Mountain Hideaway. Christy Barritt

going to call the police.” Her words didn’t sound remotely convincing.

      “Go right ahead. I’ll wait here while you do it.” Their conversation felt a bit like a game. He’d made his move, she’d made hers and they continued to go back and forth. Trent knew good and well that she wouldn’t call the police. She had too much at stake. People who wanted to disappear did not call the police.

      “Why are you doing this?” Her voice cracked with desperation. “I’m giving you the chance to leave. Please. Just go.”

      “You have a lot of people who are concerned about you.” Seeing the worry in her loved ones’ eyes had been enough to compel him to stick with this case long after the time and funds had run out. He’d seen something in her family that he’d seen in himself all those years ago: pain and hurt. If possible, he wanted to spare them any more heartache.

      “You have the wrong person.” She said each word slowly, forcefully. It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself of the truth.

      But Trent heard the emotion there. The doubt. The fear. The moment of hesitation. There was no question this was the right woman.

      But she wasn’t going to give this whole act up now. He didn’t know what had driven her to come here, to hide for all these months. But it must be a strong reason.

      Whatever it was, she wasn’t budging. He had to think of a different approach because this one certainly wasn’t working. She wasn’t in the right emotional state to change her mind.

      “Okay, okay. Look, I’m sorry to have scared you.” He took a step backward. “I’ll leave.”

      He kept backing up until he reached the front door. A moment of hesitation hit him, and he started to try to persuade her again, but thought better of it. The woman was spooked. The fear that he’d seen in those big blue eyes of hers would make sure that any pleas for logic would go unheard.

      He couldn’t actually see the blue, but he remembered it from the photos of Theresa. Her eyes had been one of her most striking features. He recalled the earnest, sincere look—it was one that couldn’t be faked.

      He’d guess that this woman hadn’t lost that sincerity, either. The warmth in her eyes was something that was a part of her. The ability to show her character with one look, expressing deep emotions, communicating without a word.

      Kind of like Laurel. His heart ached at the memory.

      He gripped the doorknob, took one last look at the shadowy woman who still stood on guard and stepped outside.

      Just as he did, a bullet pierced the air.

       TWO

      Tessa froze at the sound. Someone was shooting! There was more than one person who’d shown up here. She should have known better.

      Before she could react, the man—the intruder—dived back into the house and slammed the door. “Get down!”

      She must not have been moving fast enough, because he threw himself over her. The knife flew from her hand and clattered to the corner.

      “We’ve got to get out of here!” he grumbled.

      She stiffened with alarm at the very suggestion. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

      “I’m not the one firing at you.” His breath was hot on her cheek, and his closeness caused heat to shoot through her. She’d been so isolated that human touch seemed foreign, surreal. In order to survive, she’d been forced to keep her distance from people.

      “This could all be an elaborate scheme on your part,” she said through clenched teeth. “Elaborate being the key word.”

      “I promise you that I’m on your side. I don’t want to die, either, and if we stay here, that’s what’s going to happen.” He looked at her a moment. “Can you trust me?”

      “I don’t even know you! Of course I can’t.”

      “You’re going to have to decide who you trust more, then—me or the men shooting outside your house.”

      “Neither!” Her answer came fast and left no room for uncertainty.

      As a bullet shattered the front window, his gaze caught hers. “Please, Ther—Tessa. I don’t want you to get hurt. Your family would be devastated if you were. These men must have followed me here.”

      Something in the man’s voice seemed sincere, and the mention of her family softened her heart. What if they had hired someone to find her? She could see them going to those measures.

      She’d known when she disappeared they would worry. But what else could she have done? Leo would kill them, too, if they knew too much. Leaving without giving them a reason had been the hardest thing she’d ever done.

      Tessa snapped back to the present and realized that she had little choice at this point but to go along with this Trent guy. Hesitantly, she nodded. “Fine, I’ll trust you for now.”

      “Good. Now we’re getting somewhere. We’ve got to get out here and make it to my Jeep. I’m sure those men outside have got their eyes on the doors. Are there any other exits?”

      “The basement. We can escape from the storm cellar. The door opens at the other side of the hot tub. The exit is hard to see, especially with the leaves covering the ground at this time of year.”

      “Perfect. Show me how to get there.”

      With trepidation, Tessa crawled across the floor. As she passed the iron poker by the fireplace, she briefly entertained the idea of grabbing it and knocking out the man beside her. Maybe she could get away on her own and take her chances. But Trent had proved himself to be quick and able. Besides, that would only cost them more time.

      She reached the basement door and nudged it open. Blackness stared at her on the other side, so dark and thick that her throat went dry. The basement was the last place she wanted to go. But what choice did she have?

      She half expected Trent to push her down the stairs, lock her in the damp space and later gloat that she’d fallen for his ruse. Ever since Leo, Tessa had a hard time trusting people. The situation at the moment felt overwhelming with all of its uncertainties.

      “You’ll be okay.” She heard the whispered assurance from behind her.

      He seemed to sense her fear. She nodded again and forced herself to continue. When she reached the first step, she stood, still hunched over and trying to make herself invisible.

      Another window shattered upstairs. Someone was definitely desperate to kill her. She only hoped she hadn’t trusted the wrong person.

      Just as she reached the basement floor, her foot caught. She started to lunge forward when a strong hand caught her shoulder and righted her. “You okay?”

      “I’m fine,” she whispered, still shaky.

      When her feet found solid ground, she expected to feel relief. Instead, her quivers intensified. She couldn’t see anything down here. Someone could be hiding, just waiting to attack.

      Trent gripped her arm. “Can you tell me where the stairway that leads outside is?”

      “To the right.”

      He propelled her forward, not waiting for her to gather herself. Before she realized what was happening, he led her up another set of steps, through some cobwebs, and then stopped.

      “Stay right here,” he whispered.

      With measured motions, he slid the latch to the side and cracked the exterior door open. Moonlight slithered inside, along with a cool burst of air.

      As she listened, her heart pounded in her chest with enough force that she felt certain anyone within a mile could hear it. This could be it. She