Page 23 of Keeper of Talon Mountain
"Who is this?"
A soft laugh. "You don't remember? How disappointing. Though I suppose that makes things simpler." A pause. "We need to talk, Gabriel. Face to face. Just you and me."
"Not happening."
"No? Then perhaps we'll have a different conversation. With the woman who runs the lodge. Mara, isn't it? She has such an interesting past. Phoenix, Arizona. An abusive boyfriend named Derek. Very sad story. I wonder what Derek would think if he knew where to find her?"
My hand tightens on the phone until the case creaks. "You touch her...”
"I don't want to touch anyone, Gabriel. I want to talk. Alone. Unarmed. Thirty minutes. The old mining equipment at Widow's Peak Overlook." His voice hardens. "If you bring friends, people will die. Starting with the charming teenager who keeps glancing out the east window."
The line goes dead.
Mara is staring at me, her face drained of color. "What did he say?"
"He knows about your past. Phoenix. Someone named Derek." I watch her face go from pale to ashen. "He's threatening to tell Derek where you are. And he's threatening Zara."
"It's a trap," Zara says flatly. "Obviously."
"Obviously. But I believe him about the consequences if I don't show. These aren't the kind of people who make empty threats."
"So we call Zeke," Mara says. "We coordinate a response, set up our own trap...”
"And they kill someone to prove they're serious. Maybe Finn, maybe Mrs. Lancaster on the eastern trail. Maybe they burn down the café in town." I set down the gun, my hands surprisingly steady. "This is what they do, Mara. Leverage. They find what you care about and they threaten it until you comply."
"Then what do we do?" Her voice cracks slightly.
I look at her—this fierce, beautiful woman who saved my life and gave me a home—and I know exactly what I have to do.
"I go talk to him."
"No." Mara steps between me and the door. "No, that's insane. You go up there alone and they'll either kill you or take you, and either way we lose."
"If I don't go, people in this town die. People who are only at risk because they're protecting me." I take her hands, feeling how cold they are. "I can't live with that."
"You can't die for it either!"
"I don't plan to." I pull her close, memorizing the feel of her against me. "Thirty minutes up to Widow's Peak. If I'm not back in two hours, tell Zeke everything. Tell him about the call, the threats, all of it."
"Gabe...”
"Two hours." I kiss her, hard and desperate. "I love you. Remember that."
Her hands fist in my jacket. "Don't you dare say that like it's goodbye." Her voice breaks. "You don't get to tell me you love me and then walk away to die."
"I'm not planning to die."
"You're not planning to come back either." She pulls me down, kisses me fiercely and desperately. When she breaks away, her eyes are wet but fierce. "I love you too. Which is why you're going to be smart up there. You're going to survive. And then you're coming home to me."
Zara watches from the window. "This is the stupidest thing you could possibly do."
"Probably." I check the knife in my boot, then tuck the handgun into the small of my back under my jacket. He said unarmed, but I'm not stupid. "Keep Mara safe. That's all that matters."
"You keep yourself safe," Mara says fiercely. "You come back to me, Gabriel Andrews. That's an order."
I want to promise. Want to tell her everything will be fine. But somewhere I learned not to make promises I might not be able to keep.
Instead, I kiss her once more and walk out into the cold afternoon.
