Wild

by Meghan O'Brien

  Eve’s vision blurred as the tears she had been holding back came to the front. “Please don’t.”

  The man froze on top of her, halting the motion of his knife. Eve held her breath, waiting to feel the sting of her skin being sliced open. To her surprise, he raised his head and looked at something just past Eve’s line of sight. She yearned to see what had caught his attention, but stayed still, too scared to move.

  A deep, rumbling growl cut through the noise of Eve’s pulse pounding in her ears. Her attacker’s eyes bulged, then she exhaled as he pulled his knife away from her chest. Another growl, like nothing Eve had ever heard, not up close, not in real life. Taking a deep breath, Eve craned her neck, then gasped at the animal standing not five feet away.

  Without her glasses, she could make out only an indistinct gray beast, almost certainly a canid, but not a dog. It looked like a wolf, no matter how improbable that would be in the middle of San Francisco.

  The beast snarled, drawing back its lips to reveal wicked teeth. Eve’s heart pumped into overdrive. She had no idea how to react. A wolf was fierce, wild, and out of place in Golden Gate Park. In some ways it was just as dangerous as the masked man, yet its presence had stopped the assault.

  “Keep still.” The man shifted on top of her, clearly weighing his next move. “Don’t provoke it.”

  The wolf stepped closer, its watchful eyes fixed on her attacker, challenging him. Eve held her breath, as frightened of being mauled as she was of getting raped and murdered. But the wolf never looked at her. It focused solely on the man in the ski mask, turning predator into prey.

  With a vicious snarl, the wolf leapt onto the man, knocking him to the ground at Eve’s side. As soon his weight left her body, she could breathe again. Brain finally engaged, she decided to run. She struggled to her feet as man and wolf wrestled for dominance beside her. Searing pain shot through her ankle as soon as she stepped down onto it. Panicking, she stumbled, then hit the ground hard.

  Eve watched helplessly as the wolf drew back and sank its teeth into the man’s arm. He yelped in incoherent rage, slashing out at the wolf. His knife sliced through the air in a frantic arc, but his aim was off and the wolf danced away unharmed.

  The wolf took another step backward, almost as though giving the man a chance to escape. He took it. With a quick, angry noise, the man in the ski mask broke into a stumbling run, disappearing into the trees and out of Eve’s range of vision. She squinted after him, then turned her attention to her new problem. The wolf.

  To her surprise, it was sitting in front of her, staring at her with quiet intensity. Startled, she fumbled in her pocket and withdrew the canister of pepper spray. “Stay back.” Her voice wavered, hardly a surprise when she was about to burst into tears. She raised her arm and aimed. “Go away!”

  The wolf tilted its head, then trotted off as though obeying her command. Eve exhaled as it retreated. When she could no longer pick out the wolf’s shape from among the trees, she finally dared to move. Slowly, this time, Eve struggled to her feet. Careful to keep weight off her ankle, she could finally stand unsupported, but pulling herself together was a far more difficult task.

  Caught between logic and the primitive, emotional need to fall apart completely, she didn’t know what to do next. She desperately wanted to run away from this place as fast as her injured ankle would carry her, but she had to find her purse with her cell phone inside so she could call for help. Without her glasses, she wouldn’t be able to drive.

  She decided to give herself one minute to find her purse. More than sixty seconds, to hell with it. She wasn’t about to wait around so the man or the wolf could return.

  Limping around the clearing, she conducted a frantic search before concluding that he must have taken it when he ran. That meant he had all her most important stuff: her wallet, her identification card for work, car keys, the contact list in her smartphone, even her spare tampon. Everything.

  Eve fought back despair as she turned in the direction of the walking path. She couldn’t think about it now. She had to keep moving, had to find help.

  Taking slow, cautious steps through the brush, she tried not to stumble on unseen obstacles. She hadn’t made it very far before the unmistakable sound of someone approaching made her break into a clumsy run, heart in her throat.

  “Wait!”

  Eve stopped immediately at the sound of a female voice. Turning, she saw a woman emerge from behind a tree to her left. At the sight of another person, someone who presumably didn’t want to harm her, Eve put her hand on the trunk of a eucalyptus to steady her trembling legs.

  “You look like you need some help.” The woman stepped closer, holding up her hands as though pleading with Eve not to flee. “I won’t hurt you.”

  Eve couldn’t place the dark-haired woman’s accent, but her low, soothing tone immediately lulled Eve into tentative safety. Swallowing, Eve said, “We have to get out of here. Before he comes back.” Her voice sounded harsh to her own ears. She could only imagine how she must look, terrified, blood trickling down her face. “The man who attacked me.”

  The woman narrowed the distance between them. Quite beautiful, with worried green eyes, she offered Eve her hand. “Let’s go, then.”

  Eve took the woman’s hand, grateful for the warm, human connection. Though it loosened her control on her emotions, it also kept her tethered securely in the now. She was safe. “I lost my glasses when he punched me. I can’t see without them.”

  “Then we’d better find them.” The woman gave her fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’m Selene.”

  “Eve.”

  “Eve, where were you when he hit you?”

  “On the path.” She glanced over her shoulder as they emerged from the trees, half expecting to see him. “He came out of nowhere. I didn’t have time to react.”

  “That must have been terrifying.”

  “I’ve never been so scared in my life.” Eve’s throat ached as she remembered being held down by the neck. “I thought he was going to kill me.”

  “But he didn’t.”

  “No.” Eve took a deep breath as they approached the path. “I know it sounds crazy, but a wolf…stopped him, chased him away.”

  “A wolf?” Selene didn’t do a very good job of hiding her skepticism. “I didn’t see anything like that. Just…you.”

  “It ran off before you found me. And it looked like a wolf, but I don’t know. Maybe someone in the city is keeping one illegally.”

  “What matters is that you’re safe.” Selene tightened her fingers on Eve’s as they approached the path, urging her to stop. “There they are.” Selene knelt and picked up two objects. Rising, she held them out. One hand cradled Eve’s damaged frames, the other, a single lens. “Looks like the lens popped out. We can fix that. The other one’s scratched, so you’ll need to have it replaced.”

  At the sight of her broken glasses, Eve heaved a sigh. Severely nearsighted since childhood, she’d grown up haunted by the fear of being unable to see. Becoming an adult hadn’t eased that phobia. Simply knocking her glasses behind the nightstand in the morning could cause mild panic. Seeing them in pieces, especially after having just experienced excruciating vulnerability, was more than enough to shatter her control.

  Eve’s legs gave out, and she would have hit the ground if Selene’s reflexes weren’t lightning fast. At once, Selene held her in strong arms, supporting her as though she weighed nothing.

  “Shh,” Selene murmured, cradling her. “It’s all right, I’ve got you. He can’t hurt you now.”

  “We should go.” Even though she meant it, Eve buried her face in Selene’s neck and returned the embrace. The coldly rational part of her brain, the one she was used to relying on, recoiled in horror at the way she sought comfort from a stranger. But her lizard brain, still reeling from the threat of brutal slaughter, needed Selene like her lungs needed air. “He could come back.”

  “He won’t,” Selene murmured. Her hand stroked Eve’s hair. �
�It’s okay. Give yourself a minute. Then we can walk.”

  Eve allowed herself exactly five more seconds of her meltdown, then stepped back and wiped away her tears. “I’m parked on Thirtieth Avenue, not too far from here. If you could help me to my car…”

  “Can you drive without your glasses?”

  “No.” Eve’s lip trembled when she remembered that she didn’t have her car keys anyway. “And I think he took my purse. So I guess I’m not going anywhere. Maybe you have a cell phone I could use?”

  Selene fingered a lock of Eve’s hair, tucking it behind her ear. “Come to my apartment. You can use my phone, and I’ll do what I can to repair your glasses.”

  “Thank you,” Eve said. She wasn’t about to refuse the offer. Already her mind raced with things she needed to do: call Jac, order new car keys, cancel her credit cards, change the lock on her apartment. Amazing how five minutes in the park had upset the ordered balance of her life. “I’d like to clean up my face, too.”

  “Of course.” Selene placed a gentle hand on Eve’s arm. “May I lead you?”

  Eve nodded and hooked her arm into Selene’s. Gritting her teeth, she tried to match Selene’s slow pace, determined not to show her pain. “Thank you, Selene. Really.”

  “You would do the same for me.” Selene glanced at her and smiled. “I can tell.”

  Eve surprised herself by returning the smile. “Let’s hope I never have to.”

  Selene led them to the edge of the park, where Eve was both relieved and embarrassed to see the moderate traffic on Fulton Street. Though the presence of so many people reassured her, she faltered as a powerful wave of self-consciousness rolled over her. She used one hand to pull the two halves of her shirt closed, covering the bra she only now realized was showing.

  “It’s okay,” Selene said, pulling her closer. Eve felt a surge of unexpected strength from the contact and leaned into Selene hoping for more. “My place is just a block away.”

  Nodding, Eve held her head as high as she could as they walked down the sidewalk. The few people they passed stared at her in concern, but nobody said anything. Eve was almost glad not to be wearing her glasses, so she wouldn’t have to see the questions in their eyes.

  “Here we are.” Stopping in front of a light blue house, Selene jogged up the short flight of steps and pushed open the front door. “Home sweet home.”

  “Do you usually leave your door unlocked?” Eve walked inside carefully, wishing she still had Selene at her side. “If nothing else, I hope you’ll reconsider that after this morning.”

  Selene gave a nervous nod. “I had only just stepped out for a moment. Or that was the plan, anyway.”

  Eve limped out of the foyer into a hallway and glanced around. Selene strode past her, to a room with a door propped within its open entryway. She seemed embarrassed by the state of her apartment, and Eve inhaled sharply as a pang of shame hit her squarely in the stomach. The emotion was so intense it seemed almost foreign, as though it had been forced upon her.

  It disoriented her so completely that for a moment she didn’t know herself. Was this post-attack Eve, full of volatile emotion, lacking rationality? She hoped not. She normally clung to her sense of order and reason, her controlled emotions, so she could excel at her job. Studying dead people to help catch their killers was hardly a career for someone who couldn’t detach.

  “Excuse the mess.” Selene placed the door in the frame, blocking Eve’s view of the room. “I’m in the middle of some home repairs.”

  Eve managed an uneasy shrug. “I hate to intrude.”

  “Not at all.” Selene walked to the door across the hall and pushed it open. “Here’s the bathroom. Take your time.” She moved aside as Eve approached. “I’ll go get you a shirt and be right back.”

  “Thank you.” Eve paused in the doorway, not particularly wanting to be separated from Selene. It was silly, but her presence made Eve feel less afraid. She was nervous what would happen once Selene was out of sight. “You’re a lifesaver. Literally.”

  Selene’s face reddened. “All I did was walk you home.”

  “It’s more than that.” Eve paused, unsure how to describe what Selene was doing for her. Though she didn’t normally believe in such things, she felt an instant connection to Selene and was sure it was the only thing allowing her to function right now. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t found me.”

  Selene hesitated, then touched Eve’s hand gently. “I’m glad I did.”

  Warm arousal, a welcome stranger that Eve hadn’t heard from in months, inexplicably rushed through her and set her heart pounding. Hand shaking, she drew away from Selene and backed into the bathroom. “Me, too.”

  “I’ll be right back.” To Eve’s relief, Selene betrayed no sign that she’d recognized Eve’s reaction for what it was. “You’ll be okay?”

  Eve nodded, then shut the bathroom door. Alone inside, she fell back against the wall and closed her eyes. That was totally unlike her. She usually didn’t feel instant attraction, especially after what she’d just been through. What was it about Selene that inspired such uncharacteristic behavior?

  Whatever it was, Eve hoped she could make it out of Selene’s apartment without making a fool of herself. Straightening, she walked stiffly to the sink and steeled herself for her first look in the mirror. Determined to assess the damage as unemotionally as possible, she still had to stifle a gasp at the sight of her face.

  A small, bloody cut marred her forehead, and the skin around her eye was swollen and angry red. By tomorrow she’d have an ugly shiner. A trail of dried blood from her nose painted her upper lip reddish brown. Bits of leaves and twigs were tangled in her hair. None of that even hinted at the damage she felt inside. She wouldn’t take any more early morning walks in Golden Gate Park.

  Suppressing the urge to fall into self-pity, she turned on the faucet and began to gingerly scrub away the dirt and blood. Taming her hair was a bigger challenge, but she did her best. It would be easier to put on a brave face about going to work if she didn’t look like she’d just been on the losing end of a brawl. And she was definitely still going, just as soon as she picked up a new pair of glasses. She had to perform an autopsy this morning, not to mention the mountain of case-related paperwork waiting for her.

  Going to work was about more than just a sense of duty, of course. In a perfect world she’d run home and lick her wounds, happy not to face anyone. Given that they had an open homicide case, Jac would almost certainly come in to the medical examiner’s office today. Eve couldn’t imagine seeing her like this. But in a perfect world, the man who’d attacked her wouldn’t have her driver’s license and the keys to her apartment. She couldn’t even think about going home until she called a locksmith.

  It wasn’t entirely about fear of being in her apartment, though. Eve needed to go perform that autopsy to prove that she hadn’t lost the essence of who she was, that the man in the park hadn’t stolen it from her. She needed to reassure herself that she could still handle violence and death in her professional life even after her terrifying personal encounter with it. That he could have damaged her in that way hurt far more than any physical wound he had inflicted. Her work was her life.

  A knock on the door startled her so badly she gasped out loud. Heart racing, she gripped the sides of the sink and exhaled. Calm down, she chanted in time with her breathing. Just calm down.

  “It’s only me, Eve. I have your glasses and a shirt.” The sound of Selene’s apologetic voice instantly soothed her nerves. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Checking herself in the mirror one last time, Eve opened the bathroom door. “Not your fault.”

  Selene stood awkwardly with Eve’s glasses in one hand and a green shirt in the other. “I thought you’d probably want your glasses as soon as I could get them to you.”

  “You were right.” Eve took them from Selene, gratitude overwhelming her. Regaining her vision was the first step to returning to herself. Bein
g able to see would ground her. “Thank you so much.”

  “The frames are a little bent, and one of the lenses has a bad scratch. But it’s better than nothing, I’m sure.” Selene shifted her weight anxiously. “You clean up really well, by the way.”

  Eve pushed back another strange twinge of arousal as she settled her glasses on her nose. Then she lost the battle with her hormones completely. Blurry, Selene had been beautiful. In sharp focus, she was stunning. Eve had seen her brand of dark, exotic beauty only in magazines, and even then, it had been nowhere as extraordinary as what was now standing right in front of her.

  Unable to speak, Eve fumbled with the front of her shirt, pulling it closed. Her attraction to Selene made her feel powerfully self-conscious, almost silly. After not having been enough to keep Jac interested, entertaining the notion of being with a woman who looked like Selene was positively delusional.

  “I hope I didn’t embarrass you,” Selene said quietly.

  Eve shook her head, not trusting herself to speak.

  “Can I get you anything else?”

  Eve shook her head again. “I’ll return your shirt as soon as I can. I promise.”

  “No worries.” Selene arched an eyebrow. “I have more.”

  Incredibly, Selene’s good humor put Eve at ease. She loosened her grip on her torn shirt and took the one Selene offered. “I’ll still return it.”

  “I’d like that.”

  Eve swallowed. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Selene was flirting. But that wasn’t possible, was it? “If it’s all right, I’ll just leave my shirt in your trash. I…don’t want it anymore.”

  “Of course. I get it.” Selene’s gaze wandered down to Eve’s chest, but before Eve could feel bashful, Selene’s eyes widened. “He cut you.”

  Eve looked down, allowing the two sides of her shirt to gap open. For the first time she saw what had caught Selene’s attention: a small slice along the curve of her breast where it rose above the cup of her bra. A thin line of blood had been raised, the cut so small and shallow she hadn’t even noticed him make it. Feeling as though she had a rock in her throat, Eve struggled to breathe. “Oh.”