Page 68 of Mountain Struggle

Don’t want to get shot if I can avoid it.

She lifted her arms away from her body slightly so her hands were both visible.

As she approached the house a rough voice spoke from inside—it was the same man who’d been on the phone with Damien, the same man who’d kidnapped them that day by the waterfall.

“Don’t come any closer.”

Tess stopped immediately.

“Take off your jacket.”

Her fingers shook slightly as she undid the zipper of her jacket and took it off. She’d taken off her jumper earlier in the hike, so she was just wearing a pale blue tank top. She felt naked but resisted the urge to cross her arms over her chest. This wasn’t the time to show weakness.

The wooden door groaned and opened a crack to reveal a large heavy-set man. He wasn’t wearing a hat this time, so Tess took her time inspecting his face. He was older than she’d originally thought when she’d seen him by the waterfall, probably in his late forties. Still, he looked strong as an ox. His hands were large and square, the nails bitten to stubs.

“Leave that on the ground,” he ordered. “Now turn around.”

Tess bristled at this last order but turned around slowly. She hadn’t realized when she’d gotten dressed that morning what a great outfit choice she’d made—neither the leggings nor the tank top could hide any kind of weapon.

“Come inside,” he said roughly.

“I want to see Jamie first,” she said, wishing her voice sounded stronger.

She took a quick step back as the door opened fully—she hadn’t expected him to do as she said. Peering behind the man, she saw a small shape huddled in the corner.

“Jamie!” Tess shouted, and suddenly she was running into the hut, past the large man, who moved aside quickly for someone his size.

She dove for the corner where Jamie sat, barely even noticing the wooden door closing behind her. Jamie sat with his little knees up against his chest, his expression pinched—he wasn’t crying now, but his eyes were red-rimmed, his round blue glasses stained with dried tears.

For a moment Jamie didn’t move, as if he couldn’t really believe his eyes—then he launched his little body against hers, slamming into her so hard she would have lost her balance if she wasn’t already falling to her knees beside him.

“Jamie, are you okay?” she said, struggling to keep herself from crying. She had to stay strong—for both of them.

“Tess!” Jamie sniffled, hiding his face in Tess’s chest. She held his trembling body and scowled at the man who’d dared scare Jamie in this way. She wasn’t a violent person by nature—all her life she’d been the girl to argue that the pen was mightier than the sword—yet right now she wanted nothing more than to hurt this man.

But she was also a realist. She would not win a fight against him—what she had to do was wait, trust in Damien and his team and, when the time came, be ready to protect Jamie.

“Where’s my daddy?”

“It’s going to be okay,” she said soothingly, not wanting to speak of Damien in the madman’s presence. “I’m here with you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

Tess raised her eyes to the man, who stood by stolidly. “So,” she said, and she didn’t even try to hide the contempt in her tone. “What now?”

“Give me your hands,” he said laconically. He produced a rope from his pocket, which he tied around Tess’s wrists in a practiced move. She swallowed a wave of revulsion as his calloused fingers touched her skin, but didn’t make any move to stop him.

At least he’s not tying them behind my back.

The man muttered something to himself that she couldn’t make out. He held on to the free end of the rope, tugging on her wrists—hard enough that Tess had to move to avoid losing her balance. “Outside. Now.”

“You are a bad man!” Jamie shouted, baring his little teeth at the man. He seemed ready to fight, and Tess had never been prouder of him—he was so much like his father. She put out a steadying hand.

“Let’s do as the man says, Jamie. Come with me,” she said gently, ushering the boy ahead of her. She looked behind her one more time at the closed and barred door she’d walked in through. Damien was on the other side of that, but that wasn’t the way they were heading—they were going out an open doorway that opened up onto the mountain-side.

She walked out onto a large terrace, about the size of a large swimming pool but shaped like a half-moon—and, beyond the terrace, the void.

Shit.

It was spectacularly beautiful, and also incredibly scary. Thankfully Jamie didn’t seem to understand just how close they were to the edge.