“Good morning. Did you sleep well?” I asked as he walked up. Mark nodded yes and handed me a cup of coffee. I finally noticed a remnant of a fire in front of the tent.
“How long have you been up?” I asked him.
“Since seven” he replied.
“Seven? What time is it?”
“Almost eleven,” he answered.
“I slept until eleven? Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You were tired.” He stated matter of factly.
“Yeah…but I also want to get on the road.”
“So you know where we’re going?”
“Ummm…no. Not yet. I thought maybe I would dream something, but I don’t think I had any dreams last night. At least none I can remember.”
Mark shrugged as if to say, whatever, and began taking the tent down. I drank my coffee and decided to walk over to the lake to wash up.
“I’m going to wash up at the lake.” Mark rose from his work like he was going to come with me, and I halted him with, “No. Finish up here. I’ll take Bullet with me.”
He nodded as I called my wolf. Bullet came running out of some thick brush looking happy and well fed. I bent down to scratch him. “And what did you have for breakfast? Never mind,” I said as I thought that it was probably not a big bowl of kibble. I started for the lake. I found a spot where I could scoot myself close without falling in and scooped up some water and splashed in onto my face. The water was cold so I didn’t linger.
I turned with the intention of finding a bush where I could relieve myself when I got a strange sense of déjà vu. I looked up at the blue sky and then at Bullet who was staring at me. I had dreamed this before; a few months ago after my parents were killed. Only that time I felt a menacing presence coming towards me. Bullet growled, and I could see the hair on his back stand on end. The sense of déjà vu became stronger when Bullet nudged me forward. Goosebumps spread across my body and without thinking I began to run. I followed Bullet through the thick brush. We were heading towards the tree line when I heard a whistling sound. Instinctively, I ducked down low to the ground and laid there as an arrow came sailing by, missing my head by a half inch. As I lay there Bullet turned and ran past me, obviously giving chase to whoever had tried to shoot me with an arrow.
“An arrow? Who uses an arrow to try and kill someone?” I wondered out loud.
“Olivia! Olivia, are you okay?” Mark was shouting.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” I yelled.
Mark saw me and came running over. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. I was standing here with Bullet, and I got a sense of danger lurking near. We turned to run and I heard the arrow heading for me. I ducked just in time.”
“Where’s Bullet?”
“He went after whoever was trying to kill me. I better go look for him.”
“No. Let me go first. We don’t know what the situation is. There may be more of them waiting.”
“That’s why I should go with you. I’m not going to sit here like a scared rabbit. I’m tired of being a victim Mark,” I said while looking him in the eye.
He looked reluctant, but said, “Okay, but here, take this. And let me take the lead at least”
He handed me a gun. I nodded my thanks and tucked it into the waistband of my jeans.
We followed the direction that Bullet had taken. We had gone a small distance when Mark stopped and squatted down. “This is where he was waiting for you. Look at the brush here.” And indeed I could see the broken stalks of grass.
Mark looked closely and when satisfied that he found no other clues moved forward again. We almost made it back to our camp when Mark barked, “Stay there!”
But it was too late. I ran ahead of him when I heard Bullet whining.
Chapter 6
Bullet lay on his side. I could see the blood oozing from a wound that was just above his right hind leg. I ran over to him and knelt by his side. That was when I noticed the man. He was a few feet from where Bullet lay. His eyes were staring sightlessly at the clear blue sky. His throat had been ripped out. There was a bloodied knife lying by his side. I should feel bad, but I couldn’t seem to find that particular emotion inside me.
Instead all I could feel was panic that Bullet was hurt. “Bullet…oh, Bullet. Mark help me!” I cried.
“Let me see.” Mark knelt beside Bullet and probed near his hind leg. “It’s okay Olivia. It’s not too deep. I can patch this up. Let’s get him back to the camp. I have a first aid kit in the Jeep.”
“What about him?” I asked nodding my head to the dead body.
“He’s not going anywhere. I’ll take care of him after I take care of Bullet.”
I whispered softly in Bullet’s ear while rubbing his head, “It will be okay Bullet. We’ll help you. Can you make it back to camp, Boy?’
Bullet slowly got to his feet and I felt like crying as I watched him limp back towards camp. I turned to look at the body glad it wasn’t Bullet lying there dead. We headed back to camp, and Mark trotted ahead to make sure no one was waiting there to ambush us. When Bullet limped into camp, Mark was waiting with the first aid kit. Bullet collapsed by the tent and Mark quickly went to work. He shaved off a section of Bullet’s fur so he could make sure the wound got cleaned off properly.
“I’m going to have to stitch it. Can you try and hold him still?”
I nodded yes and went around to the other side of Bullet’s body, lay beside him and began to stroke his head gently. A peaceful feeling seemed to engulf me. I could feel it spreading through my body. The feeling moved like a slithering snake from me into Bullet’s body and I felt him relax beside me. As I lay there an image came to mind. I was in the back seat of our old station wagon with Mom. My dad was driving. My mom was stroking my hair and singing, “Ani couni chaouanin, awana bikana caina, e aouni bissini.”
Somehow I knew this translated to, “When evening descended upon the Indian village the medicine man disappeared into the forest touching the ground with his hands.” Though just a small child I knew this was a sad song about having to leave your lands and your people. The image changed slightly, and I was growing restless in my seat. My Dad turned and from the front seat said, “We are almost there Olive Oil. We will be riding the big boat in a little bit.”
I rolled the window down and stuck my head out hoping to get a view of the water. A sign saying Welcome to Alexandria Bay was all that I saw.
I came out of my fugue when Mark began shaking me. I looked at him a bit puzzled. “You were doing it again. That creeps me out,” he said.
I rubbed my eyes. “How is Bullet? And how long did it last this time?”
“Bullet is fine. He’s up and about. I gave him some food and water and except for a little stiffness and the bandage you would never know he was hurt. And you were out about an hour again.”
“Well…the bad news is that I always feel like a truck has run me over when this happens. Can you help me up?”
Mark helped me up. I wobbled a little and he kept an arm around me. “The good news is that I know where we are going. How long till we can leave?” I asked him.
“Now” he replied. I looked around and noticed that the small camp we made was packed and ready to go.
“Umm…what about the dead guy?”
Mark shrugged. “What dead guy?”
I stared hard at him for a minute and then just nodded my head at him in understanding. I’m sure if I went to look there would be no sign that there ever was a body anywhere near here.
I probably should be upset by the whole incident, but other than Bullet being hurt, I wasn’t. I couldn’t care less that one of those Guardian bastards died, but what did bother me was how they found me. All of these months they had no clue where I was. Now as soon as I left Roberto and Oswego, they found me. Was it a coincidence, or could Roberto have been so pissed at my leaving that he betrayed me in yet one more way? No, whatever the circumstances of our breakup there was no way he would want me dead. That I couldn’t believe.
I said to Mark, “I’m going to take care of some business.” He started to say something and I held up my hand. “I’m just going around to the other side of the Jeep. Don’t peek.” Mark gave me one of his scowls and turned around. After taking care of my personal needs, I washed up as best I could with a bucket of cold water Mark had gotten earlier.
“Where we headed to boss?”
I grimaced at the word boss. “Do you have to call me that? It makes me feel weird.”
He shrugged and said, “What do you want me to call you?”
I began to tell him that he could call me Olivia, but when I opened my mouth to tell him, what came out was, “Orenda.” Orenda was actually my real name, though I hadn’t let anyone use it in years.
As was his custom, he didn’t comment just nodded at me. I called Bullet who came running up as if he hadn’t even been wounded. Hmmm….he must be a fast healer. I squatted down next to him and said, “How you doing boy? Are you okay to get into the jeep?” I could swear I heard him give a snort right before he leaped into the jeep. Shrugging, I got into the Jeep beside Mark.
“Where to?” he asked.
With confidence I said, “Alexandria Bay.”
Mark nodded and he started the Jeep. During the ride I let my mind wander. Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous at all about my anticipated meeting with my clan or relatives or whatever they were, just anxious to start a new chapter of my life. The hours’ drive flew by and the next thing I was noticed was the same sign announcing that we were in Alexandria Bay, the place I saw in my vision earlier.
“Pull into that parking lot over there,” I instructed Mark. We pulled into a lot that had a sign for daily and weekly boat rentals. I thought to ask Mark, “Do you have any money on you?”
Mark said, “I have about three grand on me, but I can get more if you need it.”
I sighed, “We need to rent a boat. If you lend me this money, someday, somehow I promise to get it back to you.”
Mark shrugged. “Whatever you need boss.”
I grimaced at the word boss but didn’t say anything. I turned in my seat to talk to Bullet. “How are you feeling Bullet?” He gave me a look that I swear made me feel like an idiot. He also looked fine. “You stay here while we talk to the boat man.”
We got out of the Jeep and walked over to the small office in the corner of the lot. A kindly looking gentleman stepped out and said, “Can I help you?”
“Yes, we were wondering if you had any boats for rent.”
“Well, that would depend on how long you want to rent it for,” he replied.
Pulling Mark to my side I said, “Well, we’re on our honey moon and thought we would cruise around the islands for the week.” I looked up at Mark with what I hoped were adoring eyes. As usual, Mark’s face was a blank mask.
The proprietor looked at us a bit dubiously and said, “You would want something then that would have sleeping accommodations on board, I suppose.”
Looking shyly at the man through my lashes I replied, “Of course…we were married just this morning and we’re um… anxious to get the honeymoon started.”
The man looked from me to Mark who was standing beside me like a statue with a blank look on his face and muttered, “Sure…let me go see if we have anything that will meet your needs.”
As soon as he walked away I turned to Mark, “What is wrong with you? Are you slow? We need to convince this guy we’re honeymooners and you stand there like a brick wall. I don’t want to arouse suspicion. I’m not sure where we’re heading, and we may need to cruise around the islands for a few days. The honeymoon story is the perfect cover.”
“Well, why didn’t you tell me that before? I wasn’t prepared.”
“Shhh…here he comes.”
“Well, it must be your lucky day. We do have a motor cruiser available. It’s on the small side, but there is a cabin with sleeping space and a kitchenette. It’s going to run you, with the security deposit, about thirty five hundred dollars,” the man said still eyeing us suspiciously.
I turned towards Mark, “Oh Sweetheart, it sounds so romantic. Can we get it please?”
I was nearly floored when Mark grabbed me and pulled me into his arms. “Oh my darling, how could I deny you anything?” With that he bent his head and slanted his mouth across mine. I played along and whispered against his mouth, “That’s better; make him think that you can’t keep your hands off me.”
When Mark’s hands began to roam over my ass, I realized that he wasn’t acting. I could feel the hardened length of him pressed against me and his tongue probing my lips for entrance. Knowing I couldn’t put a stop to it with the boat guy watching, I let Mark invade my mouth with his tongue, but only for a minute. I pulled away and didn’t have to stretch my acting skills too far to appear embarrassed. “I’m sorry about that; we tend to get carried away.”
The man chuckled. “I’m not so old that I don’t remember my own honeymoon. You seem like a nice couple, so I’ll waive the security deposit. It’ll be twenty five hundred for the week. Follow me to the office and we’ll square away the paperwork.”
I smiled at him, and without looking at Mark, followed him into the office. When the paperwork was done we drove to a supermarket to get some supplies and since Bullet was looking a little restless in the backseat we stopped at a park to let him run around for awhile.
We would have to wait until near dusk to get Bullet on the boat. When the sky started to turn purple we headed back to the marina. Luckily there weren’t many people around, and we managed to get Bullet on the boat without any problems. I went below deck to unpack the supplies and Mark was up on deck with Bullet getting ready to depart. When I finished and went up on deck. Mark was sitting in one of the two captain’s chairs with, of all things, a big grin on his face.
In shock I asked him, “Are you actually smiling?”
He turned towards me. “I love being on the water. When I was a kid growing up in Virginia, we had a sailboat that we would take out every weekend during the summer.”
I sat in the chair beside him. “It’s really lovely out here on the water. It makes you forget all of the ugliness that the world hides.” Mark nodded his head in agreement.
After a long stretch of comfortable silence he asked, “Any idea yet where we’re heading?”
“Not exactly, I know we’re going in the right direction though. I feel it. We’ll have to make a few stops along the way so Bullet can do his business.” I looked over at Bullet stretched out on the deck. He looked very much at ease. We were cruising at a slow speed since it was getting to be full dark now on the river.
“Are you hungry?” I asked Mark. He nodded in the affirmative. So much for the new smiling and chatty Mark, I thought as I went below deck to make some sandwiches. I was spreading mustard on the bread when a shiver traveled from the top of my head all the way down to my toes. Goosebumps spread across my flesh. Up on deck I heard Bullet whine and then the boat engines cut off.
Mark appeared at the cabin entrance. “What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I’m not sure. I just got a strange feeling. I think I need to go up on deck.”
I climbed the few stairs up onto the deck. Bullet padded over and stood close, touching my leg. The wind picked up and blew my hair across my face. As I raised my arm to brush it away, what felt like an electrical current running through my body made the hairs on my arms stand up.
“Holy shit.”
“What?” I asked him anxiously.
“Your hair. It’s standing up. You look like that chick from Carrie before she hacked everyone to death.”
I gave him an exasperated look. “Carrie didn’t hack anyone. She burned them. But I’m guessing this means we’re close to where we need to go.”
Beside me Bullet, whose hair was also standing on end, suddenly lurched for the left side of the boat and began to whine loudly.
“Mark, start the boat. I think we need to go left.” I went to stand beside Bullet and felt
the electrical current intensify.
Mark started the engine and turned the boat left.
“I’m not comfortable with straying too far from the coast. I can’t see in this darkness,” Mark said worriedly.
“Don’t worry. I can see just fine. I’ll let you know when to stop.” It was still a marvel to me having my extraordinary senses. I peered into the darkness. I felt with every fiber in my being that we were getting close to something or someone. The energy crackled in the air around Bullet and me.
My heart started pounding until I thought surely it would burst. And then I saw it. At first it was just a dark shape in the night, but as we drew a little nearer I could see tree lines and some definite hills. When we got a little bit closer I said, “Slow down. I think I see a dock.” And indeed the closer we got the more defined the dock became until I could clearly see the entire thing including the handsome dark haired man waiting for me.
Chapter 7
I recognized him instantaneously. It was the rude man from my dream, the one who I had bumped into in the Native American village. If I had thought him gorgeous in my dreams, it was nothing compared to real life. His dark hair curled over the collar of his denim work shirt. I could see the tanned skin of his throat and chest where his shirt was unbuttoned. My eyes traveled lower taking in the way his jeans rode low on his narrow hips. When my eyes traveled back up to his face, he was staring at me with dark and dangerous eyes. Eyes that were hard yet framed with long black eyelashes.
I tried to keep from looking at his mouth, but I couldn’t help myself. His lips were soft and full, the upper one being just a little bit fuller than the bottom. I could imagine nibbling on that lip…wetting it with my tongue. I was brought out of my musings by a rather rude snort. He was smirking at me as if he knew exactly what I was thinking! I felt my face flush which just made him laugh out loud.
The sound of his laughter was deep and rich and before I knew what was happening, I felt my pulse quicken and a shiver go down my spine. What the hell? I couldn’t quite believe it. This rude man, a stranger no less was getting me excited.
Jude Stephens Page 4
