Page 7 of Brave Horizons (Barrington Billionaires #19)

TOPEKA

Topeka lay in the hammock, attempting to project an air of ease.

The leaves above swayed gently in the breeze, their rustling a soothing sound that did little to calm her racing thoughts.

She stared up at the canopy, trying to immerse herself in the peaceful surroundings.

Determined to prove Alex wrong was the only thing that kept her going. Or not going.

The problem was her mind kept drifting to all the places she liked to avoid.

She closed her eyes and tried to focus on the feeling of the hammock gently rocking beneath her, but her father’s face kept intruding in her thoughts.

The man who had once been her hero had morphed into a monster.

It wasn’t only the abstract idea that he was power hungry and dangerous.

She was more haunted by the specific things she had found out that shattered her idealized image of him.

She and Russ had uncovered multiple situations with corroborating evidence.

Her father had planted drugs on people, ruined lives without a second thought.

Worse still, he had killed a woman who tried to expose him for stealing thousands of dollars from her home during a falsely justified drug raid.

There had been text messages Topeka found on a burner phone of his ordering the woman’s brakes be cut.

The successful execution of that order led to her death in a fiery crash.

That was what Topeka had been gathering and hunting for.

Finding it was a gut punch she still hadn’t recovered from.

“I’m going to get some firewood,” Alex said as he peeked over the top of the hammock at her. “Need anything?”

“I’m perfectly fine,” she said, shaking away the vision of the photos she’d found in her father’s office. “Just meditating.”

“Right. I bet you’ve really quieted your mind.”

“Totally Zen. Lunch was great by the way. Thanks for cooking. Sure you don’t need me to clean up?”

“I’ve got it most of the way done. I’ll be right back. I don’t want the fire to burn down too low. I won’t be far.”

“Take all the time you need. I’m going to be doing some deep breathing and manifesting the destiny I want.”

As he walked away, they both knew damn well she wasn’t about to do any deep breathing.

The weight of these memories pressed down on her, making it hard to fill her lungs.

The question that kept looping in her mind was how had she gotten here.

Not specifically here. But the fact that her father wanted her dead, and she was hiding in the wilderness with a man she barely knew, hoping to stay one step ahead.

Suddenly, a noise from the edge of the campsite made her freeze.

She tumbled clumsily from the hammock and stood.

The noise continued as she turned slowly, her heart pounding in her chest. Emerging from the underbrush was a large, muscular cougar.

Its golden eyes locked onto hers, and it moved with a predatory grace that sent a chill down her spine.

Topeka’s mind raced. Alex had gone over the safety rules, but now, face-to-face with danger, she felt paralyzed. Her hand instinctively moved to the pistol holstered at her hip. The cougar took a cautious step forward, its gaze unwavering.

For a moment, she was overwhelmed by the absurdity of it all. Danger had been a constant companion, and now, this far from civilization, it had found her. A flash of the satisfaction her father would feel if she died out here fueled her resolve. She couldn’t let him win.

With trembling hands, she drew the gun and aimed it at the cougar. Her breath came in short, sharp bursts as she tried to steady her shaking hands. The cougar took another step, muscles rippling under its tawny fur.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” Topeka whispered, her voice barely audible. “Just go away.”

The cougar paused, assessing her, and then continued its slow approach. Topeka knew she had to act. She aimed at the dirt near its feet and fired. The loud crack of the gunshot echoed through the forest, and the bullet kicked up a spray of dirt.

The cougar recoiled, startled by the noise and the sudden disruption. It hesitated for a moment, then turned and bolted back into the forest, disappearing as silently as it had come.

Topeka stood there, her heart hammering in her chest, the gun still clenched in her hands. She heard Alex crashing through the underbrush, his own weapon drawn, panic etched across his face.

“Topeka! Are you okay?” he shouted, scanning the area for danger.

She nodded, lowering the pistol and taking a shaky breath. “I’m fine. There was a cougar. It got a little too close, so I fired a warning shot. It ran off.”

Alex’s shoulders sagged with relief, and he holstered his weapon. “I’m so sorry. I must have left some of the lunch food out. I should have been more careful.”

Topeka managed a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. “Maybe it’s a good thing I didn’t keep sitting around doing nothing. I’d say I did something pretty important.”

Alex chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah, I’d say so. I’m just glad you’re okay. You handled that really well.”

She looked down at the pistol, still feeling the weight of it in her hand.

Black spots filled her vision for a moment before she turned and heaved up the lunch he’d just made her.

Her hair fell around her face and before she could brush it away his hands were gathering her curls and holding them gently.

“It’s pretty normal,” he said calmly. “You come face to face with something like that and it rocks your world. I puked the first time I accidently bumped into a moose. You know they are big but when you see one...”

Wiping at her mouth and standing up, she steadied against his arm. “I’m sorry. It just came over me. That was so intense.”

For a lingering moment her hair was still gently between his large fingers. In a move that couldn’t be deciphered who had initiated, she was in his arms for a hug.

“Adrenaline. It’s very visceral.”

She was unsure how long to stay in his arms. Not because she was aching to be free of them.

No one had held her like this in a long time.

She wasn’t sure what it meant. A brief hug to get her steady was one thing.

A little longer to reassure her was another.

But to stand there for a few more beats, his arms wrapped tightly around her meant something else entirely.

Knowing this, she was the one to step back.

Alex would be a blip on her radar soon. Nothing more than a quick stop on a long journey.

There was no way to know where she would be next week.

Or how long it would take for the Kinross people to get the evidence she had in the hands of the right people to try to prosecute her father.

She could be on the run for ages. Holding on to Alex was a pointless indulgence she couldn’t afford.

“Is that thing going to come back?” she asked.

“Cougars are generally afraid of humans, and after that gunshot it’s very unlikely it’ll return. You did a great job under pressure. It won’t want to mess with you again.”

“I didn’t want to kill it. Isn’t that strange?”

He looked at her warily as he handed her a bottle of water. “Why would that be strange?”

“I’m my father’s daughter. He has no regard for the life of anyone or anything. His blood runs through my veins. If he were here he’d have shot the cougar and kept it as a trophy.”

“You know the saying, blood is thicker than water?”

“Yes,” she replied, shooting him a confused look. He was making her point. “Exactly.”

“People have that quote all wrong. They interpret it to mean that family bonds are stronger and more important than any other relationships to people we aren’t biologically related to.

The full proverb actually says, ‘The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb.’" So bonds formed by choice, like the idea of blood oaths, friendships, and alliances are stronger than those formed by birth. I think that’s true.

The relationships and commitments we choose can be deeper and more meaningful than those we are born into, like family. ”

“I’ve been using that wrong my whole life,” Her eyes were wide as she thought this through.

“Mostly everyone has. I’ve had a lot of time to read out on the rig. I’m full of useless knowledge.”

“That wasn’t useless at all. Thanks for telling me. I don’t want to be like him.”

“You’re not.” He looked down at the spot where she’d gotten sick and grimaced. “But I do have some bad news. Unfortunately, even food that’s been eaten once already can be a problem for drawing wildlife.”

“I figured,” she sighed. “I could go back to doing nothing and relaxing.” Waggling her brows playfully at him, she laughed.

“I think that experiment is over. You passed the test. You survived the hammock and no to do list. You’re back on duty.”

“I was finally starting to get into a restful rhythm when that beast came along. I was doing some chants I learned from a monk. So centering.”

“You were sitting in there stewing about your situation and thinking about everything you’ve been through. I could see you biting your nails and hear you sighing.”

She jabbed him gently with her elbow to his ribs and shook her head. “You know everything, don’t you?”

“Know-it-all-hero wanna-be. You’ve got me pegged. Now make sure you put the safety back on your weapon.”

A strange ringing sound sent a sudden chill up her spine. “You have a phone? We’re not supposed to have anything that can be tracked. What if?—”

“Hey.” His face fell serious as he placed a firm hand on her shoulder. “It’s a satellite phone. It’s only for Kenan to be able to reach me when he has further instructions. No one can trace it or use it to find you.”

The strange ringing sound continued as he went into his tent to retrieve it.

For the first time since she left Texas, she hoped this wasn’t instructions to move again.

Some kind of urgent message to hurry up and pack what she could and be ready to run.

When she searched for a reason she felt that way, it scared her to find the answer.

She wanted another night in that tent with Alex.

Something a week ago she couldn’t imagine would be going through her mind.

But nothing should surprise her anymore.

The only thing she could count on was she couldn’t count on anything.