by Cecilia Lane
“Not by choice,” he said darkly and passed a hand over his face. “I’m helping out for the time being. Once that gets sorted, I’ll be back in the firehouse.”
He was a fireman. Of course. Those broad shoulders and bulging biceps would fit right in on one of those working men calendars. And he’d been with the rest of the crew when they found her car.
He hopped out of the truck and hustled around to her door. She winced when she shifted in the seat and was glad for his help down. The seat belt that saved her life left her with bruises across her lap and chest, and it was a long way to the ground from his lifted truck. He left her on the sidewalk and reached into the bed of the truck for her bag.
“Afternoon, Muriel.” He nodded a greeting to the woman at the desk as soon as they entered the lobby. She gave him a wide smile.
“Nice to see you, Callum. How’s your dad?”
Leah watched as the man tensed, then forced himself to relax. She didn’t know what it meant, but she filed it away anyway.
“He’s as well as can be expected. You have a room ready for our guest?”
Muriel nodded. “Of course. I had it fixed up as soon as you called.”
Leah expected Callum to hand her the room key and her duffel, but he jerked his chin and walked away from her. She couldn’t be sure if he failed at being gentlemanly or was convinced of her total helplessness.
He opened the door and stepped inside, holding it wide for her to follow. The room was nicer than anything she could have afforded and easily considered an apartment. A tiny kitchen took up one wall, complete with a two-person table. An equally small couch faced an old television that she was certain didn’t show color. She peeked her head into the only other door and saw it led to the bedroom and bathroom.
“What do you remember about last night?” Callum rumbled in a low voice.
She turned and found him almost close enough to touch. He was huge. She could forget it some in his truck or in an open area, but the room he rented was tiny, and he filled the space. She wanted to press her face to his chest and get another lungful of whatever delicious cologne he used. Earthy and all male, it was unlike anything she’d ever smelled and perfectly fit the large, tough man.
He scrubbed a hand through his black hair and she dragged her eyes to his face again. The chocolate brown color took on an eerie glow. There was definitely something strange about the town and Callum, in particular. The first made her shoulder blades itch like someone was watching her. And he made other parts of her whimper with need.
Had she truly seen a bear change into a man? And no one reacted?
It had to be shock. The painkillers weren’t strong enough to give her hallucinations, and she’d only been given them after her wreck and seeing the doctor. Stone cold sober and seeing things that couldn’t be real didn’t bode well for her sanity.
And he was staring at her. She wracked her brain for the question. Memory. What did she remember?
Her terrible, evil, dickhole ex trying to murder her and then a bear prowling around the car and scaring her enough to stay inside. It probably saved her life, now that she thought about it. There was no telling what sort of fangy beasts she’d have run into if she’d wandered the woods in the dark.
Shame threatened to engulf her. She knew, deep down, she wasn’t to blame for Jamin’s actions. But the shame of becoming someone like her Momma, someone who chose the wrong sort of man, still loomed. She didn’t want to share that and see pity on anyone’s face, including Callum.
Maybe especially not Callum.
“I just took the curve too fast, I guess. Rolled and got stuck. Definitely top three scariest experiences of my life.” She tried to lighten her tone and turn it into a joke.
Callum’s nostrils flared, and he frowned. “Hm. Lie. How did you come to be on that road?”
Leah blinked at him. Then anger replaced her flicker of shame. He couldn’t just accuse her of lying so casually even if he had guessed correctly!
But something in his gaze made her want to tell him everything. Maybe it was the pain meds, maybe it was her mind still not thinking clearly, maybe it was just downright pettiness over Jamin. Door-holding gentleman, firefighter, hot enough to melt her panties, and apparently clairvoyant, Callum was tempting her to spill her guts.
Fuck Jamin. He tried to murder her with his action movie trick and would have finished the job with his bare hands if he hadn’t run off. And maybe she’d have a bit of protection if others knew about his precious map.
Leah dodged the large man and went to her bag he’d set on the couch. She could breathe a little easier with distance between them, but she also wanted to get near him again. He was pulling her into his orbit with barely any trouble.
That just wouldn’t do.
Still, she tugged the stolen map from her bag and spread it across the tiny kitchen counter. “This is why. I wanted to see what these markers meant.”
Callum stared at the map for a long moment, fingers tracing the markers. “Do you know what this is?”
She shook her head. “I thought it was buried treasure. Like pirate booty.”
He flicked his eyes up and she thought she saw a faint smile. Maybe the ghost of one. Damn, how she wanted to see the full thing. She bet he had a nice laugh.
Cleary, they’d given her something at the clinic other than pain meds.
“Old towns, right? If I haven’t entirely lost my way, we’re in the marker in Montana.”
She took the chin he dropped to his chest as affirmation.
“What is this place? It wasn’t on any other map I looked at. There are no records that I can find.” She was handy with computers, too. That they’d hidden the town entirely was a shock and a feat.
“Bearden,” Callum said. “Home.”
The words sent a shiver down her spine. Bearden. Home.
She wanted to believe it. She’d scammed her way through life since she left her childhood home and she wanted a place to settle down and drop some roots. There was no going back to Texas, not after what she’d done.
That morning long ago haunted her enough to make sure she’d never stop looking over her shoulder. Bearden wouldn’t be any different. With Jamin likely still after her, she had more reason than ever to keep on the move.
Callum’s back pocket dinged and he pulled out his phone. He growled at the message he saw there. He was a growly sort of man. Everything made him rumble.
She used to think those sorts of men were big, dumb brutes, but not Callum. She’d seen firsthand the sort of kindness he was capable of. He calmed her out of panic and lured her into his arms. Woman tamer.
She frowned with the thought. Jealousy roiled in her middle. She didn’t like to think of him with other women. Strange. She’d only met him and she already wanted to stake her claim.
Something definitely laced the town’s water supply. She was not some man-crazy girl who’d throw herself at the nearest protector. She could save herself. Except when bears prowled around her car at night and she was run off the road by her manbaby of an ex.
Okay, so maybe she could use a little saving now and then. If that saving came from a big, growly beast of a man with black hair just the right length for clutching.
Callum stared at her with a question in his eyes. Shit. Did he ask her something again? She tried to remember the last several seconds and came up blank.
Stupid body. Stupid head. Stupid, distracting Callum.
“What?” she asked with annoyance in her tone.
His eyebrows pulled together. “I was saying that you look dead on your feet and could probably use a little sleep. I’ll check up on you in the morning and we can finish talking about this.” His fingers tapped against the map.
A small thrill fluttered in her stomach at the thought. She pushed it way down deep and walked Callum to the door. “Until the morning, then.”
Leah’s body thanked her when she changed into a tank top and thin pajama bottoms. She grabbed a glass of water fro
m the kitchen and made herself comfortable in front of the tiny television. It was far too early for sleep, but she did feel dead on her feet, as Callum said. Who knew a car wreck where she should have died would exhaust a person.
She didn’t know when or for how long she dozed when her phone rang shrilly beside her. Startled awake, she snatched it up and answered the call without even looking at the screen. “What?”
A familiar voice answered on the other end and made her heart pound in her chest. “Tsk, tsk, darling. You should answer with kindness and grace. Did you make it into the town?”
Jamin. Fuck.
“Why the hell are you calling me?” she hissed.
“Did you. Make it. Into the town?” Jamin repeated slowly.
Her blood boiled and red colored his vision. She wanted to wrap her hands around his throat and squeeze the smirk off his face. “You pushed me off the road—! You nearly killed me just to get me into this place?”
Jamin chuckled. The sound of it used to do things to her body, but it only made her recoil now. Attempted murder killed lady boners.
“I need information,” he explained. And since you survived, I thought you might want to pay off your debt to me.”
“Why in the ever-loving fuck would I help you?”
“Because they’re going to keep you there. You’re not made for cages, are you?”
“You can’t know that.”
“Perhaps. Or perhaps I’ll be right and you’ll need a way out.” She could practically hear Jamin shrug. “So you’ll pay attention. I need the layout of the town. Buildings, roads, population, that sort of thing. Where they tend to congregate. How many look like they’re ready for a fight and how many would run screaming at the sight of blood. Anything odd, like doors that shouldn’t exist or walls that seem too close together. You’re a thief, Leah. You know how to canvas a target.”
“I’m not a thief. Not anymore,” she muttered.
“Old habits die hard, don’t they? Seems to me your sticky fingers got you into this mess.” There was a pause, and a sound like shuffled papers. He snapped one and his voice took on a note of recitation. “Leah Arden, formerly know as Leah Alderson.”
A chill ran through her. She’d left that name behind in Texas. How much did he know of her past? If he had her name, then he probably had it all.
“Mistake, darling. You shouldn’t have used anything close to your original name.” He laughed low again. “Cages there, cages elsewhere. Would be such a shame to see you locked away anywhere.”
She shook her head and tried to keep her voice steady in her denial. “I’m not doing this. I don’t want you to contact me ever again.”
Jamin chuckled again. He made her skin crawl. “You’ll be in touch once you find out what they’re really like. These are dangerous times, Leah. Better the devil you know.”
Chapter 5
“Morning,” Leah said brightly and pulled the door wider. Callum nearly filled the frame. “I’m just about ready. Come on in.”
She turned on her heel and went straight for the bathroom without waiting for his answer. “If you can give me a ride into the next town over, I’ll gladly be out of your way.”
Suck it, Jamin. She couldn’t spy for him if she wasn’t in the damn town. He couldn’t reveal her secrets if he couldn’t find her. She could get a head start while he thought she was still doing his dirty work.
She ran a mental checklist of what she needed for her disappearance as she piled her hair on her head. She’d need to destroy her phone and get a new name, but she’d been down that road before. Nothing she couldn’t handle as soon as she reached the nearest big city.
Callum’s silence made her worry. She pulled her ponytail tight and ducked her head out the bathroom to find him eyeing the map again. She hadn’t stashed it away since she’d shown it to him.
Frowning, she tugged on her black sneakers and made her way to the kitchen. The remains of a very healthy breakfast delivered by Muriel sat by the sink. She made a note to return the dishes before she got out of town.
“Hey.” She cocked her head and tried not to give Callum too much notice. He wore dark jeans and boots and topped the look with a plaid button-down over a solid grey shirt. His forearms were on prominent display under his rolled cuffs. He’d have been a nice distraction from the mistakes made with Jamin if she wasn’t planning to cross multiple state lines as quickly as possible.
Leah swallowed and pushed the thought aside. “Did you hear me? I’ll be gone just as soon as you drop me off at a car rental and I’ll arrange for someone to tow the wreck.” And Jamin would absolutely get the bill.
Callum wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Your car will be in the shop for a while, but the mechanic says it’s salvageable. We should make sure you’re fine before letting you wander too much. Your room is paid up for the week; why don’t you stay a bit and relax.”
Ice ran in her veins and Jamin’s words floated to the top of her mind. “Yesterday was plenty of relaxation for me. I’m fine, just a little bruised, and that car will not run properly ever again. I can be ready to go in five minutes.”
“Where did you say you found this?” he tapped his fingers against the paper.
She crossed her arms over her chest and gave him a wide smile. “And give up the rest of my secret pirate booty sources? Nope, don’t think so.”
He let go of a surprised breath and shook his head. “Let me show you something and then we’ll talk about taking you anywhere.”
She narrowed her eyes. His answer was just as cagey as hers. But there was something curious in his face and she wanted to know more. The itch between her shoulder blades should have warned her away, but it usually only made her leap into risks with both feet.
And it’d get her outside, with witnesses, where she could ask the questions he could easily avoid or shut down with her alone.
Fucking Jamin and the doubts he created. He’d be the death of her without actually doing the deed.
She waved her hand toward the door. “Lead the way.”
They passed Muriel on their way out of the inn. Leah felt another frown tugging down her lips. The woman’s kindness in delivering breakfast took on a sinister light. Had Callum given her orders to make sure she didn’t wander off?
“Why won’t you let me leave?” Leah asked loudly as soon as her feet touched the sidewalk.
The handful of people near them glanced up and then hurried about their business. There went her plan to appeal for a stranger’s aid.
“Come on,” Callum ordered.
She dug in her heels and shook her head. “Oh, no. I know what happens in movies. I’m not following you to your murder shack.”
Callum passed a hand over his face and muttered something that sounded almost like, “By the Broken.”
“What was that?” Leah asked. It wasn’t the first time she’d heard the phrase. Muriel said the same thing in the same, cursing tone, when she spilled some hot coffee on her hand.
He dropped his face and turned to her. He pressed his lips together, but irritation was plainly on his face. “You want to know what this town is like and why those markers are on that map? Then follow me. And not to my murder shack, though I’m honestly not sure how you’ve never been dragged to one before.”
In the space of a blink, he’d whirled and charged away. She grit her teeth and stomped after him. “I love starting my day with veiled threats.”
His eyes slashed to her when she caught up to him. “No threats. Just commentary.”
He led her down the street and past the sturdy looking town hall. Just past the building was the start of forest and a trail leading inside. Despite his promise not to take her to a murder shack, Leah’s nerves started to rise.
“It’s safe, I promise,” Callum said as if he could read her thoughts.
Leah grimaced and trudged after him into the trees.
It was a short, quiet walk from there. The constant birdsong and other sounds of nature relaxed her by increme
nts. She’d never put much thought into meditation and relaxation tapes, but she was certainly considering buying stock in the next company she came across. If she could be calmed when all she wanted to do was run, maybe there was some hidden magic in the noise.
The murmur of running water broke her out of her thoughts. Callum slowed, then finally came to a stop in a clearing. Benches were poised near the water at his back, though no one was enjoying the sights at that hour.
Callum shrugged out of his over shirt and tossed it at her feet.
“Hang on,” she started. “I’m flattered, truly, but I need to be wined and dined first.”
Callum rolled his eyes. “Please. I’d woo the shit out of you if that’s what I wanted. Do you want to know why you can’t leave yet or not?”
“Ouch,” she muttered. The sting was unexpected, and she tried not to care. Hell, he probably had ten women at his beck and call. He didn’t need damaged with a side of runner.
He tossed her his shirt and then paused with hands on his belt. She could feel color rising in her cheeks, especially when he raised one strong eyebrow, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of turning.
Callum shrugged and kicked out of his jeans.
Lordy. She doubted he had an extra ounce of fat on his entire toned body. Broad shoulders tapered into a tight waist. Muscles licked around his frame and pointed her vision directly to what hung between his legs. Why did all the dicks have such good dicks?
More color spread to her cheeks and she still refused to turn. Heat pooled in her middle and sure, she wanted to drag her tongue up his chest to get an accurate count of those abs. But he was testing her and she couldn’t let him win.
She shrugged and ran her thumb over one of her nails. “I’ve been to better strip shows. Maybe you should just take me to the murder shack. Might make a better story.”
Callum’s growl deepened and his figure blurred right before her eyes. The sound of popping and cracking filled the air and then a huge black bear stood in place of the man.
