Chapter 22
Sheriff Burke Scott
The radio crackled to life just after dawn. Static, then Scout’s voice—rough but steady—cut through.
“We’re good, Burke. Cabin held.”
Burke rubbed a hand over his face.
“Copy that. Sit tight. I’ll be up in a couple hours.”
Snow spat sideways across the ridges. He stood outside the station, in Carhartt coveralls and boots, coffee cooling in his hand, eyes on the thinning pale line of the mountains. Roads were useless—ice, drifts, downed limbs everywhere. Snowmobiles were the only option.
The chopper came in low from Asheville, rotor wash hammering the back lot. Two men dropped out as soon as the skids kissed asphalt—Kyle Denton and Alan McHan. SBI.
Burke didn’t bother with a handshake.
“You’re late.”
“HQ sent us the minute they lost contact with Quinn,” Denton said, breath fogging. “We were told she’s holed up somewhere with one of your men.”
“She is,” Burke said. “Scout Wilson. They’re fine.”
Denton nodded stiffly.
“We’ll take it from here.”
“Yeah?” Burke jerked his thumb toward the alley. “Truck’s out back. You boys can ride with me.”
Ten minutes later, Burke’s F-250 was grinding up the ridge road, chains biting into ice. The trailer behind them rattled, three snowmobiles ratcheted down and waiting. Denton and McHan rode in tight-lipped silence, watching the snow stack higher against the guardrail.
When the drifts finally swallowed the asphalt, Burke killed the engine.
“We ride from here,” he said, swinging down.
McHan stepped forward before tension could flare.
“Three snowmobiles?”
Burke jerked his chin toward the trailer.
“You and Denton take one each. I’ll drive lead.”
Denton didn’t answer, but the look said enough: the Bureau didn’t take orders from county law.
“Mount up,” Burke said, already walking away.
Engines fired, snarling through the cold. They pushed up the mountain single file, the climb rough and narrow, trees sagging under snow, wind clawing across the switchbacks. Denton and McHan followed close.
By the time they crested the ridge, the storm had eased into a sullen gray—flat light, heavy silence. Smoke curled lazily from the Grady cabin’s chimney.
Burke killed his engine and scanned the ridge.
The front door opened.
Scout and Tessa stepped out side by side.
Alive.
Steady.
Moving close enough together to make Burke’s brows pinch.
He didn’t see it at first.
But then—
Denton was off his sled before it fully stopped.
“Tess!”
He hit the steps at a run, boots taking them two and three at a time. Before she could turn, his arms were around her—tight, familiar.
Burke saw her head jerk back a fraction in surprise.
Then Denton’s mouth was on hers—full.
Unhesitating.
The sound of idling engines filled the silence.
Burke watched Tessa go still for a heartbeat under the impact.
Then she jerked back, breath tearing in sharp. Color flooded her cheeks. She took a fast step out of Denton’s arms.
From the side of the porch, Scout hadn’t moved.
Not a word.
Not a step.
But Burke saw the change hit him anyway—the way his shoulders went rigid, the light in his eyes flattening into something hard and unreadable. He’d seen that look on Scout before.
Usually before a fight.
Then Scout looked away first.
He reached to the porch rail and picked up his pistol. He checked the chamber—mechanical, emotionless. Deliberate.
Burke caught the look.
“Ah, hell,” he muttered under his breath, not loud enough for anyone else to hear.
Tessa’s voice cut through the thick, awkward quiet.
“Kyle—don’t.”
She got it out steady, which was something.
Denton froze, guilt flashing across his face.
“Tess, I’m sorry. When they said you were missing—” His voice faltered. “And I’m sorry for before. I shouldn’t’ve walked out the way I did.”
His hand hovered like he meant to touch her again.
Tessa shifted her weight, angling her body away a fraction, eyes flicking sideways toward Scout before she dragged them back to Denton.
Scout’s gaze stayed on the snow beyond the porch.
He didn’t look at her.
Burke saw Tessa’s shoulders tighten.
Armor slamming back into place.
“Everybody’s fine,” Burke said, cutting in before any more lines got crossed. “Let’s stay that way.”
He grabbed the spare rifle off his sled and tossed it underhand.
“Scout.”
Scout caught it one-handed, racked it, slung it across his shoulder.
“Appreciate it.”
His tone gave away nothing.
Burke turned to Tessa, eyes scanning for damage.
“You hurt?”
“Only a scrape,” she said. She snapped on her gloves.
Burke’s gaze sharpened.
“Scrape from what?”
“Someone took shots at us up by the stand after you took the Gradys down,” Scout said, tone flat, all business. “Three rounds. Tight grouping. Not an amateur. He was cutting rounds through the wind like he’d practiced it.”
McHan cursed under his breath.
Denton’s shoulders went tight.
Burke’s eyes narrowed.
He’d left them up there thinking the worst they’d have to fight was the storm.
“Well,” Burke said, voice hardening, “looks like we’ve got work to do.”
Denton crossed his arms.
“With respect, Sheriff, SBI should lead this. It’s our jurisdiction now.”
Burke turned fully toward him, voice clipped but calm.
“With all due respect, Agent Denton, I’ve got one deputy abducted and another being shot at. If you think I’m about to stand down and let you ‘handle it,’ dream on. Am I glad you’re here to assist? Absolutely. But this is a joint effort. Period.”
McHan looked from one man to the other.
Tessa stepped into the gap before it widened.
“Stand down, Agent Denton.” Her voice carried, clean and sharp. “You’ll coordinate through me. Clear?”
Denton bristled, then caught Burke’s steady stare and let his shoulders drop a fraction.
“You heard her,” Burke said.
Burke could feel the whole scene like a pressure system.
Scout adjusted his sling.
“I’ll sweep the north ridge for tracks.”
Burke nodded.
“Go.”
Scout swung onto a spare sled and gunned the engine. Snow spat up behind him as he vanished into the timber, swallowed by the trees.
That wasn’t distance, Burke thought.
That was damage control.
He turned back to Tessa.
She nodded and turned toward his sled.
Burke fired up the engine. As they started down the ridge, he glanced once toward the path Scout had taken.
Hell of a morning.