by Connie Mann
His cell phone rang. It took a few seconds to identify the sound, but then he eased away, apology in his eyes. “Tanner. Sure. I’ll be right there.” Sighing, he holstered the phone. “Report of a nuisance gator in a swimming pool. I need to go.”
They studied each other for a long moment. She didn’t want him to leave. His look said he felt the same. But duty called.
“You’ve had one heckuva day, Xena. Get some rest. And call me if anything weird happens, night or day, okay? We’ll figure this out.”
He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead before he walked out the door.
Delilah sank down on the futon after he left, struck by a sense of wonder. This man was far more dangerous than she’d ever imagined. And it wasn’t because of his uniform.
He made her feel things she’d never felt before, and she had no idea what to do about that.
Chapter 15
“You are not alone.”
Josh’s words played in a continuous loop in her head. Sure, she’d worked on assignments with other students, and her foster parents had made her part of their family, but she’d still felt a beat apart. When she left eight years ago, she’d sworn no one but her would determine her destiny. If she was lonely sometimes, it seemed a small price to pay for her independence. Even during the two years she’d spent with Andy, he’d been so unassuming and nonthreatening, he’d never disagreed with any of her plans. Now here was Josh, who’d barreled into her life with his kindness and underlying stubbornness and decided they were a team.
It amazed her. She grabbed her gear, figuring an hour or two watching her favorite monkey troop would help her think things through logically and sort out everything that had happened today.
She was also worried about little Oscar. She still couldn’t believe she’d actually fed a feral monkey, but what choice did she have? She couldn’t just let him starve.
As she followed the sounds of the troop chattering in the treetops, she berated herself. If she heard someone else say that, she’d condemn their actions without a moment’s hesitation, calling them self-serving and irresponsible. Funny how everything changed when it was her and sweet little Oscar’s life was at stake.
Worry quickened her steps as she found a quiet spot to observe them. There wasn’t much daylight left, so she grabbed her camera and quickly scanned the troop, trying to identify the various monkeys she’d been studying. She snapped photos, looking for Oscar, and her breath came out in a whoosh when she spotted him above her. He looked at her intently for a long moment as though he recognized her. Then he hopped on his auntie’s back, and they clambered higher into the tree.
Relief flooded her. He’d lost that gaunt look, but she enlarged the photo on her camera to be sure. Yes, thankfully, he’d been eating. But he still wasn’t with his mother. This female wasn’t her. Where was she?
Viewfinder in place, she scanned the troop again, snapping more pictures as she went, her niggling worry increasing as her photos confirmed what she’d seen. Or not seen. Unless she was losing her mind, always a possibility, there were three more mothers missing. Where had they gone?
She stood and walked deeper into the forest, circling around to the opposite side of the troop in case she’d missed them. She took more photos, searching for familiar faces, but they weren’t there. Worry dug deeper. None of the monkeys looked sick, so she couldn’t assume illness. And why was it just the new mothers who were missing?
Was someone killing them off?
Just as that hideous thought sank in, the unmistakable feeling she was being watched crept over her.
Using her camera as cover, she studied the area around her but didn’t see anyone.
Still, given what had happened earlier, caution seemed wise. There wasn’t enough light to get any more shots, and since she’d confirmed Oscar was okay, she returned to her truck by a roundabout route, every sense on alert. She stopped frequently to listen but heard no one behind her.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t being followed.
* * *
Later, Delilah checked the perimeter of her campsite again, making sure there was no evidence someone had been there, just as she’d been doing every night.
“You are not alone.”
She still wasn’t sure what to do with that or the explosive attraction growing between them. If his phone hadn’t interrupted them, she had no doubt they would have ended up on her futon.
Which would have been a huge mistake. After Andy headed for Peru, she’d dated several nice enough men and slept with two of them, but those encounters left her feeling more alone than before. She wasn’t a casual sex kind of person. Physical intimacy without a deeper connection and affection made her feel hollow. It wasn’t worth it.
Her growing feelings for Josh would have made it amazing. In the moment, anyway. Afterward, though, everything would be even more of a tangled mess. She couldn’t sleep with him without getting her heart involved. And she couldn’t get her heart involved because she wasn’t staying in Ocala. Not ever. Not with John Henry and Aaron still around and her past liable to pop up at every corner.
It was good they’d been interrupted. It kept things simple. Casual. Her focus had to stay on Mary. Period.
But that didn’t stop all sorts of tempting scenarios involving her and Josh from slipping through her mind as she drifted off to sleep.
But then, in that weird way of dreams, her old nightmare kicked in, and Nate loomed over her. She thrashed and fought until her terrified scream woke her and she sat bolt upright in bed.
Heart pounding, covered in sweat, she headed for the tiny bathroom and splashed her face with water, annoyed that he could still rob her of sleep, so many years later.
She started a pot of coffee and peeked out the window, the cold knot in her stomach loosening as she spotted Josh’s official F-150 outside. He turned on his dome light and sent her a warm smile and salute with his coffee cup. Delilah raised hers and smiled back.
Should she bring him more coffee? No. Better not. Instead, she remade the futon and reached for her camera. She clicked through the photos she’d taken earlier but found no clues as to where the missing mothers had gone. Was it possible FWC had hired someone to cull the population? Josh had said FWC hadn’t made any decisions—yet—on the future of the rhesus macaques. And even if they had, she couldn’t imagine a trapper targeting nursing mothers. Anger shot through her at the very idea, but she dialed it back. She had no proof.
After another fortifying sip of coffee, she set her camera aside and reached for the journals. She wasn’t quite ready to read her own, so she pulled Mary’s out instead.
She found the entry dated a few days after her family disappeared. Guilt clogged her throat as she absorbed Mary’s confusion and sense of abandonment that her big sister hadn’t tried to find her. “Oh, Mary Lou, it wasn’t about you. I was just trying to survive. But I should have taken you with me. I’m so sorry.”
She flipped to an entry a year later. Mary’s sadness had turned to anger now, at Delilah’s disappearance, Mama’s never-ending kowtowing to Papa’s demands, Aaron’s increasing harshness. Mary had lived it all, just like Delilah. But what shredded her heart was that Mary’s bright light seemed to have been snuffed out. There was no joy in her entries, no mention of friends, no hint of the fun-loving, smiling, always humming little sister she’d known. Anger at her family and guilt for abandoning Mary hit like a cat-o’-nine-tails, tearing strips off the scars she’d tried so hard to heal.
But Delilah kept reading, accepting the condemnation on the pages, knowing she deserved every word.
Somewhere along the way, she fell asleep.
* * *
He turned and walked out of the meeting before the frustration boiling inside him spilled over. He didn’t have time for their wishy-washy, wait-and-see nonsense. Didn’t any of them understand that things had to c
hange? The country needed him. More importantly, they needed him to be their leader. Someone strong. Decisive. Ready to take action. The time for casual alliances and loose associations was long past. It wasn’t enough anymore to simply arm those of like mind. They had to do more. The time was right to put their own militia into place, one that was equipped and ready to stand and fight against the government oppressors.
But the established old guard didn’t want to see it. Didn’t want to listen. They spoke of caution, of more planning, of waiting for the right moment.
The right moment had already been set. He’d set it. In just over a week, everything would be in place, and he’d step up as their leader and take them to the next level. He was the only one strong enough and brave enough to guide them into liberty.
He thought of Black’s death and shook his head. The last thing they needed right now was FWC and their idiotic band of fish cops snooping around. That body should never have been found. Hell, the idiot shouldn’t have been out there to begin with, poking his nose where it didn’t belong.
He sighed. As always, it was up to him to clean up other people’s messes. None of them had any idea what he did for them, the spineless cowards. Only he knew the risks he took and lengths he went to, all in order to keep their world secure. He never got the recognition he deserved. But just wait. By next week, all that would change.
There were just a few loose ends to tie up between now and then. He still couldn’t believe Delilah had the nerve to come back to town, flaunting her worldly looks and whoring ways. Did she think nobody saw through her flimsy disguise? He’d known her the moment he’d laid eyes on her. How could he not? She was a part of him.
She, too, would have to be dealt with. Nobody and nothing was going to get in his way. Not this time. Nobody. Especially not a so-called monkey researcher.
He lifted his rifle and sighted through the scope. He held the weapon steady, pulled in a breath, then slowly eased off the trigger.
The rabbit exploded in a satisfying burst of blood and fur. He nodded as he set down the weapon. That was what happened to those who tried to get in his way.
Delilah would live to regret the day she came back to town.
He turned and disappeared into the forest. The countdown was on.
* * *
Delilah woke sometime later, coughing. She opened her eyes, but everything seemed blurry. She rubbed them, trying to clear the haze, but it didn’t make a difference. Groggy and trying to get her bearings, she heard a crackling noise. What in the world?
She coughed again, and that was when the acrid smell registered. Her head cleared in an instant, and she sat up. Her camper was filled with smoke. A quick peek out the window and she saw flames. Dear God, the area outside her camper was on fire!
Her feet hit the scorching hot floor, and she instantly hopped back onto the futon before she burned the soles of her feet. She slid her feet into flip-flops. She had to get out of here.
She stumbled to the door and reached for the latch, but her brain kicked in just before she grabbed the hot metal. “Right, towel, something. Think, girl.”
Crouched low as she’d been taught somewhere along the way, she grabbed a pot holder from the kitchen counter and used it to cover the latch. Though she’d pulled the collar of her T-shirt over her nose and mouth to keep the smoke out of her lungs, she couldn’t stop coughing. She pushed against the latch, but it wouldn’t budge. She used her shoulder, wincing as the heat from the metal door singed her skin, but she ignored it.
Again and again and again, she slammed her shoulder against the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
Frantic, desperate, she turned back into the smoke-filled room and searched for another escape route. The window beside the door showed only flames, and she knew the tiny window in the bathroom wasn’t big enough for her to climb through. That left only the window above the futon. She rushed to it and peered out, horrified by the wall of flames beyond.
She knew there were only seconds to make a decision. She spun around, ducked down, and squinted through the smoke, determined to find the journals. They might be the only clues to finding her sister. She spotted her phone, scooped that up, too, and stumbled back onto the futon.
She was fighting with the screen when there was a loud crack. The ceiling above her split open as a flaming branch crashed through the roof and landed inside the camper. By some miracle, it hadn’t crushed her. But it had bent the camper enough that the screen popped out. She clawed her way around branches and smoke and debris in a desperate fight to escape.
Once she wiggled her way through the rectangular opening, she landed on the ground with a thump. She could feel the burning embers through her clothes as she struggled to her feet. She had to get away, but if she ran fast, they would burst into flame. She took three stumbling steps away from the camper before she dropped onto a sandy patch not far from her truck and rolled back and forth.
She lay there a moment, trying to catch her breath, coughing. Flames danced into the sky from the trees closest to her camper. Oh God, the trees. The whole forest could catch fire. She looked down and saw the burlap bag with the journals still clutched in her fist. Thank God.
She sat up and coughed some more, then pulled her shirt back over her nose and mouth. Where was her phone? Had she lost it somewhere? Relief flooded her when she spotted it on the ground not far away.
Her legs weren’t too steady as she hobbled over to it. The camper was now completely engulfed, and her heart slammed into overdrive. The propane tank would blow any second. There was no time to drive away—she didn’t have her truck keys anyway—so she clutched the journals and phone to her chest and ran as fast as determination and her shaky legs could carry her.
She’d barely cleared the area when the camper exploded. The blast knocked her off her feet, and she landed facedown on the sandy, pine-needle-covered forest floor. As she tried to get her bearings and draw breath, she looked over her shoulder. The inferno had gotten even bigger. She had to call for help. The fire department.
Getting up on all fours took much too long. She fumbled for her phone and cursed when she saw the “no signal” message. Seconds passed while her fuzzy brain tried to figure out what to do next. Josh. She could text him. She had his number programmed.
Wait. He was here.
She spun around to where his truck had been, but it was gone. For a moment, she froze in absolute terror. Had it exploded, too?
She looked closer, and the breath whooshed out of her lungs. No. The place he’d parked was empty. No debris. He’d left.
The adrenaline coursing through her veins made it impossible to type, so she dictated instead: Camper exploded. Forest on fire. Send help. Fast.
Her whole body had started shaking from shock, and she watched in horror as the flames jumped from tree to tree and the pine needles below caught fire. The only saving grace at this point was that it had rained quite a bit recently, so the ground wasn’t completely dry.
Even so, the heat from the flames threatened to scorch her skin. Delilah moved back into the trees, desperate to stay clear of the flames but not so far she’d run the risk of getting lost. The thought of being trapped behind the fire scared her more than she wanted to admit. But she couldn’t abandon her little home, either, so she sat on a log and watched it burn.
Time dragged by as she coughed and kept an eye on the dancing flames, but finally, finally, the sound of sirens pierced the forest. “Oh, thank you, God,” she whispered.
Headlights appeared and blinded her. She raised one hand to block the light as someone called her name. “Delilah! Where are you? Delilah!”
She tried to answer, but all that came out was a croak. She coughed some more and suddenly found herself wrapped in Josh’s strong arms. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m okay.” She burrowed against his chest and tucked her face in the crook of his neck, holdi
ng tight to combat the shakes that wouldn’t stop.
He eased her back slightly and cupped her cheeks in his hands, studying her. “EMTs are on their way. We’ll get you taken care of. No one else in the camper, right?”
“Just me.” He pulled her close again, and it took a minute to gather her scattered thoughts. She leaned back and clenched his shirt in her fist, her throat like raw sandpaper. “I couldn’t get out. The door wouldn’t open. I thought I was going to die in there.”
Josh’s eyes widened before they narrowed to angry slits. “Are you saying someone locked you in?”
Delilah gripped him tighter as another shiver raced over her. “I don’t know. I just know I couldn’t get out.”
He studied her for a moment as the reality of what might have happened snapped in the air between them. She wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly, she had her arms around his neck, his were around her waist, and their mouths were fused in a desperate kiss she felt all the way to her toes. As his tongue plundered her mouth, she tasted his relief that she was alive but also the fury he was keeping tightly leashed. She soothed him with kisses, running her hands through the hair at his nape, their hearts pounding in unison. She was alive, and he was holding her, and right now, that was all that mattered.
The moment the fire trucks arrived, the firefighters dove into action, desperate to keep the fire from spreading.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Josh said, his hands trembling slightly as they rubbed her back.
“I’m fine,” she said.