Mountain of Lies

Chapter 4

Her guess was that Raj was Dipshit, which made this joker Sidekick. She met his gaze and hoped like hell none of the panic she was feeling was showing in her face. She opened the driver's side door and reached for the food she'd picked up from the dinner.

The gun was suddenly jammed in her ribs. "I said—" There was a rush of air and a muffled thud, and Hudson was there using the duffel she'd packed to pin Gio to the side of her SUV. "She rides in the back with me. My deal, oui? And put the gun away, idiot. You're not gonna shoot no one before Cain gets his stuff back."

Spittle flecked Gio's lips as he shoved uselessly at the bag. Raj banged impatiently on the top of the truck. "Knock it off, morons. Gio, get in the truck, now."

Hudson moved away and Gio glared at Mia before stashing the gun in his pocket and moving to the passenger side. Mia let Nev into the backseat before climbing in herself. Hudson slammed the back glass on the cargo area then attempted to wedge his six-foot-two frame into the backseat on the passenger side. He tapped Gio on the shoulder. "Taber—move the seat forward, eh?"

"Nah. I'm comfortable, dude." Mia could see the man's smug grin in the rear view mirror.

"Is that right?" Hudson managed to get the door closed then twisted his legs forward so his knees were jamming into the back of Gio's seat. "Okay, now I am com-for-table, too."

Gio's posture stiffened and he tried to arrange himself to avoid the hard bumps against his spine, but after a few seconds, an electric motor purred and the seat slid forward a few inches.

Hudson angled himself so his legs stretched into Mia's space and the reek of testosterone eased in the SUV. Mia reached into the bag the waitress at the diner had given her and passed the top box to Hudson. He frowned slightly when he popped open the lid. "This is what you got me? I told you I want meat." He shoved the box at her, nudging Nev's head out of the way. "Give me the other."

Her skin prickled at the disdain in his voice, and she glared at his unconcerned profile as she passed over the second box.

Raj's eyes were on her in the rear view mirror. "Sent her on a little errand this morning, Remy?"

Hudson swallowed a mouthful of the sandwich he'd put together with pancakes and strips of bacon. "Ya, she goes, dog stays, she comes back." He shrugged. "And here she is."

He was putting on the act to protect them both, but it was unsettling, the way he was able to disappear so completely into character. She could never really trust what came out of his mouth. Gio turned in the passenger seat and reached his hand back. "I'll have the other one. Hand it over."

Mia nudged Nev with her elbow and the dog dropped his head and growled. Drool fell onto Gio's hand, and he made an expression of disgust and wiped his hand on his leg.

Mia shrugged and rooted through the bag for a fork. "Dog says no."

Anxiety was tying her stomach in knots, but there was no way to know when their next meal was coming, and she was damned if she was going to give either of the idiots a bite.

#

Several precious hours of their allotted twenty-four disappeared before the truck finally pulled to a halt on a rough logging road. More slides had peppered this section of the mountain range and this route was the only one Mia could think of that would get them even close to where she thought the helicopter might have gone down.

Gio let himself out of the truck and squinted around suspiciously. "This don't look right." He pointed the gun at Mia's forehead. "You tryin' to pull a fast one?"