Chapter Eight
“I -I don’t know,” she stuttered.
“Uh huh.” Corey didn’t believe her and suspected she was hiding something. But he wasn’t going to push her if she didn’t want to talk. Except for sleeping in the same bed and sharing breakfast, they were total strangers. Why should she trust him?
Because I can help you. He wanted to tell her that but held back. She had no reason to believe him and maybe it was for the best. His past fuckup filled him with doubts.
But his gut told him she was in trouble. Beautiful women didn’t just drop out of the sky. She was running from something—or someone.
Also, this wasn’t hunting season and the approaching men had rifles.
That put Corey on alert and raised all sorts of red flags.
If these men were looking for her, he wasn’t about to hand her over.
Not without a fight, anyway. Because even though he considered himself a failed protector, he would always go down battling and shielding the innocent.
“Come with me,” he said, walking into the living room area. He shoved the coffee table aside, lifted the rug and folded it back to reveal a trap door in the floor.
Sera moved up beside him, clasping her hands tightly. He didn’t miss the nervous gesture as he lifted the wooden trap door, exposing a ladder which led down into the darkness. He’d had it specially built because, well, you just never knew who might show up uninvited.
“I’m going to talk to them while you hide.”
“Down there?” A note of panic crept into her voice. “Shouldn’t you hide with me?”
“Sera, I need you to be honest with me.” Corey lifted her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “Do you recognize those men?”
After the briefest hesitation, she cracked. “Um…yes.” She grabbed his elbow, squeezing. “They’re dangerous.”
He nodded. “I figured. Down you go. Don’t open this until I come back, okay?”
“Wait!” Fear flashed across her pretty face, and she tightened her hold on his arm. A tremor shook her frame. “It’s pitch black down there.”
He bent over and unhooked the small flashlight he stored beside the ladder. “Here. Use it to go down, but then keep it off unless you absolutely need it, okay?”
Was he imagining it, or had her bottom lip trembled? But she nodded bravely, and he helped her step down onto the first rung. Once her head was clear, he began to shut the trap door.
“Corey!” Her voice cracked, and he paused. “Please, don’t leave me down here.”
He frowned, not liking the anxiety he heard. “It’s just for a little bit, okay?” She forced a nod but looked on the verge of throwing up. He reached down and squeezed her shoulder. “Hey. I won’t be long. Okay?”
“Promise?” she whispered.
He didn’t make promises anymore. Not after he’d broken his last one and people died. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he assured her.
After carefully lowering the door, he covered it with the rug and moved the coffee table back into its rightful spot. Then he marched over to his weapons locker, punched in the code and removed a rifle.
“Storm, to me,” he called to the wolf, pulling on his jacket.
They stepped onto the porch and his eyes narrowed at the men tramping through the snow not far away. Hefting the rifle over his shoulder so they could see it, he placed his other hand on his hip. With Storm at his side, he knew they cut a formidable duo. Hopefully, the intruders thought so, too.
“You’re on private property!” Corey called out.
The men paused, conferred in low voices, then waved. “Hey, sorry about that,” the taller one said. “We’re looking for our friend. Her car broke down back there on the other side of the woods.”
“I haven’t seen anyone,” Corey stated. “I’d go back and check the main road.”
“We already did. You’re sure you haven’t seen her? A blonde?”
Lies. Sera wasn’t their friend. Corey shifted the rifle on his shoulder. “Like I said, no one came through here.”
“If you say so.”
They didn’t turn to leave which Corey viewed as a challenge. Idiots.
“Are you going to get the hell off my property or do you want to meet my wolf?” As if on cue, Storm growled, giving them a nice view of his sharp teeth.
They exchanged a quick whisper then started backing up. “Sorry to bother you.”
Corey watched them walk away, lowering a hand to pet Storm’s head. “Good boy.” The wolf made a whining sound. “Yeah, I think they’re full of shit, too.”
Once they were out of sight, Corey and Storm went back inside. He locked the door and pulled all the curtains shut. Then he moved the table aside, pushed the rug back and opened the trap door. “Sera? We need to talk.”
No answer.
He frowned. “Sera?”
When she didn’t respond, he immediately began climbing down the ladder. Stepping off the last rung, he turned and lifted his phone, shining the flashlight over the hidden cellar. His heart lurched when he saw her huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around her legs, shaking uncontrollably.
“Fuck,” he hissed, hurrying over and dropping down beside her. “What’s wrong?”
She looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I-I don’t do very well in small, dark places. I’m sorry.”
Sorry? For what? He’s the one who should be sorry for making her go down there by herself when she was obviously claustrophobic. Feeling like an asshole, he reached over and flipped on the flashlight in her hands. She’d kept it off because he’d asked her to, even though she was terrified.
“The light’s on. You’re okay.” Her chest was rising and falling hard, and it seemed like she was on the verge of a full-on panic attack. “Sera, take my hand.”
His voice was firm, a little sharp, and it snapped her out of whatever memory or ghost had her in its clutches. She reached out, catching hold of his hand, and he stood, pulling her up into his arms. Wrapping her in his embrace, he lifted her up and carried her over to the ladder.
“Can you climb up? Or I can carry you,” he murmured gently. Her face was buried against his chest, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck—as though she never wanted to let go. No one had ever held onto him like that before. At least not since Cassidy.
Fuck. Looking down at her dark blonde hair, his stomach roiled, and for a terrible moment, he was transported back to the past.
But, no, this wasn’t Cassidy, and they weren’t trying to escape some Afghan hellhole. We’re in my cellar, he reminded himself. A place I built. I’m safe, she’s safe. It’s Sera, not Cassidy.
“I can climb,” she whispered.
With a nod, he gently lowered her back to her feet, and she turned, grabbing onto the ladder, but still clutching the small flashlight like a lifeline. “I’m right behind you. Take your time.”
He stayed close, ready to catch her if she slipped, but also just to give her comfort as they climbed up.
Once they were both back in the living room, he closed the trap door, covered it with the rug and dragged the coffee table back into position.
Sinking down onto the edge of the table, he softly said, “I bought us some time, but those men will be back.”
Her eyes widened in terror and she wrapped her arms around herself.
“Let’s talk,” he suggested gently, and she gave him a jerky nod.
◆◆◆
A few minutes later, Sera found herself on the couch beside Corey, spilling her story. She confided every terrifying detail, from the moment she saw Joel fire the gun to fleeing San Diego with Loki and then running into the men at the rest stop.
“I was beginning to believe I’d panicked over nothing until I realized they’d followed me,” she said.
“You were smart to run.” Corey studied her intently. The man was so serious, and she could tell his gears were turning. “If they tracked you this far, it can’t mean anything good. They probably had a tracker on your car.”
“Oh, God.” She ran a hand through her hair. What the hell was she going to do? “I don’t want to lead them to my sister and drag her into this mess. Same with you. This isn’t your problem and you don’t owe me anything. I should leave.”
“How? Your car is buried under a foot of snow, might not even start, and those men are looking for you.”
She pressed her lips together and frowned. A terrifying thought occurred to her. “What if they come back here with more men?”
For a moment, he didn’t say anything. Those ice-blue eyes of his clouded over and he seemed to be struggling with a decision.
Oh, God. He’s going to tell me to leave.
Could she blame him, though? All she’d done was arrive on his doorstep with trouble pursuing her.
Why would he want to get more involved in her shitstorm?
“If it’s not asking too much, maybe you could drop me off at the nearest mechanic?” she said quietly.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “How about I help you instead?”
Her heart sped up. “You’re sure?”
“The way I see it, those men are dangerous. I don’t think they’re just going to give up. And you helped me when I was lying outside half frozen. I don’t think I thanked you yet.” His piercing gaze, so electric blue, locked onto hers. “Thank you, Sera.”
Her stomach tumbled at the way he said her name—deep, almost melodic—and she couldn’t remember the last man who’d made her feel butterflies. “You’re welcome.”
He reached for his cell phone.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’ve got friends. Former military friends who excel at neutralizing threats.”
“Neutralizing?” she echoed. That’s the term Joel had used.
“We’ve been trained to handle stuff like this.”
“What branch of the military were you in?” she asked.
“Navy. SEALs.” He punched a contact on his phone and she heard a muffled, deep voice answer almost immediately.
“Murph, I need your help.” Corey met her gaze. “I need the whole team’s help.”
For the first time since she’d fled the J&J Shipping warehouse, Sera felt hopeful. She had someone in her corner. And considering a couple of bad guys had chased her halfway across the country, it was a damn good feeling to be hunkered down with a former Navy freaking SEAL.
A tall, gruff, bearded mountain man with eyes the color of a glacier who made butterflies dance in her stomach.
Biting her lip, it occurred to her that she was in bigger trouble than she even realized. Because getting her heart involved? That could lead nowhere good. She was too damaged. And from what she’d seen, so was he.