by J. S. Cooper
“Who are you?” Wade’s lips twisted up and he gave me a cocky smile. “Missed me so much you couldn’t be by yourself?”
“No.” I pushed him away and stepped back. “Lucy, this is Wade, my boss that’s on the business trip and Wade, this is Lucy, my best friend.”
“Aww, the famous Lucy.” Wade’s voice was dry and I knew he was being sarcastic, but neither Lucy or I were going to rise to his bait.
"I feel like you guys have some things to discuss. I should take Jolene back to the house."
"Jolene?" Wade frowned. "How many friends do you have over right now?"
"Jolene is my baby."
"Your what?" His eyes narrowed and then it dawned on him. "Oh no, your mutt is here as well?"
"She's not a mutt." I poked him in the chest and my heart leaped at the sharp look he gave me as I touched him.
"I thought I told you no guests and your dog wasn't allowed?"
"Did you?" I peered at him with innocent eyes. How was he so sexy, even covered in dirt with specks of blood. I blinked as I remembered the flesh in the sink and the blood. "I think you owe me some explanations." I crossed my arms and looked at him. "What's going on here? Why are you here? What's with the blood? And the flesh in the sink?"
"I said I had to go away, I never said I was going out of town. That's an assumption you made, so that's on you."
"But...."
"But what?"
"Don't let him double talk you, Savannah." Lucy spoke up again and I felt a wave of guilt pass through me because I forgot she was standing there still. Wade Hart was in my presence again and it was like he'd completely bewitched me in seconds.
"Lucy," I turned back to look at her again. "Now you see why I call him the worst boss ever, right?"
Lucy grinned as I heard Wade let out a low hiss. I laughed and turned to look at him. "Or did you seem to think you're the best boss ever?"
"I'm the best..." He paused as he looked behind me at Lucy. "I won't continue that comment as I don't want your friend to think poorly of you."
"Think poorly of me?" I raised an eyebrow.
"For sleeping with your boss." He winked at me. "That's one way to try and get ahead."
"You pig. It was nothing like that." I gasped. “I never slept with you to get ahead. And also what would I be getting ahead with? Being a personal assistant to another asshole.”
“And that’s my cue to leave.” Lucy chuckled as she stepped back.
“Wait, I’m coming with you.” I moved away from Wade. “I’m sorry I disturbed you on your urgent business trip. The one that required you to leave first thing in the morning before I even woke up. Email me whatever tasks you need me to do and I’ll do them.”
“The flesh is deer.” Wade shouted behind me as I was exiting the cabin.
“What?” I turned to look back at him. “What are you talking about?”
“The meat in the sink.” He walked to the cabin door. “It’s venison. And the blood you see, it’s from a deer and an elk.”
“I’m confused. What are you talking about?”
“I was hunting, Savannah.” He frowned. “What did you think it was?”
‘I don’t know. All I saw was blood all over the place and flesh in the sink. I thought…” My voice trailed off now. I didn’t want to sound like a drama Queen, but I had thought it was human flesh. I thought some sort of Hannibal Lector was living in the forests behind his house, but I didn’t want to tell him that. “Where’s Henry?”
“He went with…he went to fish.” Wade frowned. “Why?”
‘No reason.” I frowned now. “Why did you hide when we entered? And why did you have a rifle?”
“I didn’t know who was entering my property and I was protecting myself.”
“But this cabin is on your property.” I looked at Lucy who was staring at us and listening intently. “Why would you be hiding out like a fugitive.”
“I wasn’t hiding out like a fugitive. This is a monthly occurrence for me. I like to hunt. I like to live in nature. I like to be one with the land.”
“Why did you leave before I woke up?”
“Things are, how can I put this? They’re complicated.”
“What’s complicated? What are you hiding out in the woods? Is it because we slept together?”
“Why would I hide in the woods because we slept together?”
“I don’t know why you do half the things you do. Why are you such a creep?”
“How am I a creep?”
“You came into the house, didn’t you? After you said you were going away. You left the French doors open and you left mud on the ground.”
“What are you talking about Savannah?” His voice rose and he was super serious all of a sudden. “What mud on the floor? And what doors? I haven’t been back to the house since I left. I knew if I saw you, I wouldn’t want to stay away.”
“But then if it wasn't you….” I shivered. So it had been Gordon then?”
“Has anyone else been at the house?” Wade questioned me. “Asides from your mutt and friend?”
“No,” I lied and then I sighed. “Well, Gordon, but…”
‘The guy you met in town?” Wade sounded jealous. “What was he doing at my house?”
“He just wanted to keep me company, that’s it.”
“Where did he keep you company?”
“In your bed.” I snapped. “Where do you think?”
“Do you think that’s funny, Savannah? You jump from my bed to another man’s.”
“It’s not like that.” I sighed. “And stop twisting this on me. You’re the one that lied.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“Hey guys, can we do this back at the house?” Lucy interrupted us. “I hate to get into the middle of this, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving Savannah out here in the woods with you and now I don’t think I feel comfortable being in the house by myself. Yes, I have Jolene, but she’s a lover, not a fighter.”
“I’m coming, Lucy. I’m over this crap.” I stared at Wade and shook my head. “This isn’t even worth it. I’m done.”
“What do you mean, you’re done?”
“I mean, finite. I’m out. Deuces baby.”
“We have a contract. You’re not going anywhere.”
“Keep your money. I have my self respect.” I walked away from him, my heart pounding and tears threatening to fall. I’d been through so much in the last two days and he was here in the woods? Had he just left because he didn’t want to be around me? Maybe he’d been hoping I would leave before he came back. Maybe this was all just a big joke to him?
“You signed a contract, you’re not leaving.” He grabbed the top of my arm and I turned to look at him. “Please, Savannah.” His voice cracked slightly and it was then that I noticed there was a slightly dazed and manic look in his eyes. He looked like a complete neanderthal. A man of the woods. Or rather, a man that was one with the woods. He looked wild and primal and I was embarrassed to note that even though I was still terribly angry with him, I was still imagining what it would be like if he were to pick me up and carry me out into the woods and have his wicked way with me. What the hell was my problem?
“Savannah, say you’ll stay, please?”
“I want some answers, Wade.”
“I will give you answers.” He sighed. “Look, you and Lucy go back to the house with the mutt and I’ll be up there in a couple of hours.”
“You’re not coming with us now?”
“No, I need to let Henry know I’m going back.” His lips thinned. “He needs to take care of some stuff for me.”
“What stuff?”
“Where did you find the mud? By the door or in the house?”
“What do you mean?”
“Was the person that came into the house in the house all the way or?”
“I think they were in multiple rooms.” I shivered slightly. “I felt like I was being watched, Wade. If it wasn’t you, who was it?”
“
I don’t know.” He looked uncomfortable for a few seconds and his eyes left mine. I wasn’t a detective, but I certainly knew when someone was lying to me.
“Okay, well, I’m going now.” I looked over at Lucy and nodded. “Shall we head back to the house?”
“Sure.” She nodded back to me. She seemed to know not to say anything else.
“Will you still be there when I come in a couple of hours?” Wade asked me softly and I just gave him a half-smile.
“Maybe.” I shrugged and just walked away. There were many things I wanted to say to him. Many words I had to get off of my chest. But my head and heart felt heavy. An invisible weight was sitting on my shoulders. I was up to my ears in stress and I could feel the anxiety overwhelming me. I didn’t know if I wanted to laugh or cry. I didn’t know if I was coming or going. I didn’t even want to hear what he had to say. I was on the precipice of falling to pieces. I knew that I was close to a breakdown. It had all been too much in the last few weeks. Too much stress and worry. And to be fair, the stress had started before I’d even gotten here. But my money stress had been something different. It hadn’t been all-consuming. Not like this situation with Wade. My brain felt feverish and my skin felt clammy and all because he said and did things to me that I couldn’t fully process. Maybe I just needed to leave. How could he have been on the property the whole time? I felt like a piece of me had been ripped out and I had no way of getting it back in.
Chapter 12
“So we’re leaving then?” Lucy broke our stretch of quiet after a few minutes. She was surprisingly calm and gentle in her questioning and I knew that she knew that I was in a delicate state of mind right now. “Or not?”
“I don’t know what to do.” I chewed on my lower lip contemplating my choices. “What do you think I should do?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “He’s cute.” She half-smiled. “A lot hotter than you gave him credit for. I know why you fell for him.”
“He’s not all that.” I lied.
“He’s all that and a bag of chips.” She laughed. “And he really seems to like you as well. His hands were all over you.”
“Most probably because he was debating whether or not he wanted to kill me.”
“I think he was debating whether or not he wanted to take you then and there.” She looked at me sideways. “There was a primal energy and heat in the air, didn’t you feel it?”
“Well, after I saw the flesh and the blood, how could I not?”
“Don’t lie, you wanted him.”
“I did.” I blushed because I wondered if it had been that obvious to him as well? “He’s just so hot and masculine.”
“He’s definitely a man’s man. Nothing metrosexual about him.” She agreed.
“Do you think he was lying? Do you think he was the guy that was spying on me?” I swallowed hard thinking about him watching me as I moved. “That would be so creepy.”
“I don’t think it was him. He sounded so shocked, almost angry.” She shook her head. “I really don’t think it was him.”
“But then he knows who it was.” I sighed. “He knew something.”
“He did know something. Maybe it was his brother, what was his name again, Henry?”
“Maybe.” Though I didn’t think it was him. Henry was cool and fun. He didn’t seem to be the sort of man that would covertly be coming in and out of the house. He seemed the sort of man that would enter confidently and loudly. I just didn’t think it was Henry.
“So are you going to press him for more information when he gets back to the house.”
“You bet I am. Also, why couldn’t he just have left Henry a note? He left me a note when he left. He can’t do the same for Henry?”
“Maybe he’s worried Henry won’t see the note. That cabin was in a bit of a mess.”
“That’s putting it kindly.” I laughed. “It looked like a hot mess.”
“Do you know what I was wondering?” Her expression changed as she approached the house.
“What’s that?”
“Where were the skins?”
“What skins?” I wrinkled my nose in distaste.
“The skins of the animals. He said they were hunting right? So they killed at least one deep and one elk that we know of. You saw the meat in the sink, but where did they put the hides?” She whistled to Jolene to come inside with us as I opened the French Doors. “I didn’t see any hair anyway, which we should have, we saw the blood, we saw the flesh.” She shrugged. “Just something I was wondering.”
“Yeah, I have no idea.” I shook my head. “Do people that hunt normally kill the hide?”
“Depends.” She shrugged. “I mean, let’s be real, I don’t really know the answer to that question. I think hunting is horrific.”
“Me too.” I nodded. “But I suppose it’s good that he’s not just hunting for sport. He’s hunting and eating the meat.”
“Is that really good though? Does he need meat?”
“Well, we’re not exactly vegetarians, Lucy. We can’t be hypocrites.”
“I’m not being a hypocrite. I just have problems killing innocent animals.”
“All animals are innocent.”
“You know what I mean.” She frowned and headed to the fridge. “I’m getting some water, do you want some?”
“Yes, please.” I nodded. “I’ll fill Jolene’s bowls with water and food as well. She must be so thirsty and hungry.”
“She’s always thirsty and hungry.” Lucy laughed. “I swear that dog could eat a horse and still end up begging for more when she was done.”
“You know that’s true. Come on Jolene, it’s dinner time.” Jolene came running into the kitchen, a huge smile on her face. I suppose at least that was one good thing. She was having a fun time on her first adventure out of Manhattan.
“Here you go.” Lucy handed me a glass of water. “I’m going to go and shower now, but we can reconvene in thirty minutes? I’ve a feeling we’re not leaving tonight, are we?”
“No, we’re not leaving tonight.” I gratefully sipped the water down and let out a small yawn. “I’m going to talk to Wade when he gets back. I want some answers and I want them now.”
“That’s what I like to hear.” Lucy said. “You demand the truth. And if he doesn’t want to give it to you, we leave.”
“Hopefully, he lets us.” I said under my breath and she frowned.
“I hope that’s a joke, right? Because if that’s not a joke, then we’re leaving now.”
“It’s a joke.” I let out a hollow laugh. It was a joke, but if I was honest with myself, anything was possible. I didn’t really know Wade Hart. As much as I wanted to believe that I did, I knew that what I knew didn’t even scratch the surface.
Chapter 13
Jolene was curled up at the bottom of Wade’s bed, snoring her little heart out and I smiled warmly as I watched her. It was a pleasant picture watching my dog sleep in this room. But even though staring at her filled me with happiness, I couldn’t stop the worry from seeping into my bloodstream. My mind was constantly going over everything that had happened the last couple of days and I just couldn’t figure out what was going on.
“I can’t believe you’re letting that mutt sleep on my bed.” Wade walked into his room, his hair still wild and crazy, his eyes intent on my face. “You’ve been sleeping in here?”
“You didn’t know that?”
“Would I be asking if I did?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “Miss me, did you?”
“No, but I put Lucy in my room. I didn’t want to put her in another room without your permission.”
“Shouldn’t you have gotten my permission for her to stay in the first place?”
“I didn’t know I had to get your permission for every small thing that I did.”
“Well, seeing as I told you she couldn’t be here in the first place.”
“Are you saying we have to leave?” I stood up.
“I’ll snuggle next to Jolene
myself if it means you’ll stay.” He walked over to me with a small grin. I watched as he pat Jolene on the back uncomfortably and held in a laugh. He obviously was not comfortable around dogs. Had he never had a pet before?
“So you're telling me that if I stay, you will sleep with Jolene?”
“Well I don't really want to sleep with Jolene, but if that's the only option to make you stay, then sure I'll love her and kiss her and do whatever you want me too.”
“Really?” I laughed.
“Really, know I'll do whatever I want. You have the power.” He paused and then smirked. “Well when I say whatever you want, there are some limitations.”
“What limitations?”
“I guess I'll just have to find out.”
“Wow you must really want me to stay.”
“I think that's obvious.”
“Why do you want me to stay?”
"I think you know the answer to that." I stared at him for a few seconds looking at the smile on his face and the glint in his eyes and I wondered what he was thinking. Did he want me to stay because he wanted me in his bed or was it more than that? What was in his heart? What was in his mind? Was he falling for me like I was falling for him? It all seemed like such a dream and I didn't know exactly what to believe. My mind was telling me that he liked me, as more than just a one night stand and as more than just one of his employees that he found attractive. My mind was telling me that this was something special, but I couldn't ignore the fact that he was keeping so many secrets. I needed to know what he'd been talking about that night I needed to know how I could destroy him and Henry.
"What are you thinking about Savannah?" He touched my shoulder lightly and then his fingers ran along my shoulder blade towards my face. He then cupped my chin and tilted my face up to him. I stared up into his eyes. They were so green and mesmerizing; and reminded me of a sparkling emerald that was spotlighted by the sun. We just stared at each other for what seemed like hours, even though I knew it was only a few minutes. There was an unspoken understanding between us; a buzzing, a chemistry, a feeling that I couldn't quite explain. It was like he was reading my thoughts and I was reading his ,yet both of us were thinking in foreign languages that the other one didn't understand.
