Page 45 of Unexpected Danger (Mountain Justice #2)

A week later, Londyn and Brodie loaded the canoe and hopped into Brodie’s truck.

It had been some time since Londyn had canoed, and she’d always enjoyed being up in the mountains and out on the lake.

When Brodie suggested this, she eagerly agreed.

While they’d seen no sign of Dustin during the past week, it would give her a break from having to be constantly vigilant.

They left town and started up the winding road to the Pronghorn Mountains.

She cast a glance in his direction. He wore a gray athletic-wear tank top that accentuated his toned build, along with swim trunks revealing white, muscular legs.

His arms were tanned from time in the sun assisting Roarke at the ranch.

The wind ruffled his short dark hair, adding to his clean-shaven, rugged appearance.

A familiar song sounded on the radio. “Wow,” she said. “I haven’t heard this song in forever.”

“It brings back memories, doesn’t it?” Brodie temporarily released her hand and turned up the volume. “This takes me back a few years.”

“I think the last time we sang this song was when we were having a campfire at your parents' house a couple of years ago, and Grayson decided to bring his portable speaker.”

“That sounds like Grayson. He always has to have his music.”

Londyn nodded. “Well, he does have a great voice.”

“He does. I think we were all singing, and Dad, of course, was ad-libbing.”

Londyn noticed the faraway look in Brodie’s eyes, and she squeezed his hand. She hated how life could be so unfair.

She and Brodie lifted their voices together, harmonizing with the original singer’s voice. Londyn loved the Christian song that spoke of fully relying on the Lord, no matter what the circumstances.

The song ended, and a grin crossed Brodie’s face. “I have to admit we do sound good together.”

Pronghorn Lake came into view, with its clear waters splashing against the rocky and sandy shore.

Brodie took a left and drove down the winding road to the parking lot.

A mama duck and her ducklings swam across the lake, reminding Londyn of all the times she and the Brenneman family would feed the ducks oatmeal.

With the exception of a family loading up their kayaks and paddleboards, no one else was around, which would make for a nice, peaceful time out on the water. Londyn could hardly wait. They planned to eat lunch while floating peacefully along the water.

A moose in the distance caught her eye, and an eagle soared overhead. Brodie backed down the road parallel to the dock, which was often used to unload watercraft, to fish, or even to lounge on while watching the ducks.

Pronghorn Lake did not allow motorized boats, and the launching area was somewhat primitive, but Londyn wouldn’t have it any other way.

When she was in junior high and high school, Londyn spent the majority of her summers camping with the Brennemans. Mom was just happy to get her out of her hair. Looking back, Londyn wished she had invited Logan. Perhaps that would have drawn them closer and given him a surrogate family as well.

Brodie stopped the truck and leaned toward her. He brushed a wisp of hair behind her ear. “I’m really glad you agreed to go canoeing.”

“I’m glad you asked. I’ve missed being out on the water.”

Brodie cupped her face in his hands, and the nearness of him caused a peculiar flutter in her belly. She closed her eyes as his lips met hers. It was a kiss with longing and tenderness all wound together in a pleasing moment that ended all too soon.

She and Brodie had been given a second chance—one she vowed to do right by.

“Guess we should go. The lake is calling us.” Mixed anticipation swirled within her.

She could easily kiss Brodie again, but she also looked forward to some time on the water.

Brodie unstrapped the canoe, and in tandem, with her on one side and him on the other, they lifted the canoe off the rack and set it at the edge of the lake.

Brodie grabbed the paddle and the life jackets from the truck bed and stuck them inside the canoe.

Visiting on a weekday proved a perfect idea.

On the weekends, Pronghorn Lake was overly crowded.

“I’m going to use the restroom,” Londyn said after she withdrew the ice chest with their lunch from the back seat.

It was a short walk uphill to the vault bathroom, and she could see Brodie from its location.

He was leaning over the canoe and ensuring everything was properly stowed before their excursion.

He would then move the truck out of the way and to the upper parking lot so others could launch their own canoes and kayaks if desired.

A few minutes later, Londyn emerged from the outhouse.

She perused the lake area, looking for Brodie and wondering why his truck was still in the launch area instead of in the upper parking area near the restrooms. She stood on tiptoe and peered around a line of trees, but still couldn’t see him.

The canoe was where they’d left it. Had he needed to use the restroom as well?

She turned the corner to the men’s outhouse.

The door, as always, was shut, and she didn’t hear any noise inside, but she decided to wait for him, and they could walk back to the lake together.

In the distance, a rabbit scampered across a trail that wound around to a warming hut. Years ago, she, Brodie, Roarke, Grayson, Danny, and Drea had snowshoed several miles to the hut where they drank an abundance of hot chocolate and ate a barrage of snacks. Such fond memories.

Londyn moved back around to the other side of the outhouse and spied a mama deer with her two speckled fawns, but there was no sign of Brodie.

She rapped again on the outhouse door. “Brodie?”

No answer.

He was probably wandering through the woods as he often enjoyed doing, and she walked down the hill to his truck.

The windows were down as they had left them, but Brodie was nowhere in sight.

The warm sun beat down on her while a chill simultaneously ran through her.

Brodie wouldn’t wander off too far without telling her.

She cast a glance back at the outhouse. Hopefully, he hadn’t gotten sick.

Usually, the winding roads weren’t a problem for him.

She hiked once more back up to the men’s outhouse and tapped on the door and called his name.

She repeated it when there was no answer, then returned to the truck and decided to wait for him.

A short hike without telling her seemed out of character, but maybe he got sidetracked by a moose or fawn he wanted to get a picture of.

Londyn kneeled and removed her life vest from the canoe. That’s when she noticed the truck tires had been slashed. She stilled, unable to move as worry clouded her thoughts.

A sudden yank on her hair jerked her neck back.

A voice hissed in her ear. “Get on your feet.”

She would recognize that voice anywhere.

Bile rose in her throat, and her heart raced so fast it caused her chest to hurt. She slowly stood, her legs shaking beneath her as Dustin held the metal barrel of a gun to her temple.

“Walk this way,” he growled.

Thoughts of ways to escape from someone with a gun ran through her mind from the situational awareness training. But her mind drew a blank. Dizziness nearly tottered her off her feet.

Dustin shoved her forward a short distance through several pines immediately past the edge of the lake. On the ground lay Brodie. “Too bad your boyfriend has to suffer for your stupidity.”

“Brodie!” she screamed, emotion clogging her throat.

Dustin laughed. “Go ahead, check on him. Make sure he’s still alive.” He shoved her again. Londyn fell to her knees beside Brodie. He was unconscious, a bloody wound on the back of his head where he’d likely been hit by a gun.

She felt for a pulse. He was alive.

Thank You, Jesus!

Londyn wasn’t a nurse, but she did know that concussions, which was what Brodie likely had, could be dangerous. “Brodie, it’s Londyn. Can you hear me?”

Brodie stirred slightly, and his back rose and fell with his breath.

A snore waffled through his nose, and Londyn experienced an unexpected release of some of the tension. No one would ever say they were thankful Brodie snored.

Until now.

She bent over him once again, feeling the brush of his hair against her cheek as she placed a kiss on the side of his forehead. “It’s going to be all right,” she whispered in his ear, for his benefit, but also hers.

“All right, that’s enough.” Dustin grabbed her arm and thrust her backward. She slipped and fell onto the ground before he grasped her upper forearm, his nails digging into her flesh and causing her to cry out in pain.

“You’re coming with me. Don’t think of trying anything. If you do, I’ll finish him off.”

As if to prove his words, Dustin raised his gun and aimed it in Brodie’s direction.

“No!”

“Very good. You’re learning.” He swiveled and pointed the gun again at her, determination in his dark eyes. The hair lifted on the nape of her neck as sweat simultaneously trickled down her back.

“Walk along.”

Could she turn around abruptly, catch him off guard, and kick, hit, punch, or knee him—whatever it took to immobilize him?

She thought of her gun tucked inside her belly band holster.

Could she quickly reach for and use it? While the thought of shooting someone disturbed her, she would do whatever it took to save Brodie and to escape from Dustin.

“Where are we going?”

He shoved her in the shoulder with his palm. “Get going.”

While she never would have thought Dustin to be a wimp, his hatefulness and obvious mental disorders would render him far more dangerous despite his slim stature. With one hand, he gripped her neck hard, and with the other, kept the gun on her. He guided her to the shore.