Secret Admirer

Chapter 12

"And how exactly are you going to explain this to the sheriff when he comes looking for me? You know he will come looking for me when I don't check in," Kevin isn't stupid, he will report back to his boss just as he will need to report back to Lindsey.

"I'm not scared of the sheriff anymore than I'm scared of that spoiled crazy child. You seem to think that they have something more in their heads than I do. Boy, let me be straight with you, I am going to do everything necessary to protect my family. And as a mama, you will find there's not a damn thing that I won't do for my children to make sure they are safe!" Just by the look in her eyes I believe every word Georgia says. I wouldn't put anything past her including killing the sheriff to keep her family safe.

Kevin's eyes are about to bug out as I finish the last zip tie. Georgia comes over and tests every one of them just to be sure there's no chance of him getting loose. When she's satisfied with the ties, she steps back to the counter and takes out her phone and hands it to me.

"Call Blake, you tell him to come over and get you. Tell him it's time. He'll understand what that means," Georgia pushes the phone into my hand and nods for me to make the call.

Doing as I'm told, I give Blake the message and despite the curse out of his mouth he agrees and says he's on his way. When I let Georgia know she doesn't say a word but continues to watch the front door and the back as if she is expecting someone else to show up.

I hate to admit it but I am too.

Beckett

"Blake said Ma and Mia have one of them tied up. We have to get back to the house now!" Leo and Aubrey look outside at the storm and see the rain hasn't let up.

"Are you planning on swimming there? Beck I know you're scared for Georgia, I am too. But how do we get there in this storm?" Aubrey tries to reason her way through this but I'm not in any mood to reason now.

Lindsey and her little group of dummies are not waiting for this storm to pass. We can't either. Pulling the pack onto my back. I toss another over my shoulder. I'll carry as much as I can to lighten Aubrey's load. We have to go now.

"Lindsey's going to go after them. We have to protect them." I remind her and myself of why we're stuck in this mess to begin with.

"We can do this. We can't be that far from the road." Leo looked at the map one last time. "If we go this way, we should hit the road here and be able to walk around the back side of your place from here."

"That must be how Mia got there, Ma said she got to the house and set the alarm off. That's how she knew Mia was safe." Looking at the map and the way Mia would have hiked she would have gone right past us.

"Does Cole know?" Aubrey asked, reminding me that we need to fill them in on what we are doing.

"No, and I better do that before we go. He's going to be pissed that he can't get there," I don't think they will be able to go anywhere without help, not from what Ethan said the last time I talked to him.

"No, Ethan said it was going to take repelling gear to get down from the cave." Leo agreed. "I don't have any with me. It's just not a good idea to try it at night and definitely not during this storm. They're safer in the cave."

"I'm sure he won't agree but I do. What about the Sheriff? Any chance of him finding them?" I have to ask, I don't want to leave them out there alone.

"No, he's not on the search and rescue team for the preserve. He could try but he's not trained to climb in this weather." Leo would know best. He's got seniority in this.

"The dogs need to be watched carefully. They can lose footing just as easily as we can. He doesn't need the leash, he could just as easily pull me down as I could pull him. " Aubrey takes Lump's leash and puts it in her pocket. The dog will stay with her and won't leave her side. It's for both their safety now.

"Just be careful," I remind her. I don't want her losing her footing down another ravine.

Giving Aubrey a kiss, I hold onto her. I won't let anything happen to my wife now that I have finally got the life I want. I'll protect her and our child with my life. No one is going to take them from me.

Leo being on the same wavelength as I am, calls Quinn. I listen for a moment and hear him say the same words that I have said to Aubrey. I know I was against their relationship in the beginning but I was wrong. He's a good man and he will take care of my sister and their children. I couldn't have asked for a better brother in law.

Speaking of, I have to make sure the others are safe.

Before leaving, I talked to Ethan, filling him in on Ma and Mia. I make sure they know the situation and we are going to help. Unfortunately, they have to stay put. They're going to need a rescue in the morning after we can see how bad the storm damage is. For the moment, they're safe where they are.

Ethan understands and will be on watch for the night for critters and anyone wandering through the storm. Brynn is trying to keep warm without a fire and feed them. Cole is worried. He's not handling any of this well.

"Brynn pointed out that he is in love with Mia. Talk about a flip out. Cole went white as a sheet. I thought he was gonna pass out," Ethan laughed at his friends reaction.

"He'll get used to it. Better he take the time now to get used to those feelings before he has to face her." I remember how hard it was to deal with the first time I felt like that. Aubrey handled it a lot better than I did.

"Brynn isn't going to let him ignore it. That's for sure. I hope Mia's ready, because by the time we get out of here, Cole's gonna be ready for her," Ethan jokes, laughing as Brynn says something in the background.

"Keep it easy, guys. You don't know how Mia feels," I warn them.

Not that they are listening. Cole might have some feelings going for Mia but Mia is pretty shy. She may not be ready to jump in with him like they did. I just hope no one gets hurt.

Leaving the cabin we set off for the road, knowing that we could run into Lindsey or the sheriff, we stayed close to the edge of the forest in case we needed to duck down to escape quickly.

We saw a couple of cars approaching and we ducked down below the road just in case. No sense in having a run in out here in the middle of the road with no one to help us. Once the cars passed we crawled back up the hill and continued our walk home.

Just as we were about to hit the edge of the tree line behind the house we heard it. Three gunshots. As we bolted out of the trees to the clearing, the dog came running toward us with Mia right behind her and no sign of Ma.

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