by Lora Leigh
She didn’t know and he wasn’t telling. Stupid game.
The broad shoulders stiffened, then the head, covered in a red baseball cap turned just slightly, the eyes hidden by dark sunglasses.
“Not here,” he muttered, then turned back to the engine.
So much for small town hospitality, Merinus frowned. He was being rude today. Snarly. Male.
“Do you know where I could find him? Or perhaps leave a message for him?” she asked the wide back.
Damn nice form, but hell on manners.
Those broad shoulders shrugged.
“Tell me. I’ll tell him.” Short and to the point, but he never did raise his head from the object of his attention, namely the motor and not Merinus.
Merinus dug one of her small cards from her jeans pocket and handed it to him.
“This is my cell phone number. Could you ask him to call me as soon as possible? It’s important that I get in touch with him.” She was becoming irritated with the curt, who-the-hell-cares attitude he was displaying. He could at least bother to pretend to be interested. Maybe she was playing it too cool.
“He’ll get it.” The card disappeared into oil-splattered jeans.
Merinus narrowed her eyes at the man.
“Could you tell me where he lives? I could just give him the message myself,” she finally bit out between clenched teeth.
Muscles rippled as he shrugged again.
“Lives here for the most part,” she was told.
Merinus waited, but there was no other information forthcoming.
“What about Callan Lyons? Could you tell me where I can reach him?” she asked sweetly, allowing a shade of mockery to infect her tone.
There was a long pause as the man reached into the motor and adjusted wires, then thumped at the metal.
“Did you hear me?” she asked him with false sweetness. “Callan Lyons? Do you know where I could find him?”
Those broad shoulders shrugged again, and Merinus gritted her teeth in anger.
“Who knows where Lyons is,” he finally said. “He comes and goes.” Merinus rolled her eyes. Wasn’t that the truth? And he looked damned fine coming, too.
“Fine,” she muttered. “I’ll just check back later.”
“You do that, sweet thing,” he muttered, glancing back up at her with a tight smile.
Merinus narrowed her eyes. He laid the wrench he was using on the inside frame carefully as he watched her as well. She could feel that gaze, starting at her white sneakers and moving slowly up her bare, tanned legs to the hem of her shorts, then up. He paused at the small streak of bare, tanned abdomen, then over her breasts until he reached her face.
Merinus stared back at him, her eyes narrowed at the insolence she read in his body and expression.
“Anything else?” A single, burnished brow arched above the lenses of his glasses.
“Nothing else,” she muttered, turning and walking quickly to the diner instead.
* * * * *
Callan watched her go, hiding his smile as she glanced back at him. Damn, she looked fine, he thought. And she was definitely on the hunt. A flare of regret rose in him as he admitted he would have definitely enjoyed the chase if circumstances were different. If he wasn’t who he was, if his own life wasn’t hanging by luck alone, then he could have enjoyed a game or two. And he’d be damned if that woman didn’t look good enough to play with. It made his mouth water, looking at all the smooth, sexy skin, just faintly tanned and as tempting as sin itself.
But it was, and he was determined that Miss Merinus Tyler would neither become embroiled in his life, nor add to the danger. He could watch her, but he’d be damned if he would let her get any closer. But hell, watching her was damned near as enjoyable as anything he’d ever done in his life. Dangerous woman, he thought. A damned dangerous woman. And her scent. It was all he could do to keep his hands off her, his mouth from tasting her. It was heat and wanting, spice and cream. She could be addicting.
“Damn, she don’t give up easy, does she Cal?” Tanner, his younger brother strode slowly from the inside of the garage as Merinus disappeared into the small restaurant.
“No, Tanner, she doesn’t give up easy.” Callan grinned.
“She’s pretty. All that thick brown hair and those big brown eyes.” Tanner grinned as he shook his head.
“I bet Taber will be real sorry he missed her today.”
They both knew better than that. Taber was all for Callan meeting up with the little journalist. Callan wasn’t so certain how Taber would feel now that Ms. Tyler was searching for him, though.
“Help me get this truck running, Tanner. I need to head home to sleep so I can patrol tonight. And this motor is refusing to cooperate.” Callan twisted at a wire, but still nothing.
“Ahh, you just don’t know how to talk to ‘em right,” Tanner laughed, pushing Callan out of the way as he moved in to look at the motor. “These older motors are like women, man. You have to know how to stroke ‘em, and how to speak real soft and sweet to ‘em.” He ended his words with a slight twist of his wrist.
The motor sang to life with the movement, chugging weakly, but willingly.
“Show off,” Callan laughed.
“Bring her in later and I’ll tune her up for you.” Tanner pulled a stained rag from his back pocket with a grin and wiped his hands.
“Tell Taber to leave the keys to his truck and I’ll do that.” Callan nodded as he headed for the driver’s side door.
“I’ll do that.” Tanner nodded with a broad grin. “And if you need any help with that pretty thing later, you just let me know.”
“I’ll be sure to,” Callan laughed again, amused by Tanner’s less than obvious ploy. “Keep your jeans zipped, Tanner, and we might keep you alive yet.” More than one father was ready to take a shotgun to the hot-blooded youth.
Callan didn’t wait for an answer. He gunned the motor, then slid the truck into reverse, backing quickly away from the garage before sliding it in gear and heading home.
* * * * *
It was late that afternoon when Merinus left the diner and headed back to her motel room, armed with dinner. She was tired, sweaty and cranky. After spending the better part of the day watching over Callan’s house and trying to find the road into it, she was more than a little frustrated. She had seen his truck leave and return to the large cabin, but she had yet to find a road in. How do you hide a road? And she couldn’t get in close enough to follow the graveled track that she could see leading away from the house. To do so meant entering the small clearing in front of it. Not a good idea, as several other people seemed to always inhabit the place.
She had hiked for miles that day in several different directions, and followed more than one wide path through the forest. Still, nothing.
She pulled into the parking lot of her motel and breathed a weary sigh. Dinner, then a shower.
Tomorrow, she would try again. There had to be a road up there, she was just missing it. That was all.
She was beginning to feel more than a little stupid in doing so.
Her questions around town were getting her nowhere. Those who admitted to knowing Callan only scratched their heads when she asked for directions to his home. The rest just scratched their heads period and played dumb. Small towns weren’t her thing evidently, because the people just made no sense at all.
They directed her to the Gass Up station every time she asked about Callan. He was there a lot. She had staked it out first thing. And the very people who swore they didn’t know him acted pretty damned familiar with him when they pulled in.
Damn him, he knew she was there. She unlocked the door to her room, flipping the light on as she entered. He knew who she was and he probably had a good idea what she wanted, but he still ignored her. Which was likely a good thing. After that little scene this morning, she didn’t know if she could trust herself to keep her hands off him or not.
Merinus ate quickly, staring absently at the television as
she considered that damned driveway into Callan’s property. It had to be there somewhere. Roads didn’t just disappear. Did they?
The problem plagued her through her dinner and her shower. As she stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in a terry cloth robe, the phone on the nightstand jangled loudly. Frowning, she picked the receiver up cautiously.
“Hello?” She kept her voice pitched low, wondering who could be on the other side.
“Is this Merinus Tyler?” It was a man’s voice, rough and cold.
“Who’s asking?”
There was a brief silence.
“If you want to find Callan Lyons, get something to write the directions on. You’re missing the right turn.”
Merinus felt elation fill her. Finally, someone was willing to talk.
“Do you know Callan?” she asked as she slapped a pad of paper on the small bed table and tugged a pencil from the drawer.
“Do you have something to write on? Here’s how you get there.” Merinus wrote down the directions hastily, concentrating as she tried to remember the landmarks he was giving her. She admitted she hadn’t yet tried that route, but it appeared to go nowhere.
“Do you have it?” The voice asked her.
“Yes, but—” The line disconnected.
Merinus took a deep breath, staring down at the paper. Could she get there in the dark? It wasn’t too late. There was still at least a good hour left of light. And it wasn’t like she could sneak up on the house anyway.
Throwing off her robe, she dressed quickly in jeans and a sleeveless blouse before slinging her purse over her shoulder and rushing out to the jeep. The turnoff she was given was only a few miles up the road. Cold Springs, he had said. She remembered seeing the little green sign on her excursions to the neighboring county.
She had him now. She contained her whoop of joy as she jumped into the jeep and started the ignition.
He could run, but if she could find that road to his home, there was no way he could hide from her any longer.
CHAPTER FOUR
Nearly an hour later, she was clenching her teeth in sheer desperation as she made yet another turn along one of the country back roads she had taken in her search for Callan’s home. The written directions beside her were giving her few clues to where she actually was as her jeep bumped and nudged itself along a pitted dirt road that seemed to lead to nowhere.
Applying the brake, Merinus sat and looked around in confusion. How had she done it? She could have sworn she had taken the right road a few turns back.
“Lord, save me from simple minded directions,” she groused.
Pushing her hair back from her forehead, she put the jeep in reverse and turned around in the wide grassy shoulder that bordered the track. Surely it couldn’t be this difficult, she thought. Hell, she had never gotten lost in any big city she had ever been in, and now this little hick county was getting the best of her. It couldn’t be happening, her brothers would laugh her out of the nation if they found out.
“Dammit.” She pulled off the road again several miles later, looked around and admitted defeat. She was lost. Well and truly and irrevocably lost, and she had no one to blame but herself.
Heaving a sigh, she looked around wearily. There had to be a way out of here. Something she had missed somewhere. Getting out of the SUV, she stretched her tired muscles, then paced over to the edge of the road, looking into the valley below for some sign of civilization.
There wasn’t a sign to be found. All she could see was the same thing around her, trees and thick brush, and not even the roof of a house or a barn. Not that a barn meant anything around here, she had seen many of them, ransacked and falling down from neglect, nowhere near a house.
After looking around for a moment longer, she walked to the other side of the road and began to climb the forested rise there. Maybe, if she could get further up, she could see something. There had to be a house somewhere. It wasn’t like she was in the desert or the rainforest, dammit. People lived here. That farmer had assured her earlier that if there was a road, then it led somewhere. So something or someone had to be out here. And she was going to have to find them soon. It was getting dark, and she sure as hell didn’t want to be stuck out here alone after dark.
As she entered the thicker part of the forest, she turned around to make certain she could still see the SUV. As she did, a noise behind her startled her, causing her to turn in fear.
The man stood several feet in front of her, his eyes dark beneath the camouflage brim of his hat as he watched her. Merinus felt her heart begin to race rapidly in fear as his eyes traveled over her body, sparkling with a deadly intent.
“Well, what do we have here?” The man was tall, his camouflage hat pulled low over black smudged eyes, his face hard and menacing in the shadows of the forest.
Merinus felt fear skate through her body. Her heart pumped quickly in her fear, the blood thundering in her ears as she took in the cold, harsh expression of the man’s face.
“I’m lost.” Merinus backed up as the man loomed over her, a leer spreading across his face. “I was just looking for a way off the mountain.”
“Lost are you?” he sneered, his gaze stripping her. “Poor little thing. You need some help, do you?” He sounded suspiciously like the guy who called with the stupid directions.
“I’m sure I can manage.” Merinus backed away slowly, fighting the panic spreading through her body.
As she tried to back away, her arms were grabbed from behind and fear shot through her with the force of a tidal wave. She felt her system clog with hysteria as she felt the hard grip, felt the harder body behind her.
“Maybe we can help you find your way.” The voice behind her suggested as the steel hard hands pulled her closer against his tall male body. “Maybe you’d like to party with us a little first, though.” It wasn’t a question; it was a statement of intent. Merinus swallowed tightly as she fought to keep her sanity as the fear washed over her. She was in a shitload of trouble and she knew it.
God. What did Kane tell her? What did he say to do?
As the man behind her tightened his grip, she released the muscles of her legs, lifting her feet from the ground. A startled sound from the man behind her was her only warning. As she began to fall, Merinus tucked her body and rolled away from the men then jumped to her feet to run.
Her screams shattered the forest as she heard the first guy give a quick order to catch her. She ran, and she screamed. She didn’t try to conserve energy, because she knew she most likely wouldn’t make it to the jeep anyway, so she used it to pierce the lonely countryside with her terrified cries.
She almost made it to the jeep. She was within feet of the protective shelter when she was tackled, her body slamming into the hard, gravel encrusted ground with enough force to knock the breath from her body and to still her cries.
“Bitch,” the man cursed as she cried out. He jerked her arms behind her and she was hauled roughly to her feet.
Fighting to breathe, the metallic taste of her own blood in her mouth, the sickening stench of her own terror wrapped around her as she was once again face to face with one of her attackers.
“I’m a journalist,” she gasped. “Merinus Tyler. The National Forum. There will be people looking for me.”
“And what’s a pretty little journalist like yourself doing around here?” If it were possible, his voice became colder, crueler. “Maybe we should teach you where not to stick your pretty little nose, Ms.
Tyler.”
Merinus had no warning, she had nothing to prepare her for the hand that shot out and hit her face with enough force to snap her head around and send stars shooting across her vision. As the world seemed to darken around her, she could have sworn she heard deep-throated growls and a vicious feline snarl echo through the forest.
Merinus fell to the ground, dazed as she was suddenly released, the sound of her attackers’ hard soled boots thudding quickly away from her as several gunshots were fired. Braci
ng her hand on the rough gravel of the road, she fought desperately to scramble to the SUV. She had to get in the truck. The cell phone was there. She would call the sheriff, surely he knew enough about the area to find her.
“Easy.” Male hands supported her carefully, even as she shrank from the touch with a ragged cry. “It’s okay, come on, let’s hurry and get you in the truck and get you the hell out of here.” Merinus felt the soft seat, fought to pull herself onto it despite the hands that lifted her tenderly, if quickly into it.
“Get started now.” The rough order was given from whoever jumped in next to her and slammed the door closed.
“What the hell is she doing out here anyway?” a female voice demanded as the motor of the truck fired up and the quick lurch and rough jerking of the vehicle signaled the speed the driver had pulled out with.
Breathing easier now, Merinus raised her head and stared into the most electrifying, golden colored eyes she had ever seen. A gasp escaped her lips, and then to her profound humiliation and distress, she felt darkness closing slowly over her.
“I’m gonna faint…” Darkness closed over her, soft and inviting as she slumped against Callan’s chest.
* * * * *
“Shit.” Callan cradled her close to his chest with one arm while he braced himself with the other. He was still fucking shaking. He couldn’t help but clutch her against him, his cheek pressed against her head as he thanked God over and over that he had gotten to her in time. What the hell was she doing up there? There was nothing but broken cliffs and wilderness for miles in every direction. He knew she was desperate to find the track into his driveway, but surely she had enough sense to know it wasn’t up there.
“Hey, look at this.” Sherra extended a piece of paper to him as she fought to move the vehicle quickly down the mountain. “Where are we taking her? Your place or her room?”
“Her room.” Callan took the paper from her hand, glancing at the scribbled directions written on it.
“Where the hell did she get this?”
He met Sherra’s gaze in the rear view mirror.
“Looks like the boys are wanting to play, Callan,” she said softly. “They’ve seen you with her, know she’s searching for you.”
A tool. That’s all she had been to them. A means of taunting him, of taking something they thought he wanted. He hadn’t been careful enough. Somehow, he had let the bastards see his interest in her. He lifted her into his lap, holding her closer, absorbing the shock of the jeep bouncing over the rutted road to protect her from it. She was so light in his arms, her body delicate and small against his taller, broader length.
He inhaled her scent, fighting to ignore the hard throb of his erection beneath his jeans, the desire to caress her skin with his lips. He contented himself with rubbing his cheek against the silk of her hair. A soft, peaches and cream scent lingered in it, as it did on her skin. Tempting him. He always had been partial to peaches in any form.
“Callan, what are you going to do?” Sherra pressed him.
Merinus was in danger now, they both knew it.
“Put Dayan on watch for her,” he told her. “She doesn’t know him. Tell him to stay as close as possible, just in case. Have him call me if trouble comes around her.”
“Trouble doesn’t have to find her, she finds it, evidently,” Sherra remarked.
Callan smiled, his fingers rubbing over Merinus’ arm softly. She didn’t back down much, he had to give her that. She was stubborn as hell, but he didn’t consider that a good trait in this case.
“She still out of it?” Sherra asked worriedly.
“Yeah. So hurry and get to that damned motel before her nosy ass wakes up. We’ll be in for it good if you don’t.”
He could just imagine her pleasure, which wouldn’t be mutual, to find herself in his arms right now. Not to mention the damned questions that would come pouring out of her mouth. She was just waiting on the chance to lay into him, and he wasn’t too eager to give it to her. It was coming. He knew the only way to avoid her would be to leave the county again. Something he was going to do soon anyway to lure the damned soldiers away before they learned about the whole Pride. As far as the Council knew, the others had died in that damned explosion more than ten years ago. He wanted to keep it that way.
“Here we are.” Sherra pulled up to the motel room door swiftly. She grabbed Merinus’ purse, searched around then pulled the key from its depths.
Callan let her open the door before he quickly exited the vehicle, Merinus limp in his arms, and strode inside. He laid her on the bed, noticing the white robe that lay on the mattress, the remains of her dinner on the table. The television was on, the sound turned down, a low light burned beside the bed.
He moved away from her, reluctant, regretting the need to leave before she awoke. He touched her cheek, a fleeting caress, then before he could stop himself, he leaned over, touching his lips to the corner of her mouth, his tongue barely glancing the soft curves. She was as soft and as sweet as he knew she would be.
“Callan, we need to hurry,” Sherra whispered from outside the door. “Before someone sees us.” Merinus’ lips parted, a low groan vibrating in her throat as her head turned, unconsciously seeking more of the caress. Her tongue touched his, hesitant, unsure. He fought to keep the kiss light, to deny his need to stroke the heated depths of her mouth as he wanted to. He contented himself with a soft tangle with her tongue, then drew back quickly and forced himself to leave the room.
He closed the door softly behind him as Tanner’s truck pulled in beside the jeep. Following Sherra he jumped into the cab quickly, silently, watching the door as Tanner reversed. He stared straight ahead, ignoring Sherra’s worried look, ignoring his own needs pulsing hot and demanding through his blood stream. Son of a bitch, he wanted Merinus. He wanted to lay against her, stroke every sweet curve of that slender body before burying his cock so deep inside her that neither one of them would ever be free.
As they pulled out of the parking lot, Callan watched as Dayan pulled into a small, secluded parking area within sight of Merinus’ door. She would be watched carefully until he could leave. He should have left sooner, before those damned mercenaries had somehow figured out his attraction for her. Before they decided to use her against him.
“Call Taber in when we get to the station,” he told Tanner, his voice cold as he made his decision. “We go after those bastards tonight.”
“Sure thing, Callan.” Tanner’s voice was edged with fury. He may not be personally involved, but Merinus was a female, she was supposed to be protected, no matter the cost. The younger man rarely came to violence until faced with the abuse of a female, young or old.
“Sherra, you go back to the motel, send Dayan back.” Callan knew Dayan would be pissed, his answer was to ignore the bastards. “You stick around and watch out for her, take Dawn if you want to.” Sherra was more than capable of protecting herself, but Callan hated sending her alone anyway.
“Get a piece of them for me.” Memories and bitterness filled her voice.
“For all of us then.” Callan nodded as Tanner pulled into the Gass Up. “Let’s get things together and we’ll head out.”
They knew where the soldiers camped, though the men were unaware of it. Like the others before them, they thought their training and their precautions would hide them from the instincts ingrained in Callan’s DNA. They would find out otherwise.