Page 28 of Hunted By the Mountain Man

Whispering next to my ear, he says, “I fucked them up so bad they couldn’t walk if they tried. And then, I buried them alive.” He laughs menacingly, stepping back and letting go of my arm to scrutinize the expression on my face.

I back away from him a few frantic paces, my heels gripping the edge of the cliff. I didn’t know this type of evil existed. Everything Beau said in defense of my dad hiring him to watch over me makes sense.

Turning his back to me, Ralph rifles through a pile of brush I hadn’t noticed until now. It looks artificial, and what he pulls from it confirms my observation—an angry-looking, compact red shovel with a shark-tooth serrated edge. Off-roaders often carry them on their vehicles to dig out of mud. He’s also got rope, duct tape, and a small camouflage-colored bag. Unzipping the bag, he pulls out condoms and lube, and my throat tightens.

“It’s time to find out how good a friend you really are, Brynn…”

Shffft. Shffft. Shffft. Alarm fills Ralph’s face for one unforgettable moment before he looks down at his arms and chest where arrows lodge in his flesh like porcupine spikes. His eyes round, and he lunges toward me, his face grim yet determined.

I shuffle along the cliff’s edge, putting some distance between me and Ralph as he stumbles forward, looking down quizzically at the arrows once more. Beau bursts from the tree line, sprinting towards Ralph and picking him up by his neck. He extends his arm towards the edge of the cliff, his face hard, the muscles in his thick neck and corded arms straining.

Ralph’s toes scrape the edge of the rocks, sending loose gravel flailing down the gorge. His eyes bulge, and a smile alights his lips. “Over a cliff…” he sputters. “Just like my hero, Craven.”

Beau’s face goes stone cold. With one efficient move, he throws Ralph back onto the trail, leaning forward to drive the arrow shafts deeper into his limbs and chest, pinning the killer spread-eagled to the ground as he wails.

Beau growls. “Is that what you want? To die like your fucking hero.” He grabs the red shovel next to Ralph, along with a handful of soil, forcing it into the killer’s mouth and nose. Beau and I watch grave-faced as the man chokes and struggles against the arrows, unable to clear his airways.

Towering over the pathetic man, Beau’s face darkens. “I know you buried those two women alive, you sick fuck.” With one downward thrust at Ralph’s neck, he finishes the psychopath and his brief reign of terror.

ChapterFourteen

BEAU

“Ihave to hand it to you,” Will whispers in my guest bedroom. “That was poetic justice at its finest.” We stand in this room, giving his wife, Mandy, a nurse practitioner, and Brynn some privacy in the living room as she assesses and cleans the redhead’s injuries.

I rub my hand over my face. “It was far too merciful. But I’m here to stop sickos from hurting the innocent. God can give them their just desserts.”

“Well, you certainly did that.”

I nod, the weight of the burden I bear not remotely lifted by his words.

My head spins with the sickening discoveries the coroner made about Rachel Maxfield and Penny White’s murders. I may be a vigilante and former sniper, but I’ll never wrap my head around killing without provocation, out of some sick pleasure-seeking impulse.

I raise an eyebrow, muttering, “Will my creativity make things difficult for you?”

“Not at all,” Will shrugs. “You rescued Brynn, and in the ensuing struggle, Wade fell over the cliff into some of Vengeance County’s most impenetrable, rugged terrain. By the time someone finds him, if someone finds him, the bears, wolves, mountain lions, and badgers will have had their way, I imagine.”

I pulled the arrows from Ralph Wade’s corpse myself and threw the shovel over the cliff. Leveling my gaze on Will, I nod an unspoken understanding. “And the announcement about what happened?”

“Already written. But I’ll give you and Brynn a few days before I release her name, and the media frenzy begins. While I can keep you anonymous, your girl’s famous. So, don’t expect to get off as easily with her.”

I grunt, “A sheriff’s perimeter would be welcome.”

“Done.”

Now, I just have to convince Brynn to stay with me. Easier said than done. Especially after the side she saw of me in the woods. A side I warned her about but could never truly prepare her for.

Mandy confirms Brynn has no concussion and that her jaw and wrist aren’t broken. The nurse practitioner rules out other injuries, and she prescribes pain pills and a wrist brace as needed.

After Will and Mandy depart, I stand in the entrance to the living room, assessing Brynn’s bruised face and split lip. She’s covered in perspiration, dirt, and blood, and I wonder why in the hell I ended Ralph so mercifully. I should’ve cut off his balls and dick with the shovel before ever touching his neck.

Fat teardrops roll down her cheeks as her wide, periwinkle eyes observe me. I expect to see recrimination or terror. Instead, I find relief, gratefulness, and tenderness. I can’t stand the distance between us any longer, striding towards her. She rushes in my direction, meeting me in the middle of my living room and clinging desperately to my waist.

I palm her cheeks gently, running my thumb over the red, swollen patch that’s already beginning to bruise. My other thumb glides over her bottom lip, barely touching the newly formed scab. Tears flood my cheeks as I say in broken tones, “I can’t stand to see what he did to you, Butterfly. It breaks my fucking heart. It makes me want to kill him again and again.” My voice sounds far away, and I feel myself slipping into a very dark place I try never to go.

“Beau, you saved me,” she squeaks, bringing her hands up to my cheeks to wipe away my tears.

“I should’ve gotten there sooner. To think what he almost did to you… God!” I scream, every muscle trembling with rage.

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