Matteo folded his arms. “Wouldn’t he have come out of it by now?”
I lowered my voice to Viktor. “What the hell was he doing out here? And a poison dart? I think you need to call home as soon as you can and find out what’s going on.”
Viktor stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. “If he’s immune to stunners, we’ll have to tie him up.”
One of the men behind Matteo said, “We have chains in case of intruders. I’ll get them.” The man jogged toward the barn.
Reuben descended the steps of the porch and approached the scene. “You’ll have to take him with you when you leave in the morning. You’re responsible for him, and I trust you’ll do the right thing and turn him over to the higher authority. If he knows where this place is, he’s a liability.”
I stood up and dusted off my sweatpants. “Reuben, if you have extra guards, you might want to put them around the property tonight. This guy has friends, and we don’t know why he was gunning for the children. It wasn’t an attempted abduction; he wanted them dead.”
Reuben snapped his finger at one of the men, who then hurried off.
Matteo glanced at the greenhouse and looked around. “This is quite a piece of land you have.”
Reuben stared at the rogue Chitah for a long time. “You’re the one who lives in the cabin south of here, aren’t you? Our scouts reported you.”
Matteo stroked his beard. “No need to scrub my memories. I’ve seen children traversing through my territory. You can’t keep that a secret. What you do with them, however,isa secret. One I don’t understand. But I’ve never scented any fear on their part, so I left it alone.”
“You’ve seen other kids?”
“You travel the same path each time. That’s a fool’s errand. When you create a recognizable scent trail, you catch the attention of local rogues.” Matteo lightly kicked at the ground. “Consider taking a different path every time.”
Reuben looked up at the stars blinking in the night sky. “The transporters would only get lost.”
“No kidding,” I chimed in. “Wealmost got lost. This mountain is nothing but a maze of trees and no clear landmarks.”
“Is that bread I smell?” Matteo lifted his nose when a breeze picked up.
Reuben gestured toward the greenhouse. “You’re welcome to it.”
After a curt nod, Matteo strode past him and climbed the steps.
I eased up next to Reuben. “I get why you hire people like us to bring the kids. But we’re city people, and it doesn’t take much to get lost. Maybe what you need is a guide who knows these woods inside out.”
Reuben arched an eyebrow. “Mm-hmm. And you know of such a man?”
“Would you be willing? You hire outsiders to work here, but maybe you need a local to keep an eye on things and help the teams move through without incident.”
“That is not a bad idea,” Viktor agreed. “When we moved off the trail, it became difficult to navigate. Matteo was very resourceful. It would be a shame if you treated him as an enemy.”
Reuben tightened our circle. “Our hands are tied with local landowners. We don’t have the power to kick them out, but we have to keep a close eye on them and make sure they don’t get too nosy. We appreciate that he’s kept to himself. Not everyone has.”
“He’s a skilled trapper,” I added. “You should see the trap he built that I fell in.”
Reuben stole a glance at Matteo, who was feasting at the table by candlelight. “Is that right?”
When Viktor signaled that he wanted to speak to Reuben alone, I wandered back to the porch and ascended the steps.
“How’s the bread?”
Matteo had claimed the entire basket and didn’t bother buttering it. “Fresh. Not as good as my recipe.”
I sat down across from him. “Maybe you could teach them.”
He chewed off another bite, flecks of bread crumbs clinging to his beard and scattering on the table. “I doubt they need any help.”
“Don’t be so sure about that.”
