by Cynthia Eden
A scream ripped through the silence of the night.
Thomas stilled. Then, in the next instant, he’d torn away from Noelle. His gun was in his hand again as he rushed toward that dying sound.
A sound that hadn’t come from high up on the mountain, but one that had come from the right. Farther into the woods.
They fought their way through those trees, ran ahead even as another scream echoed in the night.
Then Noelle saw it. The hard, stark outline of a little cabin.
The cabin waited. The doors shut. “Please...please don’t make me go back in there....”
Those words whispered through her mind. Noelle’s own words, her broken voice, and she shook her head, hard, as she drew closer.
The cabin was pitch black. Thomas’s flashlight hit the shut front door.
He ran toward it and kicked it in.
Another scream came then.
Noelle rushed in behind Thomas, providing cover for him. But there was no attacker in the room.
A young girl sat in the middle of the room, a rickety, wooden chair beneath her. Her arms were pulled behind her back. A blindfold covered her eyes.
The cabin was so familiar, for an instant, Noelle remembered... “Please, I don’t want to be alone! Don’t leave me alone!”
And a man’s voice had replied to her.
He’d said, “I’ll always be with you.”
Hard shudders shook Noelle’s body as the past and present seemed to merge around her.
Thomas crouched in front of the girl. “Jenny Tucker?”
She jerked. “Yes! Yes, help me!”
Noelle surged forward. She ran behind the girl and yanked until the binds around Jenny’s wrists were gone. The girl’s skin was icy. Her fingers... Her fingers were blue.
“H-he’s c-coming back.”
Thomas pulled the blindfold from Jenny’s eyes. Jenny blinked up at him.
Noelle tugged Jenny to her feet. “He’s not going to hurt you anymore. We’re going to get you out of here.”
Jenny shook her head. Tears slid down her cheeks. “I’m sorry...”
Noelle’s nose burned. What was that acrid scent?
Her flashlight hit the walls. They looked...wet.
“We need to get out of here,” Noelle yelled as she realized that, yes, Thomas had been right. They’d walked straight into a trap.
That smell—it was the heavy scent of gasoline.
Thomas picked Jenny up in his arms and sprinted for the door.
“H-he told me to scream...to scream until help came.”
They were almost at the door but—
A blast seemed to shake the cabin. Fire blazed inside, rushing toward them, following the trail of fuel spread throughout the cabin.
Jenny screamed.
And the fire raged.
There was only one window in that cabin. One to the left, and fire already covered it. The front door was gone. A wall of flames stood in its place.
Thomas sat Jenny down on her feet. The girl immediately fell, and Noelle ran toward her, pulling her up before the flames could lick across the girl’s skin.
Thomas shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around Jenny’s body. His gaze lifted and met Noelle’s. “You get out first.”
Uh, how?
“Cover up with your coat. Make sure none of your flesh is vulnerable.” He coughed a bit because the smoke was rising fast. “The coat is going to ignite, so you’ll have to strip and roll in the snow as soon as you get outside.”
He wanted her to run through the fire. Right. But... “You don’t have a coat.” He’d just given his only protection to Jenny.
His jaw locked. The blaze let her see him clearly. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He’ll burn. “Thomas...”
The flames flared higher. “Go!”
Tears stung Noelle’s eyes.
“He could be waiting out there,” Thomas warned her. “Get your gun, and cover me when I come out. I need you to get out there and cover me.”
She was supposed to let him get hurt?
“Go, Noelle, go... I’ll be right behind you.”
And, over the roar of the fire, the voice from the darkness of her past spoke again. I’ll always be with you.
A long tremor shook her body. Noelle ran toward the flaming doorway, and she jumped through the fire. There was a loud whoosh of sound, which seemed to fill her ears. Heat surrounded her, so hot, so—
Her body flew through the air, and she hit the snow. She rolled because Thomas had been right. Her clothes were on fire. She pushed out of her coat and kept rolling, then hurried back up to her feet, even as she pulled out her weapon.
I’m not burned. I’m not—
Thomas flew through the fire. The flames came with him when he left the cabin. He hit the snow, too, hard, and Jenny tumbled out of his hands. The coat Jenny wore was blazing. Noelle shoved it away, even as Jenny yelled for help.
Jenny wasn’t burned, though; she was safe.
“Thomas?” Noelle whispered.
He yanked off the smoking ski mask he’d used to cover his face. He was twisting, trying to put out the fire consuming his clothes and pants.
Noelle helped him, securing her weapon and slapping at the blaze. Her gloves burned away.
The fire died.
Thomas glanced up at her.
“Are you hurt?” Noelle whispered. She didn’t see any burns, but maybe it was just too dark to notice them.
He caught her hands. Her gloves were gone, only bits of fabric remained. “Are you?” Thomas demanded his voice an angry growl.
Noelle shook her head.
Somehow, they’d both made it out of that hell.
Jenny was sobbing.
Thomas rose to his feet. He picked Jenny up in his arms. “Watch my back,” he told Noelle.
She had her weapon ready again. The killer had to be close. He’d set the fire just moments before, but...
It wasn’t the time to chase after him. They had to get Jenny to safety. Jenny was the key. She could help them identify her attacker.
Noelle hurried her steps and followed closely behind Thomas. His hold was gentle on Jenny. He had to be freezing, but he didn’t slow at all. He was fast and strong, and his grip on the young woman was unbreakable.
For an instant, the snow-covered landscape vanished, and Noelle saw—
Not flames. Not snow. A forest. Woods. Noelle remembered the moonlight that had trickled through the tops of the trees. She’d stared up at it as he’d held her. His grip had been so strong. So solid. She’d been...safe.
Noelle’s grip tightened on her gun as the image faded. She glanced back over her shoulder. The cabin was burning; the hungry flames consumed the place, destroying any evidence that might have been left behind.
But...
Jenny is safe. She survived.
Noelle was used to finding the bodies of the victims in her job as a profiler. She usually arrived too late to help anyone. But this... This was different.
We saved her.
She kept her gun up as she hastened after Thomas and Jenny.
I’ll always be with you.
The voice whispered through her mind, and the voice—it belonged to Thomas.
* * *
JENNY WAS LOADED into the back of an ambulance. Thomas watched its lights flash on as the siren’s cry filled the night. Jenny had been sobbing when she was loaded up. She’d told him again and again how sorry she was. He made her lure us into that cabin—he wanted us all to burn.
“I can’t thank you two enough.” Sheriff Hodges came toward him. He stared at Thomas, then Noelle with wide eyes. “That girl... You saved her.”
They’d
nearly died with her. Thomas looked back at the wilderness. “When are the dogs getting here?” Because every moment that passed was another moment the perp could use to flee.
“We can’t send them out, not with the storm.”
He’d been afraid of that. The snow was already falling so much harder, and the howl of the wind was constant now.
The sheriff ran a gloved hand over his face. “Word came through on the radio a little while ago. The storm’s due to hit any minute. It won’t be safe to send anyone out. The snow’s gonna be too thick. The snowstorm will last all night.”
And it would give the killer out there the perfect cover for his escape.
“Jenny wouldn’t have lasted until dawn.” Noelle’s voice was soft. “If he hadn’t killed her, then the storm would’ve.”
Thomas could feel the push of the impending gales. As he’d carried Jenny, he’d fought to stay upright as the wind and the snow blasted against him.
“You two need to get secure for the night.” Hodges gave a firm nod. “I’ll get my men to check the area once more, but then I have to send them in. I won’t lose any of my people for that guy.”
No, they couldn’t put lives on the line.
And so the perp gets away, for now.
The sheriff nodded once more, then turned away. The wind battered against Thomas. He was wearing a borrowed coat a sheriff’s deputy had given him. Noelle was wearing a similar one, only its bulk seemed to swallow her.
She stared up at Thomas with unreadable eyes. Strange, he’d believed he’d gotten pretty good at reading Noelle’s feelings. But right then, he couldn’t tell a single thing about her thoughts.
Thomas cleared his throat. “We should get back to our place.” Driving would be a nightmare if they waited much longer. It was a good thing their rented cabin was near town.
Noelle nodded, but she didn’t move. “Do you jump through fire often?”
He hadn’t expected the question. He felt his lips curl in a grim smile. “Only when I have to.”
She inclined her head and spun, heading back toward the diner and their vehicle. Thomas saw Henry was out, watching them with wide eyes. The sheriff had taken the shovel in as evidence. Maybe they’d get lucky on the fingerprint check.
Maybe not.
But at least they’d found the girl.
When he’d rushed into that cabin and seen her there, the blindfold covering half her face, her red hair streaming behind him, it had been as if Thomas had run straight into a nightmare from his past.
Only I wasn’t the white knight then.
He’d been the man ignoring the cries for help.
They reached their SUV. Snow coated the windows, and Thomas shoved it away. When the vehicle was clear—well, clearer—he glanced at Noelle. Her eyes were on him.
What is she thinking?
“I was wrong about you,” Noelle said, and the howl of the wind nearly swallowed her words. “The profile that I had in my head... It was all wrong.”
He stiffened at her words. “I warned you before that you shouldn’t profile me.” Because he’d been afraid she wouldn’t like the man who truly lived inside him.
“I just didn’t realize how good you were at keeping secrets and telling lies.”
She knows. “Noelle?”
She climbed into the vehicle. Thomas jumped inside with her. It was as cold in the SUV as it was outside. And the snow was falling in ever harder waves. He turned on the ignition. It took three tries for the motor to finally kick to life. The windshield wipers slashed across the glass, but they didn’t help him see any better.
The sheriff had been right. Thomas figured he and Noelle would be lucky to make it back to their cabin before the storm hit with its full fury.
He spared another fast glance for Noelle. She was staring straight ahead, her attention seemingly on the snow that blasted down on them, but he could feel the tension emanating from her body.
Oh, yeah, the storm was about to hit, and he had a feeling it just might wreck his world.
* * *
HE’D LEARNED TO cover his tracks when he was ten years old. But he didn’t slow down to erase his footprints. There was no need then. Mother Nature was erasing the tracks for him.
The fire was out. He didn’t even see the smoke drifting up into the sky any longer.
He’d watched the blaze, just for a moment, and he’d seen them escape.
Worthy prey.
Noelle had come out first. She’d been burning. He’d smiled at the sight. But the flames had been extinguished all too quickly. The male had followed her—and he’d brought out Jenny.
Jenny shouldn’t have made it out of the house.
Now two have survived.
That wasn’t acceptable. He’d have to correct that situation.
Jenny would be easy enough. She didn’t have any fight in her. But Noelle... Now, there was his challenge. He’d take her out first. Her and the agent who seemed to always be at her side. The fellow thought he was some sort of protector. No, he was just a dead man walking, and he didn’t know it.
He’d kill Noelle and her shadow.
It was just that the shadow had seemed familiar to him. Something about the man’s profile. His voice. I feel like I know him.
His breath heaved from his lungs. The snow fell harder.
A storm...it would be the perfect cover. When the snow fell so heavily, no one would be looking for an attack.
No one would see him. Not until it was too late.
Chapter Six
The snow pelted down on their cabin. Noelle pulled the oversize coat closer to her body as she glanced back over her shoulder. Thomas shoved the door closed, pushing his shoulder into the wood, then securing the lock.
It was cold inside, but cold wasn’t the reason why Noelle was shivering.
Her past was coming back to her, and the images that kept flashing through her mind didn’t make any sense. They couldn’t be real. Not unless—
“I’ll get the fire going,” Thomas said as he stalked toward the large fireplace. “You should head upstairs. Get in a warm shower. Wash away the ash and get some feeling back in your limbs.”
There was no emotion in his words, and he wasn’t looking directly at her. She found, right then, she couldn’t take her gaze off him.
He bent near the fireplace. A few moments later, flames flashed up.
A shudder shook her as she remembered the fire that had nearly taken their lives.
Still crouching, Thomas glanced back at her. The gold of his gaze reminded her of the fire. “Go on upstairs,” he said again. “You’re shaking.”
“It’s not from the cold.” Well, okay, perhaps part of it was. She crept closer to him and to the warmth of the fireplace. Her hands were fisted in the pockets of her borrowed coat. “I need to ask you some questions.”
He looked toward the stairs. “The power might not stay on long, not if the storm is as strong as I’m thinking it will be. You should shower first, then we can talk.”
She braced her legs and straightened her shoulders. She’d waited long enough for this conversation. “Tell me about the first time that we met.”
His eyelids flickered as he slowly rose to his full height. He wasn’t looking at the stairs any longer. He was focused on her, and his stare was guarded. “Why does that matter?”
“Because I... I remember your voice.”
His jaw hardened.
“I can hear your voice in my head. You’re saying that...you’ll always be with me.”
He didn’t speak.
“But you’ve never said those words to me.”
He turned back toward the fire.
“At least, you haven’t said them since I started with the EOD. So that means you had to
tell them to me before Mercer brought me on.” She was trying to keep her voice even and calm, but her heart was galloping like mad in her chest. “And the only before for me, the only time I don’t remember, is the forty-eight hours of my abduction.”
He looked back at her. His expression was unreadable. “You’ve had one hell of a night. We both have. After you’ve slept, I bet things will be clearer for you.”
“Doctors told me that same line for weeks.” Anger snapped in her words, and she tried to pull back the old fury. “‘Things will be clear...’ and ‘Give it some time...’ and ‘You just need rest.’” Her laughter held a bitter edge. “I’ve heard all of that a dozen times before. And guess what? Rest doesn’t help. Time doesn’t help.” Her lips pressed together, and after a tense moment, Noelle demanded, “But you know what did help? Seeing that poor girl tied to the chair.” She took a step toward him. “Just like me.” Because it had been as if she’d stared into a mirror of her past.
A muscle flexed along Thomas’s jaw. “She’s not you, though, Noelle. You’re just getting things confused.”
She sucked in a sharp breath. “Stop lying to me.”
He shook his head.
“You are. You’re lying. From the moment I saw you at the EOD, I felt like we’d met before.”
“Other missions,” he growled out. “Our paths have crossed. I can’t tell you what I was doing then; you don’t have the clearance.”
“Forget clearance!” The words came out as a yell as she shot forward and grabbed his arms. “This is my life! Tell me!”
He stared into her eyes. “I’ve seen you. You haven’t always seen me. The FBI works plenty of cases that merge with the EOD. Sometimes, you guys thought you were hunting serials, but you were after assassins. It was our job to contain those killers. My team did its job.”
“No, there’s more to this.” Earlier, she was sure that he’d started to tell her more. Back at the station, before they’d learned about Jenny.
“I’ve told you the truth.”
Her temples were throbbing, her heart breaking. “Not all of it.” She blinked because her eyes were filling with tears, and she would not let them fall. “I thought we were partners. I thought we could count on each other.” She dropped her hold and stepped back. “I guess I thought wrong.” She whirled away from him.