nothing but us and the wilderness for miles on end, open skies above us and picturesque landscape all around.
And best of all, out here the rich boys didn't have the advantage. Tatum was the one with the knowledge of how best to traverse this landscape and I'd at least been camping several times in my previous life, so I knew the basics.
The others, not so much. I'd let Saint struggle with tent pegs for a full fifteen minutes before taking pity on him last night. It was too damn funny to resist the urge to video it though and I currently had a shiny new screensaver of his furious face when he'd caught me recording him.
It wasn't easy going by any means, but we'd made good progress, closing in on the fancy ass winter cabin Troy kept hidden away up here.
Tonight was the last night that we were going to have to spend out here though and when we woke tomorrow we'd be closing in on our destination, ready to end this. I'd been carrying this vendetta on my shoulders for far too long and it was beyond time I saw the man who had killed my family pay the price for his crimes.
"I think we'll be able to see it once we crest this ridge," Saint said as he strode up the trail behind me. Though trail wasn't entirely accurate as there certainly wasn't any real path here, just the odd track left by animals.
"You said that at the last ridge," I pointed out and he grimaced at that mistake.
"Yes. Well, it should be no surprise that I am not suited to mountaineering. But I recognise this view. It is very similar to the one you can see from the cabin and I have checked the GPS so this time I am almost certain." Saint scowled at the trees like he was daring them to disagree.
"Almost?" I teased and he ground his teeth as he stalked ahead, clearly needing to find out if he was right or not for himself.
"Tease," Tatum mocked as she appeared beside me, slipping out of the trees silently, like she'd been born to do it. She was like some little forest nymph at one with nature and I was loving getting a chance to see this side of her.
"He makes it too easy," I replied with a shrug.
The sun was low in the sky and we needed to make camp soon or we'd be stuck out here in the dark, scrambling to put everything together. I just hoped Saint was right about us seeing the damn cabin soon because knowing him, he'd insist we keep walking until we did.
"Ca-caw!" Blake's voice came from above us and I looked up to find him grinning down from the branch of a tree. The moment my gaze met his, he threw a pinecone straight into my face and I cursed him as I scooped it from the ground to return fire.
Tatum squealed as she ran for cover behind Kyan who whipped her off of her feet and threw her over his shoulder then ran on up the hill. "I'll save you, baby!"
Blake scrambled back out of the tree while I launched more pinecones at his ass and he cursed me as I took off after the others before he could make it to the ground.
We ran between the trees, launching more missiles at each other and laughing until we came up on a clearing at the top of the ridge where Saint stood smiling triumphantly.
"I see it," he announced, ignoring our game as Kyan set Tatum down on her feet and kissed her like it was the end of some movie from the fifties, dipping her low and hooking her leg into his grasp.
It was hard to make out in the dim light, but in the distance, I could just see an immense stone…castle. It was at least three floors high with smoke coiling from several chimneys. There was a dusting of snow on the roof of it and – are those freaking turrets?? The thing looked like it had been built to look like Henry the Eighth’s winter retreat and in no way resembled a damn cabin.
"I was imagining some little cosy cabin," I muttered, wondering why on earth I hadn't realised Troy Memphis would have built himself a freaking luxury escape out here.
"That was an absurd notion," Saint scoffed. “Though it looks like he’s had an extension added since the last time I was here