by Susan Bliler
RedKnife snorted as they shoved the front doors open and hurried down the front steps. “Something tells me he knows exactly what he’s doing.”
Chapter 23
RedKnife eyed Cindy over the glow of the bonfire. She was seated at a picnic bench, huddled into herself and eyeing everyone warily. She looked lost and he ached to soothe her, but first he had to take care of a few things.
“What do you need?”
RedKnife pulled his eyes from Cindy to study the small female standing before him. Brooklyn. She was a new hire, and the one who King told him to seek out to get what he needed.
“Tomorrow is Christmas,” he started, and lifted his eyes to find Cindy frowning at him across the courtyard.
“Yes.” Brooklyn fidgeted nervously.
“I haven’t stayed in my cabin yet…”
“Really?” Her tone was shocked. “It was assigned to you months ago. Is something wrong with it?”
He shook his head once, eyes still focused on the hurt that flashed across Cindy’s delicate features before she lowered her head. “I didn’t need it before. Preferred to be alone, in the forest.”
Brooklyn followed his gaze to Cindy and she smiled knowingly. “But you need it now.” It wasn’t a question. “Are you the Sentry guarding Cindy?”
Brooklyn was human, so she couldn’t scent Cindy on him. Her words made him tense. He didn’t like the way the female made it sound like Cindy was a threat. Still, he nodded.
“And your cabin needs to be suitable for not just you, but a companion.” She jerked a smart phone from her coat pocket and began typing. “Got it.” She typed in silence some more before lifting curious blue eyes to his. “How long have I got?”
“Not long. I need to feed her and then…”
Brooklyn nodded. “Are you looking for any type of restraints, or…” She let the words die off.
Visions of Cindy chained to his bed flooded his mind and had his dick shooting rock hard in an instant, until he realized her meaning.
“She’s my guest!” He all but snarled.
Brooklyn paled and took a step back. “Well. I guess I better hurry.” She smiled tremulously. “It’s about time I have some real work to do.” She waved her hand absently at the bonfire. “I wanted to throw a Christmas ball, but Mr. StoneCrow shot that down rather quickly.” She pursed her lips and peeked up at RedKnife to see if he was still angry.
That was one thing he liked about her. Her persistence. She refused to back down to any Walker, even the scariest of them.
“This barbecue is hardly a proper Christmas celebration.” She rolled her eyes and focused on him again, seeming to relax a little. “I’ll get as much done as I can. Give me two hours?”
RedKnife nodded and when Brooklyn turned, he caught her elbow. “Thank you.”
She smiled. “You’re not as scary as they’d want people to believe.” Then she was gone.
Pulling his gaze from the departing Events Coordinator, RedKnife’s eyes snagged on Legion and the dirty look the Sentry was shooting his way. Ignoring him, he looked to Cindy just in time to have his heart slam to a halt as his mouth fell open and he shouted, “NOOOO!”
***
It was official. RedKnife KillsPrettyEnemy was an ass! Not only had he ditched her after their night of passion, but he totally ignored her when he’d finally arrived at the Christmas barbecue, which apparently consisted of a bonfire the size of a small house where she was surrounded by people with no hopes of sneaking away.
Her guard, Haka, had brought her here and then sat her at a picnic table with a firm command of, “Don’t leave!”
And how she wanted to leave. Looking up, she ignored several accusatory glares and dropped her eyes back to her knees. She shivered despite the warmth of the blazing inferno before her, and was glad that Haka had seated her so close. Peeking up at the crowd, she swallowed down the disappointment that threatened to overwhelm her when she saw RedKnife smile at the beautiful woman standing before him. The woman smiled back and Cindy wanted to rip the woman’s fucking hair out.
Brooklyn. She knew the events coordinator, and she knew the woman was single. Brooklyn turned, and RedKnife reached for her. That’s when Cindy had to look away, her eyes catching on a tall, angry-looking Sentry that was watching the duo with too much interest.
It was one thing that RedKnife disappeared this morning, leaving her all alone in the cell. But for him to finally show up and then ignore her to fondle another woman was insulting…worse, it hurt.
Cindy’s eyes caught on the two children who raced in front of her, one squealing as the other gave chase. She was thinking that they shouldn’t be running so close to the fire when the little girl in front tripped and was falling head-first into the bright embers that glowed bright-red all around the tall flames.
Without hesitation, Cindy jumped from her seat and threw herself at the child.
Everything happened so fast. Cindy saw hands reach for her and heard angry snarls. Leaping in front of the child, knowing it was too late to stop her fall, Cindy hoped to keep the babe from falling into the smoldering embers.
Searing hot pain exploded on her arm, and the soft thump of the child’s weight collided with her chest. Faster than a blink, Cindy rolled out of the embers while simultaneously throwing the child away from the fire, knowing that whatever injuries she’d sustain from being tossed aside would be nothing compared to falling into the fire pit.
The child was safe, landing softly in the deep snow with wide eyes and a dazed expression. Cindy’s fate wasn’t the same. She rolled away from the fire pit, needing to get as far away from the blistering heat as she could. Free of the rock outline, she continued to roll knowing the snow was tamping down the devastating heat that was threatening to overwhelm her.
Suddenly, vicious hands grabbed her and hauled her up to an enraged face. Enraged? Only then did it register that this person…this Walker, thought she’d been attempting to hurt the child, that she was the threat to the little girl.
In overwhelming pain, Cindy couldn’t even defend herself as she gulped in lungs full of air in an attempt to swallow down some of the agony that tore through her.
She knew the male holding her by the coat was a Walker, because his canines had elongated and his eyes were fully black. There was no denying the animalistic snarl that escaped him. He was pulling her face closer to his when he abruptly disappeared. The wind whipped and the flames blew, sending bright embers into the air to mix with tendrils of smoke as the temperature suddenly dropped.
Lying on her back in the snow, Cindy blinked up at the dark sky, only able to watch as fat flakes whipped viciously overhead before landing on her face and forcing her to blink.
Soft hands were touching her face. “Oh my God! Are you okay? JENNY!”
Then there was a feminine scream and then a plea. “STOP! Please, don’t hurt him!”
Without looking, she knew the woman was speaking to RedKnife. He may have been flirting earlier, but she was certain he’d never permit another Walker to manhandle her.
“Red…” she whispered, unable to finish.
Then he was kneeling over her, worry clear in his dark eyes and the taut lines of his face. He reached for her, but stopped when his eyes slid down her frame.
She recognized Jenny’s voice as she shouted, “Get that fucking coat off of her before it melts into her skin!”
Then RedKnife was tearing her coat off. Walkers circled close, standing over her as RedKnife and Jenny worked. She screamed when it felt like someone ripped the skin from her arm. RedKnife growled and stilled, his eyes slamming into Jenny.
Jenny didn’t falter, didn’t even look at him. “We’ve got to hurt her to help her, RedKnife. Get this fucking thing off, now!”
Then, King was there. He nudged RedKnife aside and moved in over her. In that moment, RedKnife looked so hopeless that Cindy wanted to laugh. She would have if she could, but then Jenny and King rolled her and the coat was ripped off her back, her inj
ured arm exposed to the air. She screamed again and blinked through her tears, looking across the courtyard to lock eyes with the little girl she’d saved as the child cried in what Cindy assumed was her father’s arms. It was the male who had attacked her.
She’s safe. Then Cindy’s world went black.
Chapter 24
“She threw herself into a fucking fire to save a Walker child! If that doesn’t prove her innocence, than nothing will.”
RedKnife heard King arguing with Monroe outside the door to Cindy’s exam room. While he appreciated King’s attempts on his behalf, RedKnife no longer cared about Monroe’s directives. As soon as Cindy was ready, RedKnife would take her from StoneCrow Estates to a place where she’d be free from judgment. A place where she wouldn’t be considered an enemy.
“She’s going to be fine.” Jenny titled her head to study RedKnife before frowning at the argument that continued outside the exam room. “Mostly second degree burns. She’ll heal. It’ll take time.” Jenny shook her head, turning to run a concerned eye over a still-unconscious Cindy. “And it’ll hurt like a bitch, but she will heal.”
I should have been there. I shouldn’t have left her alone.
As if reading his thoughts, Jenny offered, “Accidents happen. All the time, RedKnife. Accidents happen. And while you’re beating yourself up over her injuries, know this. Harper is perfectly fine. Stoney checked her over, and there’s not a single burn on the child. Cindy did that. She saved that little girl. And Ash…”
RedKnife growled, low and deep.
“You have to know he was only protecting his child. He reacted without thinking. He only knew the rumors, and he’s overprotective of that little girl as it is. He didn’t see Harper trip. He didn’t know Cindy was trying to save her. All he saw was Harper falling into the fire with Cindy falling behind her with her arms outstretched. He thought,” she stopped when RedKnife’s expression darkened even more. “He gets it now, and he’d like the chance to apologize, and to thank Cindy.”
“No!” RedKnife snarled, knowing he wouldn’t be able to stand the Walker being anywhere near Cindy after his harsh treatment of her.
“Fine. But just know that he’s grateful. We all are. She used her own body to protect that of a Walker child, and for us that’s good enough. We know she’s not our enemy.”
While Jenny’s words were meant to soothe, they didn’t. Instead, they reminded RedKnife of why Cindy was at the fire in the first place when she could have still been in the mountains, back at their cabin with him. Their cabin. Funny, that’s how he thought of it now.
“I’m taking her out of here.” His voice was blunt, leaving no room for argument.
“Not tonight.” Jenny was asking, not telling, which was unusual for the typically bull-headed doctor. “We need to monitor her, she could go into shock.”
“I can heal her.”
His words were so low that Jenny barely caught them. “What?”
His jaw worked and he leveled his gaze on Jenny. “Despite what you did to me…I can heal her.”
Jenny stumbled back, her mouth falling open. “What I…” She looked from side-to-side, automatically ensuring they were alone. “I don’t know what you…”
RedKnife’s eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. “Yes. You. DO.” He stepped closer, towering over Jenny. “And we’ll discuss that later. Right now, I’m taking my One. I’ll heal her.”
Jenny’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “What do you mean, you’ll heal her?”
RedKnife turned and moved back to the bed, standing over Cindy’s sleeping form. “Will she sleep if I move her?”
“Y-yeah.” Jenny hurried to the other side of the bed. “RedKnife, what do you mean you’ll heal her? If you have abilities outside of those of the average Walker, then I need to know about it. We need to do tests and…”
“Never!”
The word was spoken with such vehemence that Jenny stepped back, lifting a hand to her chest.
RedKnife lowered his head to sneer at her from under angry brows. “Be grateful I haven’t yet informed Monroe of your treachery.” He watched closely for any sign that would be indicative of the Dominant’s involvement. When Jenny began shaking and swallowed hard before dropping her head, RedKnife was finally certain that Monroe was not involved in her machinations.
Wordlessly, he lifted Cindy from the bed and called to King through the mist. “I’m exiting the front doors in three minutes. Get me a car.”
In the hall, the voices suddenly silenced. To her credit, Jenny hurried to tuck the blankets around Cindy’s body before rushing to get the door.
RedKnife exited, brushing past Monroe, ignoring the Dominant as he stood frowning at RedKnife’s departing back.
Monroe kept his eyes pinned on his Sentry, but directed his words at Jenny. “Where does he think he’s taking her?”
“To his place, I assume. He said he could heal her.” She turned accusing eyes on Monroe. “Do you know anything about that?”
Monroe snorted, then finally dipped his eyes to Jenny. “What I think is that none of us have any idea what that Walker is capable of, but I do know this. The Governor has declared a state of emergency. This snow needs to stop falling and soon.”
“You think…” Jenny eyed the door.
“Yes.” Monroe nodded once. “I do. I also believe the weather is the least of our concerns.”
“What do you mean?”
“Why isn’t he afflicted?” Monroe canted his head, eyeing the empty doorway. “He’s exhibiting all the signs. He reeks of her, and she of him, but he’s still not afflicted.”
Jenny ducked her head to hide the flush that crept up her face. “Perhaps it’s his heritage. You yourself admit there is much about him that we don’t understand.”
“Perhaps.”
***
Arriving back at his cabin, RedKnife was surprised to find it already lit up, with a fire roaring in the hearth. It had been decorated—apparently rather quickly, but nicely nonetheless. He appreciated Brooklyn for her efforts, even if they were in vain.
Cindy slept in his arms, and the scent of the medication that kept her sedated tickled his nose. He didn’t like it. It changed her scent, but he knew that she required the drugs to ease her suffering.
Fucking Ash!
It wasn’t his fault, RedKnife knew, but he needed to blame somebody, and he sure as hell couldn’t pin his fury on little Harper.
Carrying Cindy down the hall to his room he eyed his cabin with new eyes. Much nicer than where they’d stayed in Mission Canyon, the cabin was large, everything state of the art. For the first time, he was angry with himself for never having stayed there. He’d used the place as storage mostly, to hold his clothes and as a place to shower, but he never slept here. If he had, the place would be covered in his scent. But it wasn’t, which meant Cindy wouldn’t be covered in his scent unless…
He let the thought die. Even thinking of touching her was selfish, injured as she was.
Settling her on the bed he didn’t waste time back-tracking to turn off lights or to lock the door. He stripped, then painstakingly removed Cindy’s clothes before climbing into bed with her, gently pulling her into his arms. Fighting to ignore his body’s natural response to her, he closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing before turning all of his attention to her. This wasn’t an illness, and he was under no illusion that her injuries would be healed in a single attempt. But no matter what, he’d do whatever it took to heal his One.
Chapter 25
Cindy woke to an unfamiliar, empty room. Unsure where she was, or how she’d gotten here, she simply lay in bed and let her memory come filtering back.
The fire! The little girl! Jerking upright, her heart thundered until she remembered throwing the child to safety. Slowly, she lowered her head and looked at her bandaged arm. Funny. She felt…fine.
Sweeping her eyes back up, they snagged on a small wrapped box sitting next to her pillow.
Picking it up, she st
udied it. Was it Christmas already? Grapefruit-sized, the box was beautifully wrapped with shimmering red wrapping paper and glittery silver ribbon. One lone blackbird feather was tucked into the ribbon. RedKnife.
She looked around the room before deciding to open it. The paper gave way easily under her fingers once the ribbon was untied, and the box popped open. She felt her heart clench at what she found inside.
An ornately beaded dream catcher in gold, yellow, red, and orange was nestled in the fur-lined box under a little card that read, “Wishing you sweet dreams.”
Her eyes flooded with tears. It was the most thoughtful gift she’d ever received, and she was flattered that he’d remembered their conversation and then had gone out of his way to get her such a fitting gift.
She stared at the dream catcher for long minutes before she smiled and tucked it back into the box. She wanted to thank him.
Climbing from the bed, she didn’t question the hospital gown she wore as she exited the room hoping to find RedKnife and thank him. Instead, she found an empty cabin. Holy shit!
‘Cabin’ didn’t begin to describe it. She was standing on a second-floor balcony overlooking the most elegantly rustic cabin she’d ever seen. A hearth settled in a large stone wall took up one side of the sitting room beneath her. Dotted with expensive-looking plush furniture, a large wooden coffee table with books and candles sat between the furniture atop a red and gold Persian-looking rug. Looking up, her mouth fell open at the high vaulted ceilings and the elk-horn chandelier that hung down in the center of the room. A giant mural of teepees hung over the fireplace, making her think of RedKnife.
Is this his home?
Looking to her left, she saw a spiral staircase with a black wrought-iron railing. Taking the stairs down to the main floor, she saw that beneath the second-floor balcony was a round dining table that seated six. A deer-antler candelabra sat in the center of the table surrounded by several votive candles in shimmering golden glass.
Beyond the dining table was an immaculate kitchen, complete with stainless steel appliances and marble countertops.