“How many lost people have you saved on the mountain?”
“Five.” That number was small. Most locals knew what it took to survive on the mountain. They grew up with the urban legends and tales of ghosts that haunt the trees. They were smart enough to only venture out in the daylight and never at night.
Only poachers and those up to no good ever took a chance with their lives.
“Was Monique the first lost person you rescued from the mountain?” she asked.
“Yep,” I answered.
“How many people have died up here?”
“Too many. Locals don’t stray off the hiking trails, but tourists not so much. Seems like every year several are reported missing and never heard from again, no matter how hard or big the search team was. They just vanished without a trace.”
“I thought they said you were the best tracker there is,” she hesitantly asked.
“You shouldn’t believe everything you hear,” I answered and gestured to the food I’d put on the table. “You should eat.”
I pulled out a change of clothes from my bag and headed toward the bathroom.
“You aren’t going to eat?”
“I will later,” I answered before shutting the door. I dropped my clothes on the commode, rested my hands on the sink counter, and lowered my head. I couldn’t save everyone, no matter how hard I tried. And believe me, I’d tried and lost that fight. This mountain was an unforgivable heap of rocks and trees. It was a bitch in the worst way.
My worst nightmare was fighting to find lost souls without knowing what I’d run up against, but I’d die trying.
I was halfway dressed after my frigid shower when a scream broke through my thoughts. The loud shrill of Destiny’s voice echoed off the log cabin walls. “Destiny.”
I threw open the door and raced toward her, cursing that I didn’t have a weapon.
Destiny had my shotgun clutched her hands. Her face was drained of color. Her eyes were unblinking, staring in the direction of the window.
“What’s wrong? What is it?”
“There was someone in the window.” She pointed toward the glass, and I grabbed the gun from her hands and yanked open the door, prepared to shoot at whatever or whoever she saw.
Empty. No tracks in the snow. Nothing but the wind wailing through the trees.
The freeze chilled my skin, but the boil of my anger kept it at bay as I walked around the porch, making sure there was no one hiding in the shadows. I wasn’t afraid of the shadows. I wasn’t afraid of the dark. I knew what lurked in those voids.
I scanned the woods once more, slowly and methodically, as I opened my senses to feel for any lost souls nearby.
Nothing. Yet something didn’t feel quite right.
I stepped back inside and locked the door behind me.
“What did you see?” I asked.
“Someone was in the window,” she insisted, finally turning her gaze away from the glass to look at me. Her crossed arms and worried eyes told me she believed what she’d seen.
“Did you recognize the face? What did they look like?”
Her brows dipped, and the fine lines of her face deepened. “It was just a dark silhouette.”
“There’s nothing out there. Not even footprints.”
Her gaze turned to concern as she eased down into a ladderback chair. “I didn’t imagine it.”
“Let me get dressed and I’ll go take another look to see if I missed any prints.”
“I’m sorry. I normally don’t freak like that.” Destiny’s cheeks pinkened. “I was just caught off guard.”
“The longer you’re in these woods, the more your eyes will play tricks on you.” And sometimes they were exactly what one might see. Not that I’d tell her that and spook her even more. I grabbed my shirt out of the bathroom, and when I returned Destiny’s cheeks tinted darker when her gaze landed on my chest.
“Is it getting too hot in here for you?” I asked, holding in my smile as I slid my shirt on and buttoned it. Grabbing socks and shoes, I sat to put them on.
“What?” she asked, clearing her throat. She shook her head. “No, it’s just fine in here.” She smiled.
I tied my boots and rising, tossed on my jacket before grabbing my shotgun and the heavy-duty flashlight that would light up these woods for miles.
