Tough Luck (A-List Security 1)

“Maybe.” His mouth was a hard, thin line as he reached for the stereo, landing on a crackly pop station. I wanted to call him on the obvious dismissal of our conversation, but the tune on the radio distracted me.

“Oh, it’s Ezra! I should text him that his new song randomly came up in the middle of nowhere.”

“No texting,” Cash reminded me.

“Oh right. No phone either.” I held up my empty hands. I’d felt naked ever since the police took my phone. I’d deleted a bunch of pics while we waited for the law enforcement to arrive, but I still felt like they’d seized some vital organ of mine. No phone reminders. No apps to scroll. “I’m gonna expire of boredom within twenty-four hours.”

“Knowing Harley, there’s a ton of books at the cabin. You won’t die.”

“Harley reads?” I sat up straighter. I couldn’t picture someone that gruff and sarcastic as a bookworm.

“He’s a mystery addict, but I think he reads a little of everything.” Cash kept his eyes on the road, which was starting to get more hilly, pristine scenery a far cry from all the concrete and chrome of LA. “He’s got a degree too. Could have gone the officer route, but he preferred being a chief.”

“Huh. Guess he’s way more than hot tattoos and scary muscles.”

Cash made a sputtering noise. “You think his tattoos are hot?”

“Jealous?” I laughed. “Yours are hotter, but I’m under the impression we’re avoiding the whole topic of how I’d happily let you use me as a test case for kissing a guy.”

“We are,” he said firmly, turning up the radio. I took the hint and went silent, enjoying the novelty of being in the mountains, houses and teeny towns few and far between. What little signage there was advertised ski resorts, local restaurants with quaint names, and fishing camps. The trees grew denser, and the views became ever more spectacular, snowcapped mountains and lakes so blue they seemed fake, placed there by a set designer. The air got increasingly crisper and drier. I was for sure going to need more contact solution to survive up here.

Finally, we left the main road behind and took a series of twisty streets, each narrower than the last with houses farther and farther apart until we arrived at a little brown cabin tucked in among the towering pine trees, a little creek nearby along with several small outbuildings. The mountains loomed large behind the property, and the whole scene looked like something out of a painting from a hundred years ago.

“Oh wow.”

“Told you it was rustic.” Cash parked near the cabin. The exterior was weathered, especially the small front porch with a precarious tilt to it. Even the front door was crooked.

“Is it safe to enter?”

“It’s not that bad.” Cash made a dismissive gesture. “You’d rather sleep in the Jeep?”

I considered how isolated we were, a good twenty minutes or more from the last tiny town, which had been little more than an old-fashioned store, a restaurant, and a couple of houses. The dense trees surrounding this small clearing suddenly felt more ominous, a chill spreading up my spine. “Bears might eat me.”

“Nah. You’re too skinny to tempt them. Now cougars on the other hand…” Cash laughed, his eyes twinkling merrily. The only bear I really cared about tempting was right here next to me, and I’d let him eat me in a heartbeat.

I made a gulping noise, which Cash apparently interpreted as fear, reaching over to pat my knee.

“I’ll keep you safe. Promise. Let me go first, check it out, then I’ll worry about turning on the generator and stuff like that.”

I was hardly reassured by him drawing a gun and moving around the property like a sheriff from an old western. He checked each of the small outbuildings and the cabin itself before returning to the Jeep. “Okay, looks clear. No squatters, no signs of any recent visitors at all.”

Gingerly, I exited the car and stretched my cramped muscles before following him into the cabin. The porch let out an angry creak as we walked across it, and despite going inside earlier, Cash had to fiddle with the crooked door to make it open. But finally, we were inside, entering a surprisingly spacious living area.

“Wow! It’s bigger than it looked at first.”

That got a snort-laugh from Cash. “It is.”

Skin heating, I looked around the place, which mainly seemed to be one big rectangle with a kitchen at one end and a stone fireplace surround with a black woodstove at the other. I spied a little ladder near the kitchen area and raced ahead of Cash.

“There’s a loft!” I climbed the ladder to the low space, which had a single small window and a large mattress on the floor. I immediately loved the cozy and peaceful vibe. “I’m sleeping up here.”