Buried Mountain Secrets. Terri Reed

proved it.

      This was her fault. Her heart sank.

      She should never have let him go looking for the treasure. She was such a bad parent.

      A soft scoff escaped. She wasn’t a parent; she was his sister, but the only maternal figure he’d known for the last ten years. A deep ache throbbed in her heart. She missed their parents so much. It wasn’t fair they’d been taken from them.

      The sheriff walked over to her side. “Miss Gallo, how are you doing?”

      She reined in her tumultuous thoughts and said, “I’ll do better once I’m able to talk to my brother and make sure he’s okay.”

      The sheriff nodded. “I understand. It’s hard when we have someone we love in jeopardy. But you also had your fair share of danger today,” he replied. “Can you tell me about the attacks?”

      Was he just trying to distract her? She kept her gaze on the trailhead. Where were they?

      “There’s not much to tell,” she said. “The first one happened while I was going up to Aspen Creek Trail, calling for my brother. I noticed the edge of his backpack sticking out from under some bushes.” Her breath hitched, remembering the terror of finding the bag but not Brady. “A few moments later, somebody tackled me from behind.”

      “You managed to escape.” There was admiration in the older man’s voice. “Good for you.”

      If her friend Leslie hadn’t taught her some self-defense moves, Maya wouldn’t have known what to do. “I ran deeper into the forest and hid until he was gone. That’s really all there is to tell you.”

      He searched her face as if he was trying to see into her memory because apparently her words just weren’t getting the job done for him. “Alex said you didn’t get a look at his face, only his eyes?”

      “That’s right. He had on a dark hoodie and a mask that had no mouth covering his face.”

      “Were his eyes bloodshot? Any indication he was on drugs?”

      She arched an eyebrow. “I was a little too busy trying to get away from him to really notice much else. I just remember a very cold expression in his eyes. He cursed a lot.”

      “Do you think you’d recognize his voice?”

      “I don’t know. He was mumbling so probably not.”

      “And the man who knocked you off Truman? Could that have been the same man?”

      “I would assume so, unless there are two maniacs running around attacking people.” She shrugged and then regretted the movement. “It happened so fast. I am just thankful Alex was with me.”

      “Can you think of a reason why you would be targeted?” the sheriff asked.

      A wave of fear crashed over her. “No. I have no idea why someone would want to hurt me.”

      Movement at the trailhead drew her gaze. Her heart fluttered with renewed anxiety.

      “Here they come,” Kaitlyn said.

      Despite the pain in her shoulder, Maya forced herself to a sitting position. Though the paramedics had said her shoulder didn’t appear broken, she would need an X-ray to confirm. It did hurt but not as bad as her heart for her brother.

      Finally, she saw Brady lying on the gurney the two paramedics wheeled as best they could over the rough terrain. The panic in her chest eased.

      Her gaze zeroed in on Alex, walking a few feet behind Brady. So handsome. So protective. She sent up a quick thank-You to God for sending Alex.

      Then she noticed Alex and Deputy Fredrick were ushering five people out of the forest. Who were these people? Had they hurt her brother?

      She tried to get off the gurney, but Kaitlyn stopped her with a hand on her good shoulder.

      “Stay put,” she said. “They’ll bring him to you. Don’t worry.”

      “Kait, this is just torture. I need to be with my brother.”

      “Patience,” Kaitlyn murmured.

      Maya stifled a snort. Patience wasn’t always an easy virtue.

      As soon as Brady was close, she reached out and grasped his hand. “I thank God you’re okay. I was so worried.” Terrified was more like it.

      He hung his head in apparent abjection. “I’m sorry, Maya. I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

      She squeezed his hand. “What happened?”

      “I—I fell.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes. “I don’t remember how. I just went tumbling and landed by the creek. I tried to get up but my ankle hurt.”

      “Looks like a bad sprain,” the female EMT, Gabby, said. “But like with you, we won’t know if anything is broken until an X-ray is taken. We’ve stabilized his ankle, though.”

      Jake spoke up. “We’re taking you both to the hospital.”

      Maya winced. She hated hospitals. They brought back memories of the night her parents crashed their car coming down from Eagle Crest Mountain. The smells, the sounds... They tormented her for years afterward.

      Alex stepped close and she met his gaze, grateful for his steady presence. “Thank you, Alex, I really appreciate all you’ve done for us.”

      “Just doing my job,” he said, though she could see he was pleased by her appreciation, which did funny things to her insides. “I’ll come check on you and Brady at the hospital.”

      She didn’t want to admit how much she liked that idea. She felt safe with him around. “What about my Jeep?”

      “Why don’t you give me your keys and I’ll bring it to you?” he said, holding out his hand.

      “That would be great.” She dug her car keys from the pocket of her jacket and handed them over to him. “Again, thank you.”

      He gave her a smile that made her heart flutter in a way that left her a bit tongue-tied.

      “Honestly, it was my pleasure.” He cleared his throat and then turned to nod to the paramedics. “Let’s get them to the hospital.”

      As Maya and Brady were loaded into the ambulance bay, she held Brady’s hand but her gaze stayed on Alex as he moved over to the group of people that had come down the trail with him.

      He’d not only rescued her and then protected her, he’d also brought her brother back to her. Alex was a really good man. Her parents would have liked him.

      Too bad she wasn’t looking for a really good man in her life. Or any man for that matter. She had more than enough to deal with as it was with Brady and the store. Putting herself out there for more heartache wasn’t an option.

      * * *

      Alex looked at the group around him. Since he didn’t have grounds to detain them, the most he could hope for was their willing cooperation. “Okay, people. Deputy Chase Fredrick and Deputy Daniel Rawlings—” he gestured to the two deputies “—will take your information. Are you all staying here in town?”

      “Yes, sir. The Bristle Hotel,” the man named Greg offered.

      Good. He’d know where to find them if it turned out the deceased had met with foul play. Alex searched each face, wondering if one of these people was a murderer and/or Maya’s assailant. He wasn’t ready to reveal more until the area where the deceased man had been found could be processed in the daylight.

      Leaving Chase and Daniel in charge of the five hikers, Alex informed his boss of the plan to question the hikers once he had some more information.

      Sheriff Ryder nodded his approval. “You’re doing well, son.”

      The praise was nice to hear, even if it made him uncomfortable. He’d never received much