Mountain Refuge (Mountain Mutineers #1)

Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Brooke

E lijah and I had moved my lounge chair back and then piled all the blankets and pillows I owned in front of the fireplace in my living room. We got up only to use the bathroom or grab something to eat or drink. We were completely lost in a bubble of us. I had every intention of sleeping out here in the firelight with him as my pillow, blanket, and bed.

The beep from upstairs broke through our reverie. I did not want to answer it, knowing it meant that someone was trying to hail me on the radio, but knew that we could not ignore it. Not with his kids elsewhere.

I tapped on the top of his head. I was lying on my back with him laid out over me, his cheek pressed into my belly. We were resting, just taking in the serenity and loveliness of the day. We talked on occasion, but mostly just stayed in the moment with each other. I had a feeling this spot before the fireplace was going to become ‘our spot’ when the kids weren’t about.

He lifted his head, his eyes drooped with sleep.

“We’re being hailed,” I informed him with a frown.

He made a face that reflected how I felt. Placing a kiss between my breasts, he rose. I instantly felt cold, despite the roaring fire beside us. Elijah wrapped one of my homemade quilts around his shoulders before he journeyed towards the stairs to the loft. I followed behind him, my blanket wrapped like a toga.

Elijah expertly turned on the radio, as mine was just like Corbin’s. Seeing that I had followed him up, he caught my hand and pulled me over to sit on his lap. “You could have stayed down where it’s warm.”

“It’s warmer here with you,” I declared, folding myself against him.

He gave me a cocky grin before calling my callsign over the radio. When Jack answered, he glanced over at me in surprise. Like me, he probably assumed it had been Corbin calling regarding the kids.

“Jack, what’s going on?”

“I’m sorry to tell you this, but Gunther’s free. He was acquitted this morning. Over.”

I felt my stomach drop at the news. I remembered Gunther’s reputation from my days as an NYPD detective. The Vice Department could never pin anything on him. They had nicknamed him ‘the Magician’ because it always seemed like he was having us look one way while pulling a rabbit out of his hat behind our backs. Even months later, I was still struggling with the realization that Sebastian Gunther was the man Elijah and the kids had been running from.

Elijah looked pale, and for a moment, I thought he might faint. Then he leaned forward and clicked the microphone. “What happened? Over.”

His grip around my waist got tighter.

“Officially? Misappropriation of evidence. Unofficially? He paid someone off to fuck up the evidence. Even if I find out who did it—and I will—it won’t change the fact that they had to let him go. They would need to find new evidence of new crimes or new evidence of the previous crimes to arrest him again. Over.”

Both Elijah and I let out low curses. It was so messed up that the justice system could be so easily foiled. As a former cop, I knew all too well how easy it was to mishandle evidence. The first time one of my cases had been dismissed because a crime scene tech had used the bathroom at the crime scene and had unknowingly flushed a dime of cocaine. The defense had argued that the tech could have planted the trace evidence we had been able to find and the charges had been dismissed.

“Where is Gunther now?” Elijah asked into the microphone. “What about Trenton and Josie? Over.”

We did not know much about the bounty hunter who had been able to track Elijah to Whitefish. None of us had been pleased when Jack had shared that news. However, he had quickly eased our fears when he informed us of Josie’s good intentions and that he had sent her back to New York City to help bring Gunther down. It hadn’t been until Gunther’s arrest that I think any of us truly believed that Josie was on our side. Then Jack had kept us informed over the winter about Trenton and Josie’s efforts to shut down Gunther’s organization. It was unfortunate, but there were some things Trenton simply couldn’t do either because the government had frozen the assets or because his father was still alive, even if he was incarcerated.

“That’s where the worst news comes in. Gunther paid off several news stations to air footage of his release later and call it ‘live’. Basically, made it look like he was being released when he was actually already released. Trenton and Josie were caught unaware…” Jack’s voice trailed off.

Though he hadn’t said ‘over’, I reached forward to key the mic when there was an extremely long pause. “What happened?” I demanded .

I could feel Elijah start to shake under me. His worst fears were unfolding right before his eyes—or, rather, ears.

“I wasn’t able to get ahold of them. One of my newer recruits was in the area, thank God. I sent him to find them. He was able to get them out, but Gunther escaped with at least two of his men. Gunther was injured and has effectively disappeared. He used an old prohibition tunnel to escape and could have popped up anywhere in the city. Many of those link to subway and maintenance tunnels.

“As for Josie and Trenton… Well, it’s not good. My guy was able to get them out but they’re both hurt. Josie was beaten and… ” He paused again. “Trenton is missing several fingers and teeth. His hands had been secured to a table using a nail gun. It could have been far worse for both of them. Owen’s getting them to a doctor I know.”

Elijah and I sat there in stunned silence for several long minutes. We both knew how cruel Gunther could be. Elijah’s scars were evidence of that even without my years on the force and the rumors surrounding Gunther.

But to… His own son…?

Granted, this was the same man who had tried to sell his seven-year-old daughter as a child bride to make a business deal. But still… Seeing and believing were two very different things. Trenton was just a kid himself. Would his hands heal? Would he lose use of them? What about his missing fingers and teeth? If handled correctly, they might be able to be reattached.

Jack’s telling of what Josie had been through had been vague enough that I had to wonder. I keyed the microphone. “Was she raped? Over.”

“No,” Jack assured us. “But it was a close call. Over.”

I didn’t know who Owen was, but I was grateful to him. He wasn’t one of the few people who lived off of the mountain but worked for Jack that I had met. Corbin and Dalton were the two on the mountain besides me who helped secure and hide Jack’s special visitors. Jack talked about Huck and Walter like they helped, but I didn’t know how. Tommy was just an old man who lived a secluded life and had no part of Jack’s side business.

I knew Dante, Luca, and Avery, having met them either in town or when they were handing off a visitor to be taken up the mountain. None of them had ever been on the mountain and worked with Jack around the country to help in whatever capacity Jack asked of them. I knew there were others. Jack had an extensive network of people at his disposal, but they were the three I had met.

I leaned forward. I wasn’t religious but I felt the statement was valid for the situation. “Thank God. Where are they now? Over.”

“There were…a lot of bodies. Owen had to get them away and wasn’t able to call for medical help. Josie and Trenton both insisted they get as far away from the city as possible before seeing a doctor. I contacted a doctor I know in New Hampshire and gave her a heads up that they were headed her way. Hopefully, Dr. Souleiman will be able to help Trenton. They found all but one of his fingers.” Jack cleared his throat. “I’ll keep you guys posted. I know none of you have any plans to come down the mountain for a few months still, but we might want to consider keeping Belle up there if Gunther isn’t found by spring. Over.”

I knew Elijah well enough to know he was already contemplating never allowing her off the mountain again, even if Gunther was found or put back in jail.

Elijah keyed the microphone. “Thanks for letting us know, Jack. Please pass on my regrets to Trenton and Josie. I never meant for any of this to happen to them.”—I was not surprised in the least that Elijah was taking the blame for what had happened, regardless of none of it being his fault. I would need to nip that line of thinking in the bud as soon as we got off the radio call with Jack.—“I appreciate your efforts as always. Over and out.”

Elijah powered off the connection before Jack could reply.

I turned on his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. Elijah buried his face into my chest.

“It’s never going to end.” His voice was muffled by the blanket I was wearing in place of clothing. “He’s going to keep coming for us.”

I pressed my lips to his hair. “This mountain is the safest place for you and your kids,” I reminded him. “We can’t get down and they can’t get up.”

“And what happens when the snow melts and the road becomes passable?”

I had no answer for him, but we had approximately two more months to figure that out.