Grace tugged the jacket tighter around her shoulders. She’d been in Cradle Mountain three days but didn’t feel any closer to acclimatizing to the cooler weather.
She moved her feet faster in a weak attempt to chase off the chill of the morning breeze. The coffee shop shouldn’t be much further, not if the directions the guy at the motel had given her were correct. When she got there, she intended to ask for her coffee extra-extra-hot. Like, burn-the-tongue-level hot.
Grace felt warmer just thinking about it.
The place was called The Grind. It was supposed to be the best coffee in Cradle Mountain, if the reviews were to be believed. And boy did she need a good coffee. She’d tried some at the motel, but the lukewarm sludge just didn’t cut it.
A couple passed Grace, smiling at her. She smiled back.
The few times she’d left the motel, she’d received at least a dozen of those smiles. Waves and greetings as well. To say people here were friendly was an understatement. And it wasn’t just that the people were nice; the town was gorgeous. Nestled right beside Ketchum with a perfect view of Cradle Mountain itself from her motel window.
She’d debated venturing out and exploring the rivers at the base of the mountain in the afternoon. They were supposed to be spectacular.
Grace came to a stop in front of a very colorful shop. A smile she couldn’t stop stretched across her face. The outside of the store was painted a warm honey-yellow shade, and all the window trimmings, as well as the door, were bright red. And then there was the big pink sign that read “The Grind”.
The place was a rainbow of colors. A shop that would be difficult to walk past and not notice.
Pushing inside, Grace shuddered at the warmth, her chilled muscles finally relaxing. Soft music played through the speakers, adding to the inviting feel of the place.
David Bowie, “Life on Mars”. A favorite of hers.
Making her way to the front, Grace took a seat at the counter. A dozen tables were scattered around the shop, along with a couple of booths by the windows. Each table and booth was a different color.
She wouldn’t say the place was busy, but it wasn’t empty, either. A young man with short brown hair and glasses was taking coffee out to a table, while a lady stood behind the counter serving someone a few stools over. She had long blonde hair pulled up in a hair band, and deep red lips. Her hair had bright pink highlights along the sides, and her eyes were spectacular. Two different shades, one green and one the lightest of browns.
Her smile was almost as wide as her face as she turned to look at Grace. “Hi there. I’m Courtney.”
She returned the smile. “Grace.”
“Nice to meet you, Grace. What can I get for you today?”
“Coffee, please. Extra hot if possible.”
Courtney dipped her head. “You got it. Not used to the cold weather?”
“Did I give myself away?”
She lifted a shoulder. “Girl, all I need to see is your face to know you’re an out-of-towner. Cradle Mountain is small.” Turning, she grabbed a mug and started working on the coffee.
“Is this your shop?” Grace asked, looking around once again.
“Sure is. My baby. My pride and joy. My second home.” She turned her head back. “So if you tell me you don’t like something, I may cry.”
Uh, no, she doubted that would happen. “If you have heating and hot coffee, I will worship you and the ground you stand on.”
“Those, I can provide. Want anything else with the coffee? These amazing sesame cakes arrived this morning.” She lowered her voice. “Don’t tell anyone, but I’ve had three.”
Grace chuckled. “Not for me, thanks. I’m allergic to sesame seeds.”
The woman’s eyes widened. “Oh, wow. Okay, forget what I just said, the cakes are terrible. You definitely don’t want one.”
Grace laughed again. It felt rusty, but good.
“So, what brings you to Cradle Mountain?”
Guilt? “Uh, I came to see the guys from Blue Halo Security.”
Courtney paused midway through heating milk, the smile leaving her face and a much less pleased expression replacing it. “Are you a reporter?”
“Oh, no. No, definitely not. I’m about as far from being a reporter as possible.” Rather than seeking people out, seeking stories out, she was quite happy sticking to herself.
Courtney’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “Sorry. They’ve just been so dang invasive. They come in here, pretending to want coffee, when what they really want is answers to a hundred and one questions about the guys that are none of their business.” She shook her head, turning back to the machine. “And if that’s not bad enough, they’ll then wait for one of the guys to come in here and pester the crap out of them. It’s despicable. I’ve started refusing them service.”
It didn’t surprise Grace. Particularly not after that Nicole woman had followed her back to her motel yesterday.
“The men deserve peace,” Grace said quietly.
“You’re not wrong.”
When Courtney started pouring the heated milk into the mug, Grace almost salivated on the spot. After days of bad coffees, to say she was excited for a good one was an understatement. And she had a feeling this would be a good one.
On the side of the mug, Grace noticed writing. She squinted, reading. “Every time I hear that dirty word ‘exercise’ I wash my mouth out with chocolate!”
She threw back her head and laughed. If any mug was going to speak to her, it was this one. “I like the mug.”
Courtney’s brows rose. “Oh, if you like this one, you’ll love some of the others. No two mugs are the same at The Grind. I’ve got quite the collection. The quirkier the better.”
Quirky. That was the perfect word to not only describe this woman, but also her shop.
Courtney placed the mug in front of her. “Tell me, Grace, what are your plans while in town?”
She wrapped her hand around the mug, almost sighing out loud. So. Dang. Warm. “Today I was thinking I’d go and explore a bit. I’d love to check out the walking trails around the base of Cradle Mountain. And the rivers.” Along with music, nature was something else that had helped a lot in her recovery. It was grounding. And something she often recommended to her patients.
“By yourself?”
Grace took a small sip of her coffee and, sure enough, it was the best damn cup she’d ever tasted. “Ah, yeah. Why? You don’t think it’s a good idea?”
Courtney studied her jacket. “Do you have anything warmer?”
“I can chuck some more long-sleeved tops on. Add some layers. And I’ll stay on the move once I’m there.”
The bell by the door rung and Courtney swung her gaze up. Her smile immediately widened. “Well, if it isn’t two of the most handsome men in town.”
Handsome. She had to be talking about…
A figure came to stand beside Grace and an oddly familiar scent penetrated the air. A woodsy, masculine scent.
She didn’t need to look up to know it was him. Still, she did.
Logan and Aidan stood at the counter. Logan was so close, his heat just about pierced her side.
“Two of the most?” Aidan asked. “Courtney, we all know these Muppets don’t hold a candle to me.”
Courtney laughed as Logan cast his gaze down to her. “Hi, Grace.”
Her chest tingled at his quiet words. At the way he looked at her so closely. She was almost certain her cheeks flushed.
It was strange, reacting to a man like that. Or in any way. She hadn’t been attracted to a guy in…well, a long time.
“Hi.”
Courtney leaned on the counter. “Logan, please let Grace know that her jacket is nowhere near warm enough for a hike around the mountain.”
Logan frowned. “You’re exploring Cradle Mountain?” he asked in the same are-you-out-of-your-mind kind of way that Courtney had.
“Well, I was thinking about it.”
He studied her clothes. “Do you have a warmer jacket?”
“Told you so,” Courtney sang as she turned back to the coffee machine.
“No. But I’ll layer.” Christ, she felt like a broken record. “And I’m sure it will be physically taxing enough to keep me from freezing.”
If possible, his frown deepened. If the man scowled any harder it would probably be etched on his face for life. “I don’t think that’s a smart idea.”
For some reason, her defenses rose at that. “Well, lucky for me, I didn’t ask for your opinion on the matter.”
Aidan chuckled from the other side of Logan. Nothing about Logan’s expression changed. She almost wanted to squirm as he continued to stare at her. Study her. Like he was waiting for her to cave and say she wasn’t going on a hike.
“Here you go, boys, your regulars.” Courtney put two cups of coffee to go in front of them.
When Logan finally looked away, Grace sucked in a deep breath, only just realizing that she hadn’t for a while. Tightening her fingers around the warm mug, she took a sip of her coffee, again loving the way it heated her insides.
Aidan straightened, swiping his coffee. “Thanks, Court.”
“You got it.”
Grace waited silently for Logan to move away. He didn’t. Instead, he reached into his back pocket and took out his phone. A second later, he was sliding it back into his pocket. “I just sent you a pin to a meeting location. It’s at the walking trail that borders Big Wood River. I’ll bring you a warmer jacket to wear.”
Wait—what? “You’re joining me? And how do you have my number?”
But then she remembered…
“That motel really isn’t good with privacy. See you around midday.”
Before she could stop him, Logan was gone, moving through the shop and out the door within the span of a few seconds.
Logan stepped outside, ignoring Aidan’s pointed look. He was sure if he gave his friend a moment, he’d—
“Hiking?”
There you go. “Yeah, so the woman doesn’t get lost and freeze her ass off. Why, you got a problem with that?”
Aidan lifted his coffee to his lips as they walked, taking a sip. “Nope. Just find it interesting.”
Yeah, it was interesting to Logan, too. He should hate the woman. Instead, he was planning to hike with her. Most sane people would wonder what the hell was wrong with him.
Logan sipped his own coffee. “She may not be our friend but that doesn’t mean I want harm to come to her. Besides, might be a good opportunity for me to dig deeper and find out the finer details of what happened back in Marble Falls.”
He wasn’t holding his breath, but a slim shot was better than none.
“The reason behind what she did won’t change anything.” Aidan swung a quick look Logan’s way. “Even if she does have big doe eyes you can get lost in.”
Ha. It wasn’t just her eyes that Logan could get lost in. But that wasn’t the point; she called to Logan’s protective instincts. “She flew across the country to apologize to us. That has to count for something.” He wasn’t saying she could be trusted, but most people wouldn’t have gone to the effort.
“That’s true.”
Logan took another sip of his drink. Courtney’s coffee never disappointed, and this one was no different. “Anyway, like I said, helping her today is purely about keeping her safe until she leaves Cradle Mountain, and hopefully learning something about whatever it is she’s not telling us.”
“Mm-hm.”
Shaking his head, Logan rounded the corner and immediately cursed under his breath. He didn’t miss Aidan’s groan.
Nicole Fleece headed their way. The woman was in her early thirties, of average height—and she was the most frustratingly persistent reporter out of the lot of them. Logan had lost count of how many times she’d approached him asking for an exclusive.
She swept her brown hair over her shoulder, a small smile curving her lips. She stopped in front of them. “Good morning, boys, how are you both today?”
Aidan rolled his eyes. “There’re only so many times we can say no.”
They both stepped around the woman and continued down the street. It didn’t surprise Logan when he heard the clack of her heels on the pavement as she hurried to catch up.
“Then don’t. One interview, that’s all I want. An exclusive on what it was like being held by that deranged man, John Hylar. Trained by his soldiers. Drugged.”
Well, as fun as that sounded… “Not gonna happen.”
“Come on, people already know anyway. I can give you a voice. A platform.”
“How about you listen to my actual voice and get the hell out of town?” Aidan called over his shoulder.
“Sure. After the interview.”
Should have seen that coming.
The woman continued to talk all the way down the street, only stopping when they reached Blue Halo Security. When she tried to follow them inside the building, Logan blocked her way.
“You need to leave, Nicole.” She opened her mouth, but he cut her off before she could get a word in. “If you’re waiting for us to talk to you, you’ll be waiting a very long time.” Forever kind of long. “All you’re doing is wasting energy that could be spent chasing a story that will actually get written. Do yourself a favor and leave.”
Logan stepped inside, closing the door behind him. Moving up the stairs, he half expected to hear the door open and the light pitter-patter of her heels on the stairs.
He didn’t.
Good. Maybe she was finally getting the picture.
Stepping inside Blue Halo, Logan went straight to his office, placing his coffee and phone on the desk. It was a Sunday, but with the business still being new, they were open every day. Luckily, they were a big team, so days off were still possible.
But not today. A full morning of phone calls awaited him, most of them discussing commercial security. And in between, he needed to touch base with his team to see how the mission was going.
The thought had barely flashed through his mind when his phone started to ring, Flynn’s name on the screen.
Lifting it, he answered the call. “Flynn, how’s it going down there?”
“We found them.” Heavy wind sounded in the background. “They’ve got a compound on the outskirts of Celaya. We’re finalizing details on the best way to get in and out without any of the women getting hurt. We’re going to infiltrate tomorrow.”
Thank God. “Need anything from us?”
“When we’ve got it all worked out, we’ll make contact with Steve, make sure the evacuation plan is rock solid.” The light shuffle of feet sounded, telling Logan his friend was on the move. “If they can only get one evacuation flight, there’s a chance the victims might be temporarily taken to Cradle Mountain. Might need you to check how resourced the town is for that.”
Resourced as in medical staff. He wasn’t in a position to hire more, of course, but Steve might have some pull to make something happen. “I’ll look into it.”
“Thanks.”
“And, Flynn, when you catch this ringleader, Ice…make sure he suffers.”
The guy didn’t deserve an easy death, and he knew his team wouldn’t grant him one.
“Already planning on it.”
Logan hung up, relieved his friends were finally going to shut this organization down.
They didn’t know a lot about Ice, just that he’d taken over the running of the organization after the old boss died. They didn’t know what he looked like…hell, they didn’t even have a real name. But when the team got in there, they planned to find out, one way or the other.
They believed he was a US citizen because of his easy access and movements in the US. They also knew he had no problem instructing his men to take women away from their homes and loved ones. Treat them like property. And allow unthinkable things to happen.
The guy was the scum of the earth, and he didn’t deserve the air he breathed. Tomorrow, when he breathed his last breath, the world wouldn’t bat an eye.
