hold her close, feeling her heart beat furiously against mine. My words are no longer enough, however. I cannot quell the fear she’s drowning in right now. My comfort is useless in the face of this wretched note.

Leo made a point of showing Anya that she’s not safe anywhere.

And it’ll be a fucking pain to prove him wrong.

He just declared war and I know how the Russians fight—dirty and bloody. And a lot of people will die unless we figure out a way to take him out before he gets even closer to Anya.

24

Anya

The Hayes brothers spend the rest of the day checking CCTV footage and double-checking the motion sensors. They still can’t figure out how Leo got past them. How he made it all the way up to the porch to leave that note without tripping a sensor. The tension builds.

In the morning, I sneak into the backyard when the brothers are gathered in the living room, making another round of calls to their Navy buddies. I text Breonna again, constantly looking back at the house to make sure no one is coming out.

“What going on here?” Breonna quips as she stumbles out of the patch of woods that separates our property from hers. “Oh, you look like crap.”

“I haven’t been sleeping,” I mutter, then shush her. “Keep it down, though. I don’t want the guys to know you’re here.”

Breonna pauses for a moment, looking around in confusion. She’s a bright pink spot against the white snow, but she’s still a sight for these sore eyes. “Why the secrecy?” she whispers and comes closer to the back porch.

“I need your help. They can’t know.”

“Anya, I’m serious, you look so pale…” She seems genuinely worried. “I’ll eat in a bit; I promise. It’s just low blood sugar, that’s all. I’ll be okay once I get some cereal in me.”

“You need a proper hearty breakfast for you and the little one.”

“Fine,” I hiss. “Hearty breakfast. Eggs and veggies and… I don’t know, whatever cheese we have left in the fridge. Listen, Breonna, I really need your help.”

“What’s going on?” she asks and looks around again. “Don’t tell me that Leo dude came back.”

I nod once. “He most certainly did, and he left me this on the front door.”

I show Breonna the note and watch the color drain from her cheeks as she reads his ominous message. My blood curdles as I, too, go over the words again before I put the note back in my pocket.

“What are you going to do about it? What are the guys going to do about it? Sheriff Mills? You need to call the FBI or something. You can’t—”

I cut her off. “It doesn’t work like that, not with Leo Sokolov. Nico must’ve told you what he’s about, what the Russian mob is about. Breonna, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of me. It’s only a matter of time before Leo does something awful to get to me.”

She nods slowly, her gaze wandering about. “Okay. What do you want to do, Anya?”

“As much as I hate it, I have to leave at a moment’s notice, when no one is looking.”

“Are you serious?”

I shrug. “What else can I do? Nico, Booker, and Chance will fight tooth and nail for me, I know. But how many innocent people will get hurt in the process? The folks down in Seeley Lake are all in danger because of me.”

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