A Dangerous Man

by Rachel Cade

  *

  Ciara was caught off guard by the sudden change in conversation. Night had completely set, and the open window to her left showed a darkness that unnerved her. She couldn’t imagine still being outside in his garage alone or her incapacitated BMW, surrounded by that same eerie void.

  She would rather be home, but she was grateful that she wasn’t alone.

  The problem was she couldn’t completely trust him.

  He was staring at her, reminding her that he’d spoken.

  “They’re by my bag.” She’d discarded them next to her muddy shoes after finding the hideous but dry sport jersey.

  “You should hang them up. They’ll dry by mornin’.”

  “I uh- don’t think I want to go outside.”

  He stood up, bringing his waistline to abrupt eye level, and Ciara yanked her eyes up to his face.

  “It’s too humid out there. You can hang them up inside. I’ll do it.”

  As he made his way around the couch, she remembered something and whirled around in her seat to face him. “You don’t have to do that.”

  “It’s fine.” He started to lean down.

  “Actually - my underwear are in there,” she blurted.

  The admission stopped him in mid motion. “Oh,” he answered before standing up.

  Ciara pressed into the couch, pulling harshly on the shirt to cover her knees. She clamped her mouth shut. The fact that he now knew she wasn’t wearing underwear made her feel completely nude.

  With gnashed teeth, she rounded the couch to join him. Quick movements snatched the underwear from the pile of fabric that had made a damp pool beneath it against the hardwood floor. She kept them balled in her hands.

  “Here you go.” She handed him the dress, ignoring the briefly baffled look on his face. “Thanks for hanging it up.”

  Jack accepted it, glancing down at it in his hands before looking back at her. “Sure ma’am.”

  Ciara felt like she was on the receiving end of an inside joke as he went outside on the porch before returning, closing the door behind him.

  “I guess if I wasn’t here, you’d be reading.” She ignored his profile, glancing down at his books as he sat back down across from her.

  Jack shrugged. “Do you read? When you’re not picking out clothes instead of furniture?”

  Ciara laughed at his tone. “When I said that, did it sound that bad?”

  “Well, you’re from the east coast, so it was worse.”

  She shook her head, slowly. “Oh, I see now. You have jokes. So where are you from? I know you’re not from around here.”

  He wasn’t looking at her, and for a moment, she wondered if she’d overstepped her bounds.

  “Louisiana, near a really small town you probably ain’t heard of.”

  Ciara stared at his features, and his mouth opened like he’d planned to say more before he closed it.

  “How long have you been up here?”

  Jack glanced at her. “No.”

  “No?” she questioned, puzzled.

  He scratched his temple before standing. “If we’re doing twenty thousand questions, I’m gonna need a beer. And it’s the last one, so you’re outta luck.”

  “Oh darn.” She snapped her fingers at the missed opportunity.

  He brought her a water, which she gratefully accepted, making sure their fingers didn’t touch during the exchange.

  Jack sat back in his place. “Let me guess, you drink champagne and not beer?”

  Ciara’s eyes narrowed a bit at his remark. She wasn’t one used to people making fun of her, but he seemed light-hearted about it. And after a day like this, she could at least end it with a laugh.

  “Is that one of your questions?” she inquired.

  “No, I’m working on that one.” He took a long swig of beer.

  “Well, can I ask you another in the mean time?”

  He pulled the bottle from his lips and swallowed. “No.”

  Ciara tucked her legs underneath her. “Would you mind pulling the curtain closed behind you? It’s just so weird looking out into the dark.”

  Jack glanced back at the window before wordlessly obliging. And she offered a soft thanks.

  “Why were you heading to Annapolis?” To her surprise, when he returned to the couch, he lay down on his back. His legs were too long to fit comfortably, so he crossed them on top of the arm rest.”

  “Wow, no preamble huh?”

  “Naw.”

  “I was supposed to be doing a favor for a friend.”

  He was holding an arm over his chest, and she could see the short blond hairs contrasting with his golden tanned skin.

  “A modeling shoot,” she added.

  Jack then turned his head to her. “Model? Yeah, that’s it.”

  “That’s what?” she asked, waiting for his retort.

  “Do you do it professionally?”

  “No. You’re trying to get two questions and you only answered one before mine.”

  His teeth flashed. “Right.”

  “What did you mean by 'yeah, that’s it?’”

  Jack‘s brow furrowed. “I thought you were going to ask me a question about me--” He paused, and the corner of his mouth lifted. “It’s your clothes, your demeanor. It fits. It was either that or a spoiled rich girl.”

  Jack instantly regretted the words when he caught her facial expression.

  Why the hell hadn’t he just gone to bed after feeding her?

  He continued to stare up at the ceiling in the uncomfortable silence that followed, and soon he began contemplating his exit.

  “That’s an interesting assessment,” she said after a time. Her voice was different, flat. She was trying to cover being offended.

  He gently shrugged his shoulders. “Doesn’t mean it’s true, right?”

  Jack wanted to blow off the statement. The last thing he needed was his unexpected guest getting all in her feelings.

  “Is that one of your questions?”

  A grin laced his mouth, but he didn’t look at her. “No. Whose turn was it? Yours or mine?”

  “Mine,” she answered quickly. “Are you a professional mechanic?”

  “I’m from the South; we’re all mechanics.”

  She snorted, quickly chopping it off. “You so didn’t answer my question.”

  “I do fix things,” he answered honestly. “Cars would be among ‘em.”

  “And how is it that you sorta live out here? How can someone sort of live in a place? I don’t get that.”

  “Is that a question or an observation?” he asked, glancing at her with furrowed brows.

  She snapped her mouth closed, and he wondered if he’d scared her again.

  “A little of both I guess.”

  He eased into a sitting position on the couch before placing his bare feet back on the floor.

  “Sort of living out here means sometimes I am here living - and sometimes I’m not.”

  Lamplight turned her skin a gold bronze. She pressed back slightly in her seat, and the fabric against her chest shifted. His gaze cut to the empty corner of her chair.

  A sudden intake of breath from her pulled his eye contact back.

  “So you’re like - a drifter.”

  He stared at her with a guarded expression. “Now that’s an interesting assessment.” He took another swig of his beer. “I got no dessert for ya, my humble apologies.”

  She pursed her mouth at his remark.

  “Is this the end of our twenty questions?” Jack asked.

  “Did I ask you twenty questions?”

  “Sure as hell feels like it.” He polished off the last of the beer before setting the empty bottle on the table.

  “I appreciate you for entertaining me then, even if you didn’t want to.”

  “I’ll bring you some blankets. Sometimes it gets cold at night.”

  Ciara didn’t feel it at the moment. The rain had cooled the air temporarily, but now a muggy heat was creeping back around her.r />
  She still didn’t know how to feel about her predicament. She was trying her best to appear more relaxed, but there was a weariness in the back of her mind that she knew wouldn’t vanish until she was back in D.C.

  He left her company after he spoke. And she didn’t know if she should feel at ease or more agitated with him out of view.

  It was so odd having a conversation with him. She wasn’t quite sure what he thought of her, and vice versa.

  And it shouldn’t have mattered, maybe she just kept thinking so much so that the silence and uncertainty of her situation wouldn’t fully weigh down on her.

  What if he couldn’t fix her car?

  All she had was the word of a stranger.

  Getting an ounce of sleep was out of the question, as she would more than likely jump at every creak and shadow.

  She was just going to have to kill Phillip.

  The thought lessened some of her anxiety.

  Jack returned with two blankets and a pillow.

  She stood to accept them, fully realizing their height discrepancy due to their closeness. “Thank you.”

  Her hand grazed his forearm beneath the blanket.

  “Yeah, sure.” He stepped back, thumbing behind him. “There’s more water in the fridge if you get thirsty during the night.”

  Ciara nodded. “Okay.”

  He turned away from her and his mouth twisted briefly as if he were going to say more. Goodnight maybe?

  But he left, and his steps made hardly a sound on the floor.

  She’d been right before; he could be very intimidating if he chose not to smile. Though he wasn’t terrible looking. Not really her type, but not ugly.

  She sat back down on the couch after briefly sniffing the blankets.

  With her legs tucked under her, the day’s events played out in her head.

  When she’d woken up that morning all she could think about was getting into something to shake up her life a bit. Visiting Anita had helped put some things in perspective. She always had a knack for putting a band-aid on any situation she came to her with.

  Then Phillip called, and then she got lost, ending up in the woods with a redneck mechanic who thought she was… spoiled. Her cheeks burned with unwanted embarrassment just thinking about it.

  Spoiled. No one had ever called her that is her entire thirty years.

  This guy barely knew her yet that’s what he thought? The decorator comment was probably in poor taste. And questioning the meat loaf –

  But still he’d barely known her for a few hours. He didn’t know about her life or what she went through. Just because she didn’t worry about money didn’t mean there weren’t other pressures.

  Ciara shut her eyes and lowered her head. Her mind was completely frazzled.

  This was going to be one long night.

  Jack shut the door quietly behind him and immediately pulled off the shirt that sweat had plastered to the center of his back. He unbuttoned his jeans and yanked them down before tossing them in an ancient wicker rocking chair he wouldn’t dare sit in.

  Laying across the edge of his bed on his stomach, he let out a sigh. It was a little after ten; he’d expected to get into bed an hour earlier.

  After fifteen minutes, his eyes were burning, but he still wasn’t asleep. He couldn’t understand how she’d managed to find his place after her car broke down. Why hadn’t she just walked back to the highway?

  Maybe he should have just gotten a flashlight and went to look at her car. He might have been able to get it going, and then she wouldn’t be in the living room with his only fan.

  Against his better judgment, he’d let her into his place only for her to look around and tell him she should “hire a decorator.”

  “Damned east coast women,” was the last thing he murmured before sleep claimed him.

  Chapter Four:

  Night Catches Us

  “Don’t scream.”

  Ciara’s eyes snapped open, only meeting darkness.

  A hand was over her mouth and all the dread and fear she’d been trying to ignore flooded through her veins.

  It was Jack. She recognized his voice and started thrashing, but his hand tightened down to muffle her screams as his arm reached across her chest. Before anything else could happen, the window across from them broke. Something large hit the ground like a bowling ball and smoke started filling the room.

  Jack snatched her from the couch to the floor by her wrists, giving her no time to react. Everywhere was dark and she could hardly see; several times she stumbled as she was pulled through the house. Her bare feet felt the carpet change to tile and she assumed they were in the kitchen.

  Jack opened the back door, which made no sound, and went out first.

  Ciara had no shoes and no idea what was going on.

  Jack shoved her purse into her hands. “Run straight ahead and don’t stop.”

  She could hear voices coming from the side of the house.

  He shoved her in the direction she was supposed to go.

  Ciara held her bag tightly to her chest and took off.

  As she ran through the trees, she felt tears streaming down her cheeks.

  Where the hell was she going? Whose voices had she heard?

  Gunshots pierced the air and she scrambled forward.

  Jack barely had a chance to grab his gun before the men descended around his house. They were either good or lucky, since trip wires and traps were set in certain places around the perimeter. Mentally and physically, he was prepared for this, but before he could retaliate, he remembered Ciara.

  Christ, he hoped she didn’t run off the path.

  He’d barely made it to a wide tree after the gunfire went off.

  Who in the hell would have found him out here, let alone shown up?

  He could see smoke barreling out of one of his windows. Despite it being off the grid, it was only a matter of time now before law enforcement showed up.

  “Jack Turner. Look we don’t want any problems; just heard you had a stash of cash out here and came to see what was going on.”

  Jack continued to listen.

  “Was that a girl out here with you? Go find her,” the man said to someone. Then Jack heard booted footsteps running.

  “You heard there was money out here?” Jack questioned. “What are you, a fucking idiot?”

  The gun went off, striking the side of the tree near his head.

  “Giving your position away?” the man laughed. “Now who’s an idiot?”

  Jack continued to listen to branches breaking under the man’s boots as he moved closer to the tree.

  Once his enemy was about three feet away, he rounded the tree on the other side and tossed a home made fireball near his eyes.

  The trespasser, in full gear and night vision goggles, screamed with temporary blindness, and Jack shoved the gun away to hold his own pistol to the man’s exposed neck before shooting.

  Ciara ran until she was out of breath. Stumbling through the trees, she was thankful for the bit of moonlight that filtered down through the branches. It was the only reason she’d been able to make it this far without falling, or worse.

  Her throat was raw from holding in her scream. All afternoon, she’d been trying to calm herself through this situation, telling herself that things would be okay. That there was no way getting lost in the woods could be that bad.

  But this was really fucking bad.

  She needed to keep going; the more space she put between herself and that house the better. But she was going to collapse if she didn’t catch her breath.

  Clutching her purse to her chest, she took several deep breaths with her back pressed against a tree.

  Then she heard footsteps, and the realization froze her completely.

  They could have been a few feet away, she wasn’t sure. But he was close enough that if she ran, she’d most likely be shot.

  Holy shit, what was she going to do?

  “Not interested in shooting anyone toni
ght, alright?” he spoke out gruffly. “My partner already had to deal with Turner. Just show yourself.”

  Deal with Turner, she thought. What did that mean?

  The footsteps were getting closer. Clenching her teeth, she realized it sounded like he was more on her right. Could she throw her purse and distract him to go in the opposite direction? He’d eventually find her if she stayed at the tree. Paranoia drew more sweat against her brow.

  She had to get out of this. Damn she couldn’t die out here!

  Ciara reached her clammy hands in her bag, and with a silent prayer, removed her wallet and cellphone.

  Then she heard a snap, but this wasn’t a branch. It was metal.

  A male scream pitched the air.

  “Fuck! Fuck!” he yelled.

  A strange whistling noise sounded barely above the crickets.

  Then there was a loud thud. A body hitting the ground? She was too scared to look. Frozen at the tree, she waited to hear more footsteps.

  A hand grabbed her from around the tree, and her responding scream was promptly cut off.

  “Shh. Shh. I’m not gonna hurt you.” She recognized Jack’s whisper and slapped at him anyway before noticing the shape of his silencer in the faint light.

  “No!” She started pulling away.

  “For fuck’s sake.” he mumbled, taking his hands and pushing goggles against her eyes. His green tinted hard features engulfed her vision. Suddenly she could see around her, making out the maze of trees jutting up from the earth. The headband caught her hair, causing her to wince as he pulled it over the back of her head to secure it.