Tempted: A Secret Mountain Man Romance

by Anna Wild

  At the end of his first shift, on a cold, snowy, late-February night, as Tim was making his way towards the stairs that led to the basement, his ears picked up the sound of a loud, wolf’s howl. He stopped just before the top landing and looked outside through the glass. The dim sidelight and the heavy snowfall did not make seeing anything easy. Still, he was able to catch a glimpse of a big, grey wolf a few feet away from the barbed wire fence. Their gazes met just before the beast was joined by two, smaller, black wolves. But then another sound drew their attention: a loud cry of agonizing pain. Almost simultaneously, the wolves turned their heads to the left and ran hurriedly towards the sound. Curious about the origin of the sound, Tim flipped around and sprinted across the massive hall. He couldn’t wait for the power doors to slide open sideways; he was so impatient that he banged his hand against the panels of the first and the second door that he came across.

  The freezing cold wind hit him in the face, as he stepped outside. His visibility was quite poor; Tim could barely make out the parking lot that began only a few yards to the left. It was almost empty, but there was someone lying on the snow, almost in the middle of the lot. Much to his disappointment though, the wolves got there before him. The grey wolf had already snapped his jaws shut over the unknown man’s throat. He was twitching and had put both hands on the animal’s snout and was trying to push him back, but was failing miserably.

  “Hey!” Tim cried, his stentorian voice echoing in the wilderness. The two black wolves quickly fled in the direction from which they had come and the grey wolf quickly followed their actions. Tim rushed towards the wounded man, pulling a flashlight out of his coat pocket. As he approached the man, however, Tim realized that he was not moving anymore. He dropped to his knees beside him, pointing his flashlight at his face. It was none other than Paul Jitter. His eyes were closed, his grey hair was covered in snow and his blood had soaked the snow underneath his head. Tim would not lay a hand on his bloody throat. Instead, he grabbed Paul’s right wrist and placed his thumb and third finger on the inside of the wrist below the thumb. The unfortunate man had no pulse. Then, Tim let go of his wrist and put his right palm on his chest. His heart had stopped.

  “Tim!” His colleague Tina’s squeaky voice filled the air, as she ran towards the scene. “Tim, what happened?”

  “He’s dead,” he croaked, slowly standing to his imposing, 6’2” height.

  “Oh, my God!” she whispered, as she pointed her own flashlight at the face of the man on the ground. “Tim, that’s our boss!”

  At that moment, the sound of sirens tore through the night. Tim gazed into the horizon, completely ignoring Tina’s continuous requests to elaborate on what he had witnessed, deep down knowing he was in trouble. The police would definitely run a background check on him and he would soon become their number one suspect. They didn’t have to prosecute him; should he be arrested, he would go to jail automatically, because an arrest would violate the terms of his parole.

  “Good luck getting out of this one. Damn… I’ve only been here a couple of days and somebody’s dead. Who wanted you dead, old man? What did you do?”

  Chapter Two

  “… Convicted of burglary; suspected to have committed dozens more. That’s pretty impressive, Mr. Shaw. Tough luck with that trench, though. You didn’t see it, did you?” Detective Brady’s hoarse voice and his sarcastic smile would probably trigger a furious reaction from Tim on any other day. But he had been in that same spot recently. He had a very good idea about the mind games that cops liked to play from time to time to break a suspect down: bad jokes, in a poorly lit, wet interrogation room, were only one of them.

  “What do you want?” Tim murmured, staring down at his hands, avoiding making eye contact with the Detective.

  “You didn’t move up from burglar to killer, did you?” The detective wondered. “I mean, breaking and entering is one thing. But killing someone in cold blood? Man, that’s a whole new ball game. What happened out there, Timmy? Did he say anything to…” he paused, “piss you off?”

  “My name is Tim,” he grumbled, forcing his gaze up to meet Brady’s. “I barely knew the guy. He gave me a job. Why would I want to kill him?”

  “I don’t know.” The cop shrugged his shoulders. “Maybe you like his fiancé: can’t blame you there. She’s hot.”

  “Do you even know how he died?” Frustration was lingering in Tim’s voice. “I saw a wolf trying to suffocate him.”

  “That’s more like it!” Brady smirked. “See? I knew it you knew more. No, we don’t. Now, what did you see?”

  “Nothing,” Tim shook his head sideways. “I just heard something. The old man was in pain. By the time I got there, he was already dying.”

  “Well, we haven’t determined the cause of death yet. The autopsy has not yet been completed,” Brady stated. “You said you didn’t know the guy that well. I get it; you just started working there. Did you notice anything suspicious? Anything you remember might help us solve the case.”

  “Now, where did the ‘bad cop’ go?” It was Tim’s turn to get sarcastic. “A minute ago, you thought I’d killed that guy. Now, you’re asking for my help.”

  “Don’t test my patience, Shaw.” The cop put a little force into his voice. “I can say you resisted arrest. You know what follows after that.”

  “Right,” Tim said with a nod. “The only thing suspicious to me is that his fiancé was too young for him. It’s a pretty quiet place. The people have been nice to me.”

  “What can you tell me about Ms. Taylor” asked the Detective, posing one more question.

  “I met her yesterday, and I saw her this morning,” Tim stated attempting to keep his tone level. “She spends a lot of time in her lab.”

  “What do you think of her?” Brady went on.

  “She’s just another ‘good girl’.” Tim said with a faint smile on his face.

  “Careful,” Brady urged. “If it turns out he was murdered, she’ll become our number one suspect. Are you sure?”

  “I can’t be sure about anybody I’ve just met,” Tim stated. “You should ask someone who’s known her longer than me.”

  “Any unsatisfied employees? Did any of your colleagues have a beef with him? Did he pay them on time?” Brady inquired.

  “I haven’t heard any complaints,” Tim replied. “To me, he was just a regular, nice guy. The pay sucks; it’s just minimum wage, but that’s everywhere these days.”

  “You can say that again,” the Detective hummed.

  At that point, Caitlin stormed into the interrogation room, followed by a young, male officer in uniform.

  “Ms. Shaw, you’re not allowed in here!” He yelled. “I’m really sorry, sir,” he continued, rolling his gaze down and to the left to meet Brady’s.

  “What the hell is this?” she demanded, her voice filled with frustration and anger. “Is my brother under arrest?”

  “I was just asking him a few que…”

  “Charge him or release him,” Caitlin commanded, interrupting him. “Come on, Tim. Let’s get out of here. You people are really something, you know that? You don’t even know if the guy was murdered and yet here you are interrogating the only guy with a rap sheet.”

  “Don’t leave town, Shaw,” Brady said, as Tim rose from his seat.

  “I live in the damn place,” Tim muttered.

  “I came here as soon as I heard,” Caitlin spoke, as the two siblings walked alongside each other, down the narrow corridor that led downstairs. “Josephine is devastated.”

  “How well did you know the professor, sis?” He lowered his voice and let a hint of mischief punctuate his words.

  “What are you trying to say?” She answered his question with a question.

  “Come on, Caitlin,” Tim smirked. “Did Jitter have any bad habits? Like, I don’t know, drinking, drugs, gambling?”

  “None that I know of,” she assured. “Why?”

  “Because there were three wolves getting ready to just
about tear him apart,” he explained. “Wolves don’t go after the healthy. They prey on the weak. He was murdered.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Caitlin asked.

  “He was already down when I saw him. The wolf finished him off, but he would have died, anyway,” Tim said what was on his mind.

  “Anyway, you can’t go back to the facility,” she announced. “That place is crawling with cops. We’re going to a hotel.”

  “Don’t change the subject, darling,” Tim wouldn’t let up. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  “Alright!” Caitlin exclaimed, turning to him as they reached the ground floor. She threw a few frightened, furtive glances around her before addressing him again.

  “Rumor has it that Burt Maddox was going to pull the plug on funding his research.”

  “Whoa!” Tim gave a short laugh. “Take away his job and kill him? It’s farfetched; why would he do that?”

  “Maddox built the entire compound and invested more than six million into this research, but the results haven’t been great so far,” Caitlin replied. “I don’t know any more details. Jitter didn’t want to talk to about it.”

  “Great. More riddles. Maddox having the old man killed? That doesn’t make any sense. I think I’m going to have to pay Joey a visit. I’m sure she knows a hell of a lot more.”

  Chapter Three

  Paul Jitter’s funeral was held the morning after the police finally released it from their autopsy unit. They had kept it for almost one week, and Josephine was indeed very distraught. Surrounded by more than three hundred people, she kept crying throughout the memorial service. Despite her obvious and profound pain, she remained dignified and did not suffer an emotional meltdown. Instead, she went on to thank everybody individually for attending her fiancé’s funeral.

  The research facility had stayed closed for one week, but the day following the funeral was an entirely different matter. Her staff showed up early for work, much to Tim’s astonishment. But that was not the only thing that surprised him that morning. Just a few minutes afterwards, as he patrolled the east side of the compound, the sound of a whirring helicopter forced him to gaze up at the clouded sky. A spark of curiosity grew within him. Tim had to see for himself who it was.

  His question was answered, when a gorgeous, young blonde got out of the red and white helicopter, accompanied by Josephine. She looked up at him, as she and Josephine approached the roof door, but the biologist did not even glance at him. She preferred to ignore and pass him by, as she talked to the blonde. Apparently, Josephine believed that introducing a security guard to her VIP guest was unnecessary. Tim smiled bitterly to himself, as they entered the elevator. He had wasted enough time and decided not to succumb to curiosity again, while he worked there.

  As he inspected the barbed wire on the fence on the east side though, he heard a high-pitched, feminine voice from the loudspeaker:

  “Mr. Shaw, Dr. Taylor would like to see you.”

  “What does the princess want?” He thought to himself, unwilling to oblige. However, Tim had to comply and a break from working in the freezing cold was more than welcome. He found the two women in Josephine’s spacious lab. There were four sizeable chimpanzees, each one in their own cage on the far wall of the room and multiple computer monitors across from them. In the middle, there was a large, wide counter with three, big, expensive microscopes.

  “Hi…” He croaked, stepping into the lab. “You said you wanted to see me.”

  “Actually, I didn’t.” Josephine spoke, folding her arms across her chest. “This is Laura Maddox, daughter of Burt Maddox, he’s…”

  “I know who he is,” Tim interjected, as Laura brushed past her. “What’s the matter, doc? I don’t recall wearing an invisibility cloak.”

  “Well said,” Laura commented. “I’m sorry about earlier. It’s just that Ms. Taylor wanted to fill me in on the progress of her research. It’s nice to meet you,” she said, offering her hand for a handshake.

  “Pleasure,” Tim smiled, shaking her hand.

  “I’ve done a little research of my own, Mr. Shaw,” she grinned. “Twenty three people work here. They’re all well-educated, with a Bachelor’s degree, a PhD or even a MD. You kind of…”

  “Stand out?” He finished her sentence.

  “Well, yes,” she nodded. “The rest of the security guards have been through college.”

  “Is that why you wanted to see me?” Tim raised his tone. “You wanted to complain about my education?”

  “On the contrary,” Laura disagreed, assuming a businesslike tone. “You’re the most qualified person in here to answer a very simple question. Dr. Taylor?” she said, looking at Josephine over her right shoulder. “This man doesn’t have a clue about what it is that you’re doing here, does he?”

  “We’re trying to find a cure for Alzheimer’s,” Josephine’s response was sharp. “Chimpanzees have large brains and there is a 98% similarity between the human DNA and the chimpanzee. You see, unlike every other cell in the human body, neurons cannot regenerate. Once a neuron becomes inactive, it’s gone. That’s what happens to Alzheimer’s patients. Brain cells progressively degenerate, until the patient dies. We harvest protein that will reactivate human brain cells and restore the patient’s brain.”

  “Sounds ambitious,” Tim commented.

  “No,” Laura disagreed. “Actually, it sounds crazy. My father and I don’t think it’s possible, at least not without genetic tampering.”

  “Genetic engineering to increase brain mass violates the Harvard Genetics Compact.” Josephine said. “I would lose my license.”

  “I’m still waiting for that question.” Tim groaned.

  “Ms. Taylor says she can do it. She just needs a couple of weeks. What would you do, Mr. Shaw? My father’s patience is running out. Frankly: so is mine,” Laura confessed.

  “I’m not following you, blondie.” Tim said with a sarcastic smile on his face. “Why’s my opinion so important to you?”

  “Seven different foster homes: notorious job hopper; on parole…” Laura returned the smile. “You’re ‘street’; nothing like the people in here.”

  Her words flattered him; by the time she had finished her sentence, Laura stood barely three feet away from him and was looking deep into his blue eyes. Her own, hazel eyes penetrated right through him. Tim had to come up with a reply, not only because she had asked him to, but also because his job depended on what he had to say to her.

  “What do you have to lose?” He wondered.

  “Thirty thousand dollars and two weeks of my time,” Laura’s cynical tone outraged him. Tim clenched his fists, trying really hard to keep his cool.

  “Twenty three people will lose their jobs if you decide to pull the plug on this. Families… children… do you ever think about them? Or is your time a little too precious to spend it on…” he faltered, finishing with, “trivial matters like that?”

  “I can fire you,” she added, as a smug smile spread across her face. Tim had heard enough. He reached forward and grabbed her by the wrist, opened the door with his left hand and dragged her out of the lab. Stunned and terrified, Laura could not force another word out of her throat. Finding himself out in the corridor outside the lab, he pulled her aside, but Tim was so angry that he pushed her against the wall.

  “You want to fire me, lady?” he cried, his breathing heavy, his deep voice bouncing off the walls of the wide corridor. “Go ahead. Do it!”

  “Let me go! Please!” she begged, her voice trembling, her eyes filled with terror. But Tim would not loosen his grip. Instead, he continued to look right into her eyes, leaning over her, as if he was trying to intimidate the 5’5” woman with his sheer size.

  “I don’t give a fuck about this, you hear?” Tim spoke through gritted teeth. He removed his right hand from her shoulder and ripped his nametag off. Then, he took his left hand off her as well. “I quit.” Tossing the nametag on the marble floor, he turned around. But, just w
hen he was about to walk away from her, he heard her voice.

  “Tim, wait!” Laura shouted. The smooth touch of her hand engulfing his fingers sent shivers down his spine, forcing him to stop. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Just give her those two weeks,” he sighed.

  “I will,” she gasped, moving around him, “on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Will you please have a drink with me tonight? I’ll send my limo.” All of a sudden, her expression was not stiff at all. Laura was smiling up at him, baffling him even more. “Is nine o’clock ok?”

  “Alright,” he said with a nod. “Nine o’clock is fine.”

  Chapter Four

  Laura’s limo picked Tim up. It was his luck that it was raining. He was still thinking about this afternoon with Laura. Her reaction had added to his confusion. Tim never believed that treating a woman like that could get her attention, but that seemed to be the case with Laura. He needed to find an explanation for her behavior. Still, the sheer beauty of the scenery did not allow him to do so. As the long vehicle climbed one uphill road after another, he couldn’t help but look around him, at the snow-covered trees and the sparse lights from other homes in the distance. Indeed, for a moment, Tim believed that he was on one gigantic birthday cake and that the lights around him served as birthday candles.

  A black, steel, power gate opened inward as they arrived. Getting out of the car, he rolled his gaze up and saw Laura standing at her living room window, waving at him with a broad smile on her face and a glass in her hand.

  “Sir, please follow me.” Her elderly driver politely requested. The two men climbed the small staircase in a hurry, getting drenched by the pouring rain. A young maid answered the door and showed him in. Rain drops were dripping down his face, as he joined Laura in her extravagant living room. A massive fireplace in the upper right corner caught his eye immediately.