“Wait.” I wasn’t sure what I wanted him to wait for but I wasn’t up for him being an easy target.

“I have to check on everyone. You stay here until I come back and get you.” He put his hands over mine and had to literally pry my fingers loose. I didn’t want to let him go.

“They could start shooting again.” I whispered the words as he reached up and brushed the back of his fingers over my cheek. He was worrying about everyone else so I decided it was fine that I was so worried about him.

“We have to get everyone together and get out of here. I need to check the horses to make sure they’re okay to ride and I need to check on my brothers. Stay low and stay down in case the shooting starts back up.”

He slipped past me and I sank all the way to the ground, the bark of the tree scratching my back as my shirt rode up. I peeked around the trunk and watched with concerned eyes as Cy made his way to the center of the camp where Grady was bent over the Webb man. They were speaking in hushed tones and it was obvious that Webb was losing a lot of blood.

Catching sight of Cy, Sutton popped up from the other side of the fire pit after telling Emrys to keep her head down.

“You’re hit.” Sutton sounded pissed rather than scared as he addressed his brother, but even from this distance I could see worry twist his features.

“It’s a flesh wound. It can keep until we get everyone safe. I thought we could ride the river but this was an ambush and I don’t want to put any more innocent people at risk if we run across another camp or tour group.” He moved toward the two armed men who proved to be full of surprises. “How badly are you hurt?”

Webb, who was clutching his shoulder as red oozed through his fingers and stained his shirt, grimaced. “It went through and through. It’s not good but I’ve had worse.”

Cy grunted. “Don’t suppose you fellas want to explain why you were armed to the teeth like you were ready for a shootout in the middle of the woods?”

Lane appeared out of the woods in a rush, his words hurried and frantic. “That’s a story I want to hear as well but I don’t think now is the time. We need to get out of here. I don’t know why they stopped shooting but they had enough ammo and enough time to take all of us out. We need to get while the getting’s good.”

Sutton nodded and ran a hand over his face. “Lane’s right. We don’t have time for twenty questions. I’ve got the 12 gauge, Lane has a .357.” He pointed to where Grady was still bent over Webb in concern. “And those boys have the semiautomatic pistols they just shot the place up with. Assuming they still have ammunition after that firefight, I think the best course of action is that we split the group up. Each one of us take a few of the clients and head on different trails back to the ranch. We’re too big of a target moving all together.”

Lane frowned. “If we split up there’s no way we can keep in touch with one another if someone gets in trouble. These guys want us off the mountain.”

Sutton shrugged and looked to his older brother for validation that his idea was the best option. “We can move faster if we all split up.”

Cy looked out toward the trees and down the river like he was trying to see if the threat was still there. After a long minute, he nodded and looked at the two men who were so clearly not who they said they were.

“I have a feeling you two know more about what’s going on here than anyone else. I want the Cliffs Notes version of why you’re on this ride, and if I buy that you aren’t part of the bad shit going down, you two will ride with me.” He motioned to Webb who was now bent over and clearly struggling to breathe steadily. “Plus, we’ll be the slowest with my fucked up arm and his jacked shoulder.”

Grady looked between his injured friend and the injured trail guide. He was obviously weighing his options and deciding how much he could share. Impatiently, Cy pointed at Webb’s shoulder that was leaking more and more blood by the second. “You are on a clock, buddy. Tick-tock.”

With a sigh, the former military man rubbed a hand over his face and dragged it across his chin. “The long and the short of it is that we know someone who came up to this part of Wyoming and disappeared. He isn’t the type of guy who drops out of communication without a reason. It could put him in a lot of danger if anyone knew that he had people looking for him, so we booked this trip to try and get close but not so close that anyone else looking for him might notice.”

Sutton shifted his weight and crossed his arms over his chest. “You the good guys or the bad guys?”

Grady groaned and Webb barked out a brittle laugh that was sharp with pain. “We’re both.”

Cy grunted and shared a look with his brothers that was clearly them weighing how much trust they were going to put in the two men. Ultimately, their desire to keep everyone under their protection safe won out over any lingering suspicion and doubt. He turned to Sutton and his voice was scary in its intensity when he told his middle brother, “You take the girls. You keep them safe and protect them with your life, you hear me, Sutton?”

There was a sharp nod in reply. “You know I will.”

Cy walked over to his youngest brother and clasped him on the shoulder. “You ride out with the family. Keep on extra close eye on the kids and if the dad slows you down tell him you’ll leave his ass in the woods. He’s jerked his family around enough, don’t let him be the reason they get caught up in something we can’t get them out of.” Lane nodded in reply, his intensity matching both of his older siblings.