Scarred: A Mountain Man Romance

by J. R. Ryder

  “Well, maybe I finally will. We got all the time in the world… right?” She asked the question with trepidation, giving me a sideways glance as she sat down at the kitchen table with her food. “You’re not, like, going to disappear on me again, are you?”

  I reached for her hand, squeezing it. “I promise, I’ll never do that again. But…”

  “I don’t like the sound of that…”

  “ I do have a month-long business trip to Spain coming up.”

  “When?”

  “First Monday of next month.”

  “But… that’s like a week from now…” Her voice grew dull and her shoulders sagged. “How do I know you won’t just stay in Spain for the next ten years?”

  “Because you’re coming with me.”

  “Huh?”

  I took a bite out of my eggs, countering the taste of burnt cheese with a chunk of fresh bread. I even sipped my coffee, looking at her over the rim of my cup. I had always loved teasing her like this.

  “Andre! Answer me! What do you mean, I’m going with you?”

  I continued to drink my coffee.

  “I’m serious. This isn’t funny.”

  Ever so slowly, I put down the cup. “Pretty funny to me.”

  “You’re such a jerk sometimes.”

  I shrugged. “I can’t be perfect. I mean, I do come close, but there had to be something wrong with me.”

  “And still cocky as ever.” She started pouting, her arms crossed over her chest. She was so cute when she did that.

  “You know you love me.”

  “Yeah, I do. I must be insane.”

  “Everyone’s a little insane.”

  “Can you quit stalling and tell me what this great master plan of yours is?”

  “Alright. Alright.” I was about to grab my fork when she slapped my hand away, shooting me a reprimanding glare. “That job you applied for, the position is still open.”

  “You didn’t hire someone else, even though I stormed out of there?”

  “Nope. Just couldn’t bring myself to do it. And, it wasn’t just because I wanted you to work for me. You were, and still are, the most qualified person for the job.”

  “ if I accept the job, I get to go to Spain with you?”

  “You’ll be my personal interpreter. Didn’t you read the job description?”

  “That wasn’t in the job description. All it said was a leadership position, based in Baltimore.”

  “You were just looking at the pay rate, weren’t you?”

  “That was… a factor, yes.”

  I grinned. “You were always self-sufficient. Tell me, what were you going to do with the money?”

  “Buy a house.”

  “That roommate of yours getting on your nerves?”

  “No. It’s not that. I just want to be independent. Darla, my roommate, is always looking for a man to help fuel her dreams. I honestly thought you were never coming back, and I knew I could never settle for someone else, so I was coming to accept the idea that I’d have to make it on my own.”

  I frowned. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long.”

  “I’ll forgive you… eventually.”

  “You haven’t forgiven me yet? What was last night then?”

  “Oh, you know… just a spur of the moment thing.” She twirled her fork between her fingers before taking a bite of her eggs. And just like that, the tables had turned.

  “You can’t tell me it was nothing more than a spur.”

  “That’s all it was.”

  “You’re such a liar.”

  “Am I?”

  “Yes, you are.” Before she could react, I lunged forward, grabbing her out of her chair. With her in my clutches, I started to tickle her.

  “Andre! Stop!” She squirmed, trying to get away from me but it was futile.

  I continued to tickle her. The sound of her sweet laughter brought me back to our college days when I tackled her onto the dorm’s cardboard-thin mattress, making her squirm all night long… in more ways than one.

  “Andre… can’t breathe…” She panted.

  “I’m not going to fall for that.” I continued my assault before she finally managed to get away, dashing into the living room, looking for a place to hide.

  Unfamiliar with the layout of my home, she trapped herself into a corner, her eyes darting left and right, looking for an escape path.

  “You’re mine now,” I growled playfully.

  “Eek!” She squealed right before I tackled her onto the couch, kissing her hard.

  Life was finally going my way. I could feel it.

  Chapter 7 (Hope)

  I couldn’t believe I was actually about to board a plane to Spain. It felt surreal to be holding Andre’s hand as we waited in line to go through security. “This is nuts.”

  “Why?”

  “A month ago, my life was going nowhere. Sure, I had a decent job, I was paying the bills, but I wasn’t truly happy. I had nothing to aspire to. Then, all of a sudden, you came back into my life, turned it upside down and yet, everything feels right.”

  Andre smiled before he kissed the top of my head. “Good thing I decided to build my headquarters in Baltimore instead of New York.”

  “You think fate has anything to do with it?”

  “Do you believe in that stuff?”

  I thought about it for a minute. I didn’t really know. Fate was one of those things that was hard to wrap your head around. Like, who controls fate? Is there a way to change it? Do you always have to accept it?

  “I’m not sure.”

  “Well, do you think it’s a coincidence that you applied to be my personal interpreter without even knowing I would be your boss? I mean, you could’ve applied to a bunch of other jobs and never even come across mine.”

  “You have a point… we also saw each other at the bar.”

  “Right. What are the odds?”

  “I still… I don’t know. in any case, I’m just glad that we’re together again.”

  “Me too, babe.” He squeezed my hand, a smile on his face. “We’re getting close to the front, you’ll have to get rid of that water bottle.”

  I nodded, finishing it off and disposing of it in the nearby trashcan. “Kind of silly that they don’t allow you to bring it into the airport itself.”

  He shrugged. “TSA has silly rules like that. And it’s only getting worse. We’ll eventually have to get you a Pre-check membership.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s like a background check. They make sure you’re not a criminal, and in turn, there’s an express lane you go through where you don’t have to take your laptop out of your bag, take off your shoes or even your belt.”

  “Damn. That sounds nice.”

  “It is. It’s only like $85 a year and it legit saves you half the time.” He pointed his thumb behind him where a few people were cruising through the Pre-check lane. It never took them more than a minute to get to the other side.

  On the other hand, I felt like we had been stuck in this line for a long, long time. Forever, even.

  Eventually, however, we made it to the front and we had to start the tedious process of unloading everything into the little trays before pretty much stripping down in front of the TSA officers.

  “That wasn’t too bad,” Andre said, grabbing our things on the other side.

  “Next time, I better have Pre-check.” I teased him. “Take it out of my paycheck if you need to.”

  “For a new employee, you’re very demanding.”

  “Would you rather have me ask as your girlfriend? Do couples get a discount?”

  “No, but kids under 12 go free.”

  “Is that your way of telling me that you want to have kids with me?”

  “Maybe.” His lips curled into a cryptic smile.

  I sat down beside him on a nearby bench, putting my shoes back on. As I did, all I could think about was Andre as a father. I pictured him out in the yard, pushing our daughter on a sw
ing as she giggled and told him to make her go higher and higher.

  “Come on, let’s go. I’m starving.” He took my hand, holding it a little too tight, almost as if something was wrong.

  “Andre?”

  “Yeah…?” His voice sounded distant as he kept looking around the airport.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” He answered, way too quickly.

  “I know you’re lying.”

  He pulled me closer, glancing over his shoulder before he towed me over to the food court. “I don’t know why… but I just have this feeling that someone is watching us.”

  I glanced around, but from what I could tell, everyone seemed to be minding their own business. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Call it a Seal’s intuition.”

  “Who would be watching us? You got enemies I don’t know about?”

  “Of course I do. I’m a rich and powerful man.”

  “Well, it’s an airport. This place is jacked with security. I doubt anything will happen. You’re over-reacting.”

  “Hope, I’m telling you…”

  “Look, I need to go to the bathroom. Why don’t you go ahead and order us some food?”

  Even as I tried to leave, he didn’t let go of my wrist.

  “Andre, seriously, you’re being ridiculous.”

  He stared at me for a moment before he sighed and let go. “You’re probably right.” Still, he watched me the whole way to the bathroom. Andre had always been a bit of a worrier, but he was never this bad. Something must have seriously spooked him. The thought caused goose bumps to form all over my skin. As I got into a stall, I kept my guard up, just in case.

  Before I could finish, however, someone else entered the bathroom. Their footsteps were heavy like they were wearing combat boots or something. There was also the sound of wheels like someone was pushing a cart.

  “Hello. Is anyone in here?” A gruff voice sounded. “I need to clean this bathroom.”

  “One second, I’ll be out in a jiffy.”

  I quickly zipped my pants, about to book it out of there when my stall door was kicked in, hitting me in the head. I fell back, nearly falling in the toilet before someone grabbed me, pinning both my wrists together with one hand. I was about to scream for help when my attacker shoved something in my mouth, gagging me. I tried pushing against it with my tongue, attempting to spit it out, but it was wedged in there.

  “Don’t make a sound or it’ll be the last thing you ever do…” A deep, husky voice sounded in my ear. A rough hand subtly brushed against my cheek as the man pinned me to his body, his arm around my neck like he was ready to strangle me at a moment’s notice.

  I stilled, afraid for my life.

  Suddenly something sharp and painful stabbed into the side of my neck. My vision began to blur and my body turned to lead. I slumped forward, my hair falling over my eyes as the man dragged me out of the stall, propping me against the sink.

  I did my best to focus on him, to try and remember everything about him, but it was already too late.

  As he approached me holding a roll of duct tape, everything faded to black.

  ***

  The next thing I knew, I was in a car. Whoever was driving was swerving back and forth on the highway. My eyes widened with fear as everything came crashing back to me.

  Quickly, I tried to sit up, but I had been buckled in and with my hands tied behind my back, there was no way for me to free myself.

  “Ah, you’re finally awake.” A man’s slurred voice broke through my panic.

  I glanced over to see a large, intimidating individual. He reeked, his clothes were wrinkled and dirty, and his face was sunk. What worried me the most, however, was his bloodshot eyes. This man was clearly intoxicated.

  My struggles intensified. There was no telling what this guy would do to me.

  He grinned like my fear amused him. “Andre sure knows how to pick them.”

  I froze at the mention of Andre’s name.

  “That’s right. I know your little boyfriend quite well. You see… I was in the Navy with him. We spent seven years serving together. We were like brothers. I watched his back and he watched mine.” As the man spoke, he looked right at me, making me incredibly nervous.

  Please watch the road. Please watch the road. I mentally screamed at him, fearing that I would die in a horrific car accident at any moment. maybe that was preferable to whatever he was planning.

  He grinned, flashing a mouth of yellowed teeth.

  Abruptly, he swerved to the left, narrowly missing an oncoming car. As a result, I fell sideways, getting stuck in a very uncomfortable position.

  The man didn’t bother to help me so I slowly shimmied back into place, the seatbelt digging into my neck. If he were to slam on the breaks, it would probably crush my windpipe.

  The mere thought made me tremble. Why hadn’t I listened to Andre when he said we were in trouble? Maybe I wouldn’t be in this situation right now…

  Tears stung the corner of my eyes.

  What if I never saw him again?

  Suddenly, the man took in a deep breath, letting out a loud, overdone sigh. When I looked at him, he was holding an almost empty bottle of rum in his hand.

  I was dead. So fucking dead.

  “Really hits the spot, you know?” He chuckled. “Do you want a sip? Might help you take the edge off.” He pulled the gag out of my mouth.

  My first instinct was to scream bloody murder, but I managed to keep a level head. Screaming wouldn’t get me anywhere. If anything, it would probably get me hurt. So I wet my lips, my mouth feeling dry after being stuffed with a rag for all this time.

  He pressed the bottle against my lips, tipping it upwards until it spilled into my mouth.

  I shook my head, trying to prevent myself from drinking it, but he applied so much pressure against my mouth that my only choices were drink or drown. Please, don’t be roofied…

  “There, isn’t that better?” He asked, placing the bottle between his legs. “There’s nothing alcohol can’t fix, my friend.”

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m so glad you asked.” He looked at me, taking a strand of my hair between his fingers and twirling it. “ before we do that, I think there’s someone who wants to see you.”

  He grabbed his phone off the dashboard and dialed a number.

  “Watch the road!” I screamed, closing my eyes tight as he sped right toward a crossing tracker trailer. I pictured us crashing into the side of it, the top of the car coming right off… along with our heads.

  The tires squealed against the asphalt as he jerked the wheel, nearly colliding with another car. How I was alive right now was beyond me.

  “Oops.” He laughed, the sort of laugh a villain pulls off when he had completely lost his mind.

  Why hadn’t I listened to Andre?

  “Anyway.” He kept dialing some number, sliding in and out of the lane he was supposed to be in.

  A few cars honked at us. One man even stuck his head out the window and screamed: “You lunatic!”

  Why were there no cops on this highway? Why had no one called the cops?

  Ring! Ring!

  The sound of a dialing tone caught my attention. The man had placed his phone in front of me. My face was on the screen. On the top, big white letters read “Calling Andre.”

  A second later, Andre appeared, looking pixelated.

  “Ho… pe…” His voice was cut off like we had a bad connection.

  “Andre!”

  “Aww, what a happy little reunion. Too bad that you’ll never see each other again. you better cherish this last call.”

  “You bastard. What have you done to her? Where are you taking her?” Andre’s voice was full of venom.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He grinned deviously before he reached over and pulled my hair, making me cry out.

  “Don’t you dare lay a finger on her!”

  “What a
re you going to do about it?” His hand slithered down to my chest, groping me.

  “Please… stop…” Tears streamed down my cheeks. This couldn’t be happening. “Please…”