Ava blindly followed, never once considering that this man could pose a danger to her. She saw what danger lay behind her and as far as she was concerned, this guy was a safe haven. Besides, there was something about his voice that just caused her to intrinsically trust that he would protect her. The fact he was stacked with solid muscle also helped.
Quickly opening the barn door and leading them inside, her Good Samaritan closed the door behind her and latched it from the inside. He turned to her. “I want you to listen closely and do exactly as I say. Get up into the hayloft and hide near the back.”
Ava looked over at the ladder leading up to the loft. There was no hay up there, just old boxes that attested to the fact she may have a hoarding problem. Not one to argue when her life was in danger, Ava scrambled up the ladder. Then she heard the man say, “Don’t come down until I tell you it is safe”.
The hayloft wasn’t even a real hayloft. It was a platform raised off the main barn floor. The back of the platform was bolted into the barn wall. The front of the platform was held up by two thick wooden beams, evenly spaced apart with the corners also bolted to the barn wall. Its original purpose may have been to hold hay, but again, Ava used it for storing old junk. As a small and modest ranch, she had enough empty horse stalls below to hold all the hay she needed right now.
Once she reached the top of the ladder, Ava moved to the back of the platform and crouched down. She couldn’t see anything from her position. She had no clue where her Knight in Shining Armor was, nor did she have any clue where Mr. Gray might be lurking.
Then she heard the back barn door rattle. She knew it was Mr. Gray trying to get in. Apparently, brains weren’t prized among his species—after all, the front barn door was wide open and the back door was closed from the inside with a latch.
After a few more rattles, Ava thought that the beast might give up. But then she gasped as the entire back door was torn from its hinges. She couldn’t see it happen, but the shrieking metal and splintering wood crashing to the ground told her the story. So whatever Mr. Gray didn’t have in brains, he sure made up for in strength.
For the first time, it occurred to Ava that she should be very, very scared. Up until now, a combination of disbelief and adrenaline had been fueling her survival instincts. But now, she finally had an epiphany that there was some unknown monster with Hulk-like strength that cut through her barn door like it was soft butter.
She was afraid for herself, and she was afraid for her Great American Hero that stood between her and what was probably certain death. Ava’s heart was thumping so hard, she was sure Mr. Gray would be able to hear it. She tried to make herself calm down but it seemed her blood pressure was steadily rising. Hell, she may just die from a heart attack rather than being pulled apart limb by limb.
Ava figured she better come up with a backup plan, just in case the future Mr. Ava Clairmont couldn’t protect her. Okay, so I have some hot, hero worship going on here. Trying to come up with something imaginative, Ave just didn’t have a clue as to what to do. While she was a dreamer, and had a vivid imagination, never in her sanest thoughts did she think creatures like Mr. Gray could exist. She never once imagined she would be trapped in her hayloft—okay, her hoarding room—with a monster, or alien, or mutant governmental experiment gone wrong, trying to hunt her down.
Listening for the tiniest of clues as to what may be happening, Ava heard dragging footsteps below the platform. She knew it was Mr. Gray and could just imagine the way his long arms would sway back and forth as he shuffled into the barn. Where the hell was he going? Was he coming toward the ladder? And where was his Royal Saving Grace?
Ava couldn’t help herself, and yes, she knew...curiosity killed the cat. Still, she eased down onto her stomach and silently inched forward across the platform. When she got about a foot from the edge, she was able to see a portion of the barn floor.
It didn’t take long for Mr. Gray to step into her view. His shoulders were hunched and his head hung forward. He was looking slowly left and right as he dragged his feet down the aisle of the barn. Those molten, red eyes gave Ava the heebie-jeebies. He emitted a steady, low growl as he stalked the area.
Please don’t look up, please don’t look up.
Mr. Gray stopped and sniffed a few times. Then he took in a deep lungful of air through his squashed and lumpy nose, as if scenting his prey. Ava watched as his head turned slowly up toward the platform where she lay.
She felt confident he couldn’t see her as she was covered in darkness, but she wasn’t so sure he couldn’t smell her given the huge whiff he had just taken. She watched as Mr. Gray’s lips pulled back into a feral snarl, revealing a row of jagged black teeth dripping with saliva. His eyes were staring directly where she was lying. Oh shit! Busted.
Mr. Gray took one step toward the ladder and before Ava could even think what to do, her Secret Weapon came hurtling at the creature. Ava watched as her Hero slammed into Mr. Gray and they both went crashing to the barn floor out of Ava’s line of vision. She crawled to the very edge of the platform and looked over.
She saw monster and man tearing at each other with fists and kicks. They appeared evenly matched, which told her that the future Mr. Ava Clairmont had some serious strength. Mr. Gray landed a solid kick to her Hero’s stomach, throwing him backward into the wall of the barn. She heard the wooden walls creak under the strain of the impact and she silently prayed that he was okay. Not appearing any worse for wear, her Hero jumped up and launched himself back at the beast. Their fighting was fast, almost a blur, and she couldn’t tell if there was an upper hand to be had by either one.
Then she saw a flash of silver and realized her unnamed Savior had pulled a blade from somewhere. With a sharp thrust, he nailed Mr. Gray through one of its eyes, and then gave a power kick to its chest, sending the blotchy monster flying backward.
Mr. Gray’s body crashed into one of the platform’s support beams, right below where Ava lay. She heard the wooden beam snap. The platform swayed ever so slightly and she could hear the bolts ripping out of the walls. Then with one lurch it tilted forward, causing Ava to slide toward the edge. Scrabbling to grab onto something to stop her fall, Ava came up with nothing but a handful of dust as she was propelled over the edge, a few of her hoarding treasures sliding after her.
The fall was not overly long, but Ava’s heart still jumped into her throat. It seemed like it took several minutes to make the fall, when in reality she knew gravity worked a lot faster. For a second time that night, she crashed into that muscled body, and she felt those strong arms wrap around her again. Her Hero had gallantly caught her before she could slam into the floor and her lithe frame was flush against his. Ava was breathing hard. Her feet were dangling a good foot off the barn floor and her face was just inches from his.
Despite all of the danger and terror she had just experienced, her first coherent thought was that her Hero had the most amazing eyes she had ever seen. Given her close proximity and the benefit of the overhead lights, she now could see deep, crystal blue eyes framed by dark eyelashes. His hair was a multitude of light colors ranging from pale blond to honey brown. Okay, so she also noticed that his face was sculpted of hard, beautiful angles but with the softest looking lips she had ever seen. Looking back into his eyes, she saw that he was studying her with an intensity that made her cheeks turn pink and her body feel flushed. Oh my! Who knew they made men this hot?
As if sensing her thoughts, her Hero let her slide slowly down his body until her feet landed gracefully on the ground. She almost groaned out loud from the contact and felt a tightening in her groin. Come on Ava! How can you possibly be feeling sexual attraction at a time like this? Her subconscious answered back. Well, duh, because you have an Adonis standing in front of you looking like he wants to eat you for breakfast.
Taking a deep breath and stepping back a bit, Ava looked up at him. “Is that… thing dead?”
Stepping around her and walking toward Mr. Gray, he replied, “
Yes. Decapitation or a strike to the brain is the only way to kill the Erchras.”
He removed what she now saw was a jeweled dagger from the creature’s eye. Ava grabbed a chamois rubbing cloth that was hanging from a hook on the wall and tossed it to him. He carefully wiped the dagger down and put it back into a sheath he wore on his left hip.
Speaking of hips, she noticed he wore a pair of black leather pants that looked sinfully soft. The pants weren’t tight but they were perfectly molded to his frame, showcasing well defined thigh muscles. She was sure if she had a look at his back, his ass would be perfectly molded as well. Ava shook her head in an attempt to get her mind out of the gutter. Now what was he saying? Oh yes, he had killed an Erchras.
What the hell was an Erchras? And why was this smoking, hot guy here to help her?
A hot guy that was a complete and utter stranger she just realized.
“Ummmm… my name is Ava. I don’t know if there are words to thank you for killing that…uh… Erchras? But truly, thank you.”
Giving a short nod, he answered, “I’m Carrick Dunne.”
That was it. Just his name. And he didn’t offer anything else. She did notice though that his voice was low and a little gravelly, and oh yeah, sexy as hell. Maybe there was room for Bing to share the number one position as man in her life.
“Oh my God. Bing! I need to find my dog!” Ava took off toward the barn door.
“Relax,” Carrick grabbed her arm as she tried to run by. "He’s safe. I locked him in your tack room earlier. I knew the Erchras were here and figured he would only get himself in trouble.”
His touch on her arm was warm and reassuring. But it sizzled too. She savored it for just a moment before running over to open the tack room door. Bing came barreling out and jumped up on Ava, smothering her with doggie kisses. Ava hugged him hard and buried her head into his neck for a few seconds.
“Seems I owe you a lot of thanks, not just for my life, but for Bing’s as well.”
Ava looked over at him and she could swear he had a guilty look on his face when she said that. Interesting.
“Carrick. There were two more Erchras near the house that I took out.”
Ava’s head swung to the open barn door to see who had spoken, and saw another devastatingly handsome man standing in the doorway. He had the same blond hair and blue eyes as Carrick. He wasn’t quite as tall, maybe just a few inches shorter. Like Carrick, however, he was stacked with muscles and a physique that screamed workouts three times a day. Where were these guys from? She looked back over to Carrick and was betting anything they were related.
Carrick pointed at the other man. “My brother, Kieran.”
Wow this guy was short on words.
“Well, well, well,” Keiran said as he approached Ava. “You’re even more beautiful than I remembered.” Keiran had a mischievous grin as he stepped up to her and wrapped her in a big bear hug, lifting her right off the ground.
“Uh, you’re full of crap as I have no clue who you are,” Ava huffed. “And put me down you big oaf.”
Keiran dropped her from his arms and laughed. “She’s still got spirit, eh, Carrick?”
Carrick had a pained expression on his face and didn’t respond. Ava looked back and forth between the two men.
“Okay, one of you better explain to me what is going on and why you think you know me. I know for a fact I’ve never met either one of you before.” And I would definitely remember meeting Carrick!
“Are you willing to make a wager on that sweet Ava,” Kieran taunted. “Because I’ll bet you a kiss that we do know each other.”
“Leave her alone, Kieran,” Carrick growled. Turning to Ava, he said, “We need to talk. Can we go inside your house?”
Ava crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“I’m not about to let either of you in my home until you explain what you are doing here, why you think you know me and why I’m being attacked by…by… whatever those things are! I’m really starting to freak out a bit here.” Her voice had risen a few notches lending credence to her impending hysteria.
“I will explain all of those things—“ Carrick started but Keiran interrupted.
“Here it is. You are a Princess and sole heir to the throne of Kestevayne. It’s this whole other world that you are from. You have been living here, in Earth’s main dimension for the past four years, with no memory of your prior existence. The Erchras are merely hunting you…to kill you or capture you, we don’t know. But more will continue to come. We,” he pointed at himself, then Carrick, “are here to ensure your safety and return you home.”
Ava’s jaw dropped. Of all the things she thought they would say. She looked in between Keiran and Carrick, trying to judge if they were pulling her chain. Surely they were nut jobs. Definitely nut jobs!
Except, how did she explain the Erchras? Was this a hoax? Was she being Punked? No. She had been up close and personal with Mr. Gray before whacking it with the shovel and that was no hoax. She smelled the unworldly stench coming from it. She saw it take a dagger in one of its blood filled eyes. Her gut told her, this was no joke.
Ava sighed. Even though she thought she may have been slowly tumbling down into madness, she heard herself say, “Come on inside. I could use a drink and then you can tell me your story.”
CHAPTER 4
Carrick walked around Ava’s living room, looking at the knick knacks and photos that had represented her life for the past few years. He caught bits and pieces of the conversation that Kieran and Ava had going on in the kitchen while she prepared drinks for everyone. Kieran was regaling her with some tale about a dozen Erchras he had dispatched with nothing more than a butter knife and a peacock feather. Ava’s laugh was low and husky. It was a laugh he knew well.
Carrick looked at the pictures Ava had displayed on her mantle above the fireplace. There were pictures of her parents, Jaron and Selena. Those were false, he knew. Manufactured memories actually. There were pictures of her and Bing. Bing was not manufactured. He was a pet she had apparently acquired after she had come to live in The First Dimension. He wasn’t surprised as she’d had many pets back home in Kestevayne. Although her memories had been erased of her prior life, she still retained all of her original character and personality. And Ava had always been an animal lover to her core.
The photos of her were all stunning, just as he had been imagining her every day for the last four years. Her soft, chocolate brown hair hung long past her shoulders. Her eyes were the color of spring grass and sparkled with brilliance and joy. Her lips…soft and pink, and very kissable. In every photo she was happy, gloriously beautiful and he knew that after he was finished here tonight, he probably would not see that happiness on her face again.
Ava walked into the room carrying three highball glasses and a bottle of Jack Daniels.
“Okay, I say we make this a drinking game. For every time I think one of you is feeding me a line of bullshit, you have to drink.” Pointing to Kieran she laughed, “You already owe me one for that Erchras story you just told me.”
Ava smiled as she set the glasses on the table. Her smile was always filled with genuine amusement and it made Carrick’s heart skip a beat. And that pissed him off. He didn’t have time for those feelings. “This is no game, Ava.”
Ava looked up at Carrick and the smile vanished from her face. “This, I know, jackass! I was just trying to bring a little levity to the situation. After all, it was just minutes ago you turned my whole world FREAKIN’ UPSIDE DOWN!” Her last words were punctuated by anger.
Carrick looked slightly chastened. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to offend.”
Ava snorted as she turned to Kieran. “Is he always this proper and civilized?”
“Do you mean has he always been a stick in the mud?”
Ava nodded with a smirk on her face.
“Well, no, he hasn’t always been like this. But, the past few years have been a bit hard on him. I’ve long suspected his humor was surgically
removed or something.”
Ava grabbed the bottle of Jack and twisted off the cap. She was not much of a drinker, and she hardly ever drank liquor. But if there was ever a night to have a drink to take the edge off, it was tonight. Pouring two fingers in each glass, she handed Kieran and Carrick their drinks. Carrick sniffed his once and set the glass down. Shrugging, Ava raised her glass to Kieran and said, “Here’s to better nights ahead.”
She slugged down the contents in one swallow, gasping slightly. Kieran followed suit, licking his lips after. “That was quite tasty. Would you like another?”
Ava shook her head and took a seat on her couch. She motioned Kieran and Carrick into the other chairs that sat opposite of her. Only a coffee table separated them.
Once the men sat, she leaned forward, elbows resting on her knees and hands clasped. She looked back and forth between the two, keeping eye contact.
“Okay, you have ten minutes to explain why you are here. If I don’t believe you, I want you out of my house. If you don’t leave my house when I tell you to…” and here Ava leaned between her legs, reached under the couch, and pulled out a shotgun, “I’m going to shoot both of you. Understand?”
Ava leaned back on the couch, cocked the gun for effect and laid it across her lap.
“Man, that is soooooo hot,” Kieran said. Nudging his brother with his arm, he repeated, “Isn’t that hot, bro?”
“Understood,” Carrick said, ignoring his brother. “Since our time is limited, I’m going to give you the short version and you can ask questions as you need.”
Carrick’s mouth was set in a grim line. Ava nodded as if giving him encouragement him to continue.
Second Chance Page 3