Shephard (Mountain Men of Danger Falls #1)

Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

S hephard

Damn it.

I couldn’t figure out what it was about Denise that both electrified and drove me nuts. Every encounter had been tumultuous, every conversation laced with an edge. We were both fighting a war we couldn’t win.

However, being that close to her had gone straight to my cock.

She had a way about her that seemed natural and easy. She was beautiful, but I doubted she had any idea. I’d studied the way she’d interacted with her friend, slightly self-conscious at first when she thought I might be watching her. But their rapport was natural. She’d smiled and it was as if the entire bar had become electrified, but it wasn’t fake or pretend in any way. It was the kind of smile that made you need to smile back.

It created a mood, a lingering series of sensations that I’d sensed every man in the bar had felt. And when she laughed, it seemed as if the music stopped as well as every conversation, the sound so beautiful that it was meant to be heard.

When she’d been hit on by the first man, my upper lip had twitched. The second almost forced me to finish my beer in one long swallow. But the third and the worst, a guy who dared place his hand on her back almost had me cross the bar in two seconds flat, pummeling him to the floor.

Yeah, I had my first jealous streak. It had yet to end. If some jerk from the bar thought he was going to follow her home, weaseling his way into her life, he’d learn the hard way crossing me wasn’t good for anyone.

Especially him.

I had another beer, maybe a part of me hoping she’d return to finish the damn dance. Even if I had two left feet. It was tough not to laugh at whatever I’d been thinking. Still, I’d wanted a beer and for some reason, I’d needed the noise. That happened rarely, my mind needing the quiet to function. Tonight was different.

Four days.

Yeah, I hadn’t been man enough to tell her I’d felt awkward, uncertain what to do next around her. I was good with sex, but we’d reached a different level. What a chicken shit I was.

And I’d walked out the damn door. That wasn’t like me. I took what I wanted.

Big man. Wasn’t I?

Tonight, my hackles were raised. Since bootcamp, I’d learned to follow my instincts. They were almost never wrong. Something was off that I couldn’t put my finger on. Whatever it was told me to stay right where I was.

And watch.

Which is exactly what I did for the next hour and a half, doing nothing more than nursing on a couple of beers as I studied the crowd. The place was jam-packed as it had been before, more tourists than locals. That was easy to identify and I wasn’t from here. The girls remained at the bar, laughing and talking. Men hit on them every few minutes, but the girls barely responded.

As I waited, my mind wandered to the terse conversation I’d had with my father. I’d come right out and asked him if the rumor was true. He’d replied that it was none of my business and I needed to leave it alone.

He knew me well enough to realize when I was told that, I did exactly the opposite. I’d put in a call, pulling in a favor regarding my father’s past. I couldn’t search his house, but I could search his former identity. Everyone left a trace no matter the circumstances.

Witness protection? If so, he was pushing the boundaries more than the people in the program had told him to do. That much I knew.

I would bring Jagger and Hunter into the conversation. They did deserve to know what I was looking into for no other reason than my search could cause additional strife. I’d never worried about that before, but I didn’t want to cause my mother any additional undue pain.

I thought about Jagger’s terse words, his push forcing me to come back to the land of the living. He was right, as he’d been far too many times in our life. I just… Hell, I didn’t know how to accomplish that. I shifted my attention back in Denise’s direction, my balls tightening from the sight of her long hair and killer legs.

They were meant to wrap around my hips and nobody else’s.

Nothing seemed amiss other than a typical bar full of testosterone. Except when Denise headed toward the corridor leading to the restrooms. I did nothing more than move closer. I didn’t know her that well. It was entirely possible she’d arranged another hot fling inside the bathroom.

It wasn’t any skin off my teeth. We weren’t an item and she’d made it pretty clear she didn’t want that. Not that I could blame her. I wasn’t boyfriend material on anyone’s list. My gut told me the guy was doing nothing more than casing her. He was smart, remaining in the shadows. All I noticed was he was around six feet and lanky. His long trench coat hid his clothing and body shape.

Who the hell wore a trench coat any longer?

Either he had a sixth sense or had accomplished what he’d come for, turning on his heel and taking long strides toward the front door only seconds before her return.

I waited until Denise had made it back to the bar before heading toward the entrance myself. As I’d anticipated, there was no one waiting in the parking lot, no cars leaving the premises. I’d learned a long time ago how to handle this kind of surveillance. I had my props, including a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. I kept them in my jacket pocket. It didn’t matter they were stale or that I didn’t smoke any longer.

I could do anything for a certain length of time.

After lighting up, I took a deep drag as I scanned the parking lot, acting as nonchalant as possible. I purposely took my time heading for my truck, taking a few more seconds to study every vehicle I could see. Unfortunately, I didn’t see a person sitting in a car or truck waiting. But that didn’t mean anything. There was a back parking lot as well, which I couldn’t risk checking.

Unlocking my truck, I hopped in, immediately starting the engine. I’d already found the perfect waiting spot across the street. Given the side road, which I turned down, I easily doubled back without using my headlights. There were no glaring lights in the lot of the small commercial building. That allowed me to park in the shadows sight unseen.

And wait.

This was when I had to keep my patience. There was no other choice. Her life might depend on it.

Thirty minutes went by and other than a few drunk boys leaving the bar, there was little activity. When she finally exited alongside her friend, they chatted for a couple of minutes in the parking lot before Denise headed to her Jeep. Pepper wasn’t with her, which left her more vulnerable. I didn’t like that for her. And I had a feeling whoever was about to follow her already knew that.

She wasted no time starting the engine, zooming out of the lot and onto the street. I did nothing but watch, uncertain after a full minute I was right.

Until headlights were turned on, and what appeared to be a dark sedan slowly moved onto the road in the same direction. I waited on purpose until the person’s taillights were almost out of range before taking off.

With situations like this, I knew I had to keep my cool and it was usually easy. On this night, every muscle was tense. That made for an unhappy man given my experiences with her had pulled out a weakness.

I managed to keep my distance, but easily followed them. It surprised me the man obviously knew what he was doing, keeping enough of a distance she didn’t notice or wasn’t paying attention. Both of which I found difficult to believe. She was damn good at her job, wasting her talents as a park ranger.

I’d driven by her house more than once, not bothering her yet ensuring she was safe. I also knew a shortcut leading to her place, which allowed me to turn off, getting slightly ahead of the two vehicles. The second car didn’t appear in my rearview mirror. That meant nothing. She might have braked, which had forced him to turn off. With the vehicle so dark, it would be easy for her to not pay close enough attention.

The trek up the mountain was without incident and as we closed in on her driveway, I passed without braking or slowing down, rolling the truck onto an access road and turning around in the foliage, immediately pulling to the edge without my headlights on. It was close enough to watch as she turned into her driveway. Seconds later, would you look at that? The jerk who’d been following her slowed at first, pulling away and passing by. It didn’t take long to see the driver had pulled over.

I pulled my weapon from my jacket, checking the magazine. I needed to be careful in how I handled the situation if for no other reason than Denise wouldn’t appreciate my interference if this was a planned visit from a friend.

Which I doubted.

Whoever was paying her a visit certainly didn’t do so by conventional means, his shadowy body disappearing into the woods a distance from her driveway. I immediately climbed out, carefully closing the door with a soft click. After crossing the road, I made my way alongside the driveway toward her house.

If the person heading toward her house had malintent in mind, he would face the full force of my training.

And my wrath.