Free Danger on the Mountain by Lynette Eason

friend here in Rose Mountain. It was time to start trusting people again.
    Abby rested a hand on Maggie’s upper arm and said, “I didn’t mean to push and I’m not a nosy, interfering matchmaker.” At Maggie’s lifted brow, Abby laughed. “Okay, at least I’m not most of the time, and I promise I won’t be from now on. I just wanted to...” She shrugged.
    “Check me out?”
    Abby laughed. “Okay, that’ll do.”
    Belle hollered again and Abby gathered her coat. “I’ll see you later.” She let herself out and Maggie went to get Belle.
    The baby grinned when she saw her mother, and Maggie felt love swell inside her just as it did every time Belle turned that smile on her.
    “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go play until supper time.” She checked to make sure Abby had locked the door behind her, then, for the next hour, Maggie entertained her daughter.
    But Maggie couldn’t quite keep focused on the playtime as her mind kept going back to the attempted robbery, the ugly sneer in the robber’s voice as he demanded that she and Belle go with him. The dead squirrel with the nerve-shattering message that she was next.
    Fear rumbled through her, and she swallowed hard.
    Glancing through the French doors, she watched the sun dip lower in the sky. Soon it would be hidden, darkness would take over, and she wondered if tonight would be the night that the robber would make good on his threat and be back to kill her and Belle.
    * * *
    “Hey, we got a hit on the vehicle used in the robbery.”
    Eli’s voice came over the phone and Reese set the weight he’d been curling with his left arm on the floor.
    “Who does it belong to?”
    “A guy by the name of Glenn Compton.”
    Reese wiped the sweat from his brow and blew out a breath. “You track him down yet?”
    “Not yet. I’m in contact with the Bryson City P.D. and the Asheville P.D. I’ve got a Be On the Lookout order out on him, so hopefully we’ll hear something soon. I’ll send his picture to your phone.”
    His phone beeped, and he pulled it from his ear to check it. A text from Maggie that read, I’m Fine.
    He smiled and pressed the phone back against his ear. “Okay, Maggie just texted, checking in, and said she was fine. All is okay for now.”
    “Glad to hear it. Let’s do our best to keep it that way.”
    “You know it. In fact, I’m going to go over and check on things in about an hour.”
    “Because you think you need to or because it’s a good reason to see a pretty lady?”
    Reese smiled at the smirk in his friend’s voice. “I think we both know the answer to that one.”
    Eli turned serious again. “I think that’s a good thing, Reese. Holly and I’ve liked Maggie from the moment we met her. She’s a special lady.”
    “I agree.”
    Back to business, Eli said, “Cal will be back in the office tomorrow. We’ll add him to the protection rotation. He’ll want to help.”
    “Good.” Satisfaction and relief surged through Reese. The more people Maggie had watching over her, the better off she would be. “Keep me posted, Eli.”
    “You know I will.”
    Reese hung up and within seconds his phone buzzed. Eli had sent him Compton’s picture. Bushy brows, ruddy complexion and a hard blue-eyed stare. Reese made note of the features, tucked his phone back in his pocket and stared at the wall. He’d been doing a little research on the man they had in custody before deciding to get in his daily exercise routine. He usually did his best thinking while working out. This time was no different.
    Two of John Berkley’s known associates were missing. Compton and a man named Douglas Patterson. Reese had examined the picture of Patterson and couldn’t tell for sure if it was Slim, the man he’d shot, or not.
    “Could be, though,” he muttered.
    He’d gone on to read that the three of them had been busted for a robbery in a small town just outside of Asheville. But they’d gotten off on a technicality—and the unwillingness of the only