Chapter 7 #2
I catch my breath and something whizzes by my ear. A thud against the cabin wall echoes through my chest and when I look, singed pieces of cedar shingles flick to the floor.
“Get down!”
Grayson recovers from the shock faster than I do. He tackles me to the floor as another bullet zips by and hits.
Someone is shooting at us.
Grayson shields me with his body as the next shot lands too close for comfort. Then he pushes me to my feet, both of us curved in half. I haul myself over the side of the porch and land in a crouch with him beside me.
Adrenaline kicks in and sends me hurdling forward, working my arms for speed. The shots trail after us in a straight line until we reach the trees then demolish a line of maple leaves overhead.
I lose feeling in my legs the longer we sprint, the more we push to dodge the gunfire. I hadn’t seen anyone.
My throat closes. I’m not sure what’s worse, the shots or the distraction. I hadn’t marked the hidden danger and if anything happens to Grayson—
He goes down and I turn, a shot catching my hair and leaving an acrid singed stench behind.
He’s covered in sweat. It glosses his face and his neck, my hands slipping on his as I drag him to his feet. Eyes distant, he eventually catches my gaze with his, our panic shared.
Our fingers link, latch, hold.
I’m not sure who is pulling who as my lungs seize and my legs cramp. I can’t breathe, I can’t see anything except the sun-dappled forest floor in front of me. The heavy thunder of my pulse obliterates the sound of our footsteps and the charred hair smell is everywhere.
A reminder of how close I came to losing my face instead of a lock.
We run until my legs give out. I’m the one who pulls us to a stop like an anchor.
Tears burn at the corners of my eyes and I double over, in the front row of the struggle bus.
I can’t keep going.
I must have said it out loud because Grayson stalls, our hands still linked. He cranes his head to the side but the stillness around us spreads and holds.
“I think we’re fine to stop. Are you okay?” He glances at my legs. “What happened?”
No. I’m definitely not okay. My body is giving out on me and no granola bar is going to help. I straighten but the movement doesn’t make it easier to breathe. And when I topple to the side, my vision banks, and Grayson catches me.
“Take a breath. Slow your heartbeat.”
My gaze darts over his shoulder. “What if…he comes back?”
“I think we’re far enough away from him not to follow us. We’re faster than he is,” Grayson assures me.
I’ve got serious doubts but it’s impossible to keep moving. No more marathons are in my future.
I gulp, my mouth filled with saliva and a coldness spreading through my stomach. Grayson, on the other hand, is flushed, the apples of his cheeks bright and his eyes feverish.
His thumb brushes the top of my knuckle. This time, I don’t jump. I hold steady through the tremble passing between the two of us.
He grabs the shorn piece of hair near my jaw with his free hand. “He almost got you.”
“Good thing he didn’t. Terrible shot.” My words tumble over each other.
But I’m not okay and Grayson doesn’t ask again.
Not when he releases my hand to cup my face to examine me for himself. He searches my face for any hint of pain or lies. My tongue ties itself in knots the longer he touches me because his hands burn through my skin.
“I don’t know what I would have done if he shot you,” he admits in an undertone.
I should say something funny to ease the tension.
I should. Except my mind blanks and I swipe my tongue across my lower lip, his attention dipping to capture the movement and my stomach goes tight.
There’s no witty comeback. There’s only the quiet forest, sunlight, and Grayson with his hot skin and topaz eyes.
I suck in a breath when the inches separating us get smaller and thicker. “Gray—”
“Mandi? It’s Mandi! Thank god we found you. Over here!”
The male voice sounds from the left accompanied by the crunch of boots on leaves so loud it’s another form of gunfire.
Grayson and I jump apart at the interruption. Correction, I jump. He wobbles before locking his knees as the voices get louder and the noise obnoxious.
A young man with wheat colored hair and broad shoulders muscles his way through the trees, a sunny smile splitting his features.
Recognition clicks into place. “Jrue! What are you doing here?”
I’m whisked off my feet the second he reaches me.
Arms band around my waist and my feet leave the ground, Jrue spinning me in a dizzying circle before setting me down.
Four men follow him, all of them pack. Ironwood.
“I’ve been looking for you! Well, we’ve been looking, following your scent for days. Your father is terrified.”
Jrue’s earnest blue eyes search my face with none of the heat of Grayson’s when he did the same thing.
I’m still spinning and there’s no end to the motion. No matter how tightly he grips my elbows, looming over me.
My mouth works and forms the words as Jrue glances beyond me and finds Grayson.
The energy in the clearing changes. The rest of the wolves form a barrier around us on instinct with their attention narrowed on the newcomer.
“Who is this?” Jrue asks with deceptive ease.
He drags in an inhale to analyze Grayson’s scent. The two of them square off against each other although neither one has moved.
I slap my palms against Jrue’s chest to grab his attention. “Grayson is the only reason I’m alive right now. He saved me from…”
Shit, do I bring up the moon-mad wolf?
“A hunter,” I clarify. “Someone shot at us.”
Jrue’s brows narrow and his forehead lines deepen. “Someone shot at you.”
It’s a statement, not a question. Grayson doesn’t move, doesn’t offer his hand to Jrue, and for some reason, the introduction I know I need to make stalls.
Grayson scratches his forearm, his bicep. “They tried to bring us down. These woods are dangerous apparently. Hunters and vampires.”
“And you were with her the entire time she’s been gone?” Accusation drips from every syllable. “We’ve been searching for over a week and today is the first time we’ve gotten a hint of scent. Now we find her with you.”
I scoff. “Cut it out, Jrue. Grayson is a good guy.”
The same good guy I wanted to kiss minutes earlier. A flush darkens on my cheeks and heat pushes against my sternum.
Jrue smiles wider. “Then I’m glad he was there for you. Nice to meet you, Grayson.” He thrusts out his arm and introduces the rest of the search party. “And I’m Jrue. Mandi’s fiancé.”