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“I truly have no idea,” I said honestly.

“Of course you don’t. You’re too busy having the perfect life to give a shit about who might be suffering because of you.” The disgust in his tone took me aback.

“Who did I hurt?” Nothing he said made sense.

“Me, you dumb bitch.”

“But I don’t even know you!” Did I? I studied him again. No, until he had taken a job as a ranch hand, I had never seen him before. I was sure of it.

He grabbed my biceps and wrenched me to my feet. “We don’t have time for this. Move.”

He kept his grip tight on my arm as he half-dragged, half-pulled me to the footpath that led to the lodge. I balked when I realized where we were headed. “You know there are people all over the place. Someone is going to see us. You can’t just walk into a room full of ex-military with a hostage and a gun. Someone will get hurt.”

“Oh, so you are capable of caring about people other than yourself?” He snorted. “I’m not stupid. Act natural, and no one will get hurt.” A cruel smirk twisted his lips. “Except you, but we’re not there yet. You still have a little time.”

He was going to kill me, I realized numbly.

He was going to kill me, and I had no idea why.

Dry pine needles blanketed the dirt, muffling our footsteps. Part of me hoped it muffled Seb’s footsteps, too. That he was nearby and formulating a plan. Another part of me hoped he was nowhere near Clay and his gun.

The trail opened up the expanse of lawn in front of the lodge. Clay moved his gun under his jacket. “No funny business, bitch. My finger is still on the trigger.”

I nodded. We skirted the building and headed for the parking lot. My stomach sank. I really did not want to end up in his trunk.

“Lila! Hey.”

My heart bounded with hope at the sound of Miguel’s voice. That hope was quickly dashed when Clay growled in my ear, “Get rid of him, or the first bullet is his.”

Fear clawed at my chest. Swallowing hard, I pivoted to face Miguel with a wide smile. “Hey. What are you still doing here? I thought you left after the lunch shift.”

He glanced from me to Clay and back again, his expression curious. “Left something back at the lodge, but I’m leaving now. Where are you two heading?”

“Hiking.” Clay’s face gave nothing away. Damn him. Every trace of malevolence was wiped clean, and he regarded Miguel with nothing but friendliness. “I found a coyote den up by the falls, and Lila wanted to take a look.” He cocked his head at me, smiling. A genuine smile. He was enjoying this. “We should get going if we want to get back before dark.”

“Right.” Panic clawed at my chest. I threw out a lifeline and hoped desperately he’d catch it. “See you tomorrow, Miguel. Watch out for flying houses. They’re everywhere.”

Miguel laughed. “I’ll be careful.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. He didn’t catch it. I watched hopelessly as he beeped his key fob and slid behind the wheel of his truck. With a little wave, he was gone.

Fuck.

“What was that about flying houses?” Clay asked with narrowed eyes.

“It was nothing. He loves the Wizard of Oz, that’s all.”

“Walk.”

Something hard pushed at my rib. I glanced down and saw the gun mostly hidden under his arm. Clay shoved me forward, and I stumbled.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“The trails.”

Not very enlightening. Mercy River Ranch was on the edge of the Wind River Range. Thousands of trails crisscrossed these mountains and forests—and I didn’t know a single one. That was the bad news.

The good news was that the trees would provide plenty of cover when I made a run for it.