Lumberjacked (A Holiday Lumberjack Mountain Man Romance) - K.C. Crowne Page 0,71

or her password, but it wasn’t necessary. Angela didn’t have any kind of security on her phone. Imagine living the kind of life where you didn’t need that kind of security? It was almost impossible to fathom.

I started scrolling through her phone. Photos first. I wasn’t sure why I’d gone into her gallery. I should have looked at messages or emails or something. But the gallery had evidence of her. Selfies, alone and with friends. Photos of what I assumed was her mother.

As I looked at the pictures, a pang shot through my chest, and it felt like I’d been stabbed. Fuck, I’d had an angel, and I’d lost her. I wanted her back so damn bad.

I closed the gallery and opened her text messages. Focus.

The first message was a red flag. It had been sent after she’d arrived. She’d tried, even though she’d known there was no signal. And it had gone through.

Hey, Mom. I’m okay, don’t worry. There was a landslide and I’m stuck on the side of the mountain in a cabin. I’m safe. A man named Viktor rescued me. I’ll call as soon as I can.

I pocketed the phone and left the cabin, climbing the mountain back up to the cave where I hid my satellite equipment. If the message had gone through and nothing else had gone wrong, it was fine. Whatever. But if the message had been intercepted…

I was impatient for my equipment to load. I tapped my fingers on the rock my laptop was balanced on, waiting. Finally, the screen flashed with the information I needed. I read it quickly, anxious.

Fuck. The message had been intercepted. There was only one person who would have done that. And one reason for it. Maksim had found me, through Angela.

Shit, shit, shit!

I should have killed that fucker in the woods. I shouldn’t have let him live, I shouldn’t have become soft. I’d been so fucking worried about who I was now, I hadn’t thought clearly about what the consequences could be. He’d been sent after the message was intercepted, and then I’d let him go and he’d called in the troops.

Now, they were here for me.

And they knew about my woman. Fear struck me hard and fast, making me dizzy. I was a big man, I had done a lot of shit, and fear wasn’t something I was familiar with. But this was Angela. She had become everything to me in such a short time. If something happened to her because of this, because of me, I would never be able to forgive myself.

I had no doubt that Maksim would go after her to get to me. I knew the motherfucker better than he knew himself. And he knew how to hit me where it hurt.

I shut off my equipment, sloppily, struggling to think straight. I hurried out of the cave, nearly getting stuck as I pushed between the rocks. When I was out in open air, my chest rose and fell, my breath coming in ragged gasps. My head spun, and for just a moment, I had no idea what to do.

If they found her, they might kill her. Or they would hurt her so badly she’d wish she were dead. They would use her to get to me. And Maksim would win because I would do anything for her. I would go to the ends of the earth for her.

Nyet. I wouldn’t allow it. I wouldn’t let him take her from me. First things first, I needed to find out if Angela was safe. And once I did that, I could take care of him. I checked her phone again. Her profile was set up with an address and everything in case of emergency. Perfect. I’d head to Grizzly Falls, find her, make sure she was okay.

And then I would unleash the beast one last time.

Angela

When I came to, my head ached, throbbing in time with my heartbeat. I lifted my head and struggled against the ropes that tied me to a chair. My mouth was taped shut. My neck ached. My elbow ached.

For a moment, I had no idea how I had ended up here. It all came rushing back at me.

I’ve been kidnapped.

I started fighting the ropes that bound me, wriggling, writhing, squirming. The ropes bit into my skin, rubbing it raw, but it didn’t budge. I was tied tightly; whoever had done it had done a good job.

Aleks, probably. He’d looked suspect when he’d come to the car, all sunken eyes