Page 109 of Beneath the Mountain Sky

What the fuck was he doing here?

Why loom in the darkness, watching and listening but not acting?

A shudder rolls through me at the likely answer.

Whoever it is was stalking his prey. Gathering intel. Planning the same way I do a hunt before I head out onto the mountain.

Only his prey isn’t deer or bear.

It’s Willow.

I push up to my feet, my hand tightening on my axe, and turn toward the approaching sound of footsteps. Connor and Liam make their way toward me through the trees, each wearing a grim expression. Even without having revealed what I’ve found to them yet, they know.

“Where’s Willow?”

Liam motions behind him toward the house. “In the cabin with Raven. She just arrived.”

Connor sneers in that direction, his jaw clenching. “I can’t believe you trust her in there alone. Who knows what she might be digging into, looking for more dirt to?—”

“Look”—I hold up a hand to stop his familiar rant—“she isn’t my favorite person, either. But?—”

The sound of tires pulling across the gravel interrupts my intent to argue that since Raven is important to Willow, then we need to forget the animosity that the past year only grew and accept that she’s going to be part of our lives as long as Willow is part of mine.

Which means Raven will be around forever, since I have no intention of ever letting Willow slip away again.

We all start making our way back toward the clearing the cabin sits in and step from the thick underbrush as the sheriff’s SUV pulls to a stop.

Tony climbs out, adjusting his hat and gun belt as he nudges his door closed, and gives me a dark look. “Did you find something?”

Unfortunately.

I had hoped I was wrong about what was out here last night, but seeing the confirmation of my gut feeling has affirmed that things are far more dangerous than we initially knew.

All the unease I’ve felt since Willow’s return about what might have happened to her suddenly feels suffocating. Coupled with how violent her nightmare was last night and the intensity of her response to it, I know we need a plan of attack.

Waiting for something to happen isn’t an option when it means Willow will be at risk.

I run a hand through my beard as I glance toward the front window of the cabin, where Willow watches us. Our eyes meet, and a million questions swirl in her squally gaze. Ones I can’t answer when I don’t have them.

That woman has put her trust and life in my hands, and I’m as lost as she is.

I turn away slightly, unable to look at her while I’m telling Tony exactly what I think happened. What I’m more convinced of than ever. “Someone was here last night, watching us. Probably for a while.”

His eyes widen slightly. “How did they get onto the property?”

I shake my head as all four of us scan the area. The clearing that houses the main homestead—cabin, barn, Willow’s workshop, animal pens, and a few other smaller outbuildings isn’t large. But it’s always been safe.

Mostly because there’s only one road up or down to it.

Connor’s gaze drifts to the gravel drive Tony just came in on that leads to that sole access point. “He must have parked farther down the mountain and hiked up on foot. Coming in from any other direction, he would have had to use an ATV, and we would have heard that on a quiet night from miles out.”

He’s right.

Whoever did this knew the mountain well enough to understand how to get up here undetected. This was planned.

Tony nods and pulls off his hat to rub a hand through his dark hair. “Don’t suppose he left anything behind that might be useful in identifying him?”

I picture the scene I discovered in the woods. “Just a pair of size twelve footprints.”