1. David #2
Her eyes narrow. “Well, thanks. That’s a super helpful observation.”
Yeah, okay.
Thunder booms overhead again and lightning streaks across the western sky.
“There’s a storm coming in,” I tell her.
She looks up, seeming annoyed. “The rain is going to wash the prints away.”
“You didn’t find any?” There had to be a few, especially if she went down by the river.
I shake my head. I don’t love the idea of her down by the river by herself, no one even knowing she was out here. What if she’d slipped? Banged her head on a rock? Fell down the bank and broke her ankle? Been bitten by a snake?
What the hell am I thinking? There aren’t any venomous snakes here. I mean, there could be. I’ve seen a lot of things in my time. Nature is never completely predictable. But the chances of her coming across a snake that would hurt her are slim. If we were further west or southeast then…
I shake my head. What is going on with me?
We’re not further west or southeast. We’re here.
Where there are no poisonous snakes, where the riverbank is not particularly steep, and where there are no big rocks.
The river is a little deep right now. We’ve had some decent rains this summer.
But the current isn’t particularly strong right here and if she’s any kind of swimmer at all she would have been fine even if she’d fallen in.
Probably.
She’s muscular but thin. And maybe she doesn’t know how to swim at all. And anything can happen in nature, even if you’re totally prepared. Which it’s clear she is not.
I grind my back molars together.
“I did, but when I tried to take photos, my phone…” She sighs.
“Didn’t work,” I guess.
“Right.”
“The animals will be back. There will be more prints.” Except for the mountain lion, but she doesn’t need to know that. There are plenty of deer and small, furry, harmless animals out here for her to study.
What is she? A teacher? A college student? She looks young. Maybe a biology student.
“Yeah, but that means I have to come back out here and there’s a conservation officer who’s ticked at me now and might not like that.”
I’m still wearing my uniform, so she knows I’m here officially . That isn’t making her all that compliant though.
“He won’t like that,” I snap. “Jesus, don’t you have any friends?”
It’s dark, so I shouldn’t notice something like a flash of vulnerability cross her face, but I could swear there’s something there. And I want to know what it is.
I fist my hand and take a deep breath. I don’t have time for this. I can’t fix everything I come across today. She’s not my problem. Not really. Only as long as she’s out here with no other help. If I get her to town, I can get her off my To Do List.
Not that she’s on my To Do List . Not like that…
She’s on those other two lists I’ve got going.
And I need to get her off . No, I don’t need to get her off . Not like that…
I shove a hand through my hair and take another breath. It’s been a really long day. “We’ll talk about it tomorrow. After the storm. Grab your stuff. Let’s go.” I turn on my heel and start for my truck.
“Let’s… go?” she asks.
“Yes. I’ll take you into town. You can get someone out here to tow your car tomorrow.” Someone else . Not me. I don’t need to do it. This isn’t my problem.
I’m going to have to keep repeating that to myself.
I’m proud of myself as I don’t even turn back to see if she needs help getting anything out of her car and into my truck.
It’s going to take us twenty-five minutes, maybe more to get to town, and then it’ll take twenty minutes for Derek to make me a pizza. Unless I call ahead. I pull my phone out and start to dial, but before I can press the second number, my phone starts beeping.
Fuck.
The signal is very familiar. It’s a weather alert. And I’m pretty sure I know what it’s going to say before I even read the words.
Sure enough—Tornado Warning.
There’s been a tornado sighted in the area.
“Come on,” I call over my shoulder. “We need to move.”
“Can’t I just call someone with your phone?” she asks.
I turn back and stomp toward her. I’m not getting a pizza now if there’s a fucking tornado warning.
Derek and everyone else at the bar are going to be taking shelter—at least they better fucking be—and now I’m remembering this woman saying she’s starving.
When did she last eat? How long has she been out here?
Does she like pizza? Okay, everyone likes pizza.
What kind of pizza does she like though?
Who fucking cares ?
“No. You can get your ass in my truck and let me drive us both to safety. A tornado touched down six miles away. And it’s about to?—”
The rain starts all at once.
Not a few drops as a warning. Not even a light sprinkle to warm up.
It’s dry one minute and the next it’s like I’m standing underneath my showerhead.
Except this is cold .
“Dammit!” I bend, throw her over my shoulder, and stalk back to my truck.
“Hey!”
“You had your chance,” I grit out. I wrench open the passenger door and pause. “You could have gotten in before you were all wet,” I point out. Then I plop her onto the dry seat of my new truck.
“But I—” she splutters.
I slam the door. I go to her car, duck inside, grab the bag that’s resting on the passenger seat, glance around for keys, realize it doesn’t matter if we lock it up, slam the door extra hard, and stomp back to my truck. I get in, toss the bag into her lap, and throw the truck into gear.
I check my phone as we bump over the ground toward the access road.
She’s got one hand braced on the ceiling and one on the dash.
Yeah, the ride is a little rough. Too bad.
“Fuck,” I mutter as the notifications show the tornado still on the ground and coming this way.
Of course, it is. Why would it not be?
The rain makes seeing out the windshield a challenge. But there's nothing out here to run into. I just head generally west. We bump, dip, and jerk along until we hit the access road and I make a quick decision. I turn right instead of left.
The road is smoother than the field and she decides to speak. “Where are we going?”
“Are you worried about me kidnapping you now ?”
“Uh…now that you mention it,” she says. “At what point in the kidnapping does the kidnapper tell the victim she’s being kidnapped?”
I glance over at her. “You don’t think it’s kind of obvious right away?”
“Sure, if the guy comes up behind you and grabs you and stuffs you in a van or the trunk of a car or something. But what if he—or she, let’s not be sexist—offers you candy or cookies first? Or like flirts and dances with you. Or?—”
“Rescues you from a tornado?”
“Yeah. It might be hard to pinpoint when the kidnapping starts.”
“I’m not kidnapping you.” I shake my head. “The last thing I need tonight is a captive. I don’t have the energy for something like that.”
There’s a beat of silence and then she laughs.
And the sound punches me in the gut. It’s so pretty. Light. Happy. Addictive. I feel myself smiling as I look over at her.
“So I shouldn’t worry about my safety with you because you’re tired ?”
I nod. “It’s been a long damned day.”
“But on a normal day, when you’re well rested and in a good mood, you’re a likely kidnapper?”
I actually huff out a soft laugh. “Nah. That really seems like a lot of work even on the best day.”
She settles back in her seat, smiling. “Well, it remains that you’re taking me somewhere without my consent.”
“If there wasn’t a fucking tornado approaching, I would have let you use my phone,” I tell her. And it’s true. Having her with me while worrying about sheltering through a storm is not ideal. It’s another person to be responsible for and I’m good at that…in very small increments of time.
Like long enough to say, “You need to put out those campfires and clean up this site, so you don’t start a wildfire.
You have thirty minutes” or “I’m giving you this citation because of the reckless way you were driving that snowmobile.
You could have really hurt somebody. I don’t want to ever see you doing that again, got it? ”
I hand her my phone now. “Call someone and tell them where you are. You’re going to shelter with me, but I can take you to town after the storm passes.”
She doesn’t take the phone. “No, that’s okay.”
I frown. “You wanted to use my phone a few minutes ago. Call someone.”
“I’m fine. I mean… now I’m fine. Now that I’m with you.”
I look over at her again, but it’s too dark to see a damned thing. I wish I could see her face. She’s okay now that she’s with me? What the hell? Who is she? Why is she out here? Okay, getting animal prints, but why all by herself?
“You should call someone. Surely they’re worried.”
She sighs heavily. “Fine.” She takes my phone and a second later, I hear, “Hey, it’s me.
” She pauses. “I know. My phone died.” Another pause.
“I know . I told you I ordered one.” Pause.
“ Anyway , I’m fine.” Pause. “It’s…David Bennett’s phone.
I got a flat and he stopped and is giving me a ride.
” Pause. “Yes, David.” Pause. She sighs.
“Yes.” Pause. “Okay, I will. Love you too. Bye.”
She hands me the phone back.
“Everything good? “I ask, taking it.
“Yep. My sister now knows and she’ll tell everyone I’m fine and…it’s all good.”
“Great.”
I pull into a driveway two minutes later. The house is dark, but I know the back door will be unlocked.
“Is this your house?” she asks as I park and turn the truck off.
“No. I live about eight miles from here. Too far with this tornado coming. Let’s go.”
Yeah, I live far from town. On purpose. And I could show her a ton of animal prints on my land. Including mountain lion. The damned thing walked into the trap I set on my property, not Bill’s.
But I’m not risking driving further right now.
I push the door open and round the truck to get her. She’s already out and I instinctively grab her hand as I start for the back of Tim’s house. We run but are soaked by the time we step onto the back porch.
“This isn’t your house but we’re just going inside?” she asks as I let us into the kitchen.
“Yep.”
“Is it a friend?”
“Kind of.” Tim and I are friendly .
Tim and his wife Donna are out of town this weekend, but I know he’ll be fine with us staying here considering the circumstances. I’d text him and ask, but it’s late and I’m sure he’s already in bed.
I flip on the lights and pull up my weather notifications and messages.
The tornado warning is still in effect. The rain is still coming down in torrents and…yep, there’s the hail. Pinging off the roof, the sidewalk…and my new truck.
I blow out a breath.
Then I turn and look at the woman I rescued.
And realize in a heartbeat that hail damage and insurance claims are the least of my problems.
Goddammit.
This woman is beautiful. Even soaking wet and wind-blown.
And I’m going to be stuck with her here for the next couple of hours. At least.
And, matching right up with the crappy fucking day I’ve had, I do know who she is.
This is Mia Hansen.
The daughter of the man I consider my one and only enemy.