Page 23 of Hunted By the Mountain Man

I smile reassuringly. “What time are you supposed to meet up with them? And why were you doing shuttle service today instead of going with them?”

He shrugs. “My plantar fasciitis is acting up again. My broken down van and all this walking haven’t helped it one bit.”

“Why didn’t you tell the rangers about what happened so they could pick up the crew?”

He lowers his voice in a mock tone of authority. “Because, as they put it, ‘We’re not a shuttle service for wayward hikers. And you shouldn’t be out here anyway with the murder investigation going on.’” He runs his hand through his light brown hair, ungluing it from the crown of his head. “I swear, they’re going to shut down the whole Southern Portal if they keep this shit up.”

“Have you heard anything more about what happened to the hikers?”

Ralph shrugs. “Unless the ghost of Ted Wesley Craven has returned, the sheriff’s department has no clue.”

“Now, that’s a scary thought.”

He nods.

“Can you pull up Silver Ridge on maps? I’m not sure how to get there.”

Ralph shrugs. “It’s easy. I’ll give you directions.”

ChapterEleven

BEAU

I’m beside myself to find Brynn and fix things. I have to. I should never have let her leave, but it would have involved literal abduction to keep her here. As Mr. Lovelace said on the phone, once Brynn’s made up her mind, changing it requires an act of God.

I call and text her over and over until it’s thoroughly clear that she refuses to respond to me. Goddammit! She couldn’t have picked a worse time to disappear on me. Even if she hates my fucking guy and can’t stand to be near me, she still needs my protection.

How do I make her see that her dad and I only had her best interests at heart? That we have to keep her safe from the most evil aspects of the world. The problem is, she’s been so sheltered that she doesn’t know what true depravity looks like or how it consumes the innocent.

I dress quickly, determined to track her down … convince her to give me another chance. No matter what it takes. Even though the way she left triggered my abandonment issues in ugly fucking ways.

I remind myself I fucked with her deepest emotional wounds, too. Even though I wasn’t trying to manipulate her, and I never wanted to lie. She has to see reason. I have to find a way to explain everything to her that makes sense, but first, I have to find the woman who’s stolen my heart.

Getting up my truck and jumping in the cab, my phone rings, and I grab it frantically, hoping to see Brynn’s number. Instead, I read: Christian McLeod. He’s an old Marine comrade who now serves as the sheriff of Gold County. Like Vengeance, Gold County has also been touched by Ted Wesley Craven.

“McLeod, thanks for getting back to me so quickly.” I called him yesterday after finding the bodies.

“I should’ve done it even sooner, but I’ve been swamped by media calls all morning, wanting to revisit Craven’s last attempted murder and his death in our county.”

“No worries. Will’s swamped, too. That’s why I wanted to touch base, see if you’d seen anything consistent with a potential copycat murderer.”

“Fortunately, everything’s been most peaceful since the bastard threw himself over a cliff?—”

“Wait, he killed himself?” I remember the news at the time, something about the man dying in the woods while chasing an intended victim. But for some reason, I never registered it as a suicide.

“No.” McLeod chuckles. “The dumb fuck ran off a cliff in the dark, pursuing the true crime reporter who was investigating him.”

I grunt.

“The reporter ended up marrying my brother, Logan. I can give you their contact information.”

“Thank you. I’d like to read her articles on the case, too. She’s certain Craven was the right guy for the earlier murders?”

“One hundred and fifty percent. Look up Jess Steele and theChronicle.”

“Thank you.”

“Sorry to hear about the murdered hikers. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help out an old friend.”

---