Lanie sat up, her eyes wide. “Oh my God, Noah! Oh my God!"
"Shit!” Noah exclaimed, pushing her off his lap. “Lanie, buckle up."
"But—"
"Don't argue with me!” He opened the car door and stepped outside, slamming it behind him. Lanie watched as he removed the gas nozzle and twisted the cap back onto the tank. He ran around the front of the car and slid into the driver's seat.
"What are you doing?” she asked in a panicked voice as she reached behind her for the seatbelt.
"Getting the hell out of here!” The engine roared to life as Noah clicked off the radio and put the car in drive. The tires squealed as he pealed out, barreling the car back onto the road.
"But what about that nice man?” Lanie said, looking out the rear window with tears in her eyes. “We just stole his car!"
"Lanie, listen to me. We can't worry about anyone but ourselves right now. Those bastards contacted the media. Christ, I should have seen this coming!” With a shaking hand, he ran his fingers through his hair.
"They said you'd kidnapped me."
"They'll say anything to get people to keep a lookout for us. If the public thinks you're in some kind of peril, they'll keep a sharper eye open."
"But it's not true!"
"They don't care if it's true! They just want us captured. They don't care where; they don't care how, and they're not going to just let you go, Lanie. You heard what the announcer said. They already know about you. I'm sure they know every little detail too, down to what type of laundry detergent you use. Probably have agents waiting at your home even as we speak in case you go back there."
"I can't even go home?” she said through her tears.
Noah shook his head. “No, baby, you can't. I'm so sorry to do this to you, but you have to stick with me. If the agency gets their hands on you, then..."
He let the sentence hang. Lanie looked out the window through her blur of tears. She felt as if someone had just pulled the ground out from under her feet. Holy God, she truly was on the run!
And she didn't even know who was chasing her.
* * * *
Lanie's stomach growled as the sun peeked over the horizon, but the thought of food made her groan and cover her mouth. She still sat in the back seat while Noah drove, cuddled deep within the warm blanket. She didn't think she'd ever stop shivering.
The report on the radio had said she'd been kidnapped. Was it the truth? Ever since her accident, she'd been with this man who told her stories of a white tiger and a secret agency that sounded more like fiction than fact. However, she remembered with clarity the tiger she'd swerved to avoid on the roadway. Yet Noah had refused to take her to a hospital or even to the main road until someone—or something had begun chasing them. For all she knew, the roar in the woods had been his tiger friend.
Chancing a glance at him, she didn't know what to believe. Not too long ago, she'd been wrapped within the warmth of his arms, and never before had she felt so ... safe. But perhaps her imagination was running away with her. Could it be possible that Noah was mental? He had just stolen a car, for heaven's sake. With another shiver, she glanced out the window, her mind racing. She really knew nothing about him.
"Lanie?” His deep voice penetrated her thoughts. “I'm going to pull over, and I want you to get into the passenger seat. We need to check the car and see if there's anything in here that we can use."
"Like what?” she asked in a small voice as her thoughts continued to race. Perhaps this was her chance to get away.
"Like money or credit cards. Just something."
Lanie nodded and Noah pulled over, finally bringing the car to a stop next to a snow bank. She yanked open the door and leapt out, running before her feet even touched the ground. If she could get away, perhaps she could reach the authorities herself and let them know that she was all right. If Noah was a nutcase, she had to flee him!
"Lanie!” Noah yelled after her.
With a sob, she stumbled and fell face-down in the snow. In a split second, Noah landed on top of her.
"What are you doing, woman?” he shouted.
He allowed her to roll over but didn't get off her. She twisted and bucked, but he wouldn't be moved.
Drawing a ragged breath, Lanie looked into his icy blue eyes and yelled, “I don't know what to believe!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Did you abduct me, Noah? Did you? You haven't let me out of your sight since you found me. You won't let me leave. I can't help but wonder if the news report was right!"
"Lanie, I did not abduct you, and I'm not telling you lies! This agency is real, and we need to stay one step ahead of them. If we don't, we'll both end up back at their compound as experiments!"
Once again, Lanie's head was spinning. She should have known better than to try to run away before she had fully recovered from her accident.
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"
He was silent a moment before he said, “That roar in the woods—I know what it was, Lanie."
"You do?” she asked in a small voice.
Noah nodded. “It was a black panther. His name is Tam."
Her eyes widened.
"Look, I know this is going to be very hard for you to understand, but I need you to just listen to me for a moment. This agency trains these animals to be hunters—to kill. And I'm not talking about a gazelle here, Lanie. I'm talking about people. They are trained to hunt and kill people."
"A p—panther?” Her face twisted in disbelief. “Are you shitting me?"
Noah shook his head. “I wish I was, but you have to believe me. As difficult as it was for you to believe that I am friends with a white tiger, you need to trust me when I say this is true. The agency has sent this panther after us—to track us. I know him. He's good at what he's trained to do, and we are damn lucky that we escaped him when we did."
"Sweet Jesus,” she whispered. “Is your tiger one of these trained creatures too?"
"Yes, but he and I escaped. Neither of us could stand the torture they put us through anymore. But the tiger is not a killer."
Lanie looked into his eyes and bit her bottom lip. “Noah, please tell me you're one of the good guys. I need to know."
Sitting up, Noah pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “I'm one of the good guys, Lanie. I promise you that."
She was going insane. That must be what was happening. She'd wanted to flee Noah only a moment before, and now here she was hugging him in desperation, sinking into his body heat and hoping to God that he never let her go.
"I know this is hard for you,” he said in her ear, “but you've got to believe me. I'll explain everything later when we have some time to breathe. But right now we need to move. We can't stay here."
"I'm sorry,” Lanie said through her sniffles.
"Don't apologize. I'm not even sure I believe it myself."
Pulling back, she gazed into his eyes and gave him a tentative smile. He returned it, and for the first time in a long while, Lanie realized just how handsome he was. His straight nose complimented his face perfectly, and his eyes pierced hers, making her shiver once again, but not from the cold. His hair fell over his forehead, making her want to smooth it back. Lanie had no idea how long they sat there staring at each other, but Noah was the first to pull away.
"Come on,” he said. “Let's get back to the car.” Offering her his hand, he pulled her up and led her to the car. Once they were both inside, Noah pulled the car back onto the mountain road.
Lanie had to swallow hard to get rid of the sudden lump in her throat. She felt like an idiot for running from him. True, his story was preposterous, and she probably wouldn't have believed it—if she hadn't seen his tiger with her own two eyes.
"Dig through the glove box,” he said, his deep voice suddenly washing over her. “See if you can find any money or something."
With a nod, Lanie moved her shaking hand and opened the box, but she found nothing more than a repair
manual and the car's registration. Digging through the center console between the driver and passenger seats, she found only a few CDs and some receipts. With a sigh, she leaned over and pulled out the ash tray, then she gasped. Tucked inside was a neatly folded twenty-dollar bill sitting atop a handful of coins.
Noah grinned. “Good work."
"There's got to be at least another five dollars in change here too,” she said, pulling it out to count it.
"Great! You hungry?"
As if in response, Lanie's belly growled.
"Guess that answers my question."
She blushed, concentrating on the change in her hand.
"We'll have to be quick about getting some food,” he said, glancing in his rear-view mirror. “We can't afford to stop for too long."
"Where are we going?"
Noah sighed as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. “I don't know."
The low timbre of his voice made her heart flutter with fear once more.
"We can't stay in Colorado, can we?"
"No,” he said, glancing at her. “I don't think we can."
"I have some family—"
"No,” he said, his voice firm. “We are not going to put their lives in jeopardy, Lanie. We're on our own."
Sucking in her breath, Lanie fought the tears that threatened to come once more. How long must she live like this? Gazing out the window, she watched the trees as they whipped by and fervently prayed that Noah was telling her the truth.
Six
By the time they pulled into a McDonald's parking lot, the clock on the dash read 7:53 a.m. Lanie had to smile.
"What are you smiling at?” Noah asked as he found a parking spot and killed the engine.
"My father calls McDonald's ‘Scottish food'. I just think of that every time I come here."
"Scottish?"
"Yeah. Mac-Donald's. It's lame I know, but...” She shrugged as she let the sentence hang.
Noah gazed at her and grinned. It was all she could do to hold eye contact with him. Perhaps being in his company 24/7 wasn't such a bad thing. Noah Carpenter was a hottie.
"Can I trust you?” he asked after a few moments of silence.
She gave him a quizzical stare.
Nodding toward the restaurant, he said, “In there. Can I trust you to get us some breakfast and not go running off?"
Biting her lip, Lanie glanced at her lap. She was suddenly ashamed of herself for trying to get away from him earlier. She nodded and grabbed the twenty out of the ash tray.
"I have to use their restroom,” she said, “but I'll be back."
"You sure?” he asked, hooking his finger under her chin and forcing her to look at him. With a trembling jaw, Lanie suddenly found that she couldn't breathe. Wow, Noah was intense.
"Yes, I'm coming back,” she promised.
His eyes roamed her face for a few seconds before he let her chin go, seemingly satisfied with her answer. “Okay, hurry. We can't stay in Granite Ridge for long."
Without looking back, Lanie opened the car door and took a deep breath. She felt as if the weight of the world had just been lifted from her shoulders. She almost closed the door before she stopped herself.
"Hey, what do you want?” she asked.
"Surprise me,” he said with a wink.
Lanie's heart slammed to life as she walked on limp legs toward the front door of McDonald's. She'd gone too long without a man—that had to be why she was suddenly aware of just how sexy Noah really was. But she had to ignore it. They were on the run. There wouldn't be time for anything else. Besides, did she even want to start something with him? Noah wasn't exactly the kind of guy she could take home to meet the folks. It would be stupid to think of him romantically.
Squaring her shoulders, she was determined to think no more on it. She was being silly. The man was hungry and she was going to buy him breakfast. If she couldn't control her libido, well, that was her problem.
* * * *
Noah raked his hands through his hair so hard that he hurt his scalp. The car smelled of her—everywhere. His body was trembling. How long had it been since a woman had such control over him? He couldn't even remember. But her scent was almost oppressive, prompting him to pop open the trunk and climb out of the car just to see what was back there.
Lanie's scent had gone from fear to shame to desire at the drop of a hat, leaving him feeling jumbled inside. His new ability to shift into a tiger also gave him a keen sense of smell—even in his human state—and he could definitely smell her moods. He'd known almost immediately the moment she'd looked at him with longing, and it had floored him. His body had reacted savagely, but he had to hide it from her. She was afraid of him already; there was no need to make her fear him even more.
The animal side of him wanted to pull the car over and ravage her again and again, but his human side knew he couldn't. He couldn't afford to. Having a fling with Lanie would accomplish nothing because they wouldn't be able to continue a relationship with each other. Not with B*E*A*S*T* still out there hunting them both.
And what would she think of him once she learned the truth? He wanted to keep his secret from her for as long as he could, but he knew that eventually he'd have to tell her. Things suddenly became much more complicated with his tiger side thrown into the mix.
Lanie couldn't possibly understand. She'd either hate him or flee him or both. Pursuing anything with her would be nothing more than a fool's dream. He knew he couldn't keep her. But she was his to protect, and he took comfort in that.
He would just have to ignore her marvelous scent and keep his instincts in check. But even as he had that thought, he could feel every nerve ending in his body demanding to make her his. The pull was strong. He just hoped his willpower was stronger.
While he waited for her to come back, Noah found a small toolbox in the trunk of the car. He smiled to himself as he pulled out a screwdriver and looked around him. A few other cars were in the parking lot as well, but he chose the blue sedan with Arizona plates. Something tugged at his brain as he stared at the plate, but he couldn't quite grasp it. Like a ghost, it was almost as if a memory was fluttering on the edge of his subconscious.
Damn. The image suddenly disappeared.
He removed the Arizona plate and replaced it with the Colorado plate he'd pulled off their stolen car. Just as Lanie emerged from the restaurant holding a steaming bag of food, Noah adjusted the last screw to fit the Arizona plate on their car.
"What are you doing?” she asked when she walked up.
"Buying us a little time,” he said. “Hopefully, the owners of that car over there won't notice I've changed the plates for a little while, and maybe the cops won't bother us. They'll be looking for a stolen car with Colorado plates, not ones from Arizona."
Lanie nodded and watched as he quickly threw the tools back into the trunk then slammed it shut.
"Shall we go?” he said. “We'll eat on the road."
Lanie gave him a nod and climbed in.
"So what'd you get me?"
"A breakfast burrito and a few egg biscuits."
"Mmm, my favorite."
"Really?” she asked, throwing him a sidelong glance.
"Honestly? I don't know. I don't remember much of my life before."
"You mentioned something like that back at the cave,” Lanie said, taking a bite of her food. “What does that mean, your ‘life before'?"
"I think I have amnesia."
"Amnesia?"
"Yeah.” Noah ate his burrito before continuing. “I can't remember anything about myself other than being with the agency. My childhood, learning how to drive, my first job—it's all gone. But sometimes I have dreams, flashes of images and feelings. Like memories I guess, but with what that agency did to me, I wouldn't be surprised if they'd deliberately taken away my memories."
"But how can they do that?"
"How can they do a lot of things?” he countered. “Lanie, this agency can do so much more than you've ever dreamed.
If I told you everything, you wouldn't believe me."
"I'm not sure I believe you now."
"I rest my case,” he said with a grin.
"Well, what do you remember? What is your first memory?"
Noah was silent for a moment, trying to sift through the pictures in his mind. One stood out as the oldest, yet he couldn't be sure.
"A white van."
"A white van?” Lanie gave him a confused look.
"Yeah, I know it doesn't make much sense, but that's what I remember. I remember a van and being pulled into it. I don't remember what happened to me in that van. The next thing I remember is shouting and banging. And needles. God, there was pain ... so much pain."
Noah wasn't even aware of the tears in his eyes until Lanie laid her small hand on his. Having her touch him in such a comforting way sent an unexpected jolt of desire through his body, and he removed his hand to wipe his eyes.
"I'm sorry,” he said, trying to smile at her and calm his racing heart at the same time.
"They tortured you?” she asked in a small voice.
Noah simply nodded as he drove. “Most of my memories are of pain—burning, piercing, stabbing. But, most of all, I remember my cage."
Lanie gasped as her hand flew to her mouth. “Your cage?"
Swallowing hard, Noah had to clear his throat. “They kept all of us in our own cages. We barely had enough room to pace back and forth. They wanted us to hate them. Damn, I don't think I've hated anyone so much in my entire life. If I have, I don't remember it."
"Dear Lord, Noah!” Lanie exclaimed. “I can't believe what you've had to go through. And they tortured the animals as well?"
Noah could remember all too well the tests they'd administered on him in his shifted state, and he shuddered. “Yes, on the animals as well."
"And that's why you saved the tiger?"
He glanced at her and held her eyes for a few silent moments. “Yes,” he said simply.
"I hope he'll be all right,” she whispered. “We just left him back there in the forest."
The B*E*A*S*T* Within Page 3