by Alexis Davie
Restarting a computer solves problems sometimes. Maybe the same is true with cars, she thought, and then laughed. She couldn’t even convince herself that her thoughts made sense, but she shut her car off regardless.
When she started the car back up, the noise seemed to have disappeared. Jade did not notice any difference in the way the car drove—it seemed fine, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything. It wouldn’t be the first time her car broke down under seemingly normal circumstances.
Will I make it to Daytona? Jade wondered, debating whether to chance it or not. She decided to take the risk, making a U-turn in the strangely deserted area when her Sedan suddenly failed.
Without warning, all systems died, leaving Jade between a narrow backroad, horizontal in the road.
She had no idea where she was, except that the last time she had looked at her GPS, she was in Georgia. She didn’t see any signs of life anywhere.
Grunting in frustration, Jade managed to push the car into a tree-lined shoulder, grabbing her phone to call AAA. It was then that she realized she had no reception.
“You have got to be kidding me!” she cried aloud, starting up the road, holding the phone high and peering at the screen.
She walked half a mile each way, testing for service, but she was unsuccessful.
Never mind, she told herself. I’ll just wait by the car. Someone has to come down this God forsaken road sometime.
But as the sun slipped away and she was left in the almost pitch black, Jade began to feel a smidgen of fear. Not one car had ventured down the isolated road on which she now found herself for a while.
When the howls began in the distance, Jade decided it was time to wait inside the safety of her car, under the dying light of her cellphone.
Falling asleep had not been part of the plan.
Jade hopefully turned her keys in the ignition again, but there was not a sound or even a sputter.
This is just great, she thought with annoyance. She found herself mad at Cheyenne and Meredith again. They couldn’t have waited one more day for me.
Jade lay her head back against the headrest and tried to get comfortable, but her mind started back on its natural course of worry.
I can’t believe no one has come down here. Where am I? This place is so creepy! She laughed at herself, trying to convince herself she was being ridiculous.
Her eyes began to flutter shut as sleep started to overcome her once more.
If no one had come by dawn, she would simply start walking until she found a house or business. One night wasn’t going to kill her. It wasn’t terribly cold outside, and she had snacks in her bag.
It will be like camping… alone… in a car, Jay told herself with wry optimism, but what other choice did she have? All she could do was wait and sleep.
Just as she closed her eyes again, she heard a rumble in the distance.
Jade sat up, her eyes scanning the blackness through the windshield, but she could see very little. Yet as she opened the car door, the unmistakable sound of an engine made its way toward her. Jade’s heart began to hammer with excitement as she realized what she was hearing.
There’s a car! Someone is finally coming! She leaped from the driver’s seat, waving her hands in excitement as headlights appeared in the distance. This might be my only chance to find someone tonight! If they don’t stop for me…
She pushed the thought out of her mind. If that happened, she would simply have to deal with it. Inwardly she cursed herself for not wearing a lighter color, but it was too late to do anything about that. The vehicle was already almost on her.
To her immense relief, the truck began to slow as it neared her, and Jade had never been so happy to see anyone in her entire life.
Ensuring that she was still on the shoulder of the road, she hurried toward the vehicle, still waving her arms. She couldn’t be sure how well the driver could see her, and she didn’t want to get hit when she was so close to being rescued.
She could see almost nothing but the headlights shining on her face as the truck came to a full halt on the lonely road.
“Oh, thank you so much for stopping!” Jade cried, approaching the driver’s side with a wide smile on her face. “I have been here for—”
Her words froze in her throat as she recognized the driver, her expression contorting in confusion.
It was Todd Hamburg.
“What are you doing out here?” she demanded, and he laughed.
“Jade Ryan, is that you?” Todd chuckled. “What are the chances?”
Jade narrowed her golden-green eyes suspiciously. “I don’t know,” she murmured. “Why are you all the way out here?”
He shrugged. “I told you I was heading down to Daytona today, remember? I thought we could ride together but you didn’t want to.”
Jade gnawed on her lower lip and stared at him warily. “This isn’t anywhere near the interstate,” she replied nervously, stepping back from his Ford pick-up.
“I like taking the long way,” he replied, putting the truck in park. “I learn new roads that way. You should be happy I did! What’s going on with your car?”
“I—I’m not sure,” she replied uneasily. “It just stopped suddenly.”
“Let me take a look.” Todd jumped out of the cab, the headlights shining on her Camry, and Jade popped the hood open.
As he hunched over the engine, she began to relax slightly.
What a weird coincidence, she thought, watching her schoolmate tinker about with the wires. But thank God he’s here. I wasn’t looking forward to spending the night alone in this place.
Todd straightened up and shook his head. “Looks like your transmission is toasted,” he told her. “You’re going to need a tow out of here.”
Jade grunted aloud.
“Come on,” he said. “I’m guessing you don’t have any reception out here or you would have called someone by now. I can drive until we have reception on our phones again.”
Sighing, Jade replied, “So much for spring break. I’m going to spend this vacation in the backwoods of Georgia.”
“Well,” Todd said, “I can keep you company, if you want.”
Jade eyed him and suddenly felt very guilty for having been suspicious of him.
He's just trying to be a nice guy and you’re making it weird, she thought. She was glad it was too dark for him to see the blush on her cheeks.
She turned toward her car to collect her purse from the front seat while Todd closed the hood.
As she passed him, she noticed something in his hand.
“What’s that?” she asked, glancing at the black device in his hand. He hadn’t been holding it when he exited the truck.
“Huh?” he asked casually, trying to hide the piece of plastic in his hand from her sight.
Jade paused at the door, pointing at his palm. “Did you pull that out of my engine? What is it?”
“It’s nothing,” Todd answered quickly. “Hurry up and get whatever you need from your car so we can call for a tow. I don’t want to be in Georgia any more than you do.”
His voice was light, but she caught an undertone. Jade stared at him, her mind beginning to race.
“Did you take something from my engine to disable it?” she demanded, her heart thumping in her chest.
Todd’s mouth became a tense line. “Your car was already dead when I got here, remember?” he snapped. “Just get in the truck.”
Alarm coursed through Jade’s veins, but she forced herself to be calm. “Of course,” she murmured. “Just let me grab my stuff.”
Why is he here? This doesn’t make sense. She slipped into the driver’s seat of her car, slamming the door and locking it as Todd stared at her disbelievingly.
“What the hell are you doing?” he yelled, his voice sounding muffled through the window. “We don’t have time for this!”
“Go away!” she cried, dizziness overwhelming her as he rushed toward her door. “I don’t need your help, Todd.”
/> Fury painted his face, and he began to pound on the glass of her window. “Open the goddamned door, Jade!” he howled. “Open it!”
Jade swallowed her terror and leaned on the horn, but Todd did not stop. With each blow he delivered, she knew she was closer to the end. She continued to press the horn, hoping that the noise would dissuade him from trying to break the window.
She sent up a silent prayer, hoping he would stop.
* * *
Mischa growled, yipping as the sound of the car horn continued to blare through the night.
It had been going on for three minutes, and with each passing second, Wyatt felt the hairs on his neck raise higher.
When the husky began to howl, Wyatt knew he could wait no longer.
The danger was clear and present. He could not ignore what was happening just outside his fields.
In seconds, he had shifted into his bear form, his human features gone as he began to run through the leas, his massive paws pounding against the soft spring ground. He heard Mischa running next to him, and he was glad to have her with him.
With each leap, Wyatt was brought closer to the sound of the obnoxious horn, but before the vehicle came into view, he heard another noise, one that made him bristle with anger.
Unmistakably, it was the sound of glass breaking, followed by the sound of a woman shrieking.
Roaring furiously, Wyatt jumped from the line of cedars, falling back onto his hind legs as he took in the scene before him.
Glass shards littered the ground, illuminated only by the glaring lights of a truck as a skinny man reached into a stationary car, reaching for someone he could not see.
Again, Wyatt released a feral reverberation that seemed to shake the ground.
The man suddenly looked up, his face a mask of anger at the interruption. Abruptly, the anger turned to terror as he recognized the danger he faced.
At Wyatt’s side, Mischa let out a whine of her own, and the two lunged for the assailant.
The skinny man did not hesitate, turning to flee through the trees, both beasts hot on his heels. Wyatt did not pause to look at the other person inside the car; he would return after he dealt with the aggressor. Through the trees, he bolted after the terrified boy, his huge body crushing the branches below his feet.
Mischa was slightly ahead, on the heels of the offender, but adrenaline seemed to inspire warp speeds from the man. Wyatt chased him past his property line until he was certain the assailant would not return.
Breathing heavily, he watched as Mischa continued forward, but Wyatt waited for sounds of screams in the distance. He did not hear anything for a long while, and he realized that the man might have outrun his trusted husky.
He hoped not. He did not want to come back out again tonight.
* * *
Jade cowered in the car, quivering in fear.
She tried to make sense of what had happened, but her mind could not begin to understand it.
One minute, she had been ducking away from Todd’s violent fists, and the next thing she knew, she had heard an ethereal growl. Todd had suddenly fled, and a flash of movement had flown past the car, but Jade could not determine what animal it was chasing after her would-be attacker.
The driver’s side window was smashed into pieces, and she sat trembling, watching for movement in the dark.
She desperately wanted to run for Todd’s truck that was still parked and running, but she had no idea if whatever it was that had chased Todd away was still lurking in the dark, waiting for its next meal.
Her breaths came out in short, terrified rasps as she tried to think rationally. It’s only a few feet to Todd’s car, she reasoned. I can make it.
But the grip of terror was strong around her, and taking that first step was proving to be harder than Jade thought. She closed her hazel eyes and counted to ten, measuring the air in her lungs evenly.
When her lids parted, she screamed. A man was peering at her through the window, his blue eye searching.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, and as he leaned over to unlock the door, Jade withdrew further into her corner, away from him. “I’m not going to hurt you,” he told her. “That man is gone now.”
Jade stared at him, unsure of whether to trust him. “There’s an animal out there,” she finally choked. “A bear or a wolf or…”
She trailed off, noticing that he didn’t seem concerned. “It’s gone, too,” he told her. “Come out of the car. You’re safe now.”
Jade had no reason to trust the ruggedly handsome stranger, but something in his eyes made her feel suddenly secure. His dark blond hair was slicked back, and he had a beard, which only heightened his sex appeal.
“Are you sure?” she mumbled, slowly climbing out of the passenger side where she had crawled to escape from Todd. “How can you be sure?”
“I just am,” he told her, extending his arm to help her out of the car. “My name is Wyatt. What’s yours?”
“Jade,” she replied shakily, accepting his arm. She was unsteady on her feet.
“Okay, Jade,” he said. “My house is just up the road. Let’s go there and call for help, all right?”
“We need to call the police,” Jade said dully. “He stalked me here somehow. From South Carolina. He’s going to be back.”
Wyatt gently touched her face. “He’s not coming back,” he assured her. “I have made sure of that.”
Jade looked at him, unsure of how he could be so confident they were safe from Todd and the wild animal. Strangely, she trusted him, as if she had known him her entire life.
“I believe you,” she whispered.
They stared at each other, not saying a word. Her body was overcome with an inexplicable draw to the man standing before her. She needed him, though she didn’t know why.
Without warning, Wyatt pulled her into his arms, and their mouths were drawn together as if pushed together by irresistible magnets.
Jade felt a rush of breath escape her as if she had been holding onto it for hours, her body relaxing in the arms of the stranger who had saved her from a nightmare.
Wyatt swept her up into his arms, placing her full rear on the hood of the Camry, his huge hands raking up her back with desire. Her head fell back, allowing his full, soft lips to touch her burning skin. Jade sighed, her own hands roaming along the broadness of his barrel chest, teasing at his nipples over his t-shirt as he lifted her own and grazed her breasts with his tongue.
Wyatt lowered her khaki-colored shorts, his kisses growing more aggressive as he worked his way down her body, twitches wracking her form. He paused to look into her awe-struck face, as if seeking her permission. Jade bit her lower lip and nodded slightly.
It was all he needed. His mouth dove into her center, spreading her thighs wide across the top of the car.
The feeling of cold metal against her bottom combined with the building heat in her core was delicious, and Jade cried out as a long, thick finger joined the space between her legs, prodding her along to a climax.
Her fingers tightened against his blond hair, deepening his forceful tongue inside her, and suddenly she exploded in ecstasy in long, slow rushes as his beard continued to tickle her most sensitive area.
Wyatt did not slow his licks, sucking gently on her button, ensuring that she finished fully before he was eye to eye with her again.
Positioning himself between her legs, Jade watched as he released his throbbing erection from the restraint of his boxer briefs, and she moaned softly, knowing that he was going to break her with it. She drew Wyatt closer, wrapping her calves around his hips, and she cried out as he plunged into her, slow and deep.
He was bigger than she ever imagined, reaching parts of her that had never been touched before, and when he leaned in to kiss her mouth, she could not resist sinking her teeth into his lower lip.
He gasped in shock, a flash of surprise coloring his face, but instead of biting back, he stunned Jade by withdrawing from her, and spinning her onto her stomach. Jade t
ried to brace herself, but he was too fast, mounting her from behind, his unit inside her soaking wet middle.
Her palms flat against the hood of her car, she yelped as Wyatt took her almost savagely, carnal grunts escaping his lips.
Slowly, his fingers touched her most tender opening, his prods growing harder until Jade felt tense once more, ready to release.
Just as she let herself go, a finger found itself inside her, enhancing her orgasm tenfold as Wyatt manipulated her g-spot.
It was the most powerful climax Jade had ever experienced, and while she tried to regain her senses, she realized that Wyatt, too, was on the verge of climaxing, a low growl emanating from his diaphragm.
The growl was familiar—the same noise she had heard from the animal that had chased away Todd. Is that why he wasn’t afraid? The thought seemed utterly ridiculous, but intrinsically, Jade knew then that Wyatt was the creature she had seen chase off Todd into the darkness.
Wyatt leaned forward, shuddering almost violently as he spilled inside her, his palm reaching for the car.
As he tried to regain himself, Jade placed her own hand over his, relishing his warmth.
When he disentangled himself from her, she felt a deep sense of disappointment. Their encounter had been dreamlike, as if it had been meant to happen. She didn’t want the night to end, nor did she want to face the possibility of not seeing him again.
“You say that man followed you?” Wyatt asked, quite unexpectedly, and Jade spun around to look at him. He was staring off to the side of the car at something as he pulled up his jeans, his blue eyes narrowing slightly.
“I think so,” Jade replied. “I can’t understand how else he found me. I mean, I don’t even know what I’m doing out here myself.”
Wyatt nodded, leaning forward, and he snatched up from the ground the same device Jade had seen in Todd’s hand.
“This is a GPS tracker,” he told her gruffly. “He’s been following you for a while. I wouldn’t be surprised if he tampered with your car to get you somewhere alone.”
