Page 6 of Hunted By the Mountain Man
"We?"
The word slips out before I can stop it, and I see something flicker across Cole's face—surprise, maybe, or satisfaction.
"You think I'm letting you face this alone?" He crosses back to me, stopping close enough that I have to tilt my head back to meet his eyes. "Anna, I haven't felt this protective of anything in three years. I'm not walking away now."
"You don't owe me anything—"
"This isn't about owing." His hand cups my cheek, the same gentle touch from this morning that made my heart race. "This is about something else entirely."
"What?" The question comes out breathier than I intended.
"I don't know yet." His thumb brushes across my cheekbone. "But I'm going to find out."
Before I can respond, alarms start shrieking throughout the cabin. Cole's instantly in motion, checking displays and grabbing equipment with military precision.
"Motion sensors," he reports tersely. "Multiple contacts, half a klick south and moving this way."
My blood turns to ice. "They found us."
"Not us. The general area." Cole's already shutting down non-essential systems. "But it's time to relocate."
"Where?"
"I've got a secondary position. Better defensive terrain, multiple escape routes." He hands me a pack and outdoor gear sized for someone much larger. "Get dressed. We move in five minutes."
As I struggle into winter clothing designed for a man twice my size, I watch Cole transform from gentle protector to lethal operator. The change is both terrifying and oddly comforting.
These men hunting me have training and numbers.
But Cole Manning has something they don't—three years of preparation and a very personal reason to keep me alive.
"Ready?" he asks, shouldering his own pack and checking his rifle.
I nod, though I'm anything but ready for whatever comes next.
"Stay close," Cole says, leading me toward what looks like a supply closet but opens to reveal a tunnel carved into bedrock. "And Anna?"
"Yeah?"
"Trust me."
As we disappear into the mountain itself, leaving the warm sanctuary of his cabin behind, I realize that trust isn't the issue.
The issue is that somewhere between waking up in Cole Manning's arms and watching him prepare to defend me with his life, I've started falling for a man I barely know.
And that terrifies me more than Costa's hired killers ever could.
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Cole
Thesecondarypositioniseverything the main cabin wasn't—stark, functional, built for defense rather than comfort. Carved deeper into the mountainside with reinforced walls and multiple escape routes, it's where I planned to make my final stand if my past ever caught up with me.
I never imagined I'd be defending someone else.
"This is incredible," Anna says, exploring the space while I activate the monitoring systems. "How long did this take you to build?"
"Two years, working mostly at night." I check the displays showing heat signatures moving through the forest below. "Paranoia has its benefits."
