She puffs out her cheeks, feigning nonchalance at his comment on her appearance. “Just scientists, here to do some research, that’s all.” She bites her lip, wishing that she’d managed to come up with a better excuse; but, after everything that he’s seen, there’s not much that he would buy.
“What kind of research?” The beautiful man looks at her suspiciously out of the corner of his eye—never a good sign.
“Nothing important.” Sofie keeps her gaze trained on the rain pelting down outside, wondering how much trouble she is going to be in with Darwin when she gets back to the motel. “So, there are wolves in Spring Canyon?” she asks, wanting to slice through the tension that has settled over the car after her evasive response.
“Some,” he answers flatly, squashing any further comment.
However, Sofie was never someone who would back down when she wanted an answer about something. It was one of the things that made her such a great geologist. “Well, if there are wolves in the canyon, then what were you doing out there? No gun, no protection.” She turns to look at him, trying to analyze his reaction to her words.
“I don’t like guns.” He shrugs his big shoulders, like that’s the whole answer.
“So, if a wolf attacked you, you wouldn’t defend yourself?” Sofie asks, wondering if this guy is all talk.
“No wolf would attack me. That I can guarantee.” He smiles a knowing smile that makes her want to slap the smirk off of his face.
That line probably works on the local girls, but I’m not buying it, she thinks. “Wow, it must be nice to think so much of yourself, especially going up against such an amazing creature.” Sofie snorts dismissively, grateful that although this guy was drop dead gorgeous, he was also kind of an asshole and probably a major player.
“You think wolves are amazing?” he asks, as if he hadn’t heard her sarcasm.
“Well, I’m no expert, but they’ve managed to survive despite all of man’s best efforts to get rid of them. So yeah, I think they’re pretty amazing. There’s something inherently impressive about them, beautiful even.” Sofie stops abruptly, wondering why she had decided to actually answer his question. She sneaks a look at her rescuer, and he’s staring at her like he’s seen her for the first time. “What?” she asks, squirming under the intensity of his gaze and silently hoping that she doesn’t have something on her face.
“Nothing.” He shakes himself, as if to get rid of whatever thought was in his head. “You’re just not what I expected, running girl.”
“Sofie. My name’s Sofie Braun, not running girl, not little lady, just Sofie.” She speaks quickly, knowing that she’s doing the defensive thing that used to drive Tyler crazy. She had never been a fan of his terms of endearment; but, although she didn’t want to admit it to herself, she didn’t feel that way about the way this mystery man spoke to her.
“Nice to meet you, Sofie Braun.” He ducks his head, smiling at her as they drive past the bar, the first building on the outskirts of town. “Dutch?”
“Half.” Her reply is short and cuts off any ideas that he may have had of asking any more questions along those lines. “And you are, birdwatcher?” she asks, teasing him and unable to keep her lips from twitching into a smile.
“Ashton.”
And there it is again, that deep voice that makes my knees wobble, she thinks.
“Well, thanks Ashton...” Sofie pauses waiting for him to fill in his last name, but he remains silent. “I guess I owe you one. I don’t know how long I would have been out there before I found my way out.” Sofie feels the adrenaline of the afternoon leave her body. The possibilities of what could have happened to her, out in the middle of nowhere without anyone knowing where she was, suddenly hits her.
“You don’t have to thank me. Besides, you would have been alright. You told me you know how to take care of yourself, remember.” He smiles that devastating smile of his, and Sofie feels the impact of it right down to the tips of her toes.
She blushes as she remembers how defensive she had been with him that morning on the plateau. It’s the barrier that she puts up whenever it seems like anyone’s getting too close. Tyler had called her his ‘Ice Maiden’. He’d found it funny, but Sofie not so much. It had always seemed like more of a criticism than a term of endearment.
“Well, I guess I’m more used to looking after myself in the big bad city. I felt a little like red riding hood out in that woods,” she admits, wondering why she was letting Ashton see how vulnerable she was feeling.
“Hey, you’re fine,” he says
Ashton hooks his finger under her chin and turns her head so that she’s looking at him. The intensity in his eyes makes her feel all manner of things, feelings that she knows could run away with her at any opportunity. This guy is dangerous, she warns herself.
“Sure, thanks,” she responds, moving her chin out of his reach and returning to look out of the window. She’s embarrassed that she’s let him see how scared she was and how weak she felt. Staring out of the window, she misses the frustrated look that he gives her, like he doesn’t know whether he wants to shake her or do something else with her altogether.
“Looks like it’s a full house.” Ashton pulls into the motel and blue and red lights bounce off the body work of his pick-up. There are three police cars, which in this town probably classifies as an international incident.
Sofie sees Darwin in deep conversation with one of the officers, and the look of worry on his face makes her throw open the door and rush out of the truck before it’s even stopped. Ashton shouts something from behind her, but she doesn’t pay any attention. She had already slipped back in professional mode. In her mind, she had a job to do and she didn’t do it right. Now, it’s time to face the consequences.
“Darwin! I’m here. I’m fine.” Sofie stands, facing the men with her arms out as if to show them that she really is alright.
As if he can’t stop himself, the older man rushes towards her taking her in a vice-like embrace. Sofie is rigid at first. He’s always treated her like his favorite student, and she knew he was fond of her, but the concern that he had obviously felt for her, thinking that she was missing left a lump in her throat.
“Jeez, Sofe, I know you’re a drama queen, but this is ridiculous.” Finn pops up behind Darwin, grabbing hold of her hand, as the older man releases her and just squeezes it. He doesn’t need to say how scared he was for her; she already knows.
“What the hell happened?” Darwin clears his throat to get out any residual emotion and levels his best disapproving glare at his protégé.
“Yeah, where have you been? We tried to reach you on the comms, but it was just radio silence. All this nature but no friggin’ cell towers!” Finn throws his hands in the air to show his frustration, a feeling that’s clearly not shared by the local cops.
“I lost my way.” Sofie shrugs, wishing that she didn’t have such a big audience. “The compass was going crazy, and then—with the rain everything just looked the same.” She looks down at her boots caked in mud, ready to be berated by Darwin.
“How did you get here? We were about to send the search party out, but the brave 5-0 wanted to wait until it got light. Some stupid fairy tale about wolves.” Finn waves at the cops dismissively. They glower at him, and Sofie tries to send him a message just with her eyes to keep his mouth shut.
“Where are the samples?” Darwin asks. Of course, once he confirmed that she was okay, the next most important thing is the samples.
“They’re umm...” Sofie turns around to go back to Ashton’s truck; but, there’s no need, the big man is already standing behind her. “Jesus Christ, you really need to stop doing that.” She shakes her head, wondering how the guy moves so silently, like his feet don’t even touch the floor.
“Guessing this is what you’re looking for.” He holds up the backpack, like it doesn’t weigh anything. Sofie gratefully takes hold of it, wondering why she feels like her face is probably turning an unattractive shade of
beetroot.
“Thanks.” Her voice is barely audible, and she looks over at Finn—whose eyes seem like they’re about to burst out of their sockets. “Ashton found me and brought me back.” Sofie tells the shortest version of the story possible, not wanting to enter into any more details.
“Sofie, I’m glad you’re alright. Officers, you’re not needed. Thank you for your time.” Darwin waves them away, like a man that is used to having his orders followed. “I have to go call Shale. I’d reported you missing, and the PR guys were running around like headless chickens worried about tomorrow’s papers.” Darwin shakes his head ruefully and shuffles off in the direction of the hotel muttering something about ‘nitwits.’
“Shale? As in Shale Oil & Gas?” Ashton says the words as if they disgust him, and the way that he looks at Sofie makes her shrink back.
Why does it matter so much that I feel like I’ve disappointed him? I don’t owe him anything. Well, apart from my safety and potentially my life after all that. She just nods, trying to keep her head held high instead of shrinking back from his gaze.
“I thought you said you were a scientist, not a gold digger?” Ashton’s condemnation of her job strikes a chord and makes her feel even worse about the idea of drillers coming to Spring Canyon than she already does.
“Hey, man, ease up!” Finn weighs in, putting his hand on Sofie’s shoulder protectively. His skinniness against Ashton’s muscles is almost cartoon-like.
“Ted, why don’t you guys take the old man’s advice and get out of here. It’s getting late,” Ashton says, shaking one of the officer’s hands. Then, as if by magic, they all file into their cop cars and head out.
It’s clear—even to an outsider—that Ashton commands respect from the people around him. He’s not surprised by their reaction, and he’s obviously used to people doing what he tells them to do. He turns around to head back to his truck, and Sofie can’t help but feel like he’s just turned his back on them.
Finn nudges Sofie out of her conflicting emotions and guides her gently towards the motel. But there’s something that she still wants to say. She spins around, and her voice stops her rescuer in his tracks. “Ashton, I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks for finding me tonight.” Her voice is steady and sounds stronger than she thought it would. She tries to keep the yearning out of her eyes. She doesn’t even really know what it is that she’s craving, but it seems like Ashton’s approval is a big part of whatever it is.
He turns around to face her, and their eyes lock. There’s a connection there; she’s sure of it. She feels the pulses of electricity traveling between them. However, the words out of Ashton’s lips shatter whatever link she thought they had, “If I’d known that was who you worked for, I would have left you out there.” His words are grim, and the anger in his eyes makes her want to take a step back, but she stands her ground. He spins around and stalks back to his truck.
“What an asshole.” Finn makes his comment loud enough so that Ashton hears it. “Why is it always the best looking ones that are such dicks?” He shakes his head at the tragedy of it.
Sofie doesn’t respond. Ashton’s words are still too fresh in her mind and her heart.
“Come on, you need to get out of those clothes and potentially burn them!” Finn says with a laugh, clearly trying to lighten the mood and elicit a smile from his friend. “What did you two do? Go mud wrestling together? Not that I would blame you!” He winks theatrically at her.
Sofie gives Finn the smile that he’d been pushing for. “I thought you said he was an asshole?” she points out, suddenly desperate to get out of her mud-stained clothes and into a hot bath.
“Yes, but a gorgeous asshole. There’s a big difference.” He nods solemnly at her, and they both burst out laughing. “Seriously though, Sofe, I’m glad you’re okay. You had us a little worried.” Finn’s sudden seriousness is so out of character that his concern means even more.
They stop outside her room, and although Sofie is overcome with exhaustion, she still has a question to ask. “There wasn’t anything in the notes about wolves living in Spring Canyon, right?”
Finn looks at her, frowning. “No, don’t let the local cops with their fairy stories freak you out. If there were wolves here, we wouldn’t even be allowed to survey these sites. Why do you ask?” He looks at her dubiously, a frown creasing his forehead.
“No reason. You’re right. It’s nothing. I’m just tired.” Sofie shakes her head to clear out the cobwebs.
“See you in the morning. I better go check to see how much Darwin has insulted the PR guys at Shale.” Finn smiles, but there’s a look of concern on his face as Sofie lets herself into her room and disappears from view.
On the other side of the door, Sofie wastes no time stripping out of her mud-caked clothes and turning on the hot faucet in the aged bathtub to full power. It’s only when she’s fully immersed in the scalding water that she lets herself think about Ashton and what he said to her. His words have upset her more than she thought was possible. It’s not the first time she’s been criticized for what Shale has done to a patch of countryside. She’s never taken it personally though; it was just an accepted part of business. I don’t even know this guy, she reasons. But then why do I care so much about what he thinks of me?
She wipes the steam off of the rusty mirror and looks at herself. She doesn’t have a bad face. She knew that men found her attractive, but that was usually because, in her opinion, most men found anything that vaguely resembled the opposite sex attractive. Her high cheekbones and full mouth are from her Czech mother, probably the Roma gypsy part of her heritage. She took her height and the light brown hair from her Dutch father. Apart from that, they didn’t have anything else in common, and she liked it that way. But that light she catches in her eyes before the mirror steams up again, she is pretty sure that was due to someone else entirely. “Oh, get a grip, Braun,” she tells her reflection in her best ‘pull yourself together’ voice before she lets the steam erase her image.
CHAPTER FIVE
Picking his way through the woods, he moves without a sound. It’s as if his feet barely touch the ground. He scans the area around him and, despite the dark, he moves with purpose—like he knows exactly where he’s going. His movements are smooth, but his nerves are jagged. He can feel the anger bubbling up inside of him. There was a time when he wouldn’t be able to contain it, when it would take over him and he would become something very different. But that was a long time ago. He has learned, grown, matured. It took a lot to get under his skin, but the running girl, Sofie, she’d managed it. But he couldn’t quite figure out why.
He drops to his knees, picking up some of the plastic sample boxes that Sofie had dropped while she was blindly running through the woods. He lifts the rocks to his nose and smells them. Despite the rain, the scent is clear, and he can almost taste the oil. Slowly, he stands up, feeling the hairs on the back of his neck rise.
“What have you got for me, Gus?” He turns around, facing his second.
Gustavo bows his dark head down in deference. The two men couldn’t look more different. Whereas Ashton was tall and blonde, Gus was short with hair so dark it was black. They both have the same tanned skin that makes them look like they’ve spent most of their lives outside, which wouldn’t be far from the truth. Despite not looking alike, they both carry themselves in the same way; they have an easy grace about them.
“The outsiders, they’re looking for oil.” Gus breathes heavily like he’s been running, rushing to tell Ashton what he’s discovered.
“I know.” Ash looks down at the samples in his hands, offering them to Gus to smell. The expression on his second’s face tells him that he’s smelled the same thing.
“They’re going to destroy this place once they realize what our woods and our mountain are sitting on top of. They’re not going to leave it alone until they’ve dug up every last rock and drilled as deep as they can.” Gus’s hazel eyes flash with anger, and they glow, looking
almost golden.
“It won’t come to that, my friend.” Ashton lays his hand on Gus’s shoulder, locking eyes with him and communicating in a way that only their kind can. “No one is going to destroy our home. It is ours and no one else’s, and we will protect it at all cost.” He tightens his grip on Gus’s shoulder, and his friend nods slowly, seemingly satisfied. “Good, now what about the other issue?” Ash picks up some other stones from the trail, plain old rocks without a hint of oil on them.
“We have eyes on him. Lola and Hector are going to be his shadows until tomorrow night.” Gus watches Ashton, clearly curious over what he’s planning on doing with his little rock collection, but knowing that it isn’t his place to ask.
“Good, we’ll deal with him then.” Ashton weighs the rocks in his hand thoughtfully.
“What do you want me to do about the others? The outsiders?” Gus stands up straight, ready for orders. If Ashton is the voice and mind of the group, then Gus is the strong arm.
“Nothing for now.” Ash lifts his head, taking in the scent of the area. “There’s more rain on its way. They won’t be coming here tomorrow. Plus, if there isn’t any oil, then there’s no reason for them to come back.” Ashton holds up the random rocks he’s been collecting, and Gus nods in understanding.
“Let’s get out of here before we both get another bah. Race you home.” Ashton starts running before the words are out of his mouth, but Gus knows him well enough that he’s only a step behind. They run through the woods, taking long strides, moving quickly. The sound of animals howling echoes out in the quiet night.
CHAPTER SIX
The rain hammers down for most of the night, and there’s no sign of it letting up for the rest of the day. After what had happened to Sofie the day before, the team doesn’t want to take any chances.
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