She gave a little shudder. “I won’t try anything. I hate the woods.”
I cut the zip-tie, freeing her, then urged her into the passenger seat.
She slid onto the seat and immediately reached for the hood covering her head. I snagged her hands, stopping her.
“Be careful, Shannon,” I warned. “Sometimes it’s best not to see everything around you. Best not to know.” I was trying to tell her in a roundabout way that it was best if she didn’t know the truth about her father.
She let out a huff. “I already know what you look like.” She tried to pull her hands free. “So what does it matter if I see you?”
I let go of her hands. She had misinterpreted my words, not that it mattered. I was still wearing the ski mask, so she wouldn’t be able to see my face anyway.
I closed her door, then went around to the driver’s side. By the time I’d opened the door and slid behind the wheel, she’d already removed the hood.
Since she was on my blind side, I had to turn my head to view her fully. She glared at me from the passenger’s seat. “You’re still wearing a ski mask.” The look on her face said she really wanted to rip it off.
I tensed, half expecting her to reach for the ski mask. “Don’t even think about it,” I warned, eyeing her hands that she had folded in her lap. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She clenched her teeth. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Uh huh. I didn’t believe her for second. This woman couldn’t be trusted. I should have left this place with the other dregs last week. Instead, my curiosity about Shannon had kept me rooted here.
Curiosity killed the cat, you moron.
She was way more than I’d bargained for. So much more. God help me, I was completely captivated by her. Which didn’t make sense. I couldn’t deny I wanted to strip her bare and run my hands and mouth all over her. It was all I could think about. All I’d been able to think about for the past week. Her and me. Naked. Would she taste as good as she looked? Would I be able to make her moan in ecstasy? Just thinking about it made me hard. Did she have any idea how much she affected me? I’d never met a woman whose very presence stimulated me like this.
Thankful for the ski mask that hid the heat flushing into my face, I eyed her as she eyed me with those gorgeous, deep blue eyes. Her sexy, purely feminine scent wafted across the car, taunting me, making me want. How could I lust after a woman who was out to bring me down?
I jerked away from her.
Would Shannon be my downfall?
Not if I could help it. I was getting rid of her. I had to.
Tonight.
I started the engine.
A sense of melancholy washed over me as I drove out of the garage and into the forest, glancing in the rearview mirror as the overhead door closed behind us. This was the last time I would see this place. I was going to miss it, believe it or not. This had been my home for the past year. Ever since I’d escaped with the other dregs, this had been my sanctuary. Now I felt like a leaf in the wind, blowing out into the unknown. My future uncertain. Where was my life headed from here?
“You have to take me to get my bag.” Shannon turned to face me fully. “I dropped it in the woods when you attacked me. My car keys are in it. My phone. My voice recorder.”
I drove closer to the location where she’d dropped her bag. We would have to tread through the woods on foot a hundred yards or so to get to it. I wasn’t handing the bag over to her until I dropped her off. She might have a weapon inside.
I parked the Jeep and turned to her. “Let’s make this quick. It’s not safe here any longer.”
She nodded and slid out of the vehicle. I locked it behind me and headed into the trees. Shannon hurried after me, staying close to my side. I tensed, glancing askance as her.
“I don’t like the woods,” she reminded, color creeping into her face.
I grunted softly. “Come on,” I urged. “Let’s get your bag and get the hell out of here.” Ryan and Luke would be wondering what was taking me so long. And The Company might send more soldiers at any moment. We couldn’t linger any longer than necessary.
I marched forward into the trees, leaving her alone in the darkness. Shannon let out a soft squeal and bolted after me. Her breathing quickened as she struggled to get her fear under control. Moments later, her fingers tentatively clutched at my coat sleeve. Then, cautiously, she slipped her arm through mine, wrapping her hand around my bicep. She must truly be more afraid of the woods than she was of me. Why else would she cling to me after I’d just scared the shit out of her? She was certainly not what I’d expected. Not at all.
I tried not to be bothered by her closeness, but the woman’s very presence affected me.
Hell, everything about her bothered me.
She’s scared of the woods.
An unexpected wave of protectiveness washed over me. As long as she was with me, I would keep her safe. I didn’t brush her hand off. Instead, I let her cling to me as I moved across the dark forest toward the place where she’d dropped her bag when I’d first encountered her. She hurried to keep up, stumbling along beside me, not once letting me go.
Awareness snaked through me. Having her so close, clinging to me, made me overly aware of every little thing about her. Her soft scent. Her rapid breathing. The nervous fluttering of her pulse and her increased heartbeat. I felt her gaze on me, again and again, staring, curious, yet also afraid. Any second now, I expected her to reach for the mask and try to yank it off my head.
Instead, she merely hung on to my arm and followed at my side, as if she trusted me.
Not likely. I’d intentionally scared her, trying to frighten her away.
Now, I was helping her out of the darkness. Being kind to her. Did she realize that? Could she see beyond my exterior into the man who hid underneath? Could she sense I wasn’t as mean as I had been pretending?
Was she playing a game here, too? Trying to fool me? Pretending to be weak so she could strike when I least expected it?
My guard went up. Do not trust her. Just get rid of her ASAP.
I hurried along through the forest with her rushing along beside me.
“How do you see so well in the dark?” she grumbled.
I didn’t answer. The truth would be too much for her to handle right now.
At last, we reached the location where she’d dropped the bag. The raccoon had its head buried inside, snacking on whatever food items she had in the bag.
She let out a screech and jerked back. “Shoo! Get out of there!”
The raccoon scurried back, pulling its head free, and sent us a glare. Then it scampered away, chattering in annoyance.
I snatched the bag up and spun around, heading back toward my Jeep. Shannon raced after me.
“Hey, that’s my bag. Give it to me.” She lunged for it.
I snorted, lifting it up out of her reach. “Right. So you can pull out your gun? Not gonna happen. I’ll give it to you when we reach your car, and not before.”
She glared at me. “Fine.”
We made our way back to the Jeep, her again latching onto my arm, me trying to ignore the way her closeness affected me.
Urgency swept through me. I sensed danger in the air. We needed to get out of here.
My goal was to take her to her car. Drive away before she followed.
And never see her again.
But things never go as planned, do they?
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Shannon
The Hacker led me back through the dark forest to his Jeep. He pressed the key fob, unlocking the vehicle. The lights flashed as the locks clicked up. I let go of his arm, a little embarrassed that I’d been clinging to him like a frightened child. Every little sound in the forest made me jump in fright. I’d been so scared that latching onto his arm had been an instinctive reaction. Now that I thought about it, I was surprised he hadn’t thrust me away. He’d endured my death grip on his muscular arm, not complaining at all, though my clinginess h
ad to have made him uncomfortable.
I considered him in a new light.
Dangerous? Yes.
Cold, lethal? Yes.
Caring? Possibly. He’d helped me through the dark without complaint, though he had seemed surprised. He could have easily killed me if he’d wanted to. He and his friends could have raped me. Yet, they hadn’t.
Who was this guy?
I wanted to snatch the mask off his head. I wanted to see if he was as good-looking in person as he was in a photo.
Why do you care, Shannon? He kidnapped you. He threatened you.
Yeah. But now, he’s letting me go.
The Hacker opened the backdoor on the driver’s side and tossed my bag into the backseat. The Jeep was the large, boxy kind that had lots of room. Kind of like a Hummer. The backseat contained a duffle bag and a box of food items. Was he going somewhere? Moving? What was in the trailer he was pulling?
We climbed back into the vehicle, and he started the engine.
He turned to me, his gaze locking on mine. And I realized for the first time that something was wrong with his right eye. Lazy eye? I stared, taken aback.
No, the eyeball didn’t move. It was stuck. When the left eye moved, the right one stayed still. And when he turned away, he suddenly appeared uncomfortable.
“It’s a prosthetic,” he murmured.
Had I been staring that hard?
A prosthetic eye? I’d met a lot of interesting people in my career as an investigative reporter, but never a man with a prosthetic eye. What had happened to him?
What do you care, Shannon? This man killed your father.
Did he? He never admitted that.
He never denied it, either.
He drove the Jeep forward again, not speaking, just staring straight ahead. He seemed overly alert. Overly cautious. Why?
I cleared my throat. “So, do you have a name?”
He didn’t answer.
Silence stretched.
“You think I’m going to report it, is that the problem?”
“Yeah.” Still, he didn’t look at me. “You’re a reporter. I don’t believe for a second that you’ll stay quiet. As soon as I drop you off, you’ll renew your investigation.”
“I’m a truth seeker,” I stated. “I can’t help it.”
He let out a soft snort. “And that’s why you will never know my name or see my face in person. It’s better that way.”
Better for whom? Was he trying to protect me from something? Or himself?
I shouldn’t care that he was about to drop me off and I would never see him again. But a part of me didn’t want to let him go. Not yet. He hadn’t told me anything about my father’s death. If these guys were hiding, on the run, it was probably because they’d done bad things.
He’s a dreg, Shannon. A dangerous man.
What, exactly, did that mean? What was a dreg, truly?
By coming here searching for him, I’d found a story I was unexpectedly interested in. A story that fascinated me more than I wanted to admit.
The dregs.
Who were they? What were they? Why were they hiding in the woods? What had they done?
And why was The Hacker just letting me go instead of killing me?
Now I wanted to know more than the truth about my father’s death.
I wanted to know who The Hacker was. I couldn’t deny the way my senses came alive when he was near, excitement and anticipation pumping through my veins. I couldn’t deny the sexual awareness he aroused in me. I’d felt the strength in his arm. The hard muscles beneath my hand.
Heat flushed my cheeks. How could I be attracted to a man who’d kidnapped me? Who had tried to scare me? Who had made me think he was about to rape me?
He’s not as bad as he pretends. If he was, then why is he letting you go?
I turned toward him.
He tensed, as if he expected me to reach for the mask.
“If you’re dropping me off and I’ll never see you again, then why does it matter if I see your face or not? I’ve already seen your wanted poster, so I know what you look like.” I paused, watching him closely. He remained tense, but he didn’t respond. “Six-foot-four,” I said. “Two-hundred-twenty pounds. Sandy-brown hair. Striking aqua eyes. Strong arms,” I added, again recalling the hard muscles I’d clenched as he’d led me through the forest. This man was obviously in great physical shape. I doubt he had an ounce of fat anywhere on him. He was built. An impressive display of manliness.
He jerked toward me, a question in his eyes. “Aqua?” he murmured. “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard them called that before.”
Yes, the man had striking eyes. Even the prosthetic one. And dammit, I was becoming more and more fascinated with him the more I was around him. Right now, he seemed uncomfortable. Almost shy. How could that be? He wasn’t who he seemed. And I wanted to know what he hid underneath the surface.
This man was a story I wanted to unfold. A mystery I wanted to solve. But I had to be careful. I had no doubt he was extremely dangerous and could easily hurt me.
What if he is just getting you to let down your guard so it will be easy to kill you? Maybe he wants to know where your car is so he can dump your body there.
A wave of apprehension washed over me. “Are you going to kill me?”
He didn’t answer for a long time. “Not unless you give me a reason to.”
Don’t give him a reason to, Shannon. Behave yourself. Be nice. Just until he lets you go.
“Have you killed lots of people?”
He grunted softly. Was that a yes?
He turned away again, focusing on the road ahead.
No one spoke for several moments as we traveled through the dark forest. I cleared my throat.
“So. Will you tell me your name now?”
“No.”
I scowled. “Please. I won’t tell anyone.”
He snorted. “Right.”
“Then I’ll just have to make up a name for you.”
“Go right ahead. You can call me whatever you want.”
I glared at him. “Bill. George. Mike. Paul.”
His lips twitched.
Jerk. My curiosity was killing me. What the hell was his name?
Silence stretched again. Minutes passed.
Then, finally, the lights of Eatonton appeared through the trees. We were almost out of the forest.
“Please tell me what happened to my father,” I tried one last time.
“Let it go, Shannon,” he murmured. “The truth isn’t worth dying over.”
I glowered at him. “I’m not giving up. I’ll find you again. Somehow. And I’ll make you talk.”
He let out a soft chuckle. “You think so?”
Damn him. He thought this was funny? My father was dead, and he was somehow involved. My chest squeezed. I’m sorry, Dad. I won’t give up. I will see that justice is served.
We left the woods, driving out onto the road. Several minutes later, I spied my car up ahead, parked along the side of the road where I’d left it.
“That your car?”
“Yes.”
He pulled up beside my Mercedes and put the Jeep in park. Then he reached in the backseat and snatched up my bag.
“Get out,” he ordered.
I met his gaze. “Give me my bag and I will.”
His eyes hardened. “Get out, close your door, and step away from the car. Then I will toss you the bag.”
I let out an angry huff. “Fine.” Jerk. I shoved my door open and slid out of the vehicle. Slamming the door, I walked around toward the driver’s side. His window was already down.
“Goodbye, Shannon. I would suggest you go home and give up your investigation. Otherwise, you’re likely to end up dead.”
He tossed the bag at me, then rolled up his window.
My investigation thwarted, at least for the time being, I glared after him as he drove off.
Little did he know, I didn’t give up that easily.
Fum
ing, I yanked open my bag, searching for my key fob.
Little did he know, my investigation had only just begun.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Noah
I glanced in the rearview mirror as I stopped the Jeep at the stoplight. Shannon was still standing by her car, searching through her bag, obviously looking for her key fob. I had intentionally taken off in a hurry so that she couldn’t follow me. I was towing a trailer, so I wouldn’t be able to drive fast in an attempt to elude her should she decide to pursue me.
While leaving her all alone in the middle of the night wasn’t a very gentlemanly thing to do, I did have to look out for myself. I didn’t trust Shannon. I had no doubt she would chase after me. I needed to get far away from her before she decided to follow me.
The light turned green, and I pressed on the gas.
I glanced in the rearview mirror one last time, then slammed on the brakes, my heart stopping.
A dark van screeched to a halt next to Shannon. The back doors flew open and several Hispanic men jumped out. They snatched Shannon up before she could scream, tossing her into the van and driving away.
Just like that.
What the fuck?
Enrique Vasquez had just stolen Shannon Collins.
I should be relieved that I wouldn’t have to worry about her investigating me anymore. That I would never have to see her again.
Except that she’d just been snatched up by the Flesh King. Which meant he was going to sell her at auction to the highest bidder. A horrible fate for any woman.
Goddammit! This was all my fault. I’d fled so she couldn’t follow me, instead of staying to make sure she made it safely on her way home. Not gentlemanly in the least. What kind of bastard was I?
I slammed my hand against the steering wheel. I couldn’t pursue them while pulling a trailer. I would never catch them.
But I couldn’t ignore what had just happened. I couldn’t allow Shannon to be sold to some sick fuck who abused women.
I drove forward through the light, then found a place to park down the road. I called Ryan.
“Where you at?” he demanded. “Luke and I have been waiting for over fifteen minutes.”
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