Chapter 2
TWO
JUNIE
I wake up to the smell of coffee and woodsmoke, my body heavy and aching in ways I’ve never felt before.
For a moment I don’t know where I am. The bed beneath me is soft and warm, nothing like the cheap motel mattresses I’ve been sleeping on for the last few weeks.
I blink slowly, trying to piece together the fragments of memory.
The snow. The blood. The man who carried me through the storm like I weighed nothing.
Wyatt.
I sit up too fast and wince as pain shoots through my left leg.
The room spins for a second before settling.
I’m in a small, neat bedroom with wooden walls and a stone fireplace that’s still glowing with low embers.
My clothes are gone, replaced by a large flannel shirt that smells like pine and clean soap.
My leg’s bandaged tightly from the knee down.
I touch it gingerly and remember the sharp pain when I tripped in the snow.
The door opens quietly. Wyatt steps in carrying a mug of something steaming. He looks even bigger in the daylight, tall and broad with dark hair and sharp eyes that seem to see everything. He stops when he sees me awake.
“You’re up,” he says, voice low and even. “How are you feeling?”
I pull the blanket higher around my waist, suddenly aware of how exposed I feel. “Sore. Confused. Where am I exactly?”
“Haven 7. My cabin. You’re safe here.”
Safe. That word again. I want to believe it, but trust doesn’t come easy for a girl like me. Not after everything that’s happened with my brother. Not after the men who have been chasing me for weeks.
Wyatt sets the mug on the nightstand. It’s tea, not coffee. The steam smells like chamomile and honey. “Drink this. It’ll help with the pain. Eli, our medic, will be by soon to check on your leg.”
I take the mug with both hands, letting the warmth seep into my cold fingers. “Thank you. For… everything. I don’t even remember half of last night.”
He nods once and sits in the chair across from the bed, giving me space. He doesn’t push. He just waits. I appreciate that more than I can say.
I sip the tea slowly. It’s warm and sweet and soothes my raw throat. “My name’s Junie Bellis. I told you that last night, right?”
“You did.”
I take another sip, buying time. I don’t know how much to tell him. He saved my life, but that does not mean I can trust him with everything. Not yet.
“I’m looking for my brother,” I say finally. “His name is Caleb. He’s twenty-four. He went missing two weeks ago. We’ve always been close. Just the two of us since our parents died when I was sixteen. He’s the only family I have left.”
Wyatt listens without interrupting. His eyes stay on my face, patient and steady.
“Caleb got mixed up in something bad,” I continue, my voice dropping.
“He started working for some people who promised him quick money. Security jobs, he said. But it wasn’t security.
It was something else. He wouldn’t tell me all the details, but I knew it was dangerous.
Then one night he called me sounding scared.
He said he had seen something he shouldn’t have.
That people were coming for him. He told me to run if anything happened to him. Then the line went dead.”
I swallow hard, remembering that phone call. The fear in Caleb’s voice. The way my hands shook as I packed a bag and left our apartment that same night.
“I’ve been looking for him ever since,” I say. “Following leads. Asking questions. That’s how I ended up in the mountains. Someone told me they saw him near Timber Creek. But the people chasing me found me first. They ran me off the road. I barely got away.”
Wyatt is quiet for a long moment. “You think these people have your brother?”
“I know they do. Or they did. I just need to find him before it’s too late.”
He nods slowly. “We can help with that. But you’re not going anywhere until that leg heals. You almost died out there last night.”
I look down at my bandaged leg. He’s right. I know he is. But the longer I stay here, the more danger I bring to these people. And the farther Caleb slips away.
A knock sounds at the cabin door. Wyatt stands and opens it. A kind-looking man with a medical bag steps inside.
“Eli,” Wyatt says. “This is Junie.”
Eli smiles at me gently. “Nice to meet you, Junie. Mind if I take a look at that leg?”
I nod. He kneels beside the bed and carefully unwraps the bandage. His hands are steady and professional as he examines the wound.
“You’re lucky,” he says after a minute. “It’s a deep laceration, but no muscle damage.
No infection. It should heal up nicely in a couple of weeks if you keep it clean and stay off it as much as possible.
I’ll leave you some antibiotics and pain medication.
Change the dressing twice a day. We also have some crutches we can get back from Piper.
” He glances at Wyatt. “I think Piper’s done with them. ”
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “Thank you. I’m really grateful. I need to be able to move soon. After this storm passes, I have to keep looking for my brother.”
Eli glances at Wyatt, then back at me. “You’re welcome to stay as long as you need. Haven 7 is built for people who need help. Rest. Heal. Then we can talk about next steps.”
He repacks his bag and leaves after giving me a few more instructions. Wyatt walks him to the door, then returns to the chair.
I look at him, still trying to figure him out. He’s quiet. Watchful. He saved my life without asking for anything in return. But I have learned the hard way that people always want something eventually.
“Why are you helping me?” I ask. “You don’t even know me. I could be anyone.”
Wyatt leans back in the chair. “I know enough. You were hurt and alone in the snow. That’s all I needed to know.”
I study his face. He means it. There’s no hidden agenda in his eyes. At least none that I can see. But trust is a fragile thing, and I’ve had mine shattered too many times.
“Thank you,” I say again. “I do not know what I would have done if you had not found me.”
He nods once. “You would’ve figured it out. You seem like the type who doesn’t give up easily.”
I smile a little at that. “I guess not. Not when Caleb is out there somewhere.”
We sit in silence for a while. The fire crackles softly. Outside, the wind moves through the trees. I feel the pull of exhaustion again, but I fight it. I need to stay awake. I need to think about my next move. I need to find my brother.
But for the first time in weeks, I feel something close to safe. And that terrifies me almost as much as the men who are chasing me.
Because safe has never lasted long in my life.
And I’m scared that when this one ends, it’ll break something in me I won’t be able to fix.