Chapter 21
TWENTY-ONE
Zephyrine
“If there was something I wanted to make, could I get some ingredients from somewhere?” I ask the next morning, as if nothing’s different.
He lifts his eyes from his phone to meet mine, but not before they sweep over me in appreciation.
We’re pretending just like we promised one another.
Last night was a dream and nothing more.
It was a one-time thing to get it out of our systems. Breaking the tension in this cabin would cure us both.
But every time he looks at me this morning, I can hear his voice again telling me what I do to him, the way I affect him, him saying how gorgeous I am.
“Not if arsenic is on the list,” he teases me.
“Ha. Not arsenic, just strawberries and cream. Things like that.” I roll my eyes and shake my head at the accusation. “I thought we agreed we weren’t killing each other.”
“We agreed I wasn’t killing you. You might still have something to gain from killing me. If you could make it out of the woods without breaking your ankle anyway.”
“Well, I have no intention of poisoning you. Just normal ingredients. I promise.”
“Yeah. Kit could probably manage it if we gave her some warning. There are some wild strawberries just outside in the woods. I picked a couple yesterday. But why do you want to make something?” He gives me a skeptical look.
“I thought you’d at least enjoy the break from all the kitchen work at the convent. ”
I do enjoy the break, but I also want to do something nice for him.
It feels like the least I can do. He's made me several meals, has my coffee ready every morning the way I like it, put up with my drunken antics, and then was nothing but kind to me last night.
For being a disgruntled and reluctant kidnapper, the man has a thoughtful streak a mile wide.
“I just have a taste for something, and I thought I could make it for us.” I shrug my shoulders, trying to act casual before he gets any more suspicious.
Saying the word “us” feels weird, like I’m implying there is an us after yesterday. Obviously, I know there isn't. There could never be. I’m going back to the convent once this is done, and he’s going back to whatever it is he normally does.
Right now, though, I’m stuck here with him, and I’m tired of this thick, lingering fog between us that makes it hard to think straight.
I want to shine light on it and sort it through.
I thought yesterday would have killed whatever it was by getting it out of our systems, but today only feels like the tension is just under the surface again, slowly building little by little.
Like one tiny spark of static electricity could set this whole cabin on fire.
“Well, I could use the air if you want to go hunt for some fresh strawberries. There’s a colander in the cabinet.” He nods to it before he takes the last swallow of his coffee. That makes two of us who need air.
“Are you sure? I didn’t mean to interrupt.” I feel a little awkward now as I'm dragging him away from whatever he was doing on his phone. But he shakes his head and tucks it into his pocket as the screen goes black.
“I’m sure.” He puts the dishes in the sink as he answers and pulls the colander from the cabinet. He slides it across the counter to me and then nods for the door. “Lead the way, darlin’.”
We wander along a path in the woods together, and he points out different edible plants along the way until we reach a patch of wild strawberry plants he found yesterday.
“I have a feeling there’s more back that way, but I didn’t want to wander too far. I didn’t have my gun with me, and you never know up here with the bears and mountain lions.”
“Bears?” I stop short. It hadn’t even crossed my mind, but now it seems so damn obvious.
“I haven’t seen any, not even tracks. I’ll keep an eye out. Don’t worry. When I lived up here, there was a family of them that had a den not far from here. Mom got a little testy with the little ones around.” He surveys the forest as I kneel down to get a closer look at the plants.
“Well, she’s trying to protect them.”
“I’m the one who needs protection. They were climbing on my porch and stealing my food out of the garden. Lawless little things.” He shakes his head.
“You had a garden?” I grin at the idea of his garden being raided by cubs and him having to shoo them out without tangling with an angry mama bear as I check the plant for any signs of a ripe berry.
“A small one. Just enough to keep some kitchen vegetables and a couple of herbs ready. I didn’t have a green thumb or anything, so don’t get excited.”
“I’m not.” I smile at him. “But it explains why you were willing to help in the gardens. We never had a priest volunteer like that. The older nuns used to grumble about how they didn’t want to get their hands dirty. Now it makes more sense.”
A grin flashes across his face, and he shakes his head at me.
“Here’s another patch of them. Bring the colander over. How many do you need?” he asks as he crouches down to start picking and I take my turn watching for unwanted guests.
“A couple of pints would be ideal. But one would do in a pinch. I could make a half recipe. There'd still be plenty for two people.”
“You’re not going to offer the guys any? Their feelings will be hurt.” Levi gives me a mock look of concern.
Two of his men have been camping out nearby in the woods, keeping a night watch when Levi sleeps. I’d be more worried for them and bear encounters except one of them had been my bear, hauling me back to Levi when he beckoned.
“Well, mine are still hurt from the way your one guy dragged me back to the cabin unceremoniously.”
He laughs. “I suppose that’s fair.”
“Do these taste good? They’re so small,” I ask, holding one of the strawberries up to inspect it.
“Yeah. They’re sweeter than the kind you get at the store. Smaller, but they pack a punch,” he explains. “Here.” He picks one and spits on it. “Just spit on it like that and wipe the dirt off. Then you can taste them.”
I watch him with a raised brow, and his follows until he realizes where my mind is wandering to.
“You have a filthy mind for a nun.”
“I blame you. I was perfectly fine until you came along.”
“Your recipe folder would beg to differ.” He side-eyes me, and my cheeks pink under his watch.
“Yes, well. I’m working on that vice.”
“How are the rosaries coming along anyway? Do we need to add extra?” he teases me.
“After yesterday, you mean?” I decide to push my luck.
“About that…” His voice fades, and he shakes his head like he’s trying to clear it and find the right words.
“I liked it.” I pick another strawberry, trying to distract myself if he’s going to give me a lecture for mentioning the unmentionable.
“Obviously,” I mumble before I spit on the little red berry and wipe the dirt away on the hem of my shirt, then I take a bite.
The juice runs down over my lip, and I press my fingers to my lips to try to stop it.
“Oh wow.” He wasn’t kidding about the sweetness.
“These are amazing.” I throw a hand up in the air and grin before I see his face.
I realize then he still hasn’t spoken, and I worry my lip between my teeth, licking the juice off it with the tip of my tongue.
His eyes land on my lips, heavy and focused like he’s thinking about things other than strawberries.
I stand nervously, and he follows, taking a step toward me, closing the distance between us.
It feels like that night on the pier all over again.
But this time, he reaches out for me, his hand slipping under my jaw and tilting my chin up.
His thumb slides over my lower lip as he studies the stain of the strawberries on my skin.
“I liked it too.” His voice has a low rasp to it that sends a wave of anticipation through my body.
He tilts his head, and his lips descend on mine, the softest brush of a kiss until I meet him with my own.
He pulls me close then, one hand snaking around my waist and the other around the nape of my neck as he deepens it.
It’s still soft. He’s still tasting me like he’s deciding which part he wants more of before he takes.
My hands go to his chest, bracing myself as warm ripples of want start to bleed through my senses.
I don’t know what we’re doing. Breaking all our rules. But I want more of it. More of him.
He breaks the kiss. Giving us both a chance to catch our breath, and his blue-green eyes search mine—something I can’t quite read in them. His lips part, words on the tip of his tongue.
Before he can speak, there’s a shift in the air. Like our kiss broke the underpinnings of our blissful little adventure, and there’s a low rumble of thunder in the distance. He glances up at the sky, and his face clouds.
“Do you hear that?” he asks abruptly, all the thick fog that’s wound its way around us clearing the second I hear the sharpness in his tone.
“Yes. Thunder?” He’d warned me before about how fast the storms come in up here. But no sooner do I ask the question than I hear it more clearly. It’s not thunder. It’s a soft, distant, methodical hum. Like the beat of massive wings. Ones that are getting closer and closer.
He holds his hand out, urging me to stay where I am before he takes off on foot, moving to higher ground where he can see.
There’s enough of a break in the canopy at this angle for me to catch a glimpse.
There, at the top of our mountain, is a helicopter.
The door on one side is hanging open, and if my eyes aren’t betraying me, I see guns and a half dozen men readying themselves to scale down the rope they’ve just thrown out the side.
My heart bottoms out into my stomach, and a surge of fear winds its way up my spine.
“Run.” He says it softly at first when he makes his way back to me, still staring up over his shoulder at the black metal bird in the sky, but when he repeats himself as he turns to face me, it’s a clear demand. “Run, Zephyrine!”
We both take off in a full sprint, running for the cabin. I manage to pace him despite my still-sore ankle. I’m terrified. I don’t have to wait to find out who’s inside the helicopter. I know. It’ll mean the end of us both.
“Get to the cabin. There’s a spot in the floor in the bedroom where the boards lift.
You need to get under it.” He yells the instructions as we both pace our way back up the mountainside.
My lungs are straining for air. It’s thinner up here, at least a mile and a half up, and going higher with every step we take.
I adapted to it since we arrived, drinking lots of water and sleeping more than usual.
But I wasn’t prepared to have to run for my life.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to hold him off until my guys get here.”
He pulls the walkie out from his belt loop and presses the button. I can’t hear what he says over my own heavy breathing, but I know he’s radioing his security team. I just have to hope the two of them are enough to help us.
I didn't count them, but the helicopter looked full, and my husband’s too much of a coward to come alone. If we live through this, it’ll be a miracle.
I’m not sure I believe in them anymore.