Mountain Refuge (Mountain Mutineers #1)

Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Adam

I wanted to tell her. I wanted to unload all my problems. Not to give them to her, but to purge them from my system. I needed to be free as much as I needed my kids to be protected.

But this was not my home. We would need to leave here one day—clearly not any day soon with this snow—but still one day. When we did, I could not leave my problems with her. I had to take them and solve them on my own. Telling her, if she was ever found out to have helped me, would only put her in further danger. If someone ever did come to her door to question her about us, all she could say is that she helped out a father and his two kids when they were stranded in the snow and she’d never seen them again. With no information, they should have no reason to harm her.

I flinched. Just because they didn’t have a reason, didn’t mean they wouldn’t. Christ, had I just signed Brooke’s death certificate by accepting her help? Would it have been better if I’d refused her help at the car?

I looked down into the living room, saw my sleeping son with his little butt up in the air, saw my sleeping daughter with far too many worries for a child her age, and knew I’d made the right decision. Even with the possible consequences, I’d had to protect my children. We would have died out in that blizzard.

Yet, how could I call myself a man or even a respectable human being, knowing the danger my very presence was bringing to her doorstep if we were ever found out? How could I pay Brooke back for her kindness in that way?

Was it better to tell her everything so she could be prepared?

No, my brain immediately answered for me. If she knew everything, she’d likely call the police herself. I needed to keep my kids safe for as long as possible. And if Brooke’s predictions of the forecast were true, we would be stuck here a little bit longer.

“I hope you know how grateful I am.” There were no words to repay her. “But I can’t tell you the truth. It would put you in danger. Please know that you are safe with me, I would never hurt you, but I need a safe place for my kids. I can’t take them out in this weather. Please allow us to stay.”

I hated the pleading in my voice, but I would get on my hands and knees if it reassured her enough to let us stay.

Brooke snapped her fingers in front of my face to bring my attention back to her. I found her eyes too intriguing. I wanted to stare into them for far too long, which was one of the reasons I kept looking away from her. I didn’t want her to think I was a creep by constantly staring at her.

“You leaving was never an option.” Then she added, “Well, not unless you admitted to being a serial killer. But then you’d have been kicked out and I was keeping those kids.”

I cracked a smile. “Not a serial killer.”

“Good to know.” She smiled back. “Look, you don’t need to tell me your life’s story. I just find it very… dangerous ,” she said pointedly, like she’d intended to say another word and switched at the last second, “that your friend would send you to this mountain. The people up here aren’t known for being friendly and welcoming.”

Guilt coursed through me for having blindly put my kids in such danger. “Well, it wasn’t actually him who said it. It was more of a friend of a friend situation.”

Brooke looked confused. “A friend of a friend?”

I could feel myself start to sweat and knew I’d never last in a real interrogation. “I’m not exactly an expert on evasive maneuvers or hiding. I needed help. I guess I trusted someone I shouldn’t have or misunderstood a direction. I can’t see how me ending up stranded on the mountain in the middle of a snowstorm was their plan after all the effort and money it took them to get us here.”

Brooke contemplated that for a moment. “What’s your friend’s name or the friend of your friend?”

I hesitated. The way she asked it, almost like she didn’t believe me, was what gave me pause. She’d already admitted to living out here secluded from society. It didn’t sound like she got out much. Mind, she’d been out on her snowmobile the day she’d found us stranded in the car. She’d also been talking to someone on the radio.

Would she even know Corbin’s name? If I told her Corbin’s name and someone came looking for us, she would be able to tell them where we went. Then again, I wasn’t even sure Corbin was here. Maybe he’d gotten us to the mountain with the intention to only meet up with us and then was taking us to a different final safe house.

Though what could be safer than a secluded mountain in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm? Brooke was hopefully right that our tracks had been covered up in the snow and no one could find us here even if they found our abandoned car.

The possible stolen abandoned car. Shit. What if the cops found it and ran the plates? What if they found the bag of license plates, our burners, and the rest of our supplies in the car? How would I contact Jack or Corbin then?

“Look if you don’t tell me, I can’t help you when the snow clears. I can get you back to town but that’s it. I can’t point you in a direction to go.”

Maybe that was safer. If she didn’t know which direction we’d gone in then she couldn’t tell anyone which way we went.

Christ, I was going to develop an ulcer if I kept this level of stress up. How did people survive this? Was this what witness protection felt like? Except those witnesses had the police to help hide you instead of hunting you.

“Fine.” Brooke stood up, clearly annoyed.

I didn’t blame her for that, because this wasn’t her problem. How could I lay this on her? Yet, if I didn’t, I didn’t know what my next steps were. How did I keep her and my kids safe? If there was a choice between keeping her or keeping my kids safe…? Geez. In reality, I knew my choice was my kids. It would always be my kids. But to intentionally put her in danger?

I shook my head. I couldn’t do that either.

But how did I protect my kids when I didn’t know where to go from here? We’d have to leave this cabin in a few days, maybe a week. Brooke was right that I didn’t know which direction to leave in. I didn’t even know where I was.

I looked up in time to see her at the top of the stairs about to head down.

I had a sudden image of her walking out of my life. I wasn’t in love with her, that was a stupid notion, but I was attracted to her and I liked her. She was brave and it was adorable how she babbled when she was nervous. She was selfless enough to help out strangers and had opened her home to us.

This feeling of consternation went deep.

I was once more at those crossroads. Left or right. Talk or stay silent. I had this irrational fear that if I let her walk down those stairs, I would regret it. What did that even mean? Why would that even matter? I was leaving in a few days. Brooke was not coming with us and we were not staying here.

So why could I not let her walk down those stairs? It felt like my heart had dropped into my stomach and I couldn’t breathe. Irrational, possibly dangerous, but I needed to talk. I needed to choose a path. I couldn’t do this on my own. I’d trusted Jack and Corbin, and it had landed me stranded in the middle of a snowstorm on the side of a mountain.

Brooke had been the one to rescue us. I had no desire to put her in danger, but I needed her help. At the very least, a direction to point me in.

“Corbin,” I said just as her foot hit the first stair. She stopped. “My friend. His name is Corbin.”

Brooke turned back around. I couldn’t tell the expression on her face, but it wasn’t doubt. Maybe shock, curiosity.

She stepped back up onto the loft. Then walked over to her radio without saying a word to me. She flipped a switch, pressed a button, and grabbed the microphone.

“Calling Omega-Delta-Four-Six-Two-Two-Tango. Pick up the mic, I know you’re listening. You’re going to want to hear this, over.”

I came around the loveseat. I didn’t bring her desk chair with me, too preoccupied with wondering what she was doing.

Brooke put the microphone closer to her mouth as if she was going to click it again when a voice I knew well came over the speaker. “Brooke, babe, are you okay?”

Babe? I wasn’t sure why the endearment bothered me, but I had a sudden urge to hit my best friend. Were they dating?

Then it hit me: she knew Corbin! Elation filled me, and I could have flown with relief.

Brooke keyed the microphone. “I have someone here who wants to talk to you.”

“What?” His confusion was clear, but I didn’t hear jealousy or worry in his tone.

She handed me the microphone and moved out of my way. I stepped closer so the cord didn’t pull tightly. There was only one button on the side, so it wasn’t difficult to figure out how to use it.

I pressed the button. “Corbin.”

A pause then, “Adam? Holy shit!” I went to talk again, but he kept going. “I’ve been trying to reach you. None of the burners connected through. When you missed your last check-in, I feared the worst, but Jack assured me you weren’t caught and I trust him. I kept hoping you’d call. We wanted to tell you about the storm, to wait to come. When I hadn’t heard from you, I hoped you’d bunkered down in a motel somewhere to wait it out.”

Yeah, that would have been smart. If I’d known about the storm. I hadn’t realized I’d missed a check-in, but, then again, I was pretty out of it by the end of our journey to the mountain. I’d been so focused on arriving that it was entirely possible I’d missed a check-in.

Then I remembered our stop in the park. I’d never called Jack that day. I was planning on it after we picked up the Jeep , but then I’d decided to let the kids have some fresh air at the park. As a result, I’d forgotten to call.

“Shit. I never called that day. The kids were so restless so I let them play at a park in Bozeman. We made it onto the mountain just as the snowstorm hit.”

“Oh fuck! The kids! Are they okay?”

“Yeah, man. They’re fine, I’m fine. Brooke found us and rescued us.”

“Brooke, babe, if you’re listening, thank you. I owe you.”

I leaned to the side so she could talk if she wanted to, but she shook her head. Then she indicated to downstairs and the kids. I took that to mean she was going down to give me some privacy. “Thank you,” I told her before turning back to the mic and speaker. It would have been better to see him in person, but this was second best. I keyed the microphone. “We’ve been at Brooke’s house for two days.”

“Hold on, man, let me scramble the channel so hopefully we can talk without being overheard. Jack, if you’re listening, turn off your speaker.” The radio made a whirling sound, almost reminding me of the AOL dial tone from my childhood, giving me some serious flashbacks from the 90s, and then beeped twice. Corbin’s voice came back over. “Okay, we should be good now.”

“Scramble the radio? Shit, man, when did you get so techie?”

Corbin laughed, which was great to hear. He hadn’t had much to laugh about in his childhood. “I literally hit one button. Be grateful I knew how to do that. Me and technology still aren’t friends.”

Before we got into the heavy stuff, I had to ask. “How are you, Cor? Really? It’s been eighteen years and I’m so grateful that you helped me out. I just need to know how you’re doing. Are you okay after…everything?”

Corbin had been convicted of manslaughter. In my opinion, unlawfully. It had been self-defense but because his father had been a cop, well, the judge had taken one look at tall, scrawny Corbin and found him guilty. The underpaid, overworked public defender hadn’t even stood a chance.

“It wasn’t easy,” he said with a sigh. “I don’t like to dwell on it. I’ll fill you in on how I ended up here when I see you. This place is amazing, Adam. It saved my life and I know it can save yours too. I have never regretted my decision to come here.”

I was almost afraid to ask. After her husband’s death and Corbin’s sentencing, his mom had moved away. As far as I knew, my mom had lost contact with her years ago. “And…what about your mom?”

There was a pause and then a feminine voice came across the speaker. “Hello, Adam.”

My mind almost blew. Holy shit! “Mrs. Mullaney? Holy… I mean, it’s so good to hear from you. I can’t believe you’re here.” Then I paused. “You guys are here, right? I mean, you’re on this mountain too?”

A feminine laugh. It made me realize that I don’t think I’d ever heard his mom laugh before. Ever. “Yes, we’re on the mountain too. My Corbin found me after he was released and brought me here to live with him.”

I was so happy to hear that. Corbin and Mrs. Mullaney both deserved peace after what her husband and his father had put them through and then how justice had failed them. Corbin had killed his father. That was never a question. He’d admitted it when the cops had come to the house. What no one seemed to take into account was that Corbin had walked in on Mr. Mullaney beating Mrs. Mullaney with his belt. Corbin, enraged and terrified for his mom, had pushed Mr. Mullaney away from her. He’d tripped, hit his head on a glass coffee table. The glass had shattered, and a piece had pierced his heart. But what had condemned Corbin as a murderer was picking up another piece and stabbing his father nine times in the back as he’d laid there already dying.

At least he had only gotten ten years. Manslaughter was generally a lot longer. His age had been the one thing going for him. He’d only just turned eighteen the week before and the public defender had gotten him tried as a minor instead of an adult given the history of abuse.

Corbin’s voice came over next. “We can catch up on us later. Tell me about the kids. Are they okay? ”

“Better than okay,” I said with confidence. “I was in bad shape when we arrived. I was exhausted and cold from keeping the kids protected from the storm. I passed out soon after we’d arrived. Brooke kept the kids calm, fed them, and watched over them while I slept.”

That still grated on me, but I needed to give Brooke credit where credit was due.

“She’s amazing ,” Corbin said with admiration. “She helps out one of the old mountain men next to her. If she hadn’t been doing regular check-ins on him, he might have died last year when he fell and broke his hip. She found him, got ahold of Jack, and got him down the mountain so the paramedics could meet them.”

Wow. My Brooke was a regular heroine. The pride I felt in that moment was suddenly bombarded by shock. What the fuck was that? My Brooke? She wasn’t my anything. In fact, based on the babe endearments Corbin had called her, she might be his Brooke.

“Yeah, she’s been great.” I didn’t like how my voice cracked. Christ, I felt like a teen with his first crush. I cleared my throat. “She said it’s supposed to storm again. I take it that it’s not safe enough to travel to you now.”

I wasn’t sure if I was grateful or frustrated by his negative answer. I shouldn’t want to stay here. “Definitely not. I’ve got baby supplies and toys here for the kids, but I wouldn’t risk bringing them out in this. If needed I can bring supplies down to you, but my recommendation is to leave them there. You’re already safe and holed up. Let’s keep you where you are a bit longer. I need to update Jack and make sure you’re in the clear. Can you tell me where you left your car so we can dump it?”

My fear that it had been stolen resurfaced, but I didn’t comment. “Honestly, I have no idea. Brooke mentioned we were off the main road, but I couldn’t even begin to tell you where. I’m just so grateful she found us and was able to bring us here. Corbin, my kids could have died out there.”

A low expletive could be heard before, “I know, man. I’m so sorry about that. It wasn’t supposed to go down that way. I’ve been really worried. Brooke’s amazing like that though. You’re in really good hands with her. And if you’re lucky she’ll cook you some of her venison stew.”

“Venison?” I repeated, wanting to make sure I’d heard him correctly. I wasn’t so city that I didn’t know that venison meant deer.

“Welcome to Montana,” he laughed.

I shook my head. Deer was not a meat regularly available in NYC. “Thanks, man. I feel the welcome.” I was terrified to ask, but I had to know. “Has there been anything from the city? While we were driving, Jack kept saying we weren’t being followed but there were times when I would swear we were. Cor, how do you know we are safe here?”

“It’s as safe as we can make you.” It wasn’t much of an assurance, but it was more than we’d had since we’d run. “Look, I’m not happy about us losing contact all these years but in this instance, it’s actually helped you. No one will ever guess that you’re here with me. Why would they? Beyond that, even if they guessed you are with me, no one knows where I am. My land isn’t under my name. I have no utilities or bills in my name. The mountain is the safest place I can imagine for you and the kids to disappear. Plus, between me, the others up here, and Jack down in town, we have eyes and ears everywhere. No one steps foot on this mountain without us knowing.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief at that. “I don’t want to endanger you either.”

“I’m not in any danger and protecting you and those kids would be worth any trouble. You did the right thing, Adam. I know it’s tough right now but you got them out of there. I don’t know your full story but I do know that.” He paused for a second then added, “ Listen, I’ll check in with you guys tomorrow. Let me know if you’re running low on any supplies. I won’t bring Mom out in this, but I can manage to get stuff down to you if necessary.”

The word down caught my attention. That meant he was higher up the mountain than we already were. I wasn’t sure if I was comfortable with that. Were the kids safe out here? There was no medical attention or pharmacies nearby. What if we ran out of diapers and formula? I vaguely recalled Brooke saying when I’d first woken up that we were almost out of baby food.

“I’ll take an inventory and get back to you. I don’t want you coming out in this either if it’s that dangerous.”

“Don’t worry about it, man. I’m used to it. I can get down and back up the mountain just fine, rain, snow, or shine.”

While I was thrilled Corbin seemed to have found his place in life, I still didn’t want to risk his life if we could survive with what we had. Problem was, I didn’t know what we had. “Thanks, man. I’ll let you know. What time are you going to call tomorrow?”

“During storms, Brooke tends to leave her volume on in case anyone else hails through. Conversations aren’t possible, but the occasional SOS can break through. Depending on what this storm decides to do, I’ll try around nine if that won’t bother the kids.”

I didn’t know where the kids or I would be sleeping, so I didn’t know if the volume being on the speaker would bother us. Based on what I’d seen of Brooke’s cabin, she only had one bedroom and the one bathroom. No need for guest rooms when you don’t host guests.

“Thanks. Talk to you tomorrow.” I didn’t know how to hang up, other than to just stop pressing the talk button.

“You’re supposed to say ‘over and out’, dummy. ”

I snorted. It had been many years since anyone had called me a dummy. “Over and out, jackass.”

His laugh came across. “Over and out, asshole.” There was a click on the radio. I didn’t touch it otherwise, not wanting to mess up any of Brooke’s settings.

Eighteen years, and it was like no time had passed at all. God, I loved that man. He was the brother I never had. I loved my sister, but it was Corbin I’d been closest to. The fact that we could talk like this, that he’d dropped everything to help me despite the time between our last conversation, only proved that fact. Brothers for life.

It worried me for a moment that I was bringing my problems to Mrs. Mullaney. I didn’t want her mixed up in any of this. But it would be great to see her again, and she would be wonderful with the children.

I’d taken a leap in trusting Brooke and it had paid off. Corbin was on this mountain, and now he knew I was too. Soon, we’d be together again and I couldn’t wait to see my brother.