Man of the Mountain (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Rosemary J. Anderson

  * * * *

  Alice looked quickly away when Hawk failed to return her smile. He was a commanding figure who showed little empathy and no emotion, but even he had to have a small amount of human kindness, didn’t he? He had, after all, come to save her at risk to his own well-being. No one did that if they didn’t have some compassion. Unless—she grimaced—unless it was just for the money of course. She supposed her father was paying him, otherwise why would he be here? Shifting uncomfortably, she wondered how long it would take them to get home, that was if they made it safely through the mountains, of course. Days, weeks, months, it didn’t bear thinking about. Spending all that time with an unemotional man, who was driven to succeed and had little or no respect for her would be difficult. Then there was the fear. It wound itself inside her head like a rolling London fog. Fear of being caught by Abdul or the bandits, of what they would do to her, to them both, and fear of never seeing her parents again. “So near yet so far,” she murmured.

  “What?”

  Startled she looked swiftly at him only just realizing she’d said the words out loud. “Oh, nothing. Err, how much longer before we reach the mountains?”

  “Minutes, sweetheart, just minutes.” He nodded ahead. “Can’t you see them?”

  Peering into the inky blackness, Alice now realized that the dark looming shapes were in fact the mountains.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize.”

  Not bothering to answer, Hawk swung the wheel and the Land Rover came to a full stop.

  “Out you get.” He looked at his watch.” “By my reckoning I’d say Abdul realized about ten minutes ago that we were missing and is probably already hot on our trail.”

  The thought of Abdul and his gang of thugs catching up with them had Alice scrambling out of her seat, almost falling over her dishdasha in her haste to get as far away as possible.

  Discarding his enveloping robes to reveal combat trousers, jacket, and boots, Hawk tucked a large savage-looking knife into the leather belt that cinched in his jacket. Then throwing back the tarpaulin covering the back of the Land Rover, he pulled out two packs, one he gave to Alice, the other he shrugged onto his shoulders. Passing her a water canteen he ordered her to take a drink and then keep it with her at all times.

  Taking a drink out of his own canteen he then shouldered a rifle, and a coil of thick rope and a harness with jingling clips and hooks.

  “You can’t climb in that thing.” He indicated the dishdasha.

  Quickly she removed the garment and put on the thick padded jacket he handed her.

  “Shouldn’t I have a gun?”

  He swung to face her. “Can you shoot?”

  “Err, no, but surely…”

  “Then no.”

  “No?”

  He nodded, his smile cynical. “It’s bad enough being a target for every bounty hunter around without having to worry about a gun-toting greenhorn, who’s likely to shoot my ears off without so much as a by-your-leave.”

  Unable to think of a reply she stayed silent.

  * * * *

  Hawk’s gaze skimmed over her, noting the dark jacket and trousers, the cap that covered all but a few strands of her golden hair, and the flimsy silver sandals. She wouldn’t get far in those, but they would have to do. The light rucksack he’d handed her was already bending her shoulders, and he silently sighed. They had a hard few days ahead of them, a rough path, and in some places an almost vertical climb, and honestly, he didn’t think she had the resilience to get through. She was soft and delicate, her hands tender with long nails painted a pearly pink, and she had the look of an undernourished child. However, he knew ballet dancers had stamina and muscles, needed them to interpret the dance, but still…

  Taking a deep breath he looked into her innocent, trusting eyes and hoped he was worthy of that trust.

  “Time to go.” He suddenly pulled her into his arms. “A kiss for luck, princess,” he growled softly before his mouth closed over hers.

  * * * *

  Alice was stunned. His embrace was unexpected. She should struggle she told herself, push him away, but somehow she found herself kissing him in return. His lips were hard against her quivering soft ones. They caressed, encouraged, and dominated. His tongue gently pushed its way into her mouth, and the heady sensations soared. Liquid fire seemed to engulf her, turning her limbs to jelly and quickening her pulse. Her heartbeat sounded loud in her ears, and she pressed closer, wanting more, wanting to feel his muscular frame against her soft yielding one, wanting to feel his naked flesh covering her, possessing her. Shocked she pulled back, and he let her go. She couldn’t believe how she had responded to his touch and just how wanton her thoughts had become. Her skin flushed with embarrassment. Her lips red and swollen she stood hesitantly, not knowing what to say or how to act. However, Hawk had no such problem and merely grinned, touching a gentle finger to her hot cheek before handing her some thick leather gloves.

  “They’re probably a bit too big, but they were all I could get, and believe me, princess, you’re going to need them.”

  Pulling on the gloves, Alice smiled at how large they were. Her hands were lost inside, but she knew Hawk was right. Without gloves her hands would soon be ripped to ribbons on the rocks. Shifting the pack more comfortably onto her shoulders she ignored the ebbing sensations that were still quivering her flesh and clenching her tummy muscles, and, nodding at his inquiring eyebrow, followed where he began to lead.

  Chapter Five

  The going was rough, and Alice felt every pebble and every rock through her shoes and gloves. It was finally beginning to get light. The rising sun flooded the sky with oranges and pinks. The heat was increasing, and she felt a trickle of sweat run down her spine. Each step she took she wondered if it would be her last. Would she slip and fall to her death? Or would she suddenly be shot in the back by one of Abdul’s trigger-happy men? Or would bandits suddenly surround them and drag them off to be raped and goodness knows what else? Hawk appeared focused, leading the way with sure and even steps. He seemed to blend into the very rock itself, a true man of the mountains. Now and again he looked back to make sure she was keeping up, but other than that there was no contact. However, Alice couldn’t forget that kiss. It filled her mind and stirred her senses. She’d been kissed before, of course she had, but never like that, and she wanted more.

  The sun was at its zenith before Hawk called a halt. Alice was breathless and every bone in her body ached as the sun beat relentlessly down on her back and shoulders. Throwing herself down on the ground in the shade of an overhang she just sat, too exhausted to do more. Hawk offered her the canteen, and she drank thirstily of the lukewarm water. Sitting beside her he picked up her hand and dropped trail mix into her palm, but she shook her head in refusal. She was hungry. Her last meal had been the day of her escape, a midday meal of couscous and greasy lamb, but she was too tired to chew.

  “Eat it,” he insisted in a no-nonsense voice.

  Lethargically she popped some of the mixed nuts and dried fruit in her mouth and chewed, and chewed and chewed, feeling rather like a cow chewing its cud.

  Silence ensued, and her meal finished, Alice’s head began to droop. It had been hours since she’d had any sleep.

  She felt movement but refused to open her eyes. If Hawk wanted to leave she didn’t care. She wasn’t for moving. She just wanted to sit here and sleep.

  Suddenly, she seemed to be airborne, and her eyes snapped open, her gaze taking in the azure blue of the sky.

  “It’s okay,” Hawk murmured, and it was then she realized she was in his arms, and he was carrying her.

  “I’m just moving you into the shade. It’s far too hot for us to continue at the moment, so we’ll rest here for a couple of hours. We’re well camouflaged, so we shouldn’t be seen should any of Abdul’s men be nearby.”

  Reassured, Alice snuggled down onto the silver-backed blanket he’d placed on the ground and closed her eyes, instantly falling into a deep sleep.

>   * * * *

  Hawk settled himself beside Alice and stared down into her tranquil face. Her thick lashes lay like soft dark crescents on the pale of her cheeks. Her rosy lips were slightly open, and she was snoring gently. He smiled, wondering what it was about her that brought out the protective instinct in him. His gaze moved from Alice to the horizon. As far as the eyes could see was sand looking like a golden ocean, the slight breeze rippling its surface. The mountains rose up around them, jagged spikes with deep and hazardous crevices. Whilst in the outcrops sparse sprinklings of wild flowers and scrub fought for survival against the heat of the day, and insects, some with colorful striations, scurried from more formidable predators.

  * * * *

  Two hours later Hawk was shaking Alice awake.

  “Get up. It’s time we left. Have a good drink and eat this.” He handed her some beef jerky.

  Gulping water in the hope it would clear her muzzy head, Alice looked at the brown stick of beef in her hand with something akin to disgust. It was like something she’d have given her dog Dukie-Poo. Her heart softened as she remembered with affection the beautiful black smooth-coated retriever back home. She’d found him tied to a lamppost, small, terrified, and half-starved. She recalled begging her parents to let her keep him, and her relentless pleading had eventually paid off, and she’d been allowed to adopt the pup. She looked down at the jerky and began to cry.

  Hawk spun around at the sound of her sobs, looking slightly bewildered as to what had caused this well of emotion.

  “What is it? Are you hurt?” he questioned, crouching in front of her and lifting her chin with a gentle hand.

  “No, no, I… It’s just…” She caught her breath and sniffed back the tears. “I’m sorry I was just thinking about my dog.”

  “Your dog?”

  Alice hesitated, certain he thought of her as a pathetic nutcase.

  “Mmm, well dry your tears. You’ll soon be seeing him or her.”

  “Him. Duckie-Poo.”

  * * * *

  Hawk gave her a look of incredulity and, suppressing the desire to laugh, chivvied her to get a move on.

  “Do you really think that I’ll soon be seeing him?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Oh, I just wasn’t sure if you really thought we would make it back, that maybe you thought we were going to die out here.”

  “I have no intention of dying yet, sweetheart, so you can put your mind to rest on that score. Now let’s get out of here.”

  * * * *

  The day wore on and soon Alice was wishing she was dead anyway. The heat was unbearable, and her legs felt like lead and her back, oh how her back ached. The pain began somewhere between her shoulders and radiated down toward her coccyx. Hawk was relentless, pushing her on, cajoling her, bribing her with the promise of rest, and ordering her about like a sergeant major on parade. Hating him with every fiber of her being she wished she had a knife as big as the one in the belt of his trousers, just so she could stab him right in the middle of his hard, compassionless heart.

  She breathed deeply. It felt so good to verbalize even if it was only in her head.

  Bumping into the back of Hawk as he came to an abrupt halt, she waited silently, not caring why he had stopped, just glad that he had. However, she wasn’t left in the dark for long.

  “We have a vertical climb now, so I’m going to join us together. It’ll be safer that way.”

  Taking the coil of rope and a harness from his shoulder he wrapped one end around Alice’s waist and the other around his own and then indicated she should step into the harness.

  “Alice, when we begin to climb I want you to follow my lead. Where I step you step. Find the footholds and ease your way up behind me. We’ve only about twenty feet or so of this, and then we’ll be back to the normal climb.” He looked at her. “Do you think you’ll be able to manage?”

  She stared at the mountain veering straight up in front of her, then looked at him askance. He had to be joking. Feeling the way she did she’d be lucky to climb a step let alone a mountain wall.

  “No.”

  “What do you mean by no?” he growled, looking at her incomprehensively.

  “Just that,” she responded defensively. “It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever seen, and I’ve never climbed anything more than a hill at home, so you can’t expect me to leap up after you like a mountain goat.”

  “I’m not expecting you to leap up there, Alice. I will be doing the leaping. You will be doing the following, and whether you like it or not this is the way it has to be. We’ve no other option.”

  “Why ask if I could manage, seeing as you’ve already made the decision?”

  “Courtesy.”

  “What?”

  “Common courtesy, Alice. That’s all, nothing more. So now if you’ve finished playing for time perhaps we can get a move on.”

  Glaring at his back as he began to ascend, Alice wanted to scream that he was an unfeeling, insensitive bully, but instead with reluctance she tried concentrating on doing exactly as ordered.

  Foot by foot they rose up the sheer face. Alice daren’t look anywhere but up at Hawk, her hands and legs shaking so much she could barely hold on. The rope was taut around her waist and the harness cut deep into her thighs and groin as the expanse between Hawk and herself became ever more distant. Her gloves were tucked safely away in her pocket. Being too large for her they’d been a hindrance in gripping the rock, but now her fingers were sore and bleeding, and her nails were torn and broken.

  Feeling like she was having an out-of-body experience, she focused purely on holding on. Exhausted, she was unfocused. Hanging by fingers and toes onto the side of a mountain was illusory, something that nightmares were made of, and she felt light-headed. Feeling the rope tighten again she looked up. Hawk was moving more swiftly now, and she could only surmise that the going was becoming easier. So with that reassuring thought in mind she pulled herself together and quickly reached up. However, she misjudged the distance, and her foot slipped, and with a cry of shock she swung out feeling nothing but air under her feet. Her mind screamed in an agony of torment. I am falling. I am going to die. The rope was unyielding around her waist, and she could feel its bite as it constricted. Grasping the line she stared with terrified eyes up into Hawk’s grim face. Swiftly anchoring himself to the mountain with hooks and clips he dangled in thin air and, grasping the rope, attempted to reel her in.

  Alice was scared. Would the rope snap? Would the clips Hawk had hammered into the rock give way plunging them both to their deaths? Fear enveloped her, and she could only squeeze her eyes tightly shut and pray.

  She swung backward and forward reminiscent of a pendulum, and her hip banged against the rock. Feeling the sharp stab of pain in her hip her eyes filled with tears, which she quickly blinked away. The sky, the mountain, and the desert floor seemed all to merge into one as a dark void began to overtake her. Her head felt fit to burst, and she closed her eyes against the black abyss that was drawing her deeper and deeper into its deadly grip.

  Chapter Six

  Alice slowly opened her eyes. Suddenly remembering she quickly sat up and looked around. Amazingly she was safe on solid ground, and Hawk was sitting a short distance away beside a small fire with a pot standing in the flames.

  “Ah, so you’re awake at last.”

  “Yes.” She nodded for good measure. “How?”

  “I managed to stop you swinging around like a chimpanzee through the trees, and here we are.” He looked at the sky. “It’s getting dark, and as we are both exhausted we’ll rest here for the night. There’s no sign of us being followed, so I think we’ll be okay and with that cave to hole up in…” He nodded to a small dark opening. “We’ll be fine even when it rains.”

  “Rains.” She looked up at the evening sky. It didn’t look to her like it would rain, but what did she know?

  “Err, I know I don’t know much about, well, about anything really, but won’t that fire
give away our whereabouts to the bandits and such-like?”

  “No, it’s too small for that, and it’s hidden by the overhang.” He looked up at the jagged projection.