Hagen

by Janice M. Whiteaker

  Hell, they couldn’t even keep their bearings in the daylight. Rhea could only imagine what would happen when the lights went out. It would be a shit show of epic proportions.

  Just the kind of thing she swore would have her on the next plane back to LA.

  Kari filled her glass. “I figured you wanted what you had last night.”

  She definitely wanted what she had last night. Another good reason to consider getting on that plane and flying far, far away from this place.

  Rhea picked up the whiskey and took a long sip, letting the warmth of the liquor ease down her throat. “At this point I would drink anything that might help adjust my attitude.”

  Kari laughed, her deep chuckle filling the empty bar. “You sound like someone else I know.” She topped off Rhea’s drink. “Only he doesn’t want an adjustment.”

  It was an opening. A way to ease into a conversation that might shed a little light on Hagen’s sullen nature. Not that it was a bad thing. Rhea actually liked people who were what most would consider grumpy.

  Or assholes.

  They didn’t mince words. Weren’t prone to lying. Didn’t partake in drama or the bullshit so many people she knew reveled in. You always knew what they thought and where you stood.

  But there was usually a reason.

  Rhea took another drink, hoping it would loosen her up a little. Idle conversation was never her strong suit. Not that this was idle, but she wanted Kari to think it was.

  “Some people enjoy their misery.” Shit. That wasn’t what she meant. Hagen wasn’t miserable. He was... “Misery is the wrong word. I meant unhappiness.”

  Kari gave her a half-smile. “No, I think you were right the first time. He’s got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder.”

  “Oh.” Rhea pressed her lips to the glass, resisting the urge to ask what the chip was.

  Why it was there.

  How long he’d had it.

  It wasn’t like it mattered anyway. She was just curious that’s all and too many questions might give Hagen’s sister the wrong impression.

  Kari chewed her lip for a second. “It’s like that Rolling Stone’s song.” She looked at Rhea. “You can’t always get what you want.”

  Wasn’t that the fucking truth? After spending the last day getting to know a little bit about Chauncey, Rhea would imagine Hagen wasn’t the only one who wouldn’t get what they wanted.

  Kari studied her for a second. “But sometimes you get what you need.”

  Rhea nodded. A wealth of depth in an old rock song. “If you’re lucky.”

  Kari smiled. “It’s not always luck.” She gave a little shrug. “Sometimes it’s fate.”

  Being raised by surgeons meant fate wasn’t a big player in their household. Fate was an abstract belief. Intangible. Her mom and dad were more interested in the concrete. About taking action. Making things happen instead of expecting some unknown force to work it out for them.

  After all, fate couldn’t fix a heart or a shredded limb.

  But they could. And expected her and her sister to do the same.

  It worked out for one of them.

  Kari cocked an eyebrow. “You disagree?”

  “I don’t know how I feel about fate I guess.” It was difficult to explain. Her childhood was an exercise in opposites. Her parents pushed education. Knowledge. Pursuit of the concrete and provable parts of the universe.

  But she was different and they struggled to push their square peg daughter into the round hole they drilled. At the end of the day Rhea didn’t fit. Not that she hadn’t tried anyway.

  “Maybe someday you’ll figure it out.” Kari’s gaze was intense, strikingly similar to her brother’s.

  The door to the bar swung open. The tall figure standing, no towering, in the doorway was shadowed by the sunlight streaming behind him into the dim bar.

  His energy hit Rhea like a wave, making her breath catch in her lungs from the force.

  “Where’s Jerrik?” Hagen’s gaze was on Kari. His nostrils flared almost imperceptibly. His eyes moved to focus on Rhea.

  He was angry. Frustrated. And something else. An emotion that was difficult for her to identify. It felt raw, confusing, almost—

  Desperate.

  “What’s wrong?” Kari’s brow furrowed as she stared across the room at her older brother.

  His eyes slowly moved away as his attention went back to Kari. “I need to talk to him about something he did.”

  “What now?” Kari went back to work. Like her brother’s bickering was older news than the earth being round.

  Hagen ignored her question. “What about mom. Where is she?”

  Kari blew out an aggravated breath. “She’s with Jerrik. He took her shopping.”

  Hagen’s eyes narrowed. “When will they be back?’

  “I don’t know Hagen. I wasn’t a part of the plans.” Kari glared at him. “Why don’t you try calling him and find out?”

  “I want to talk to him face to face.” The threat of violence swirled around his body, dark and dense, as Hagen stood tall and tight, clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides.

  It was fascinating.

  She and her sister never fought. Mostly because her sister wasn’t the kind of person to fight with anyone. Neither were her parents. No one said a cross word in her house. No bickering. No aggravation.

  No real emotions of any sort actually. Good or bad. The only time Rhea could remember her parents showing any sort of warmth was on their camping trips. Even then it was more contentment than anything.

  But Hagen was different. His feelings had an intensity she didn’t often see, or feel. It was intoxicating.

  Or that could be the whiskey again.

  “Well you’ll have to wait.” Kari tipped a tall glass against the tap and pulled the lever. “Why don’t you sit down with us?” She smiled sweetly at Hagen. “Enjoy some girl talk.”

  A low rumble vibrated across the bar. The line of Hagen’s jaw tightened.

  “No.” The strength of his energy pulled back. “I need to get ready for tonight.” He stepped back into the sunlight. The door slammed shut and the bar was once again dark and quiet.

  Kari rolled her eyes at the closed door. “Such a drama queen.”

  The description made Rhea smile. “I’m guessing if he heard that he’d be hunting you down along with your mom and Jerrik.”

  Kari tipped back the small amount of dark beer she poured into the glass before Hagen refused her offer, swallowing it in one gulp. “He doesn’t try to start much with me.”

  “Because you’re his sister?” Rhea matched Kari’s gulp, downing the last her whiskey.

  Kari snorted out a laugh and shook her head. “Because I’m meaner than he is.”

  Rhea leaned back in her seat laughing. It wasn’t actually hard to believe that Kari was the feisty one of the siblings. She had a gleam in her eye and a sureness in her step that showed confidence and strength. And maybe a little meanness.

  But in a good way.

  “You want another?” Kari grabbed the bottle and stepped her way.

  “No.” Rhea scooted the empty glass to one side to confirm the refusal. “I’ve been known to make bad decisions because of too much whiskey.”

  Kari set the bottle back in place. “Bad is relative. Sometimes it takes a little of the good stuff to get you to do what you want without worrying about stupid things like what could happen.”

  That was a pretty good explanation of what happened last night. Kissing Hagen was something any woman in her right mind would want to do. If Rhea was honest, and the whiskey she just drank said she was, she wouldn’t mind kissing him again.

  His intensity was like a drug to her. She was raised in a family where emotions were dulled and undeveloped, a weakness best kept to a minimum. But now, as someone who spent her childhood surrounded by emotions that carried the strength of a newborn, Rhea was drawn to people whose energy had power and passion.

  Hagen had those in spades
. She struggled not to imagine what it would be like to have that power and passion directed at her. What being with a man who felt so strongly would do to someone like her.

  Probably blow her head off.

  Part of her thought it might be worth it.

  Hell, the whiskey was trying to convince all of her it would be worth it.

  But it wasn’t. Not for her. Not for someone like she was.

  “You okay?” Kari’s brows were drawn low in concern. “You look a little flushed.”

  “Oh, uh.” Rhea tapped her empty glass. “Probably the whiskey.”

  “It’ll do that.” Kari snagged the empty glass and set it in the sink at the other end of the counter.

  The door to the bar flew open again silhouetting a familiar figure.

  “Re-Re. I have been trying to call you.” Stewart rushed into the bar in a tizzy, wound up about something.

  But he usually was. She liked Stewart for the same sort of reason she was drawn to Hagen. His emotions could hold their own in strong man competitions. Maybe not against Hagen’s though.

  “My phone is still in the room.” She’d only brought what she needed this morning. No sense wasting the room in her small bag on something that was useless in the mountains and once they got back she’d grabbed some cash and headed straight here for a little peace and quiet.

  And whiskey.

  “What’s going on?”

  “We are meeting at the bed and breakfast in five minutes.” Stewart stood beside her stool rocking onto his toes.

  Rhea slid off her seat and smiled at Kari. “Guess the fun’s over.”

  Way over. She was going to spend the night tromping through the woods looking for a fictional creature someone was hoping to entice them to believe was real by making fake footprints in the mud. An obvious dupe most of the group bought hook line and sinker. Probably because none of them appeared to have spent any time outside. Unless a perfectly manicured park or a paved hiking trail counted.

  It was going to be an interesting evening watching the rest of the group try to deal with what happened in the woods at night. The sounds. The darkness.

  Rhea smiled as she and Stewart stepped out of the bar and onto the sidewalk. Maybe she was wrong.

  Maybe the fun was just beginning.

  ****

  Hagen glared down at the men sitting atop the couches and chairs in the bed and breakfast’s living room. “Who’s been in the woods before?”

  They looked around and slowly every hand went up.

  He closed his eyes in aggravation. “Before this morning.”

  The hands stayed up and the men kept looking at each other.

  “I’m not talking about patches of trees. I’m talking about someplace like this morning. No walkways. No cell service.” He looked at them one at a time. “With animals that can kill you.”

  Each hand slowly lowered. That’s what he thought. “So no one has ever done anything like this?”

  The front door opened in the entryway and Stewart rushed into the room. “I found her.”

  Rhea was behind him, the bag she wore this morning still strapped across her chest. She gave him a smile. “Sorry we’re late.”

  She perched on the arm of the sofa beside Heath and focused her attention on Hagen. Heath shifted on the cushion, leaning in Rhea’s direction, letting his arm drape behind her and down the side of the couch.

  Hagen stared at the limb stretched so close to Rhea’s backside, distracted by the other man’s closeness to her. The comfortable way Heath sat beside her, as if he was used to being this close to Rhea, rubbed him the wrong way.

  Rhea’s head tipped to one side as she studied him. “Did we miss something?”

  Heath butted in. Answering the question meant for him. “He was just asking if anyone has been in the woods before.”

  Rhea nodded. “Oh.” She glanced around the room. “I have.”

  Heath shook his head. “No he means like today.” He gave her a warm smile that burned through Hagen in an uncomfortable way. “Not like hiking in parks and stuff.”

  She stared at Heath. “Yeah. That’s what I figured he meant.”

  Heath’s mouth turned up at the edges. “You’ve been out in the middle of nowhere wandering around in the woods before?”

  Rhea’s eyes honed in on Heath, the gold flecks giving away her anger at his inference. “It’s only called wandering if you don’t know where you are.”

  Obviously Heath wasn’t clued into her tell and continued on, not realizing he was pissing Red off. “So what you’re saying is you were completely prepared for today.”

  Now Rhea wasn’t the only one angry. Hagen stepped forward. It was time to end this Heath bullshit and the first step was getting her as far away from him as possible. He grabbed a chair from the card table and dragged it over.

  He looked at Rhea and nodded to the chair.

  She stood slowly, her eyes on his as she moved from the arm of the couch to the chair he provided. “Thank you.”

  Hagen pointed to the bag strapped over Rhea’s chest. “Is that the bag you brought this morning?”

  She nodded, slivers of gold still covering most of her brown eyes in spite of the knowing smile tugging at her lips. His gaze snagged, caught on their fullness, remembering the feel of them rubbing against his.

  He cleared his throat. “Would you like to show Heath what’s in it?”

  “Sure.” She unzipped the top and pulled out a familiar can. Rhea held it up. “Bear spray.” She set the can on her lap and dug back into the bag, pulling out a smaller spray bottle. “Bug spray.” She went back for more. “A whistle, tissues, and chapstick.” They joined the sprays on her lap. “Matches, water, and a PowerBar.” Rhea dropped the last of her items onto the pile.

  Hagen looked at the bag. There was a lump filling out the bottom corner. “Anything else?”

  Rhea looked around the room. Her cheeks barely pinked. She pulled out the final item. A smallish plastic case.

  “What is that?” Hagen moved closer, trying to get a better look at what, based on the other items in her bag, was either a way to ward off offending creatures or—

  She flipped open the top and turned the case to face him. “It’s a SheGoes.” The lid snapped shut before he could get a good look.

  “What in the hell is a SheGoes?”

  Rhea stuffed the items back in her bag, avoiding his eyes. “It is a way for a woman to go like a man does.”

  “Go where?” Chauncey looked as confused as he was.

  Rhea looked around the group. “You’re kidding right?” She waited, looking from one man to the next. “Oh my God.” She huffed out. “It’s so I can pee standing up.”

  “No shit.” Hagen held out one hand. “Can I see it?”

  She eyed his outstretched hand, then him. Slowly she fished the container from her bag and placed it in his palm.

  He opened the case and looked at the clear, flexible plastic item. It had the general shape of a funnel but the large opening was more oval than circle and the spout was offset and at an angle. “This is brilliant.”

  Hagen held it out to Rhea, letting the clamshell style plastic box rest in his open hand. She reached for it, the tips of her fingers dragging heavily across the sensitive skin of his palm.

  “It certainly makes life easier.” She tucked it back in her bag once again.

  Chauncey watched the whole interaction with his nose wrinkled. “So that’s been on your lady parts and then you let him touch it?”

  Rhea glared at him. “I wash it.”

  If it was possible to be jealous of an inanimate object Hagen would be jealous of Rhea’s SheGoes. Which was insane, if for no other reason than because it’s intended purpose was to be peed on. But it was also meant to be pressed against her most delicate of spots, tucked firmly into a place his body was more than a little interested in knowing more about.

  He needed to get a grip. Hagen took a step back. It was time to put a little distance between himself a
nd Red. He’d have to be careful to stay as far away as he could manage given the circumstances. Thank God she was prepared and capable of being on her own out there tonight because being around her was making him crazy.

  Crazy enough to wish he was a pee funnel.

  And there were plenty of other people he would need to stick close to tonight. “I need you to all at least have bear spray and boots.” He motioned to Chauncey’s sneakers. “None of these. You need real shoes that can handle mud and thorns and uneven ground.”

  Chauncey nodded and typed on his cell phone. “We can get those when we go get sleeping bags today.”

  Come again? “What in the hell do you need sleeping bags for?” Hagen didn’t think they would last an hour in the woods after dark and now Chauncey was planning on sleeping there?

  Chauncey looked up from his phone. “Stewart and I were talking.” He glanced at Rhea. “And we think after this morning’s discovery it would be best to do a full immersion. Just stay in the woods as long as we can.”

  “No way.” Hagen was putting his foot down. No way was he letting a group of idiots, and Rhea, try to stay in the woods for days.

  Andy pointed at Hagen. “I’m with him.”

  Heath nodded. “Yeah, I’m gonna pass on this wilderness immersion plan.”

  “I’ll double what I’m paying you.”

  Everyone in the room turned to look at Chauncey. He cocked an eyebrow, a satisfied smirk on his face. He knew he had them. The man was irritating as hell but Hagen had to give it to him. He knew what he wanted and was willing to do what it took to get it. Not that spending daddy’s money was much of a hardship.

  Chauncey relaxed back in his seat, obviously certain he’d bought the room’s cooperation.

  “I want triple.” Rhea stared at him, her face serious. “And I want a guaranteed future collaboration.”

  Chauncey narrowed his eyes at her. “What sort of collaboration?”

  “My choice.” Rhea sat perfectly still in her seat. “And I want it shared with your followers.”

  Chauncey looked her up and down. “And if I don’t agree?”