by Diana Duncan
He gestured at the black, yawning mouth. “Inside.”
Her limbs froze. “I can’t go in there.”
“You can.” He cupped her face in his hands and encouraged her with his steadfast gaze. “With me.”
Splashing echoed in the deathly quiet night. Their pursuers were closing in. “Uh-uh.” She couldn’t go into that black void if her life depended on it. Unfortunately, it did.
“Sorry, honey. We’re out of options.” He bulldozed her inside and crawled in behind her.
Impenetrable darkness surrounded her. The overpowering smell of cold, damp earth pressed in from every side. She touched the wall to steady herself, and damp soil crumbled beneath her palm. She was trapped in a dank grave. A sob stuck in her throat. “D-did I mention how m-much I hate this p-plan?”
He rearranged the branches over the opening, and then turned to face her, both of them kneeling in the tight space. He positioned his body as a shield in front of hers and wrapped his arms around her. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Relax.” His sandpapery cheek curved in a smile against hers. “Try picturing me in my underwear.”
She burrowed into his chest, and a faint chuckle edged past the sob. She whispered back, “That’s to help ease the fear of public speaking.”
Outside their hiding place, angry swearing and stalking footsteps grew louder, closer. A graveled voice spat out a vile curse. “Where’d they go?”
Trembling, she clung to Aidan, and his hand stroked her hair.
“They probably followed the creek upstream, Rico,” a second, younger man replied. His tone turned whiney. “The boss is gonna tear a strip off our hides if she gets away.”
“Manny, go back to the car and get the flashlight. Somebody should have thought to grab it in the first place, dammit,” Rico snarled. His voice grew less distinct, as if he’d moved away. “Meet us downstream. We’ll hunt them down if it takes all night. There’s nowhere for them to go on this island. She won’t escape.
She. Aidan was right, they were after her. Icy fingers of déjà vu crawled up Zoe’s spine, and wild shaking overpowered her. The desperate flight toward freedom, the determined hunters closing in on her trail felt all too familiar.
Her worst childhood nightmare come to life.
“You’re all right, sweetheart,” Aidan breathed a whisper of sound in her ear. His encircling arms pressed her tightly to his solid body. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
Zoe huddled in the dark, the past and present tangling into a murky web of fear. How was he going to stop them? Nobody, nothing could stop them. Violent shudders wracked her. Smothering blackness swallowed her hopes for a bright new future. The hunt would never end. The terror would never fade.
She would never be free.
She clenched her teeth, but couldn’t prevent a whimper from escaping.
“Shh. I’m here,” Aidan murmured, his breath hot in her ear. “Darkness can’t harm you. The night is working for us. It’s hiding us. Protecting us.” He tipped up her chin, and his mouth possessed hers. His silky tongue slid slowly inside, stroking, soothing. Exerting exquisite control, his soft lips coaxed her response. So different from the untamed hunger that had erupted between them before, his gentleness vanquished fear and despair.
Poignantly sweet, his kiss comforted and aroused. Sheltered and cherished. Pledged steadfast loyalty and protection. She clutched the lapels of his jacket and drank in his strength, courage and absolute confidence. Warmth flooded her icy limbs, filling the dark void inside her with hope.
Aidan stroked her back, his callused fingertips trailing delight along her bare skin. His tender kiss and sure touch pulled her out of the desolate shadows of the past. She was still trembling, but irrational fear had fled, conquered by desire. In the parking lot, they’d connected body to body. Now, they bonded heart to heart. The first time, they’d shared passion. Now, they shared compassion. Passion had brought them together. But compassion would forge a lasting bond.
Zoe eased back from Aidan. How long had the night been utterly silent? “Did they leave?” Breathlessness fluttered in her question. Arousal, not fear.
“Yeah.” His low reply was husky. “Let’s get you out of here.” He lifted the bushes, and they emerged from hiding.
Cool night air washed over her, and a giddy cocktail of relief and desire sang along her nerve endings. She turned, and for a lingering moment, Aidan held her gaze. A shaft of moonlight reflected on the fierce tenderness glittering in his beautiful, compelling eyes. He stroked a featherlight caress down her cheek. “All right?”
A rush of wonderment jammed the answer in her throat, and she nodded. He might be emotionally guarded, but his expression and body language clearly revealed his true feelings. The connection they shared wasn’t just sexual.
Though he wasn’t ready to admit it, he cared.
And she cared in return. The feelings growing between them went even deeper than she’d realized. She didn’t have any firsthand knowledge, but she was a keen observer of the human condition. The bond they shared was rare…and very special. They’d crossed an irrevocable line. They could never go back to feigning casual rivalry.
The revelation thrilled and scared her. Everything she’d yearned for all her life finally dangled within reach. But the tiny, bright flicker could be snuffed out in a heartbeat. By the bad guys. By a thoughtless word or deed on her part. By Aidan’s fear of involvement.
She of all people knew how quickly and easily everything could be snatched away. How badly it hurt when you were left holding the empty dregs of your dreams. She was more than willing to take the risk. However, she wasn’t willing to let a rash, premature move on her part spoil everything. “Which way?”
He surveyed their surroundings. “Up and over.”
They clambered up the bank with him bearing a lot more of her weight than she liked. She attempted to shake off the enervating effects of their kiss and subsequent startling discovery and get with the program. “Where are we going?”
“East, to that big bluff over there.”
She glanced toward the tree-covered hill lurking in the distance like a sleeping giant. “How can you tell it’s east?”
He grinned and pointed up. “God’s compass.”
Countless stars sparkled overhead, diamond-bright beacons of encouragement in the vast night-time sky. “I guess I should thank those lucky stars I’m stranded with an Eagle Scout, huh?” She trailed him around a tree trunk the size of a compact automobile. “Are we gonna get these handcuffs off now?”
“The bad guys took off in the opposite direction, but I want more distance between us and them before we stop again.”
Though it was July, year-round Pacific Northwest rainfall kept the woods well-watered and cool. Aidan set a challenging pace, but their footsteps fell silently on the verdant undergrowth.
After they’d jogged in eerie quiet for fifteen minutes, Aidan’s steps slowed. His glance brushed her. “It’s okay to talk now. Is there a reason you’re terrified of the dark?”
Lifelong conditioning never to speak the unspeakable made her automatically hesitate. Then she threw off the ingrained caution like a stained, ragged coat that no longer fit. This was Aidan. She trusted him without reservation. She took a deep breath of pine-scented air. Thanks to her daily jogging routine, she could still power walk and carry on a conversation. He’d kept his question pitched soft and low, and she followed his lead. “My mom had to get what work she could, mostly night shifts. I was alone a lot, starting at a very young age.”
“How young?”
“Six.”
He swore softly. “Too damn young.”
“She couldn’t help it, Aidan.” Just as Zoe couldn’t help leaving her mom in a distant care center. But she would reunite with her as soon as humanly possible. “Mom didn’t like it, either, but she couldn’t afford sitters. She couldn’t afford the money or the risk.”
“Risk?”
Nerves jittered in her stomach. She trusted Aidan,
but telling him the truth about herself was harder than she’d expected. How would a cop from a long, proud lineage of dedicated cops feel about her dubious background? She swallowed hard. “My—my parents never married, and mom kept her own place. Their relationship was volatile, and they often needed time apart. Mom said a few months after my third birthday, they had a huge fight over a large amount of cash she’d found.” She swallowed again, and her voice dropped. “I don’t remember, but apparently, she threatened to take me and leave and he tried to kill her. Mom tossed the money out the window. While he was retrieving it, she grabbed me and ran.”
Zoe’s confession slammed into Aidan like a steel battering ram, destroying his defenses. He’d guessed she’d had a tough childhood, but had never imagined that kind of horror. His life’s work was to put people like her father behind bars. Yet, he couldn’t do anything to ease her pain.
He couldn’t protect her from her past.
His hands clenched into fists. Helplessness sat uneasily on his shoulders. He’d rather face unending pain and torture than be powerless to keep someone else from being hurt. The inability to protect his loved ones was his worst nightmare. He didn’t want to examine the reasons why protecting Zoe had zoomed to the top of his list.
Even involved in their conversation, he continually assessed their surroundings, kept his ears attuned to background noises. No sounds of pursuit followed them. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. Fathers are supposed to keep their little girls safe. Not hurt them.”
She tentatively touched his clenched fist with her fingertips, and he forced his fingers to relax and curve around hers. Joined to her at the wrist, he couldn’t hide his reaction, and didn’t want her to mistake anger for revulsion.
She inhaled shakily, and he moderated his stride to let her catch her breath. “The worst thing was just when I’d settle in to a new place, mom would glimpse a face on a crowded street, receive an anonymous hang-up, or get “a bad feeling,” and we’d pull up stakes and run again. Sometimes on a moment’s notice.”
So she’d never even had a real home. At least when his world had imploded, he’d had his family. He steered her around a rocky outcropping, and peered through the imposing treetops to ensure they were traveling in the right direction. Zoe rubbed her arm and shivered. He glanced at her. “Are you chilly? The temperature drops in these woods at night.”
“No, the exercise is keeping me warm. The goose bumps are from my past coming back to haunt me. When I moved to Riverside, I vowed I’d never run again.” The sorrow in her eyes wrenched his heart. “And here I am in the dark woods, being hunted.”
Savage resolve churned inside him. “I meant what I said, Zoe. I won’t let anyone hurt you.” Even if he had to die in order to prevent it. Again, he didn’t question the compulsion, but simply accepted it.
“Even though this is really scary, I feel a lot safer with you here.”
He swept the area in a visual scan, listening intently. As they hiked, the undergrowth rustled with small animals settling down for the night, and crickets creaked from the bushes. The normal night-time noises assured him that their pursuers were nowhere in the vicinity. “You’re doing great.”
“I used to be okay about being alone at night. I mean, I wasn’t crazy about it, but I wasn’t scared. I watched a lot of TV to keep me company. Still do.” She slanted a wry smile at him. “Thus, the abundant movie trivia.”
He gently squeezed her fingers, still entwined in his. The feeling of being intimately linked to this woman—and not just physically—was eerie. But nice. Sometimes he felt alone even in the midst of his family. Startled, he realized that he hadn’t felt that way since Zoe had blasted into his life. “Mine is because Letty’s niece worked at a theater and got more free tickets than she could use. Mom had four growing boys to entertain through a lot of rainy Northwest winters on a cop’s salary. Free movie tickets were a Godsend.” He hated to ask, but had to know. “What happened to make you so afraid?”
She bent her head and fiddled with her bag. The pause lasted so long he opened his mouth to tell her it was okay, to forget it. They clambered over an upended log, and before he could speak, she began. “The year I turned seven, we found an abandoned travel trailer parked in a remote campground somewhere in Oklahoma. It was winter, and the campground was deserted. We had the rest rooms and showers all to ourselves. A luxury compared to the closet-size bathroom in the trailer.”
And he’d thought roughing it was six people using two bathrooms. He encouraged her with another press of his fingers, and lifted a low-hanging branch for her to step under.
“An hour after mom left for her shift at a truck stop, a wind-storm hit, knocking out the power. It was pitch black so far away from the city, and there were no other people around. Even if we could have afforded a phone, there was nowhere to hook it up.” The tiny hitch in her voice damn near killed him. He’d vowed to keep her safe, but he had no way to protect her from her past. “Anyway, who could I have called?”
“The police.”
“Even nowadays, with the stalking laws in place, women have trouble getting help. Besides, my father had ‘connections,’ and Mom didn’t know what kind. He could have been involved with the mob, or had cops on his payroll. He didn’t allow anyone to take pictures of him, and often used an alias. He was a nameless, faceless evil. Always behind us, always lurking in the shadows ready to snatch me away.” She was trembling, and he slid an arm around her waist and drew her close. “Alone in that dark trailer, I heard loud bangs and thumps from outside and thought for sure he was breaking in.”
“Ah, sweetheart, I’m sorry. You must have been so afraid.”
She moved closer to him, until their shoulders nearly touched. “Of course, I know now it was just the storm, but at the time, I was terrified. I had my own personal bogeyman.”
He hesitated. He’d unwittingly spilled his guts to her once before. This time, he made a deliberate decision to confide in her. “In a way, I know how you felt.” Though it was hard, opening his own wounds might provide her some comfort. If nothing else, she’d understand his empathy. Know he wasn’t merely spouting platitudes. “When Pop was murdered, I felt like a nameless, faceless evil had snatched him away.”
She nodded. “Now the evil has a name. Tony DiMarco.”
Yeah, and when all the evidence was accumulated, DiMarco would finally get what had been coming to him. “Pop’s loss trapped me inside a dark, empty hole. I was afraid it would never be light again. But at least I had family to help me.”
She squeezed his hand this time. “I’m really glad you did.”
Her generosity in the face of her own pain was nearly overwhelming. He forced himself to continue. “The loss was much harder for Mom. Mom and Pop were crazy about one another. Sometimes, they’d share this look that didn’t include us boys. A private look, just for the two of them. She was the center of his world, and he, hers.”
She smiled. “That’s wonderful. Love like that is beautiful and priceless. Everyone yearns for that kind of love.”
Maybe, but he’d seen the destructive power of love. “Not me. I don’t want to leave a grieving woman behind to fend for herself. I don’t want to be the center of anyone’s world. Because when the center is destroyed, the world crumbles.”
She considered that for a few moments. “Your mom seems to be doing okay.”
Sure, now. It had taken years for the anguish to fade from her face, leaving behind lines etched by grief. Years for the dullness in her green eyes to dissipate. For the bad dreams to stop making her pace her bedroom floor until dawn. He didn’t want to go there. “I didn’t mean to make this about me. I wanted to let you know I understood.”
“Thank you. I know how hard it is to talk about such personal pain.”
Such a small act of kindness, yet she was so grateful. She needed more kindness in her life.
“Aidan?” She hesitated. “You know, it’s possible for someone to be the center of your world without being your whole
reason for living. I wonder what your mom would have done if given the choice of never loving your dad? You and your brothers wouldn’t exist.”
Startled, he stumbled. She’d thrown him a curveball he’d never considered. He didn’t know what to think. What to say.
He was spared an incoherent reply when the crickets suddenly fell silent. Aidan froze, every sense screaming to red alert. On his right, twigs snapped as small, night-time creatures fled in terror.
“Get down!” He grabbed Zoe and shoved her to the ground. Then he threw himself on top of her, shielding her with his body.
Chapter 9
Twelve midnight
Aidan strained to see into the woods. Stealthy, padded footsteps made him swivel his gaze to a nearby thicket. Glowing amber eyes glared back at him.
“Oh, crap.”
Zoe stirred beneath him. “What is it?” she murmured.
“Cougar.”
“A cougar?” she gasped. “As in, giant carnivore?”
“I didn’t mean John Mellencamp.”
She huddled in the ferns. “If we’re quiet, he’ll go away, right?”
“Wrong.” Bringing her with him, he cautiously rose to his feet and got a good look at the crouching cat. A big one, over six feet long and weighing at least one-sixty. Cougars always attacked the smallest in the group, and would target Zoe. “We have to make ourselves look as large and threatening as possible, and as unlike prey as we can. Stare it in the eyes. Raise your arms over your head and spread them out. Wave your bag around.”
“A-are you s-sure we won’t draw unnecessary attention to ourselves?”
“Cougars like to sneak up on their prey. We want it to know we see it.” He deliberately spoke louder to intimidate the cougar. “And smile. Show your teeth. He thinks they’re weapons.”
“You’ve g-got to be k-kidding. Not even on my worst PMS day could I take a bite out of that.”
Ears flattened, the cougar crept forward, fixated on Zoe. Aidan’s stomach clenched. The animal wasn’t backing off. There had to be a reason for its overt aggression. It either had no fear of humans, or was extremely hungry. Maybe it had a den nearby and was protecting cubs. Either scenario could be lethal. “Stay upright. Keep waving.” He crouched, feeling for a weapon.