Page 27 of Claimed By The Mountain Man

I press my back against the wall, smiling as I eavesdrop on his conversation with his friend.

“Any more from Scout’s dad? Yeah, he doesn’t seem to be giving up. I mean, I think he’s out of options, and selling off Scout is all he has… yeah, he’s a total asshole.”

I can hear the anger in Carter’s tone as I sink down, sitting on the step. It’s nice to have someone in my corner. Carter has been like that since I got here. Always believing me, always taking my side, even though he didn’t know a thing about me.

“No, we’ll stay here. He doesn’t know about me, and I’ve hidden her car. No, I’m not ordering that part because her car is shit. It’s old and unreliable.”

My spine snaps straight, and I frown.

Wait… he told me he’d ordered that part and it was backordered, so it was going to take a while. That was a lie? Why would he do that?

“I’m not letting her leave,” Carter snaps forcefully, and unease fills me. “She’s right where she belongs.”

Carter lied to me. He’s not going to let me leave. He’s trying to trap me here with him.

Why?

That’s the one thing that I can’t figure out, but I don’t want to stick around here while I try to. I need to get out. I need to get away from him before I do something stupid like let him hold me captive here.

I promised myself I wouldn’t let anyone control me again. I need to be free.

It breaks my heart, but I push to my feet. As quietly as I can, I walk down the stairs and over to the front door. I take one last look around the cabin as I shove my feet into my shoes. My eyes fill with tears, and I take a deep breath, breathing in Carter’s pine and whiskey scent.

Then I rip the front door open and take off.

The tears stream down my face as I leap off the front porch and hit the grass running. I keep replaying Carter’s words in my head.

He never ordered the part. He was never going to let me leave. He wants to keep me here. He’s just like them. I’ve traded one forced relationship for another. Carter lied.

He lied.

A sob catches in my throat, and I stumble, nearly falling over a tree root.

“Scout!” Carter shouts, sounding panicked.

I run faster, but it’s no use. I can already hear his heavy footsteps behind me, gaining on me.

Why does every man want to take advantage of me? Why are they all the same?

Carter was supposed to be different. I thought he was. I fell in love with him at some point in the last few days. It’s sad, but if he’d asked me to stay, I would have. I would have picked him.

Not now, though. I won’t stay and be forced into something. I won’t be trapped. I won’t let that happen ever again.

Ironically, Carter is the one who showed me that I deserve more. I deserved more than taking care of my father and letting him use me to cover the bills. I deserved to go to college, to finish, and follow my dreams. I deserved to find a man who loved me, to build a life for myself.

I—

Carter’s strong arms wrap around my middle, and I scream as he lifts me off my feet.

“No!” I shout, wiggling and twisting in his hold, but he’s too strong.

I kick out, my heels hitting his shins. He curses under his breath but still holds me up gently.

“Scout, calm down! What is it?” he asks, sounding bewildered and concerned.

I flail in his hold, but my strength quickly wanes, and I sag against his chest, letting him support me as I cry in his arms.

“Scout,” he says, turning me around to face him.