Page 19 of ELITE Protection
“I’m afraid not, Blink.” Alex went on to reassure her, “But SOCOM has a few things in the works and hopefully you can return to your family soon.”
“In the meantime, we’re headed to the safest place I know.” Isaac’s gaze swept the parking lot one last time before he closed the tall wooden fence gate at the employee entrance to what employees fondly called the Cat House.
“Have you ever hitchhiked before?” Isaac asked as he led her to the maintenance building.
CHAPTER8
Hannah’s thighs burned,her calves ached, and she was positive she had used muscles that had never been stretched and pulled before. When Isaac had said the cabin was on the backside of Lone Mountain, he had neglected to say there was a mini-mountain in between.
Fortunately, they had gained enough speed to make it part way up but climbing at seven thousand feet above sea level with six-foot boards strapped to her feet was far from a walk on the paved part of the Atlanta BeltLine. Then there was the added weight of her pack and her duffel which Isaac had cleverly strapped into one unit. It weighed as much as she did, but she had kept up without a single complaint.
Isaac had been right. The cabin was so remote she immediately felt safe.
“We’ll leave our skis out here,” he said as he leaned his against the bare logs under the porch.
“Talk about the convenience of skiing in and out, this place is perfect.” Hannah jammed the tip of her pole into her binding, releasing the boot.
“It doesn’t get near as much snow here under the canopy,” Isaac explained. “The pine trees act like an umbrella. They also protect this place from the wind.”
“But aren’t those steps?” She pointed to where the railings left a six-foot opening and placed her skis next to his.
Isaac’s smile warmed her all the way through. “Yeah. There’s about four feet of snow out there. That’s nothing compared to the seventy-five inches at the top of the mountain.”
Isaac walked to the far end of the porch and ran his hands underneath one of the protruding log ends. It popped open to reveal a security pad and keys. He entered a code and she heard metal scraping on metal.
“Steel rods secure the door,” he explained, returning the wood piece. “Uncle Samuel is a bit of a security nut.”
“I’ll thank him for that as soon as I get to meet him.”
Isaac gave her an incredulous look. “What makes you think you’re going to meet that old goat?”
“Doesn’t he live here?” she asked as he pushed the door open.
“No.” Isaac stepped aside to make room for her on the commercial-grade rug. “He has a house just outside Bozeman. I would never call this a hunting cabin because that would assume he comes here to primarily hunt. It’s more like his autonomous zone.” He smiled. “My uncle doesn’t like people, so he hides away from the rest of the world here. Although during the season, he also uses this as a base camp for hunting.”
Hannah wasn’t sure what she had expected, but this wasn’t even close. Although it lacked feminine touches, it had every modern amenity. Two recliners, separated by an end table, could be swiveled to face the large screen television that took up most of one wall or turned toward the huge stone fireplace in the center of the open concept room. A six-person dining table sat on the far side. A long breakfast island separated the kitchen, which gleamed with stainless steel appliances.
She felt Isaac tug on her pack and allowed him to hold it while she slid out of the straps. She turned to help him, but his pack already sat on the floor.
He kneeled and reached in, extracting his snow boots. “I need to get the generator started. Take the bedroom on the left. There should be clean sheets in the hall closet.”
“Thanks.” She smiled sheepishly. “Does this place have running water? I…um…need—”
“Give me two minutes to get the generator running. It provides power to the pump.” He grinned. “Or you’re welcome to pick a tree. They’re so big around here, I’d never see you hiding behind one.”
“No worries, Snowman, it wouldn’t be the first time I peed outdoors.” A memory suddenly crossed her mind. “Remember the trees we hit at the base of Lone Mountain? The last time my brother and I went backcountry, the guide had us build camp about fifty yards into those woods. I can guarantee you; I marked the base of several trees in that area.”
“First, no need for codenames anymore.” His white smile blended with the frozen snow embedded in his beard. “As soon as we got here, I pinged the location and Atlanta dropped all communication. When the generator is up, I’ll turn on the external sensors and connect them to Guardian. Second, that’s a great place to camp. Third, we have a complete bathroom here and hot water. Or we will have hot water as—”
She giggled and they completed the sentence together. “As soon as you get the generator going.”
He was so easy to be around, fun even. He truly seemed to enjoy teasing her.
“I called you Snowman because you look like one, right now.” With her index finger, she touched his cold, bluish lips, tracing their outline. “Even your lips are nearly white.”
He bent to her ear and just above a whisper, he asked, “Care to warm them up for me? There are no cameras or audio equipment inside this cabin.”
“Good to know.” She leaned back and brushed her lips across his. “There’s more where that came from, but first, I’m freezing my ass off. You get that generator started, and I’ll build a fire.” She turned toward the wood stacked conveniently next to the large stone fireplace.
