Defending Harlow (Mountain Mercenaries #4)(86)

“Right now he’s in the wind. I’ve sent his picture to the cops and told them a bit about why they should be on the lookout for him. He’s a dead ringer for the description Brian gave, right down to the mole on the side of his neck. If I was him, I would’ve had that thing removed by now. You know, threat of cancer and all.”

Black didn’t even laugh. All he could think of was how he’d been doing mundane shit all day and he’d left Harlow vulnerable. If Woolf was desperate to own the building the shelter operated out of, there was no telling what he’d do to obtain it. “Shit. Okay. I’m on my way over to First Hope,” Black told Rex. “I was going to wait until after dinner, but after hearing this, I think it’s better if I go over now.”

“I agree. I’ll call the others and update them that Woolf is our guy. I’ve given his home address to the cops as well, but I’m thinking maybe our guys might have better luck finding him.”

Black would feel much better having Gray and the others on the lookout for Woolf, as well as the cops. The sooner they found him, the better. “Okay, I’ll be in touch.”

“Ditto.” And with that, Rex hung up.

Black threw his phone on the seat next to him and started his car. He wanted to call Harlow, to hear her voice and to reassure himself that she was all right, but decided to save time by getting to her as soon as possible instead.

Trying not to worry, he hit the gas a little harder than necessary and started the journey from the gun range to the shelter.



“Good work, Milo,” Harlow said as she watched the nine-year-old carefully scoop the spaghetti noodles out of the pan and into the strainer. He wasn’t big enough to pick up a pan of boiling water, so she’d given him a spaghetti spoon instead.

“And you’re doing such a wonderful job stirring, Sammie,” she praised the little girl, who beamed at her.

“How’s the bread coming, Lacie?” Harlow asked, turning to watch as the eleven-year-old brushed garlic butter over the top of the bread she’d just taken out of the oven.

“Good!” Lacie said enthusiastically.

“And you guys?” Harlow asked Jasper and Jody. They were setting the large kitchen table. Jasper was doing an amazing job looking after Jody and making sure she didn’t drop any of the plates.

“We’re good,” Jasper said.

At the same time, little Jody said, “Great!”

Harlow took a moment to drink in the scene. She was really going to miss these kids. They were somewhat on the shy side, but they’d come so far in the short time she’d known them.

When she heard the first crash, she thought that Jody had dropped a plate after all, and she turned quickly to make sure no one had gotten hurt by flying ceramic pieces. She was confused when she saw both Jody and Jasper staring toward the door that led to the living area.

It wasn’t until she heard some of the women in the other room shouting that she realized whatever happened had been out there, not in the kitchen. She hurried over to Jody and steered her and Jasper behind the counter where she had been standing.

“Put down the spoon, Milo. You too, Lacie. Come over here, all of you.” She gathered the children together. She didn’t hear another crash, but when the women in the living room started screaming, Harlow knew something major was happening.

Trying not to panic, she quickly looked around the kitchen. The last thing she wanted to do was have the kids go into the other room, where something was making their mothers panic. She rushed to the window over the sink. It was the only window in the room. Because the shelter was located in the middle of a row of buildings, there were only windows on the front and back. There weren’t any doors in the kitchen, except the one that led out into the living area.

She looked out the window and didn’t immediately see anything. It faced the street, and Harlow could just barely see the lights from the tattoo parlor.

More screams were coming from the other room now—and then Harlow heard someone shout something about a fire.

Knowing she didn’t have any time to waste now, she shoved the curtains out of the way and unlocked the window. She pushed upward with all her strength, but the window wouldn’t budge. It was probably painted shut or something. Harlow turned, and her eyes swept the kitchen for something she could use to break the window.

She saw the five kids huddled together, their eyes huge in their faces, staring at her as she did her best to stay calm. Eyeing the small cast-iron pan she used to make omelets in the mornings, Harlow picked it up.

“Turn around and cover your faces,” she ordered the kids. “I have to use this to break the window, and I don’t want you to be hit by glass if it goes flying.”

She was relieved to see Jasper taking charge of the kids and turning Milo and Sammie around when they continued to stare at her instead of doing as she asked.

Nodding at Jasper, Harlow turned back to the window. She could smell smoke now. Whatever had happened was serious, and she had to get the kids out. She reared back and hit the window as hard as she could.

The window cracked, but because there was wire mesh in the middle of the glass, the pan didn’t do nearly the amount of damage she’d hoped. Harlow stumbled and dropped the pan in the sink. Her palm stung from the force of the hit, but she didn’t stop. She picked the pan back up and aimed at the crack she’d put in the pane.