Lindsey could hardly stand still as she watched Todd line up in front of the cabin door. Megan was inside! But they had to get the jump on the guard, a man who appeared bigger and stronger than Todd. And probably meaner for good measure.
Her stomach threatened to reject her breakfast.
With a quick glance to ensure she was out of the line of fire as he’d instructed, Todd raised his foot and kicked the door, right next to the flimsy lock. None of the cabins had deadbolts, save the big one on the opposite end of the compound.
The door slammed open.
Meg yelped.
The man on the couch jumped and turned, reaching for something behind his back.
“Don’t fucking twitch, Pete!” Todd aimed his gun at the other man’s chest, his own stance solid, his face flushed but eerily calm.
Wait, did Todd know this guy?
Maybe he’d overheard the man’s name when he was eavesdropping outside. Reasonable, but unease hooked its claws into her skin.
“Drop your weapon and slide it away from you.”
The big man’s face turned red, but he set his shiny gun on the floor and kicked it toward Meg. “I heard you were sniffing around. You fixin’ to shoot me, Okie?” he asked, in a mocking accent. “One shout from me and you’ll be outnumbered.”
Okie?Either Pete had a knack for accents, or they knew each other.
“You yell, I pull the trigger,” Todd said, his blue eyes glittering like shards of ice. “It’s the least you deserve for Bethany and Jason. Don’t think I’ll hesitate.”
Pete flinched.
What the hell was going on?
“Lindsey?” Megan stood to the side of the sofa with no visible injuries, her eyes wide. “Ohmigod. What are you doing here?”
Lindsey rushed past the men to give Meg a hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay. We came back for you.”
Megan pulled back, her gaze skittering between the men and back to Lindsey, her brows drawn. “Where’d you find the hottie?”
Was that really the most pressing thing on her friend’s mind right now? Maybe she was in shock. “He saved me from JJ,” Lindsey said. “I can tell more you on the way down.” She looked around the single room, which held a ratty couch, a scarred coffee table, a microwave atop a mini-fridge, and a double bed shoved into the far corner. Had Meg been forced to share that bed? Something dark and tar-like slid down her throat at the thought. “Is there a jacket you can grab?”
Megan’s expression was a disconcerting blend of disbelief and uncertainty. “Uh, sure.”
“I’ve gotta hand it to you, Brennan,” the guard said, holding his beefy hands in the air. “I never expected you to chase me all the way to Montana.”
A fist squeezed all the air from her lungs. So Todd had been tracking Pete all along?
It made sense. He’d been heading up the trail toward the compound when they’d met, and she’d sensed several times that he was keeping something from her…
And yet, he’d kept her safe and done exactly as she asked, bringing her here to rescue Meg. Maybe not for purely selfless reasons after all, but did that matter?
No. But why lie?
Her heart kicked. Unless it hadallbeen lies. She had trusted him almost instantly, but what did she really know?
His character.
His protectiveness.
The touch of his hands, his lips, the way he filled her body…
She flushed from head to toe and mentally shook off the images. She’d taken him at his word that he was a bodyguard, a former PJ. It had explained his skills and his gun and his contacts. But if he were somehow involved with these men—Competitors? Unhappy co-conspirators?—that would also fit.
