Chapter Two
Daniel
There’s something sacred about this kind of silence.
The kind that lives deep in the trees, past the tourist trails and manicured overlooks. Out here, it’s just pine and wind and the occasional crackle of a squirrel darting across fallen branches. The kind of peace you can’t fake.
I steer the bush truck slowly along the narrow gravel road, the tires crunching with a steady rhythm.
The cab smells like smoke and sweat and old coffee…
just how I like it. A week ago, lightning sparked a fire a few miles from here.
It was small, easy to box in, but I’ve learned never to trust nature to stay predictable.
Fires hide. They wait for wind or heat or one dumb mistake.
So I come out here to double check. Keep an eye on the soil, the trees, the tension in the air. It allows me to stay off-grid while still feeling useful.
Solitude. It’s the only thing that makes sense anymore, after the Army stripped away everything that mattered and the fires took what was left. Friends I bled with. Men I carried out of the flames when it was already too late.
Now it’s just me and Lucy, the dog I rescued when she was just a stray pup with a broken leg. I like animals—they’re much simpler than people. With Lucy, I don’t have to talk. Don’t have to pretend I sleep well or feel whole. I just…take care of her.
I round a bend, the mountains unfolding in the distance like a layer of gold and shadows.
God, this place…
It’s peace and chaos. It’s everything that makes sense to a man like me. A man who’s lost his sense of being and purpose. Here, I don’t have to explain why I don’t want to join team dinners and Friday night games. I don’t have to play nice…
A loud, high-pitched scream pierces the haze of my thoughts.
I slam the brake, gravel skittering under the tires.
I throw the truck in park and leap out, acting on pure instinct.
The scream’s echoing down the ridge somewhere to my left.
I grab my radio, check my belt for my field knife, and head straight into the trees.
Branches snap beneath my boots as I tear through the underbrush, adrenaline spiking hot and primal. Whoever that is, they’re in trouble. And I don’t stand back when someone needs help.
I crest the ridge and sight a girl. She’s young, redheaded, beautiful even from thirty feet away. She stumbles back as a beer-bellied man with greasy hair grabs her arm hard enough to leave marks. She’s terrified. Her whole body’s coiled tight, chest heaving, eyes wide and glassy.
I move faster.
“Hey!” My voice booms louder than I intend. The man jumps. So does she.
They both turn, but I’ve already covered the distance. I wedge myself between them, stepping right up to the guy like I’ve known him for years and already decided I don’t like him.
“What’s going on here?”
The guy holds up his hands, his mouth twisted into a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “Whoa, easy there. This is my sister. We were just having a—uh—misunderstanding.”
“Sister?” I repeat, looking down at the girl. She flinches, and that’s all I need to know.
I turn to her fully, and suddenly, it feels like the whole damn forest has fallen silent.
She’s…stunning. Freckles dust her nose, red curls matted to her damp face, and eyes like glaciers in sunlight. There’s dirt smudged on her cheek, blood on her knuckles, and still…still she looks like the most delicate, breathtaking thing I’ve ever seen.
Something shifts in me. Fast. Violent. Possessive.
I don’t even know her name, but my fists are already twitching with the urge to wreck something on her behalf.
“You okay?” I ask her, keeping my voice low and controlled.
She doesn’t answer right away. Her lips part like she’s trying, but her eyes flick to the man beside me, and her hand tightens around the strap of her bag. Her whole body’s screaming no.
“Let go of her,” I say, louder this time. I don’t raise my voice. I don’t need to.
The man hesitates, eyes me up and down. He sees the wild in me, but thinks maybe he’s still got a shot at bluffing his way through this.
“She’s fine. Right, Cindy?” he says, trying to smile at her again.
She steps back.
I step forward. “You’ve got three seconds to back the hell off.”
The guy’s smirk twitches. “Look, I didn’t mean any harm. We were just—”
“One.”
He laughs nervously. “Come on, man—”
“Two.”
His smile dies.
He looks at the girl, then at me, then throws up his hands. “Whatever,” he mutters, giving her a condescending look. “She’s not worth it.”
I take a step toward him anyway, just to watch him flinch. “Leave. Now.”
He stumbles back, muttering under his breath, and disappears through the trees like the rat he is. The second he’s gone, I turn to her. She’s shaking, her eyes wide with fear and a hint of relief.
“Hey,” I say gently. “You’re safe now. I got you.”
“Thank you,” she whispers. Her eyes brim with tears, but she blinks them back fast.
Tough little thing.
“What’s your name?”
She hesitates, biting her lips in a way that sends blood rushing to my cock. “Cindy.”
Focus, Foster. Keep a straight head.
“Okay, Cindy,” I say, running a quick glance over her. I take in the swelling at her ankle, the dirt on her palms, the torn sleeve, my blood boiling with rage all over again at the bastard who did this to her. “Can you walk?”
She tries, winces, and wobbles a little. The ankle’s not broken, but it’s probably still better for her to rest it for a bit. Or maybe I just want an excuse to get closer to her.
I approach her slowly, like I would a wounded animal. She’s already been scared by men enough for one day.
“I’m gonna give you a lift to my truck,” I say, allowing her a moment to stop me.
She doesn’t, so I scoop her up before she can change her mind.
She gasps, grabbing my shoulders, and damn if that doesn’t do something wicked to my insides.
“You’re okay,” I say again, quieter now as I carry her toward the road. “You’re with me now. No one’s ever touching you like that again.”
Not while I’m breathing.