“A man named Karl. I knew him back east. We both did. He got my brother involved in drugs… not taking them.” Her voice hitched and she pulled down an unsteady breath. “Nate was dealing them… or handing them out to dealers… or whatever it is people do in that damned business. I didn’t know about it until he moved to Vancouver. I thought he was on the straight and narrow. I should’ve known better.”
She looked down at her phone and sighed, a wealth of hurt in it as tears lined her lashes and one slipped down her temple, cutting into her hair.
“They wanted me to help them get drugs over the border and I refused.” She sucked down another shuddering breath and exhaled hard, her voice tight as she said, “Nate did something foolish. Apparently, being a drug dealer or whatever he was hadn’t been lucrative enough for him… or he made an honest mistake. He… money went missing.”
The money the males were now demanding from her.
Lowe frowned at her phone. “Nate got caught with his hand in the cookie jar and figured he could get out of being killed by saying you had the cash.”
She nodded. “I don’t know what he was thinking.”
Lowe did. The male had probably been thinking Karl would let him go and would either target her instead, or make Nate take him to her, and he would have a chance to escape and get the money and flee.
Instead, he had gotten himself killed and painted a target on his sister’s back.
He placed his left hand over hers and held them, looked at her fingers as they trembled beneath his as she fought tears.
“I won’t let them near you, Cameo,” he growled, those words a vow he intended to keep. “What they did to your brother… it won’t happen to you. I swear it. You’re safe with me.”
She looked at him. “I know, but I’m scared. He’s out there.”
He gently squeezed her hand. “He doesn’t know you’re here, and if he comes knocking, he’ll have more than just me to deal with. I’ll warn my brother.”
Knox was going to be angry with him when he learned about Cameo’s trouble, but his brother would do the right thing.
“You look like you could use some real food, and maybe a shot of whiskey.” He reluctantly released her hand and stood, lingered a moment as he gazed down at her and she looked up into his eyes, her blue ones holding a hint of gratitude, and hope.
“I think I just want to sleep,” she murmured.
Lowe stooped and lifted her into his arms, gently cradled her to his chest and carried her upstairs to the bed. He set her down on it and she lay back, resting her head on the pillows. He lit the oil lamp on the bedside table for her, kept it low so it didn’t keep her awake, and lingered again.
“I’ll be just downstairs. Going to fix you some soup in case it turns out you’re hungry after all and grab myself that shot of whiskey.” He smiled at her and she nodded, the barest dip of her head, and the sight of her hurting had him wanting to stay, needing to be near her and aching with a need to reach down and brush her hair from her face. “It’ll be okay, Cameo.”
She nodded again and when he went to leave, she grabbed his hand and looked awkward as she held it. “Would you—never mind. Just… thanks.”
He knew what she was thinking, what she was feeling. She wasn’t a burden, and wanting him to stay close while she fell asleep didn’t make her weak. He eased onto his backside on the bed, twisted at the waist and reached over her. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it over her, covering her as best he could.
Her eyes slipped shut and he watched her, monitoring her with his senses, making sure she was calm. How long had it been since she had felt safe enough to sleep without fear? He did growl when he thought about the fact she was running for her life, had been forced to fight a man in order to survive, and there were more still after her and her family. It came out low and deep, a long rumbling sound that he felt sure would make her open her eyes, but they remained closed.
Her breathing levelled out and fell into a slow and steady rhythm, telling him that she was sleeping.
Lowe took the phone from her, switched it off, and set it on the bedside table. He stared at it. Whoever had done that to her brother would pay for it. He would see to that. He would make sure she was safe and free, able to go about her life again.
He lifted his left hand and brushed his fingers across her cheek, lingered with the tips of them against her soft skin, and cursed himself. He was getting in deep again, over his head, and this time he knew things wouldn’t end well for him.
He couldn’t fall for her.
No matter how badly he wanted to, and no matter how badly he wanted this thing between them to work out.
He had to do the right thing.
He had to let her go.
Chapter 9
The smell of frying bacon drew Cameo up from a deep sleep. She yawned and stretched, grimaced as her leg hurt and the wound on her left arm throbbed a little. She sank into the soft mattress, rested her hands on her stomach on top of the fur that covered her and stared at the pitched wooden ceiling as she listened to Lowe moving around below her.
He was humming a tune.
She wasn’t sure what it was, but it was strangely comforting, warming even, to hear him going about his life as if everything was normal. Last night, she had felt sure that he would want her as far away from him as he could get her, that she would wake with an air ambulance waiting to cart her away from him. It had surprised her when he had reiterated his vow to protect her and hadn’t seemed at all worried that there were men after her—powerful men. Men with guns.
She supposed that living up in a remote valley had probably hardened him in ways she couldn’t understand, stripping away his softness, just as it had with his body.
Cameo squeezed her eyes shut and told herself not to think about his body.
A woman could go a long time without seeing such a body in the flesh though, could reach a point where she started believing that men like that didn’t really exist, that they were purely in magazines and other more adult things.
“You’re up!” Lowe’s deep voice rocked her, had her gasping as it shattered a fantasy building in her head, replacing imaginary Lowe with the real thing.
She snapped her eyes open and looked at him, knew how startled she had to look when he rubbed the back of his neck and glanced down the stairs behind him.
“Didn’t mean to scare you.” He scratched his lightly stubbled jaw. “Just wanted to see if you were in the mood for breakfast? You must be starving.”
She nodded, her fantasy of Lowe becoming a fantasy of him draped in that crispy, tempting bacon she could smell. She wanted to eat it off him. That thought startled her more than he had, had her cheeks flaming and her eyes darting to the dark covers and furs on his bed.
His bed.
She grew painfully aware of him as he stood there staring at her, waiting for an answer she couldn’t give him while her mind was racing, throwing wicked images at her that she was in no position to be entertaining, and that she certainly would never actually attempt to do.
Her stomach squirmed a little. He was being the perfect gentleman, was taking care of her and making sure she felt comfortable at all times, wasn’t being forward with her or making advances, and here she was mentally undressing him and picturing him in compromising positions with her.
Cameo risked a glance at him. Her gaze collided and locked with his, and the banked heat in his blue eyes said that maybe she wasn’t the only one indulging in fantasies this morning. She shivered as he stared at her, that heat in his eyes building into an inferno that scorched her, had her aching all over and wanting to reach for him.
She wanted to make him come to her and kiss her. Just a kiss. She swore she would stop at that, wasn’t in any condition to be wanting anything else from him. A lie. If he offered her more than a kiss, if he wanted more, then she wouldn’t be able to stop herself.
Cameo rolled her eyes closed and fought to master her own body. This wasn’t like her. She grip
ped the front of her cream sweater and pulled it away from her chest, needing some air. Maybe her injured leg had given her a fever and she was delirious.
Maybe she was just attracted to Lowe.
Who wouldn’t be?
The man looked like a blond Henry Cavill.
“You feeling all right?” Lowe stepped closer to her and she pulled down a steadying breath, opened her eyes and looked up at him.
“Just a little warm, and I think I slept too long.” She grimaced as she sat up, and thanked him with a smile as he rushed to help her, gently took hold of her arm and eased her upright.
He chuckled, the warm sound rolling over her, sending tingles racing through her as it drew her gaze to his face. Blond Henry Cavill. He was gorgeous, especially when he smiled as he was now, forming those little dimples in his cheeks.
Lowe pressed his palm to her forehead and she almost groaned as she felt the coolness of it. “You are a bit warm. You know I had to have the door open half the night to cool down the cabin. You probably just got a little overheated up here. I’ll get you some water, coffee and food and you’ll feel better.”
He didn’t sound as if he really believed that. He sounded worried again, which made her worry too. What if her leg was infected?
He dropped his hand to her cheek and stared into her eyes. “You’re fine, Cameo. If you’re worried, we should call the air ambulance.”
She quickly shook her head, the thought of leaving sending a jolt of fear through her. She felt safe here, with Lowe. As much as she didn’t want to get him into trouble, pulling him into her problem, she didn’t want to leave him. She looked straight ahead of her at the window that revealed part of the cabin that stood in the middle of the clearing and the world around it. A peaceful world. An uncomplicated world. She liked it here.
Lowe sighed. “At least let me get someone to take a look at it, although I’m not sure that she’ll help. Maybe the Hippocratic Oath will make her help. Doctors still swear by that, right?”
“There’s a doctor up here?” Her eyes widened.
Lowe scratched behind his ear and grimaced. “Not here. She lives just south of here with her ma… man. Husband.”
Why had he stumbled over the word man? Had he intended to say something else? She wracked her brain, trying to think of other words that started with ma.
Lowe distracted her by sitting beside her and touching her knee. “I can ask her.”
She looked into his eyes and caught the nerves in them. For some reason, he was worried about asking this doctor for assistance, and some foolish part of her leaped on that, said that he had fallen out with the husband over her. She shoved that thought aside. Lowe didn’t strike her as the sort to go after another man’s wife. The attraction she felt to him was making her look for reasons they couldn’t be together, had her hunting for flaws that weren’t there, and she wasn’t sure why. Was she trying to stop herself from wanting him?
It was the most reasonable explanation for her behaviour. She didn’t want him pulled any deeper into her mess and getting involved with him would drag him as deep as he could get. It was better that they remained as they were—friends of a sort. Not lovers.
“You don’t have to.” She eased the blanket off her legs. It cooled them a little, but she was still too warm. Removing her salopettes would go a long way towards fixing that, but the thought of stripping her legs bare in front of Lowe unsettled her, had that heat flaring hotter again. When he looked as if he might touch her overheating cheeks, she rushed out, “I’m being a burden, and I really don’t want that.”
He pushed to his feet. “It’s really no bother.”
“It is… I am.” She looked out of the window again, at the peaceful world out there, one she felt sure she was close to ruining. “How long have you lived up here? I can’t imagine what it must be like to live up here in winter.”
Lowe glanced at the window and pulled a face. “A while. Saint owns the land. We all pitch in to take care of things, whether that’s repairing the cabins or hunting, or hitting the nearest town for supplies. I know it’s not the most modern of places, and I wouldn’t say no to running water and power, but I love it here. Everyone up here just wants a quiet life.”
“A quiet life,” she murmured.
A life she was in danger of ruining.
“Hey now.” Lowe eased to a crouch beside her and looked up into her eyes. “You’re awfully down this morning. You definitely need a pick me up. Fresh coffee and bacon sandwiches sound good?”
She nodded, but couldn’t stop her mood from spiralling downwards. She didn’t want to wreck this slice of heaven that Lowe and the others had made for themselves, didn’t want to pull them into danger, and she was going to do just that if she remained here.
Lowe’s voice gained a hard edge as he placed his hand over hers, curled his fingers around and held it. “Don’t think for a second that you’re endangering us or that you’re better off leaving… sneaking off or doing something crazy. I can handle this trouble for you. We can handle it. After all, we’re used to dealing with trouble. You should meet our neighbours.”
“There are others up here?” She frowned at him.
He had mentioned a doctor to the south, but she had thought perhaps he had been talking about the nearest town.
Lowe nodded. “Whole pack of people a little south of here, closer to the trailhead. Pains in my ass.”
He didn’t seem to like his neighbours.
He squeezed her hand again. “I’ll get you breakfast, and then I’ll see about asking the doc to look at you.”
When he went to stand and she didn’t release his hand, he turned and looked down at her.
“I’d like to come down too.” She shifted her gaze to the staircase. Her leg was feeling slightly better this morning, but tackling the staircase yesterday had been close to terrifying and she didn’t want to do it again.
Plus, Lowe was right. It was better she rely on him for some things, and asking for his help didn’t make her weak or a burden. He wanted to help her.
He smiled and twisted towards her, scooped her up into his arms as if she really did weigh nothing more than a feather. She looped her arms around his neck and settled her head on his chest, relaxed against him as he carried her downstairs, carefully navigating each turn. When he made the final turn, he froze. Cameo looked up at him, wondering what the problem was, and then looked in the direction of his gaze.
She tensed too.
A man stood near the open door, dressed head to toe in black weatherproof gear, his crystal blue eyes stormy as he stared at Lowe and then her.
“Isn’t this romantic?” he drawled and unzipped his coat.
Cameo could only stare at him as heat climbed her cheeks and she grew painfully aware of how she was pressed against Lowe, tucked close to his chest.
When Lowe had told her that Knox was his twin, and that they were identical, she hadn’t quite believed they would look exactly like each other.
But they did.
The only difference between Lowe and Knox was the colour of their hair, with Knox’s a shade darker than Lowe’s golden blond.
And the darkness in Knox’s gaze.
He slid Lowe a look.
“Yeah, I was about to let her hobble down the stairs.” Lowe bit those words out, an uncharacteristically hard edge to his voice as he finished carrying her down the steps and strode to the couch. He gently set her down on it and gave her a worried look. “Not too warm?”
Cameo shook her head. She was a little warm, but with the door open she wasn’t in any danger of overheating.
“I’ll get you breakfast.” Lowe gave her a tight smile that disappeared, turning into a glare as he straightened and pivoted towards his brother. “You want something?”
Cameo had the feeling he wasn’t asking Knox if he wanted breakfast too.
Knox grunted as he bent to remove his boots. “All the bacon in the world and an Irish coffee.”
“You’ll get a
third of the bacon and a straight coffee. It’s too early to be drinking.” Lowe glanced back at his brother as Knox strode to the armchair, peeling his coat off as he went. A worried edge entered his eyes. “You get any sleep?”
Knox tossed his coat onto the back of the armchair and sank into it on a long sigh. He shook his head.
“Saint all right?” Lowe turned to face him now, a plain white mug in one hand and a coffee pot in the other.
Knox nodded and yawned, smacked his lips together and sank deeper into the armchair. “Gods, I need some sleep.”
His dull blue gaze slid to Cameo.
“You’re pretty. He tell you that?”
Lowe glared at his brother. “Watch your mouth.”
“So he hasn’t told you that?” Knox smiled slowly in his brother’s direction.
“Actually, he has.” She had wanted to pick him up on it too. She looked at Lowe, wanting to see whether he really thought she was pretty.
He avoided her gaze, went back to pouring coffee into three mugs.
“Figured as much. We’re not going to have a problem here, are we, Lowe?” Knox stared hard at his brother’s back.
Problem? Was it that Knox didn’t want his brother getting involved with her, or that he thought his brother might try something with her when she didn’t want it?
Knox ignored the warning look Lowe gave him and his blue gaze slid to meet hers. “Lowe has too much heart, and it’s stuck together with sheer will and a lot of tape, and if you break it, so help me gods, you will pay for it.”
Cameo shrank back into the couch and frowned at him. “I have no intention of breaking Lowe’s heart.”
Because she had no intention of surrendering to the attraction she felt.
Knox grunted, “They never do.”
“Maybe I should go back upstairs.” She pressed her left hand to the arm of the couch and grimaced as the wound that darted across her upper arm pulsed and throbbed as she tried to stand.
Lowe was quick to grip her shoulder and make her stay where she was.
“You sit.” Lowe turned a black look on his brother. “You leave.”
Rescued by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Shifter Romance Series Book 2) Page 9