by Jan Springer
“Did I hurt you?”
His eye smarted from where she’d struck him, and his shoulder ached like the dickens, but right now Callie was top priority.
“I’ll live, but you have to tell me what’s been bothering you.”
She shook her head. “It was nothing. Just a dream.”
“Don’t be afraid to trust me, Callie. Just talk to me. Did someone hurt you in the labs?”
Despite his need to know, he dreaded asking that question. The thought of anyone laying his or her hands on her…
She nodded and her shoulders started to shake.
Shit!
The knot in his gut twisted harder.
He reached out to comfort her, but she pulled away, sitting up beside him in the bed. She drew her gaze to her fists that were once again knotted in the bedsheets, as if she didn’t want anyone to touch her body.
“I should have told you right from the beginning. Should have had the courage to tell you what he did to me.”
My God!
Awful, cold chills slithered over his flesh.
“Who? What…happened?”
“His name was Blakely, the scientist who created the X-virus…”
“Blakely?” Disbelief gnawed at him.
She nodded and she began to explain how he’d shown up in her isolation chamber, how she’d been drugged.
A few minutes later Luke sat in stunned disbelief as Callie lowered the sheets, lifting her top and pushing down her underwear just enough to expose her abdomen.
To expose the two little scars.
Scars he hadn’t even noticed before! Why hadn’t he seen them?
“When I woke up after he’d drugged me, I found these. I knew they’d cut me, but I didn’t know why or what he’d done to me. Later, when he came back, he told me.”
She hesitated and closed her eyes tightly.
“What did he do to you?”
“He…cut out my eggs.”
It was as if he’d heard what she’d said from somewhere far away, as if she were talking to him through a tunnel.
Her eggs?
“He said I could still have children, that he left some eggs, but I don’t know if he was lying because I was hysterical…” She raised her face; her eyes glistened with fresh tears. “I know how much you wanted to have children.”
A mad scientist had cut out Callie’s eggs? The shock was almost unbearable.
For a few moments, he thought maybe he was dreaming. Maybe this was a nightmare?
“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault,” she whispered.
“No, no, no, baby, it has nothing to do with you, Callie. You had no say in the matter. They took you against your will. You’re innocent.”
“I’m not innocent.”
“You are. Someone invaded your body. You had nothing to do with it.”
She shook her head slowly, and instinctively he knew there was more.
“You don’t understand. I…wasn’t taken against my will. I…volunteered to go to the labs.”
It was as if her confession sucked the life right out of him. He felt faint. Stunned.
This time it was his turn to shake his head in denial of what he was hearing.
She’d volunteered?
He couldn’t be hearing right.
“It was only supposed to be for a couple of days. Just enough to give them some samples so they could run some experiments on those samples…but when they had me, they wouldn’t let me go.”
“Sweet Jesus!”
She flinched at his outburst, but he didn’t care.
“I know we discussed it,” she whispered with desperation. “That I’d said I wanted to volunteer to help them out, and you’d said absolutely not. But I had to. Don’t you understand? I had to do it for the other women who were suffering. Other women like our mothers and our sisters.”
“Fuck the other women!” Luke snapped. “We’d agreed to keep you out of it.”
Anger bit deep into his heart, and he whipped aside the sheets, scrambling out of bed.
“I can’t believe this! Because you defied me, we lost five fucking years. Even lost our chance at having kids.”
“I’m sorry.”
Despite his wanting to throw his arms around her and wipe away the fresh tears streaming down her face, he forced himself to harden his heart. “Sorry doesn’t cut it, babe.”
Man, he couldn’t look at her. Couldn’t stand to see the pain in her eyes. He just couldn’t stay there. He would explode if he did. He would say something he’d later regret.
He needed to think this through.
He made a quick grab for his pants.
“Where are you going?” she sobbed, clutching the sheets to her in desperation.
“I need some air.” He needed some time to digest this news.
Oh, man! He couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. She’d volunteered to go to the labs? She’d gone against his wishes.
He scrambled into his jeans and made a mad dash for the door.
Behind him, he could hear her ragged sobs. Each and every one of those brutal sounds pierced a hole into his heart.
He wished he could stay. Wished to hell he had the guts to comfort her.
But he knew he was going to be sick.
Nausea splashed through his stomach as he rushed outside, slamming the door shut behind him.
The bitter bile climbed into his throat. A cold sweat peppered his flesh.
My God! She’d allowed herself to be taken in by the government. How could she have been so naïve? How could he have been so stupid to not realize how passionate she’d been about wanting to help other women?
He stumbled down to the road in the hopes she wouldn’t hear what came next.
When he was far enough away from the cabin, he allowed himself to lose the contents of his stomach, and then let the harsh curses of what that mad scientist had done to their future break free from his soul.
* * * * *
The distinct sound of a branch snapping near the tree line made Callie’s heart pick up speed. Automatically she slid the gun off the nearby rock, the cool metal seared against the palm of her trembling hand and her finger tightened on the trigger.
She scanned the surrounding forest but saw nothing.
Luke had been gone all morning.
She’d cried all morning.
Cried over the guilt of taking a man’s life and of the devastated look on Luke’s face when she’d told him they might not be able to have kids.
About an hour ago she’d finally dragged herself out of bed and come down to the pond to wash her face, and where she’d then stayed, watching the tiny ripples of water as the fish jumped in desperate efforts to catch their afternoon meal of flies.
The sight had had a somewhat soothing effect on her jangled nerves.
But now as the eerie shades of an impending rainstorm swooped in around her, she wanted nothing more than to go back into the cabin and throw herself onto the bed, allowing herself the luxury of crying for the rest of the day.
But she couldn’t.
She needed to face reality.
Luke might not come back.
Allowing him to fall in love with her all over again without telling him the truth was unforgivable.
The tiny hairs on the back of her neck prickled a warning, and Callie nervously bit her bottom lip forcing herself to keep calm.
Had that sound of a branch breaking been just an animal?
God, she hoped so.
She blew out a slow breath thinking that maybe she had imagined the noise.
But then she saw it.
A shadowy movement skirting just the other side of the tree line, near the road.
The distinct figure of a man jogging.
At first, her heart soared.
Luke had come back. She almost called out to him. But caution whispered to be careful.
She waited for another glimpse and saw him.
Her hopes deflated.
The newco
mer didn’t have Luke’s brown hair, and he seemed much taller.
Thankfully, he hadn’t seen her yet.
Quietly, Callie blended into the nearby bushes and watched as the stranger headed directly for her ranch.
* * * * *
The woods were just as noisy as the inside of his head, as Luke made his way through the forest adjoining his property. He’d gone back up to the cliffs with a shovel, found the dead Barlow and buried him.
Surprisingly, he felt no guilt at Barlow’s death. If Callie hadn’t done what she’d done then Luke would be dead, and who knows what they’d be doing to her. There was no need to tell the authorities what had happened up here. Due to the economic collapse, the law belonged to whoever had the most money. In this case, it was the Barlows. When their brother didn’t return, they’d come looking for him.
They’d find Callie.
They’d take her to the authorities or worse…sell her as a sex slave on the ever-growing black market.
Luke swore beneath his breath and winced as he hoisted the shovel over his good shoulder.
The task of burying the body had been hard, but the manual labor had been more than welcome as he fought with what Callie had told him.
She’d innocently gone to the government lab to give blood samples.
She’d planned on telling him what she’d done when she came back.
But they’d kept her against her will.
Why in the world had she gone against his wishes when he’d been so adamant about her keeping a low profile? She’d mentioned to him she wanted to help the government find a cure. Had even approached him with the idea that she would give them samples.
That’s when he’d exploded telling her he’d never allow it.
He hadn’t given her a chance to explain why she wanted to risk exposure, even when they had heard unconfirmed rumors that the government was sanctioning the kidnapping of some of the women who came forward to help.
She’d gone to them like a lamb to the slaughter.
Now that he looked back at it, this whole nightmare had been his fault.
Guilt washed over him, slicing through his every nerve and fiber.
If he’d only listened to her. If he had, he would have realized how passionate she’d been about helping to find a cure.
He could have gone with her to the lab and protected her.
He could have avoided this whole mess.
How in the world would he ever be able to face her again? How could he apologize to her for them losing five years of their life? For possibly losing the chance of having children?
Perhaps staying out of her life would be the best thing he ever did for Callie.
* * * * *
“Looking for someone?” Callie hissed as she stuck the gun barrel into the back of blond-haired intruder she’d found peeking through the boarded slats to the window of her home.
The man stiffened, and his shoulder muscles bulged wonderfully against his tight, black shirt as he slowly raised his arms and clasped his large hands on top of his head.
She knew she should have kept herself hidden. Should have waited for the man to clear out.
But she was in a very bad mood. Fed up with hiding, upset because Luke had walked out on her and ready to murder anyone who dared to intrude upon her home.
And call her stupid, but he looked oddly familiar when she’d seen his shadowy figure in the woods.
If he was whom she suspected, then she didn’t have to fear him. “Who are you?” she asked.
His low amused chuckle breathed through the air. “Have I changed that much in five years?”
His voice sounded familiar and Callie closed her eyes, and silently thanked God.
But these days caution was her best friend, and she needed to make sure he was who she thought he was before she let down her guard.
Taking a few steps back, she kept the gun trained on him.
“Keep your hands raised and turn around. Slowly. No funny moves or I’ll plug a bullet into you.”
The amused chuckle came again as he turned around.
Instantly all her fears melted away, as the carbon copy of Luke smiled back at her.
“Colter Outlaw! You son of a bitch! I’ve never been so happy to see anyone in my life!” she laughed at the doctor.
Colter was a year younger than Luke and just as cute. Where Luke had dark-brown hair, his brother’s hair was longer and a dirty blond, his eyes a twinkling soft blue, characteristics of the Outlaws’ mother. Bless her soul.
“You’re protecting my brother like you’re some kind of she-wolf,” he nodded to the gun in her hand.
She lowered the weapon and flushed.
“Shouldn’t have done that.” His smile disappeared, and his eyes suddenly turned cold, sending a fissure of alarm racing through her.
In one quick swoop, he grabbed the gun from her.
Stunned at his unexpected behavior she could only stand helplessly.
He nodded to the woods behind him where she spotted two men standing there with their guns drawn and pointed at her.
Oh, my God! No!
“Never trust a man these days, Callie. Not even an Outlaw. We could claim you right here and now. With Luke, there are enough of us.”
A wave of dizziness twisted around her.
Never in a million years had she thought she couldn’t trust an Outlaw. For a split second, she thought about making a grab for her gun and killing herself.
That thought spun away rather quickly.
Oddly enough, Luke’s suggestion whispered in her ear about her being claimed by him and his brothers.
It wouldn’t be such a bad thing, and if Luke was included…
Callie shook the crazy thought from her mind.
Sweet heavens! She hadn’t escaped the government labs just so she could become some sexual slave and servant to a bunch of men.
“Where’s Luke?” Colter asked.
Before she could answer and explain that Luke was gone, she heard his voice snap through the air.
“Right here.”
She blinked at the gun barrel that poked out between the slats of the plank-covered window, and found herself sighing with relief. Found herself wanting to burst into the cabin and fling herself into his arms, and beg him to forgive her for not telling him everything right from the beginning.
“How’d you find me?” Luke growled from inside. Anger laced his words.
Obviously, he was still very upset with her. But he was back.
At least that was something.
“I went to visit the preacher in jail. He told me.”
“He’s in jail? What happened?” Callie asked. Concern for the man who’d been helping her overrode Colter’s threat of claiming her.
“Don’t worry—he’ll be out soon enough. Unfortunately for him, in the government’s haste to install the Claiming Law they forgot that men of the cloth had powers higher than theirs…some government officials and judges were actually allowing some couples to remain married after the preachers united them. The government has done a harsh crackdown placing those judges, officials and all preachers in jail. All marriages in the eyes of God have been revoked.”
Luke cursed from the other side of the window.
A hollow feeling zipped through her.
They weren’t legally married after all.
“Well, it is nice to see you both alive.” Colter nodded to her, his gaze dark and somewhat sensual. “Especially you. We all had you figured as good as dead.”
“As you can see she’s very much alive, now give her back her gun,” Luke growled.
Thank God! At least she could trust one Outlaw.
“She needed to be taught a lesson, Luke. She should know not to trust a man. Any man.”
“Your point is well taken,” Callie said, relief pouring through her as she extended her hand for the gun.
Yet Colter hesitated.
He stared hard at where Luke’s gun barrel poked through the slat.
She could literally feel the tension bursting through the air between the two brothers. She wondered what was going through Colter’s head. Would he defy his brother? Would he do as he threatened, and instruct his brothers to claim her here and now?
“Give her back the gun, Colter. The last thing we need is to have more bullets flying around. One bullet through me is quite enough.”
What was Luke insinuating? Would he fight his brothers to protect her?
The thought both pleased her and scared her.
Would the Outlaw brothers actually try to claim her? Without Luke? Or did it go much deeper? Did Luke still want her? Even after her secrets were now in the open?
She burst from her thoughts when she felt the smooth handle of the gun slap into her palm.
“Don’t let that gun out of your sight,” Colter said in a menacing tone that made shivers of fear run up her back.
“Get your asses in here,” Luke said from inside. “Callie, could you put some food up for our guests?” Without waiting for an answer, the gun barrel disappeared from the crack in the window.
When she looked back at Colter, her grip tightened around her gun, as she found his appreciative gaze sliding sensuously up and down the full length of her body finally settling upon the swell of her breasts.
She knew the look in the eyes of a man who was interested in a woman and Colter Outlaw was definitely interested.
His eyes, no longer soft, were now so dark and so captivating that to her shock, she could feel the heat of sexual awareness shimmer deep inside her womb.
“I apologize for scaring you, Callie. But you have to know what’ll happen to you if you let down your guard. Men know there is a good possibility they can’t have a woman in their lifetime. They can get quite…desperate.”
Callie nodded suddenly understanding why he’d been looking at her the way he had.
He probably hadn’t had sex in quite some time.
And his brothers standing by the tree line were in the same boat.
She tried to ignore the strangely sensual stirrings that began to consume her at the erotic visions of having the Outlaw brothers making love to her in order to claim her.
All those men.
All that sexual energy saved up for her.
She felt her face begin to flush with embarrassment at what she was thinking…or maybe what she felt was excitement?
