Chapter 6
6
“T he backpack is key. Can we leave it at that for now?” Annalee asked, causing all kinds of questions to assault Archer.
Before he could respond, she continued, “We need to find it before whoever the hell is after me beats us to it.” The fear in her eyes and the panic in her voice meant she believed Becca would die if Annalee didn’t keep the backpack safe.
She made a good point, though. The backpack might be the only thing that saved Owen. It was their bargaining chip.
“Any idea where you left it?” Archer asked, scanning the area to get his bearings.
“No,” she said with a frustrated sigh. “I’m lost out here, and it isn’t like we can go to the car so I can retrace my steps. Or, at least, attempt to.”
“There’s no cell coverage to navigate our way around, either.” Archer double-checked his phone, just in case he’d hit a magic spot. He gave a small headshake after confirming there were no bars.
The Annalee he’d known and fallen for wouldn’t give up easily. She’d been a fighter then, and he saw the same fight in her eyes now. In the years in between, she’d changed. Everything had. There was comfort in knowing at least a few of the traits that had made her stand out as special to him hadn’t changed.
“But that won’t stop us from trying,” she said, the fight returning to her voice full force. She’d grown up and into an even more beautiful person on a physical level. Her beauty had drawn plenty of attention before. She would stop traffic now if she crossed the street. Hell, she’d cause accidents. This seemed like a good time to remind himself not to get too caught up in remembering all the qualities he’d fallen in love with.
Shifting gears, he cleared his throat. “We have options.”
“Which are?”
“We can circle back to your vehicle and wait to see if the shooter shows up.” He didn’t love the option because it could put Annalee in the line of fire again.
“Do you think they will?” She blinked. “Go back again?”
“I can’t be certain about anything, considering how little I know about the bastard.” There were other options. “We could go back to my truck and survey the damage. See if it’s drivable or if the shooter hung around there.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
Everything was a risk. “I have to find my brother before it’s too late.”
Annalee opened her mouth before clamping it shut again and nodding.
As he analyzed options, he realized just how much they needed that backpack. If the bastard shooter got to it first, there’d be no reason to keep Owen alive. “Without the evidence, we have no leverage.”
“The shooter doesn’t seem to care one way or the other, considering he just fired at us,” she said. “We could’ve been killed.”
“He shot the tires.”
She cocked her head to one side. “Meaning?”
“Whoever pulled that trigger wanted to stop us, not kill us,” he said. “They wanted us alive in—”
“In case I didn’t have the evidence on me,” she cut in, finishing his sentence.
“That’s the way I see it.”
“I want to find Owen, Archer. I really do.” Annalee stood up and walked toward him, then took his hand. Hers was small by comparison but fit his perfectly. “That’s priority one.”
“We’ll find a way to do that while keeping your mother alive.”
“I won’t go to the law,” she warned. “Not at any point.” She caught his gaze and held it. “You need to know where I stand on that. Do you promise not to go behind my back?”
Archer stood there for a long moment. He would do anything if it meant saving his brother’s life. “I can’t give you my word that I won’t go to the law. The only thing I can say is that I won’t go without having a conversation with you first.” Archer’s word was as good as gold. He didn’t make promises he had no intention of keeping.
Annalee studied him for a long moment. “I guess that will have to do.”
“We’re in this together.” He wanted her to know that he intended to see it through. “You don’t have to do any of this alone. Not anymore.”
He could have sworn he saw moisture gathering in those tired blue eyes.
She sniffed it away, and a moment later, all emotion faded from her expression. Her face was as readable as a rock, just like it had been all those years ago when she’d broken his fool heart. “What’s our next move, Archer?”
“We walk around these woods until we find that backpack.” It was the only move that mattered. Without it, they had no bargaining chip.
“Okay,” she said, sounding resigned. “We don’t leave here emptyhanded. Okay?”
With a shooter out there somewhere, they needed to be stealthy.
“When was the last time you ate a real meal or slept?” he asked in barely more than a whisper before he agreed to anything else.
“Four days, but if I’m really being honest, it feels like it’s been years since I had a good night of sleep.”
Archer left the admission alone because hearing the tinge of exhaustion in her voice threatened to chip away at some of his armor—the armor he needed to survive another round with Annalee. Based on his body’s reaction to her so far, he needed to remind himself every few minutes that she had the unique ability to crush his heart. The second time around would be his own damn fault for falling for her. But he had no plans to touch a hot stove twice, no matter how hard he fought his hands from reaching out to comfort her. “Lead the way.”
“We’ll end up walking in circles.” She blew out a breath. “Since I’m directionally challenged, why don’t I tell you where I headed when I abandoned the vehicle? Think you can sort of get an idea of which way to go then?”
Seemed like as good a place as any to start.
It took all of a minute of her explaining for him to get his bearings well enough to head in a direction. Since his phone was useless, he could only hope his estimation was correct.
Fifteen minutes into the trek, Annalee bit back a yawn. Several others followed. She’d never done well without her sleep. At least one more thing hadn’t changed. It was oddly comforting to feel like he still knew something about her, that he wasn’t in this situation with a complete stranger.
Was there a way to continue searching for Owen and let her sleep once they found the backpack? If they found the backpack. One fact was as certain as bad breath in the morning: the shooter wouldn’t miss if the bastard stumbled across the two of them after discovering the backpack first.
Considering it was pitch black outside and using the light from their phones would put a target on them if the shooter had followed them into the woods, they were looking for a needle in a haystack—blindfolded.
Every chirp or wind gust made them anxious. As bad as the idea probably was, he couldn’t stop himself from holding Annalee’s hand to guide her through the trees. The connection sent warmth spreading through him like wildfire.
An hour passed with no luck. Annalee didn’t complain, but the events of the evening had to be wearing on her.
“Let’s stop and rest,” Archer said.
“We should keep looking.”
Granted, he realized the clock was ticking, but pushing forward beyond exhaustion wouldn’t be productive if this ordeal dragged on. Not resting could set them back.
“We can afford to take a break. Besides, you’ve been walking for hours. Pushing yourself until you drop won’t help us find the backpack.” He needed to think. Go over in his head the areas they’d covered so he could come up with a plan for where they should look next.
“My feet aren’t happy about it,” she admitted, shivering.
Archer took off his jacket and placed it around her shoulders after she sat down.
She shook her head and immediately handed it back. “You need that. You’ll freeze.”
“Take it. I run hot anyway.”
Annalee bit down on her bottom lip like she’d stopped herself from saying something she might regret. And then the corners of her mouth upturned in a small smile. The way she smiled had always made him wonder what she was really thinking.
He finally broke. “What?”
“Nothing.” She kept the offering, placing it around her shoulders as she leaned forward to create a barrier for the wind.
“Bullshit.”
“Fine, but all I was going to say is that some things never change.”
What was that supposed to mean? “How so?”
“You were hot then, and you’re just as hot now.”
Those words shouldn’t make a slow smile spread across his lips or his chest puff up a little more. It meant she was getting inside his head, and he couldn’t have that twice.
“So hot we both burned up,” he muttered before excusing himself to walk the perimeter.
For one, he didn’t want to wait around for her response. For another, he didn’t like the fact he’d just taken a jab at her. His bruised ego had healed years ago, so it had no business showing up and taking the wheel now.
With the stealth of a bobcat stalking its prey, he circled the temporary resting spot twice before he shoved all unproductive thoughts out of his head. His stomach growling was the only noise he made as he returned to where Annalee had been sitting. Or, at least, this was the spot he knew he’d left her.
Once again, she was gone.
Annalee had to risk Archer walking up on her because she couldn’t hold her bladder any longer. The saying, leaves of three, let ’em be, came to mind, so she counted to make sure she didn’t end up with poison ivy in the last place anyone wanted it.
Adrenaline had worn off a long time ago. Her bones ached from exhaustion. She couldn’t stop from yawning as she made the short trek back.
Halfway there, Archer jumped out from behind a tree, scaring the bejesus out of her.
“What the hell?” She hadn’t seen him coming and hadn’t heard a thing. Were all of her senses as tired as her bones?
For the first time, she saw real fear in his eyes. “I thought I’d lost you.” He issued a sharp sigh. “Don’t you comprehend the words, ‘Stay put?’”
“Hold on there,” she said, realizing the fear in his eyes was because of her. “Mother Nature called, and I’d been holding it so long my eyeballs started turning yellow. I thought I’d beat you back.”
“You didn’t.” His voice was a mix of anger and frustration. She assumed only a small part of that was because of her. The rest, the bigger piece, had to do with the thought of losing his brother since they were making no progress on finding the backpack. Not to mention, they were lost in the woods. He wasn’t saying so, but she could read it in his expression. Some things would never change, and she was surprisingly comforted by how well she could still read Archer. But then, he was one of the most honest people she’d ever met. He had honor, too. Not like so many folks she’d encountered. You’d never know Archer was from one of the wealthiest families in Texas, either. Besides being honest and honorable, he had a third ‘H’ that was a trifecta of perfection…humility.
Most folks in his circumstance would use their name or family money to manipulate others or gain an advantage. Not Archer. If you didn’t know he came from money, he would never tell you.
“I’m sorry,” she said, catching his gaze and holding onto it so he knew how much she meant those words. “For everything, Archer. I truly am.”
He released a hiss from his teeth, and it sounded like a strained balloon letting out air. “You wouldn’t put my family in danger on purpose. I just can’t figure out why anyone would come after me to get to you. I get that the bastard might have gotten to Owen by mistake. But why me in the first place?”
Words clotted in Annalee’s throat. Her mouth opened, trying to say something. Standing this close, locked onto his gaze, her throat dried up.
He needed to hear the reason even if it was next to impossible to form the words.
“This person would do anything to bring me out of hiding, including using the one person who was most important to me. You.”
The admission caused a flash of emotion to stir behind his eyes—a mix of confusion and something that looked a whole helluva lot like desire. The overwhelming urge to kiss Archer was an all-consuming fire burning in her chest.
“It’s been a long time,” he said. His shock did little to tamp down her desire.
“I know.” What else could she say? Would he believe that she hadn’t met anyone in all these years who could hold a candle to him? Would he believe that she’d never truly stopped loving him? Would he believe that she never would?
Annalee’s gaze dropped to his lips—full, thick lips that were so damn kissable. As much as she tried to force her gaze away, it wouldn’t budge. “Kiss me, Archer.”
If the request caught him off guard, he didn’t show it. Instead, a half-second later, those gorgeous lips of his came crashing down on hers, causing a perfect storm of warmth and need to stir inside her.
She parted her lips enough for him to dip his tongue inside. He didn’t waste the moment, so she teased his tongue deeper.
His hands came up to cup her cheeks, tilting her face toward him. Hers went to his shoulders, where her nails dug in, holding on for dear life as a roller coaster of electrical impulses coursed through her.
Their breath quickened, chests rising and falling in perfect unison. But then, it had always been like that between them. Perfect unity.
And she got lost in everything that was Archer: strength, hotness, and intelligence. Not to mention the way his mouth moved against hers.
A twig snapped.
Archer pulled back and cursed as he surveyed the area. “Stay behind me.” He tucked her behind him before investigating the noise.
For the next few minutes, he walked the perimeter, ensuring nothing and no one was there. When he seemed satisfied, he turned to her.
“Kissing was a mistake,” he said. “Won’t happen again.”
Those words were the equivalent of shots to the heart.
“Okay,” was all she could say in response.