by Toby Neal
With no memories or experiences to draw from, she had to listen to her body.
When she ran into the man whose dog had saved her, she didn’t feel sick. Looking into his eyes, she’d seen kindness. He wanted to help her.
But trusting a stranger in the woods was a bad idea. The woman didn’t know her own name, but she knew that simple fact.
She had to find civilization.
The woman waited another half hour. Her breath returned to normal, and her mind focused on the forest around her. The frightening memories sank down into that dark foggy place in her mind that she didn’t want to revisit.
The woman climbed out of her hiding place and brushed off the forest mulch clinging to her legs and skirt. She eyed a tree in the distance and walked to it, then concentrated on another, following the direction of the sun as it slipped down the west side of the world.
She knew how to navigate in a forest.
Maybe she was a wilderness guide, but the dress didn’t fit that story. She belonged on the prairie in an old Western wearing this getup. Her body told her the dress wasn’t her choice.
Her captors must have forced her to wear it.
She would never have chosen something so impractical. Not just ridiculous for hiking in the woods, the long sleeves and ankle-length skirt were not right for someone her age. How old was she? Her body told her she was still young and strong, if out of shape.
She kept her focus on the trees and found a nearly invisible animal trail, but it led through the forest, not away from it. Animals had wisdom about the woods and their path was easier than constantly finding her way around obstacles.
Did she have children? Her heart stuttered and she paused, placing a hand on her womb and closing her eyes.
No, her body said. She’d never been pregnant.
Had she been raped in that dark place?
A man towering over her.
The woman stumbled back, her hand grabbing a tree for support.
He touched her breasts, rough fingers pinching and pawing. She’d struggled, pushing at him, but he was so strong. She released a hoarse, terrified scream, and he pulled back.
No, she hadn’t been raped. But someone had tried. The woman’s stomach clenched.
She exhaled and continued pushing forward. She just needed to put one foot in front of the other and get back to where she belonged, wherever that was.
She was going to be fine.
The sun was setting and the air growing chill, but the woman felt she couldn’t be too far from civilization. She’d run into another person already, and he was probably a day hiker.
With her next step, the woman heard a strange creaking sound. The sound meant danger.
Suddenly she was flipped up into the air, a net surrounding her body and tightening at the top. She cried out as she became immobilized, spinning so quickly that her vision blurred. She was caught!
As the spinning slowed the woman blinked, trying to find a focal point. Her body was scrunched into a ball and her face pressed against the netting, a fine black mesh made of a strong polymer.
The spinning brought bile to the base of her throat. The net came to a gentle stop before beginning to unwind and spin in the other direction. She groaned at the motion.
The sound of footsteps approaching along the animal path spiked adrenaline into her system and the woman thrashed and struggled uselessly against the net.
Then she stilled, saving her energy to fight whoever was coming for her.
She’d escaped once. She’d just have to do it again.
The huge bearlike dog that had saved her life appeared in the clearing and gave a happy bark at the sight of her. The woman continued to spin, listening to the bright voice of the dog. When she swung around again. the man she’d bumped into earlier was standing beside the dog.
He brushed back that mop of thick sandy-gold hair and grinned at her. His black hiking pants and grey shirt shone, made out of some high-tech fabric that glistened like a duck’s feathers.
“How’s it going?” The blue-eyed stranger acted like they were having a casual conversation. The dog sat. A long pink tongue hung out of its open mouth in a panting grin like a giant, friendly stuffed bear.
They were not a scary pair.
The woman continued to spin and the dog barked, giving chase, staying in her field of vision as it trotted along with her slowly spinning body. The net stopped again, beginning to unwind in the opposite direction, and her stomach clenched at the shift in direction.
“What do you want?” Her voice was reedy.
“Tiny and I were just out hunting.” The man acted so casual, like this was normal. “Looks like you got a little hung up, there.”
Holy crap, was this normal?
“Who are you?”
“My name is Cosimo Luciano, but everyone calls me Cash. Want me to get you down?”
“Don’t touch me.” Her voice came out high and shrill.
Cash nodded. “I promise not to touch you.” A slow smile curled his lips. “Unless you want me to, of course.” Those blue eyes glowed with a spark of mischief, and ridiculously, the woman felt desire curl in her belly. The way he said it, playful and confident, made it sound inevitable that she’d want him to touch her.
“You won’t hurt me?” The woman couldn’t keep the wobble out of her voice.
Cash frowned deeply, lines of concern bracketing sensual lips that looked just right on his handsome face. He shook his head. “Never.” He sounded almost dangerous, as if he were angry that anyone would ever hurt her.
“I…I don’t know.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What don’t you know?”
She was being ridiculous. Of course she needed to get out of the net.
But could she trust him?
In her current situation, she didn’t have a choice.
The woman closed her eyes and mentally scanned her body. She felt pain and nausea, but she was not afraid of Cash. In fact, her body liked him.
“Okay, cut me down.”
He reached out and placed his hand at the top of the net, stopping its spinning. He bent a little to make eye contact with her. “I’ll cut you down, but please don’t run off again. You’ve got some cuts I’d like to treat. First aid, okay?”
“I won’t run away if you won’t hurt me.”
Cash nodded. “I promise, on my honor, that I’ll never hurt you.” His face looked like he spent a lot of time smiling. She liked his full, sculpted mouth and the fans of good-humored crinkles beside eyes that spoke of easy laughter. But his face was dead serious now.
She believed him. “Then I won’t run.”
He pulled a large knife from his belt. A thrill of fear ran through her. She was so vulnerable! He reached out and grasped the net. He could kill her with one stroke of the blade cutting through the string like it was a spider web.
Cash could do whatever he wanted to her.
Please let him be a good man.
Chapter Four
Cash
Tiny’s nostrils flared and her ears swiveled, monitoring for danger. She watched as Cash inserted his big, utilitarian buck knife carefully into the thin, strong netting holding the woman above the ground. He cut a slit in the net near her feet. He didn’t want her to fall out abruptly and injure herself. The last thing this woman needed was more trauma.
Someone had set this trap for humans. Whoever left it here was not an enemy Cash wanted to meet. He needed to get her out and get moving. His casual act had been just that—an act.
Cash parted the net, and captured one of the woman’s calves. She gave a tiny gasp, and pulled away instinctively.
“It’s okay. I just want to help you get your feet out first so you don’t fall.”
She relaxed and allowed him to thread her leg through the hole. Her skirt rode up, exposing a length of creamy thigh.
Wherever this woman came from, it wasn’t anywhere near the sun. How had she gotten here?
Cash captured her other a
nkle and guided both legs through the hole, grasping her hips to help. Sturdy and warm, pleasingly round and cushiony, a stab of painful desire surprised Cash as he guided the woman to the ground.
She wasn’t his type at all.
He liked athletic women who could keep up with him and his sports or beautiful, confident, independent women who liked to party. This woman was different. Her plump, tender vulnerability awakened something that made him nervous as hell.
He didn’t want to be needed.
Cash stepped back, releasing her. The net swung abruptly forward and she gave a cry, swinging down and striking the ground with her booted feet as Cash took another step back, restraining himself from touching or helping her.
She disentangled her arms and floppy clothes, pushing the skirt down to hide her legs. Huge blue-green eyes pinned him. Turquoise, that was the color they were. “Thank you.”
Cash shrugged. “Least I could do. Tiny and I are headed north. You can come along if you like.” Had he just said that? Cash tightened his jaw, looking away. But his eyes returned to the woman as she glanced down and smoothed her clothing, clearly nervous and unsure what to do next.
He pointed toward the forest. “I don’t think we should hang out here. Whoever set this human trap could come back to check it at any time.”
“You think it’s a trap for me?” Her voice was high again.
He’d frightened her, dammit.
“It’s made for humans.” Cash avoided her gaze, staring up into the tree where the top of the net still hung. “Not you, necessarily.”
“I have to get back to town. I’ll come with you, if you can help me.”
Relief washed over Cash. She was coming with him, at least temporarily. That would make it easier to protect her.
He shut down the thought. She wasn’t his responsibility! Not his problem!
Cash moved out on the faint animal trail that had led to this spot, taking long, powerful strides. Tiny usually went ahead of him, but this time the big dog dropped behind to walk with the woman, whose breath labored as she struggled to keep up.
She had navigated a straight line in the forest, which indicated some natural knowledge of the outdoors even though the route she’d chosen didn’t head toward civilization. “You weren’t hiking in the right direction if you wanted to go to a town. You’re not familiar with these woods?”
She laughed sarcastically. “You could say that.”
“But you seem to be running from something.” Someone had done a number on her. Judging from the woman’s reaction when he touched her, Cash suspected she’d been a victim of sexual assault.
Fucking rapists.
Rage flushed through Cash. Human wolves had flourished since the Scorch Flu.
He’d had difficulty controlling his anger since the Scorching. He hated the way people had viciously turned on each other. The recent death of his good-hearted brother, Nando, from Scorch Flu had also left him raw with grief.
Why Nando? The best of all of the Lucianos.
The waves of intense emotion drove Cash to leave Colorado Springs and take to the woods as a way to reach the Haven. He didn’t trust himself around other people. Hiking through unknown forest certainly wasn’t the fastest route to his brother’s compound, but Cash hoped the wild would help rebuild his protective interior walls, as it always had in the past.
But avoiding people turned out to be harder than he’d anticipated. Cash cringed at the memories of men he’d been forced to kill defending himself.
The woman’s quiet voice roused him from his dark reverie. “I … I haven’t told you my name because I don’t know who I am. I can’t remember. I don’t know how I came to be out here. I don’t know where I’m going, either. But I know I have to get to town, to the police. Someone is after me.” The softly spoken words raised the hairs on the back of Cash’s neck.
He turned to face her. “You don’t even know your own name?”
The woman’s eyes filled with tears, making them enormous. Her skin shimmered as if underwater, rather than in the deep shadow of late afternoon in the woods. “No, I don’t.” Her brows pulled together in a frown. “You could be one of the people who hurt me, for all I know.”
Cash snorted. “I told you I would never hurt you. I’m a firefighter. I protect people. Help people.” He turned away, anger flaring quickly. He never wanted to hurt people, at least. “Like I’d beat a woman, chop off her hair, and carve a freakin’ swastika onto her head!” Cash stomped down the trail, stopping only when Tiny’s sharp bark pulled him up short.
The woman wasn’t following.
He retraced his steps, ashamed of his outburst. He never used to have such a short fuse.
The woman lay on the leaf-covered ground in fetal position, her fingers probing the wound on the back of her head as she shook with silent sobs.
The sight of her there, suffering and in pain, stole Cash’s breath. She was so vulnerable.
He squatted, resisting the urge to touch her. “I’m sorry.” The pain in his chest constricted his voice to a mere whisper.
“A swastika? That’s what’s on the back of my head?” The woman choked on her sobs. “Oh my God!”
“I thought you knew…” Cash’s voice trailed off. Of course she didn’t know! She couldn’t remember anything. Maybe it was good that she couldn’t. Cash chewed on his lip, biting down hard, trying to regain his composure and find a way to help her. “I’m sorry. I hate to push you, but we have to keep moving. The light’s fading, and we need somewhere safe to camp.”
The woman surprised him by reaching out and placing a small-boned, warm hand in his calloused one. Cash stood, helping her to her feet, but she wouldn’t make eye contact with him. On an impulse, he tucked her hand inside his jacket pocket as he held it. “Stay close to me.”
Tiny took her usual place and trotted ahead of them, nosing out the almost-invisible path through the trees. Cash didn’t run, but took his usual long-legged strides. The woman huffed beside him, gamely struggling on, but finally she stopped. “Water, please.”
“Shit! I’m sorry.” Cash fumbled his canteen from where it was clipped onto his pack, and handed it to her. She gulped thirstily, splashing water onto the top of her white dress. The fabric instantly became transparent in the dim light.
Cash looked away as soon as he realized he was staring. He was such a dog. The last thing this poor woman needed was him ogling her breasts. He walked ahead to clear the vision from his mind and heard her behind him, struggling to catch up. Those round, full globes were probably bouncing as she jogged. Cash gritted his teeth and focused ahead. They had to keep moving.
“I’m getting pretty hungry and tired. I’m sorry.”
They’d traveled just thirty minutes.
Cash glanced back. The woman’s face was a pale oval in the dim light, except for an exertion-induced blush of color on her cheeks. Thankfully, the damp shirt no longer clung to her breasts, but his imagination worked overtime visualizing what lay beneath that frumpy white rag.
What was wrong with him? She wasn’t his type at all!
They reached a small clearing with a large pine tree whose underskirt held a thick pad of needles. “This will do. I don’t want to start a fire until I know we’re well away from anyone who might be following you.”
The woman stared at him as he looked anywhere but at her. “You believe me, that someone is looking for me?”
Cash finally met her eyes. “Of course I do. You’re hurt. You might have been tortured. I believe you because I see the evidence.”
“Thank you.” The woman touched his arm. The feathery weight felt like a gift.
“Don’t worry about it. Firefighters help people. It’s what we do. I’m going to put up my sleep hammock. I only have one, but you can take it tonight. I’ll be under the tree.” He pointed.
She frowned. “Are you sure? It doesn’t look very comfortable.”
“Oh, yes. I always choose the finest pine needles. Those look to be g
rade A.” Cash lowered his backpack and began removing items. “Sit down. Rest. I’ll have camp set up in a jiffy.”
In a jiffy. What the hell was he saying? This woman brought out a fussy, old lady side of him. He wanted to care for her and make her comfortable.
Cash’s grandma, Maria, came to mind: wrinkled and smelling of rose water, her weathered hands guiding his as they made fresh pasta together. Mama claimed Nana Maria could sense the future. Ana Luciano insisted that Cash’s older brother, JT, had also inherited the gift she called the Sight. Given JT’s foresight in purchasing the Haven, an ex-military bunker in the wilds of Idaho, Mama might be right.
As Cash set up camp, he wished for a touch of the Sight to shed light on the danger this woman faced, and what might be coming after them. Or before them.
He glanced over at the woman as she sat, smoothing the filthy skirt over her legs. Tiny immediately went over and leaned against her, licking her face and making her giggle. She had the sweetest giggle, dammit, like popping the cork on a bottle of champagne, fizzy and delicious.
“I’m giving you a nickname.” Cash unspooled the cords of his hammock tent. “Sunshine.”
“Sunshine? Really?” She laughed again. “You must be kidding. I’m more like the Bride of Frankenstein.”
“I could call you Bride, then. Bridey for short. Or Frankie. Short for Frankenstein.”
“Hell no!” Sunshine clapped a hand over her mouth. “I shouldn’t be swearing. I know that.”
“Did someone get on your case for swearing? Evil motherfuckers,” Cash tied the hammock between two trees. “I’ll kick their sorry asses into next week, the sons-a-bitches.”
Sunshine laughed again. “Oh my gosh, you’re so bad. You’re going to hell for sure.” She paused again. “I can say hell that way. I must be religious.”
“You don’t strike me as particularly religious. You strike me as…brave.” Cash finished hanging the hammock. “And pretty.” He turned and grinned at her. “Oops. I shouldn’t have said that.”
Sunshine looked down, pleating her skirt. “I don’t feel brave. Or pretty.”