Silver Secrets (The Silver Springs #2)

Chapter 1

One

R un. Run. RUN!

Don’t stop.

Don’t you dare stop running.

Don’t you dare give into the pain.

Don’t let the numbness stop you.

Don’t let your body shut down on you.

Branches whipped by, cutting into her face, her arms. Brambles pulled at her legs. Her feet bled over the pine needles cushioning her foot falls in the forest. She stopped, her breath sawing in and out of her lungs as she tried to hear if he was following her. Because she’d escaped. She’d gotten free. But it would all be for nothing if he caught her again.

The world spun, and her stomach lurched. Acid made its way into her throat, a stitch ripping through her side as she fought to figure out what direction she was going in. The forest was huge. Hundreds of thousands of acres and she had to hope that somewhere, somehow, she would find help. Because it was the only thing going for her.

And all while it was so dark out she could barely see her hand in front of her face. But it didn’t matter. She could hear his footsteps growing closer. There was no other option but to run.

The sting of metal cutting into the meaty part of her palm grounded her. The drugs were making it hard to tell if a shadow was just that, or something more sinister. Following her. She had to keep going. He was following her.

A flash of light blinded her. How long had she been running? Every bit of her body felt drained beyond exhaustion. Her muscles refused to go any further but she still made them. She fell, stumbling over one of the million roots she was trying to navigate through but it didn’t matter. Whatever that flash of light was from was getting closer. There were shouts. He wouldn’t be shouting. No. He wouldn’t want her to see him coming.

The light grew brighter, moving around with urgency. Somewhere, deep inside her exhaustion-riddled body, she knew the light meant safety. If she could reach it, the nightmare would be over.

Around and around, back and forth, the light danced in her eyes, the only beacon calling her to keep going. Her fingers clawed though the earth as she dragged her body inch by inch towards the warmth of the dancing glow.

Fingers dug into her ankle and pulled her back as a scream ripped from her lungs.

Sloane sat up in bed with a jolt, jerking the tangled fabric of her sheets away from her body as fast as possible. Her breath sawed painfully in and out of her chest at a dizzying rate as she blinked, trying to focus on where the hell she was.

Her bedroom. Light from her bathroom flooded into the space, a small reminder that she was safe in her house in Silver Springs. Two thousand miles separated her from that forest, and that nightmare she escaped over a decade ago.

Nausea overwhelmed her, cold sweat trickling down her back. Sloane lurched out of the bed and ran to her bathroom, dropping to her knees in front of the toilet as she heaved.

Shit. She’d been having more and more nightmares recently, but that was the worst one she’d had in months. Not since the days after she and her friend Lily were taken and it triggered them to start all over again…

It was fourteen years ago. She wasn’t that girl anymore. Sloane left those memories in Ashwood Falls where they belonged. The West Coast of America was so different from the small town in Texas that she now called home.

Groaning, she made her way to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. When she shuffled back to her bedroom, Sloane turned to the clock on her nightstand. Three in the morning. She wouldn’t be going back to sleep. That meant she needed to figure out how the hell to pass the time between right then and her only thing on the calendar that day: self-defense class with her friends.

The box under her bed called to her. It was filled with all the memories she wished she could erase. Filled with articles and notes about a man she would never be able to identify. A man she would never be able to find.

A man she hoped would never find her.

Instead of giving into temptation and looking over the contents she’d memorized years ago, Sloane slumped back onto her mattress. She closed her eyes and forced herself to run through the stages of language development like she had in grad school. Her job as a psychologist was something that grounded her. Gave her tangible goals to work towards and helping others overcome their past traumas helped her find the strength to continue to work through hers as well.

Her heart rate slowed, and her mind drifted in and out of sleep until she couldn’t take the tossing and turning anymore.

That’s how she found herself, disheveled and more than a tad cranky, walking into Montgomery Defense a few hours later.

“God, you look like shit.” Mae practically yelled across the gym as Sloane schlepped in with her bag barely staying up on her shoulder. The tall, perfectly athletic goddess grabbed their friend Courtney’s arm and they marched over to her.

“Thanks. You sure know how to make a lady feel good,” Sloane said as Mae pulled her in for a hug.

“Shit. Are you sick? I probably should have asked before I hugged you!”

“Nope. Not sick.”

“Were you up late? Hot date?” Courtney teased. Sloane looked up at her friend. Where Mae was tall and slender, Courtney was tall and solid. She loved telling anyone who would listen how much she excelled on her college’s rugby team. Even with her extra muscle, Courtney and Mae were well matched, and it was fun when the two of them sparred during self-defense class. They were hands down the most competitive duo there.

Mae rolled her eyes. “Our girl was probably just up late reading the latest research paper on some new findings on depression and anxiety. Besides, I know Gage wasn’t with her last night, so who else would she be with?”

Sloane knew her face had turned cherry red, not only from the fact that her cheeks burned, but by the way her friends giggled. It was no secret that Sloane found their friend, a former Navy SEAL at that, attractive. Was she ever going to act on it? No. She couldn’t. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t appreciate his friendship, and the way he liked to wear shirts in a size that pulled tight across his chest and biceps…

“Earth to Sloane? Are you sure you’re not sick?”

“No, I promise, I’m fine.”

“Okay. You just look awfully flushed. Thought maybe you were running a fever.” Mae smirked.

Sloane rolled her eyes. “Enough about me looking terrible. Let’s get warmed up before the guys start yelling at us.”

* * *

“Ladies, ladies, ladies! Warm ups are over. Let’s bring it in so Hawk and Nash can walk you through the defensive moves we want to cover this week.” Gage Walker’s voice boomed across the gym at Montgomery Defense.

No one moved. The women of Silver Springs were laughing, enjoying catching up with each other as if they were at a brunch rather than a self-defense class taught by five former Navy SEALs. He tried to hold in his laughter as his buddies groaned beside him, all clearly coming to the same conclusion he did. They didn’t stand a chance against the power of a good Saturday morning gossip session.

“Alright, gossip girls, let’s get our shit together. Mae drove into Bell Ridge to bring us back breakfast from Sprinkles, but we only get to have it if we actually make it through our lesson sometime this morning. Chop chop.” Nash Caldwell clapped his hands and the women’s faces all snapped to his. All except one, who was keenly focused on Gage.

Self defense classes were held every other Saturday in the Montgomery Defense gym, and normally, he was happy to take a back seat, administrative role. But his team leader, Gunner, and his wife, Lily, had been sidelined with a sick baby. That left Gage to step in to help keep all the women of Silver Springs on task. He was happy to do it, especially when it meant he’d get a chance to see Sloane.

“Dolly, quit distracting Mae and Jessie,” Hawk barked.

“The only thing distracting these girls are you hunks.” Dolly laughed. If there was one thing you were guaranteed to get when you talked to Dolly, it was sass. She had it for miles and miles. But the sweetheart also made just about the best pies Gage had ever eaten, so he tried his hardest to stay on her good side. Free slices at Dolly’s Diner were a gift, not a right. “Stop trying to blame me that the only thing all the women in class want to talk about is those muscular arms you’ve got wrapped around that protective gear.”

“Alright, alright. Let’s get going before my brother’s head gets impossibly bigger and he tries to take his shirt off.” Mae made a fake gagging noise and the room burst into giggles.

“We’ve been at this now for three months, and all of you have shown significant improvement. Our goal here is to teach you all how to keep yourself safe in the event someone tries to hurt you. If you’re ever in that situation, what is your number one goal?”

Gage watched as Sloane’s eyes dropped to the mat. Courtney slapped Mae’s hand and laughed as she raised her own.

“Yeah, Courtney?” Hawk called on her.

“To get away.”

“Exactly. Your only goal should be to incapacitate your attacker so that you can get away.” Hawk smiled as he clapped his hands together. “We’re going to take all the skills you’ve learned up until this point and practice something very exciting today. Are you ready for the part we find most enjoyable?”

Hawk paused, clearly for dramatic effect and Gage had to stifle a groan as all eyes in the room remained locked on his friend. “It’s Take Down Day! So, partner up. Stone and Mae will be demonstrating the moves we want you and your partner to attempt. Whoever starts out as the attacker will swap into the take down role halfway through class today. We want everyone to get a chance to practice.”

Gage was already moving before Hawk stopped speaking. There was no way in hell anyone else was getting partnered with Sloane. He’d known almost right after meeting her that she struggled with physical contact, and his concern for her safety had gone off the charts when she asked him to install a tracking device in a pendant for her mere days after they opened Montgomery Defense right next door to her office. She swore it was just to protect her when she ran outside, saying she was nervous after hearing about a kidnapping that happened a few counties over the year before.

Something in his gut told him that wasn’t the whole story. But he tried not to push. And when she’d shown up for self defense lessons the first time they were offered, Gage made it his mission to make sure that she wasn’t put in a situation in class where she was uncomfortable.

Of course, their friend Lily was normally her partner. It was amazing to Gage how quickly both Lily and Mae had been able to get Sloane to trust them. Those two were the only people he’d ever seen hug Sloane.

“Need a partner?” Gage asked as he approached Sloane, looking like she’d rather be anywhere else at the moment.

“I think I do. I’m not sure if I would have come today if I’d known Lily wouldn’t be here.”

“You two are always attached at the hip. I’d say maybe it’s a good thing she isn’t here today. But that would mean I think it’s a good thing Sage is sick, and I definitely don’t think that.”

“I hope she’s okay.”

“Kids get sick,” he shrugged. He could remember the panic that coursed through his whole body the first time his wife had mentioned their son having a fever. It was physically painful to watch his baby be so uncomfortable. But the fever had only lasted one night, and the next day, Mikey had been right back to his babbling, bubbly self.

Fuck. He missed them so much. Gage reached up and rubbed his hand over his heart, trying to scrub away the phantom pain that lanced through his heart any time he thought about his family.

“Alright. Now that we’ve gotten ourselves into pairs, let’s start with some basics. If you are walking along and are attacked from behind…” Gage began to tune out Stone as he looked over at his exercise partner. Her breathing seemed to be picking up as she watched, unmoving, while Stone grabbed Mae from behind and she went through the motions of stomping down on his foot swinging her elbow up to catch him in the side of his head. A move to slam her hand up into his nose sealed the deal. Mae was free from Stone and had completed the first demonstration.

“Attackers, you’re going to want to slip in behind your partner and… here, Mae. Slip in behind me and put your arm across my neck.” The class waited for Mae to get into position. “Now, this move is advanced. Remember that the goal is to always get away as fast as you possibly can. But, if you can get behind and over your attacker, and the only way you’re getting out of the situation is to choke them out… do it.”

“Like this,” Mae smiled as she tightened her hold around Stone’s neck.

He watched as Sloane’s eyes went wide at the realization of what needed to happen to practice the moves Stone and Mae were demonstrating. He was going to have to touch her. And Gage knew that was the last thing she wanted.

Sloane was there, in the gym, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, like clockwork at three in the afternoon. She’d run on the treadmill. Lift weights. Put on gloves and beat the shit out of their hanging bags. But not once had Gage ever seen her do anything with a partner. And in self-defense class, she’s always partnered with Lily.

The two of them went through something awful together when Lily first moved to Silver Springs with Gunner and their daughter. Sometimes, it seemed like Lily was going to be the only person Sloane ever let in beyond the walls she held up around herself.

“I can’t do this.”

Gage’s eyes dropped to Sloane’s arms. They were wrapped tight across her chest, her fingers digging into her skin.

“We can start slow, if you want. You can just mime the actions. I don’t have to touch you,” he whispered.

“No, I… I need to go. I should already be heading home to get ready for my client this morning.”

“You have a client you see on Saturday morning?”

“Yes,” she snapped. “Sometimes people don’t have any other free time, Gage. I try to help however I can.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it. You just don’t have to run. Stay and watch.” He moved with her, heading towards the back wall where her bag was resting. “It’s important to know this information, Sloane. Stay. I’ll go back to the front with Mae and Stone.”

She shook her head. “I just need to go. Please don’t make it more difficult.”

“Okay. I’ll be here this week, if you decide you want to learn the moves, or talk… about anything.”

“I’m good. Good luck with class.”

Before he could blink, a flash of red hair was blurring in front of his eyes. Sloane escaped out the side door without drawing the attention of the rest of the class.