“You can’t run from this,” Hugh called out.
I turned and watched in horror as Hugh jumped off the back porch, eating up the distance between us. His longer and stronger legs covered more ground than mine.
Still, I pushed through, wading through the water, trying my best to lose him.
I heard the splash and turned to find that Hugh had fallen, giving me an advantage. I didn’t waste my good luck.
I hurried through the woods, which I knew like the back of my hand, being careful of the downed limbs and trees.
I glanced over my shoulder again to find him gone.
I stopped as my gaze searched for him. Had he fallen and hit his head? Had he drowned?
My heart demanded that I go check when the voices in my head were yelling at me to run.
Finally, I spotted him. He’d fallen, his body strung over a tree branch. He’d been lucky that when he’d fallen, he hadn’t hit his head and landed submerged in the water.
The water level was up to his chin.
If I left him, he could drown. He could slip below the current, unconscious.
Fear and anger assaulted my senses. Fear I wouldn’t get away. Anger that I couldn’t bring myself to run.
I sloshed toward him. When I was within arm’ length, he sprang out of the water and squeezed me in the muscular bands of his forearms
“I knew you’d come back.” He chuckled as I struggled to break free.
The sound of a boat in the distance grew closer, and Hugh slapped his hand over my mouth to stifle my screams.
When the boat pulled into view, Hugh tensed, and hustled us behind one of the standing trees.
Three men, dressed all in black and holding semi-automatic guns were in the boat.
These guys weren’t my saviors, they weren’t my sisters, and they damn sure weren’t cops. They were getting out of the boat and breaking into my damn house.
I quit struggling, and held my breath as they trolled past.
Hugh lowered his hand. “Now, do you believe me?”
Gusting out a breath, I nodded, not trusting my voice.
“Good, then let’s run,” Hugh said, taking my hand and pulling me farther into the trees and standing brush, trying to put more distance between us and them.
Hugh shoved me in front of him, shielding me from the men searching my home. His hands were strong and sure every time he caught me as I slipped over a branch or debris. He righted me without a single word and urged me forward.
We hit the lake and finally slowed when we were out of sight of my house. When Hugh gestured to the ridge above the lake that led to the top of the waterfall, I kept moving to the other side of the lake instead.
“We need higher ground,” he growled, pulling me to a stop.
“We need my sisters, and they’ll be this way.” I gestured over my shoulder. “If you want higher ground, there’s nothing stopping you from going that way.”
“We. Need. Higher. Ground,” he growled a bit slower and deeper, as if I hadn’t heard him the first time.
“We need a hiding spot and backup,” I answered and spun to wade away.
I didn’t get far. He grabbed my hand and spun me around. “Why in the hell do you have to be so difficult? You saw Victor’s men. The rain won’t stop them from looking for you. Or finding you, for that matter.”
I yanked my arm free and pointed toward the path that Hugh had wanted to take. “That way leads to a road. They’ll spot us on that road. My way leads to a place that only my sisters know about. A place we’ll be safe.”
His eyes narrowed. “Did you call your sisters? Because if you did, they’ll be walking into that.”
Hugh pointed an accusatory finger back in the direction of my house.
“I may have paid a house visit to one of my sisters via astral projection, and she’s the one who told me to go wait at the other place. She and my sisters will come for me. I guarantee it.”
A boat motor roared in the distance. my heart skipped a beat. He gestured in the direction I wanted to go and followed behind. “If you’re wrong about this, then we’re dead.”
“According to you, I’m dead either way, but I’ll always bet on family coming through for me before anyone else.”
Chapter Ten
HUGH
He followed behind her, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder in the direction of her house. The rain masked any noises the boat made as they moved farther away from her home.
A home that would have been their final resting place had she not run.
He should thank her for saving his life…again.
But he wouldn’t, not now. Not until she gave him what he’d been looking for.
Six months of talking and trying to convince Teddy to do the right thing had yielded more than just the ledger’s location. It had yielded a prize almost as comparable.
Honor.
It was official. Teddy was an idiot for risking whatever these two had going on. The picture he’d taken, which was sitting soggy in his wallet, had said more than words. She’d been blissfully unaware who she was creating a life with.
As the afternoon led into evening, Honor’s steps were slowing, and she was tripping more frequently. She was wan, and it was clear her energy was draining.
“I know you normally sleep during the day, but what time do you go to sleep?” he asked.
“Normally about now,” she said, without looking back.
“So, what was that back at your house?” he asked.
She stopped and spun around to face him. Water droplets continued in a steady stream down her face, dripping from her hair into her eyes and then down her cheeks.
Hugh crossed his arms in an attempt not to reach for her to wipe the water from her eyes. He scowled.
She rolled her eyes. “It was a test to see if you were going to kill me when I did go to sleep.”
His brows dipped. “I already told you I’m here to protect you.”
“Yeah, right,” she huffed. “Don’t kid yourself. You looked through every room in my house for that ledger while you thought I was sleeping. I’m not an idiot. I watched you.”
She turned and kept fighting against the current. With a shake of his head, he followed.
He should be ticked off that she’d watched him snooping through her things, but it didn’t matter. Instead, a smile slid onto his lips.
She was resourceful and spunky, making him like her even more.
The water seemed to have doubled and was over his waist. They walked to a point where the only way forward was to swim a short distance in order to reach the solid ground again. He had no idea where they were or where she was taking him, but she seemed determined.
The frigid water seemed to perk her up. Another ten minutes and they were headed up some sort of hill.
She glanced over her shoulder. “Now, we go to higher land.”
She struggled up the muddy mound, and he stayed behind her in the event her foot slipped.
He was cold and wet and fighting the shivers racking his body. There wasn’t a dry speck on him, and now his gun and the picture he’d stolen were ruined.
“We need to get out of this rain,” he said from behind her.
“It’s not much farther,” she said, continuing forward. “Just up the hill.”
Her idea of just up the hill took another ten minutes. Finally, they emerged from the smelly, cold water and got back on solid ground. They were out of the standing water, but the rain pouring down on them didn’t appear to be letting up.
He followed her down a fence line. They turned into a stand of trees backing up to expensive homes in a gated community. The kind maintained by landscapers, maids and servants. His shoulders knotted, knowing one of the owners or their staffs would call the law on them just because they both looked like drowned rats.
She kept walking as if she knew where she was going, and he followed. She slid between two slats on a fence, creating a hole that wasn’t big enough for him. To his amaz
ement, she unlocked the gate from the inside and let him in.
A three-story red brick home, complete with pool and pool house, sat in the distance. A single candle shined through the kitchen window.
Hugh pulled Honor to a stop. “Who lives here?”
“I did at one time,” she answered. “We’ll be safe here.”
Safe for her might be different than safe for him. Orphans only dreamed of houses like this and the families that lived inside them. Had that been what drew Teddy in to begin with?
Hugh should have known. Honor was one of them. Was Honor’s silver-spooned lifestyle what had cast a spell over Teddy to make him stick around?
“You come from money?” Hugh said out loud.
She tossed a look over her shoulder, and her brows dipped. “I don’t; my grandmother does.”
“Right,” he whispered as they reached the backdoor.
“You have a key or something to get in?” he asked.
“Yeah, but it’s back at my house,” she said and gestured to the pool house. “We won’t need one to get in there, though.”
She led the way across the patio and picked up a gnome off the ground. Flipping it over, she pulled a key out of the hiding spot.
“Your family really needs to work on those hiding spots,” he grumbled, but only for a second because they finally stepped into the little house and out of the rain.
He didn’t know what to expect. Maybe a house with some floats or extra towels or such, but it was like a tiny house, even if it was bigger than Hugh’s first apartment.
She shrugged out of her raincoat and hung it up by the door before toeing off her shoes. When the shirt and jeans came off, he could do little else but stare at her.
She was perfection in a tiny package.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Get out of those clothes. We need to get warm.”
Hugh kicked off his soaked shoes and peeled of his sopping-wet socks then reached for the hem of his borrowed shirt, wincing as he lifted it over his shoulder.
She stopped him with a hand on her chest. “Here, let me help. I forgot you’re hurt.”
He lowered his arms and let her ease the shirt over his head. He reached for the button on his jeans, and she stepped back. Her cheeks tinted a nice shade of pink, as if heat was returning to her cold body. Or, she was embarrassed.
“We’ll get warmer faster if we share body heat,” he said as his gaze rested on her lips.
Chapter Eleven
HONOR
“Yeah, no. There’s no need for that, and I’m not going to let us freeze,” I said, heading into the only bedroom in the pool house, bypassing the kitchen and bar my parents had used when entertaining by the pool. The cupboards were probably empty, but the closets weren’t.
I pulled open the linen closet and smiled. “We might not have much, but we can get by.”
I pulled out a long man-sized robe and tossed it to him along with several towels. I grabbed a robe for myself, wrapped myself in the warmth, and knotted the matching belt at my waist.
Walking back to the door, I picked up our wet clothes and stuck them into the washer.
“That’s convenient,” he said, helping me.
“This was originally the mother-in-law quarters that my parents had built for my grandmother.”
“Did she visit often?” he asked.
I grinned and poured detergent over our clothes and started the machine. “Too often, and this house was too small, so she bought the one next door.”
“So, your parents did have money?” he asked.
What was it with this guy’s obsession with money? My shoulders fell. “They did, and when they died, it went into a trust for my sisters and I. It helps pay the bills but by no means makes any of us rich. We grew up next door with our grandmother. She raised us, but this place was still our sanctuary and where the memories were. I think Grams couldn’t bear the thought of letting it go either.”
He gave a slow nod as if satisfied with my answer.
“I’m sorry about your parents.” His voice was quiet in the house as I moved to the fireplace.
“It was a long time ago,” I answered, arranging wood in the hearth for a fire.
“I’m surprised you didn’t sell the place. I’m sure it’s worth a ton.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “This is all we have left of our parents. None of us would sell. Ever.”
He held up his hands. “I didn’t mean anything by it. It just seems like upkeep probably still costs a pretty penny for the house, yard, and the pool.”
“This is our childhood home. This is the place we feel closest to our dead parents. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
“Right,” Hugh said as his eye twitched. He grabbed the logs out of my hand and started setting them up. “You got any matches?”
“Let’s hope,” I said, walking into the kitchen, with him following. I checked all the drawers and the only spot where we kept the long lighter used to start the burn. Empty. “I guess not.”
“You ready for my body heat?” he asked, reaching for the tie on his robe.
My gaze landed on the little ashtray that Gwen had hidden during our teen years, and I grinned. “No need.”
I grabbed a chair and hurried to the closet again. Stepping on it, I found the pack of cigarettes that were more than a decade old and the lighter that Gwen had been using when she smoked. I flicked it once, then twice, and it flickered to life.
“We’ve got heat.”
I twisted to hop down and pitched forward, landing in Hugh’s arms. He stared down at me. There was no sign of pain on his face, not even from the shoulder. His touch sizzled every part of me until my heart quickened and I turned breathy.
“You need to be more careful,” he said as I slowly slid down his body. He gently skimmed my cheek with the back of his knuckles in a slow caress.
I was mesmerized by his eyes. A swirl of heat flickered in his deep blues, darkening them as he stared at me. The way he looked at me made me feel like I’d known him forever and not just in my dreams.
“You’re right—” I’d started to agree when his lips came down on mine, stealing my words.
He pressed his body against mine. I dropped the lighter as I leaned into his touch. Needing more, wanting more.
His tongue dipped inside my mouth, and he swallowed my moan. He rested his hand in my hair, tilting my head for better access as he tasted everything I willingly gave.
My body heated. Need flamed to life. A familiar feeling that I’d only ever experienced in my astral state made my blood come alive.
I was lost in his taste and his touch. I was drowning, and he was the only one who could save me.
He broke the kiss. His erratic breath matched mine as he stared down at me. His gaze was filled with a clouded confusion, and a bit of anger stared back at me.
“Shit,” he said, releasing me and stepping back. He scrubbed his face as if trying to wake up from a nightmare. “You…”
I shook my head. “You kissed me, not the other way around, but don’t worry. I won’t let you do it again.”
I retrieved the lighter, then sidestepped him into the room, trying hard not to show just how much that kiss had frazzled me.
Starting the fire, I glanced over my shoulder to find him watching me from across the room.
“Do you have any clothes in this place? If so, you might want to put some on.”
“Why? Is my grandmother’s robe turning you on?”
Hugh cursed beneath his breath and left the room, probably looking for some place to wait, far away from me.
Ten minutes later, he reappeared with blankets he’d pulled off the bed. He laid them out in front of the fire, left and returned again, this time with pillows. He lay down, resting the gun by his side, and gestured for me to join him.
“Yeah, no. That’s a bad idea.”
“Relax, Honor. I’m not going to let anything happen. You need sleep.”
My eyes searche
d his to see if he was telling the truth. Determination stared back at me.
“And you think I’ll be able to fall asleep next to you?”
His lips twisted in a grin. “No, but your sisters will be less likely to shoot me if you trusted me enough to fall asleep in my arms.”
Self-preservation made sense. I lowered to my knees and relaxed back into the pillows he’d brought out. “You sure you won’t asleep?”
“I’m sure,” he answered. “I’ll wake you if I need to.”
I turned, giving Hugh my back, snuggling into the pillow and the blankets. For the first time in my life, my astral projected form stayed in my body and my nightmares were non-existent.
* * *
I slept better in the rain; the sound of water hitting the windows helped drown out noises from my house. I snuggled into the warm hold and ran my hand over a hard chest.
I stilled and slowly lifted my lids.
Hugh had his arm beneath my head, and I rested in the crook of his arm, snuggled against his warm naked body.
“Sleep well?” he asked. His voice held a tint of amusement. A huskiness lingered in the tone, making the sound even more sexy.
“Sorry,” I said, lifting my hand to roll away from him. He rested his hand on top of mine and moved it back against his chest.
His hand covered mine in warmth and strength. My palm rested against the hard planes of his chest and heated skin.
A tense silence enveloped the room, only starting to melt when he spoke. “No need to hurry. You’re keeping me warm.”
I lifted my head to find the fire had gone out. “How come you didn’t add some logs?”
“If I’d moved, it would have woken you up. You were kind of wrapped around me.”
I looked up into his eyes, knowing better than to trust him. I didn’t know him at all. “My sister didn’t show?”
Chapter Twelve
“We didn’t have any visitors,” Hugh answered. “The rain is starting to let up a little.”
Train Wreck: Bennett Dynasty Book 6 Page 4