Page 15 of Found By the Mountain Man

From another building comes a group of men. My heart rate jumps a notch when I see the man in a blue robe. My target.

I take deep breaths to slow my pulse and find him in the crosshairs as he ascends the podium.

The rifle butts against my cheek and I click off the safety, ready to take my vengeance. This man hurt my girl, and he will pay. For the first time since I’ve been back, my hand doesn’t shake when I hold a gun.

It might be anger giving me focus or the love I have for Indigo, but my finger is steady as I put it to the trigger.

10

INDIGO

Istir in the night and roll over to snuggle into Rhys, but his side of the bed is empty. Not just empty. It’s cold.

“Rhys?” I sit up and check the bedside clock. It’s five-twenty a.m. Too early to be up. But based on the way the covers are pulled up on his side of the bed, it’s clear he’s been gone for a while.

“Rhys,” I call louder this time as I slip out of bed. He’s not in the bathroom, so I pad out of the room.

But the cabin’s empty.

An uneasy feeling pools in my gut. Rhys hasn’t left my side since I got here. He may have gone trapping or hunting early, but he would have told me. I’m sure.

That’s when I see the note on the kitchen counter, and I snatch it up.

No one will hurt you again.

Back soon.

Rhys.

I stare at the note in horror.

No one will hurt you again.

My eyes dart to the gun rack on the wall. There’s one missing. It’s the long range rifle from the top rack, the one he takes when we go hunting.

My stomach drops as realization sets in. He’s gone to the compound. I told him who hurt me, and now he’s going to make them pay.

With my heart hammering in my chest, I grab the phone number that Symon left on the fridge. It’s not yet six a.m., but I can’t let Rhys do this for me.

Symon picks up on the second ring, his voice groggy from sleep.

“It’s Indigo. I need your help.”

It’s too much to explain on the phone, but Symon promises to come without question. I dress quickly and pace the front porch until his pickup arrives.

On the drive down the mountain, I explain about the cult and what I think Rhys is going to do.

I was embarrassed to tell anyone about my past, but now I’ve told two people in less than twelve hours. Symon takes in my story without judgment, and I feel a wave of affection for him. Not the same way I feel about Rhys, but as if we could be friends.

“I think Rhys is going to do something stupid. He took the long range rifle.”

Symon swears under his breath and pumps the accelerator.

“Do you think he has it in him to…to…shoot someone?”

Symon gives me an odd look. “You do know what he did in the military, right?”

Dread grips my heart. “I know he was a Marine.”

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