by Maya Banks
His breathing ratcheted up until his vision blurred. Would he find her lying in the calmer pools? He charged ahead, nearly running now. His chest burned as he pushed himself harder.
As he rounded the bend of the last series of rapids, his gaze locked onto the smoother waters only ankle deep. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or scared to death when he saw no sign of her anywhere. The water rippled along as though no disturbance had ever occurred.
And then he saw it. Blood. Just a small splatter on the rocks in front of his feet. He shined the flashlight on the ground. Adrenaline rocketed through his veins when he saw another small splotch on the rocks heading into the woods.
She’d survived the river.
Resisting the urge to charge into the trees after her, he forced himself to follow the blood trail. He hands shook as he saw the blood increase the further from the river he went. She was still bleeding heavily.
He stopped when he came to a large blood smear, heavier than the prior trail. His heart began pounding furiously. She’d stopped here.
He swung the flashlight in a tight radius, and then he saw it. A human footprint in the bloody soil. She’d shifted.
“Aliyah,” he called. “Aliyah!”
He narrowed all his focus to following her footprints, relying on blood when the terrain was too rocky to register the indention of her feet.
“Aliyah!” he called again as he navigated the next rise. He swung his light downward and across the area in front of him. He froze, his hand stopping the sweep when the pale light of human flesh reflected in the glow of the flashlight.
He scrambled down the hill and dropped to his knees in front of Aliyah’s still form. He reached for her neck, feeling for a pulse. Her skin was still warm to his touch even amidst the chill of the air. He nearly wilted in relief when he felt the faint tremor against his fingers.
He turned her body over, looking for a wound. As he gently rolled her and shined the light across her torso, he saw the jagged wound in her shoulder. Blood still oozed from the wound, but at a much slower rate than the earlier trail had suggested.
“Aliyah,” he whispered as he trailed a hand across her cheek. “Aliyah, honey, wake up.”
Knowing he had to move fast if he had any prayer of getting her back to the cabin, he tucked the flashlight into the waistband of his pants and hoisted her gently into his arms. When she was high against his chest, he moved her up and over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry.
He reached first for his radio with his free hand.
“Nick, do you read me?”
There was a long silence, and then the radio crackled.
“Duncan, yeah, I’m here. What’s going on?”
“Target acquired. I’m proceeding with the plan as I outlined.”
Again there was a pause.
“Roger that. We’ve apprehended two suspects. I’ll be down at the station processing them. I’ll see you when I see you. And Duncan? Good luck,” he finished softly.
Duncan shoved his radio back onto his clip then snagged the flashlight from his pants. He shifted Aliyah’s weight and started back to the river. If he followed the bank another mile, it would lead him to an old national forest road that would take him just a quarter mile from his cabin.
He curled his arm over her legs and focused on each step. One foot in front of the other. Aliyah depended on him. He wouldn’t let her down again.
An hour later, he staggered from the national forest road onto the county road that would lead him to his cabin. His shoulder ached. Pain splintered down his spine, but still he continued on.
Aliyah’s head bumped against his back, and he slowed his walk so he didn’t jostle her more than he had to. Sweat rolled down the back of his neck even as the cold evening air made him shiver.
He caught the lights of his cabin ahead, and he redoubled his efforts, lengthening his stride. When he turned into the gravel drive and saw the silver Ford Expedition parked close to the door, he stopped cold.
A multitude of expletives bubbled in his throat. He tossed the flashlight and reached for his gun. Ducking as low as he could while still carrying Aliyah, he crept closer to the house. He had no choice but to stash her outside and go in to secure the cabin.
He laid her gently on the ground behind a clump of bushes, shrugged out of his jacket and laid it over her. He reached for his radio again.
“Nick, I may need backup. I have an unknown vehicle parked in front of my cabin. I had to leave Aliyah on the ground out front. I’m going in.”
“I’m on my way,” Nick said shortly.
Duncan pocketed his radio again and crept toward the cabin. He stopped near the front window, pressed himself against the wall and peered around the edge. Through the sliver the curtain bared, he saw a middle-aged couple standing in the living room.
He relaxed a fraction. Aliyah’s parents? Whatever the case, they didn’t appear to be armed. He pulled his radio out.
“Nick, stand down. I’ve got it from here.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll check in later.”
Duncan raised his gun and hurried for the door. He put his free hand on the knob, twisted and burst in, weapon pointed at the couple.
The man shoved the woman behind him and immediately raised his hands.
“Who are you?” Duncan demanded.
“Lawrence Carver,” he replied. “We’re here for Aliyah.”
Duncan lowered his weapon. “Stay here. I’ll get her.”
The woman darted from behind Lawrence. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
Duncan held up his hand. “Stay here, Mrs. Carver. I have to go back for Aliyah.”
He turned and hurried back to where Aliyah lay. He holstered his gun and quickly picked her up. As he strode back to the cabin, he heard Mrs. Carver’s anguished cry.
They stood back so Duncan could pass through the door. He walked over to the couch and laid Aliyah down. Her mother flew to her side and knelt on the floor beside her. Her hands fluttered over Aliyah’s face.
“What happened?” she asked.
“Merry, she’s alive,” Lawrence said as he sank to his knees beside his wife. He touched Aliyah’s wound with trembling hands then turned his gaze to Duncan.
“What happened?”
“Hunters,” Duncan said grimly.
“But why was she out there?” Merry asked desperately.
Duncan scrubbed a hand over his face as he faced her parents. “She helped us locate them,” he said quietly.
“You were supposed to protect her. You were supposed to keep her safe until we got here.”
The accusation in her voice made Duncan flinch.
“You have to take her away,” Duncan said. “She’s not safe here.” His gaze swept over her wound, and he took in the worried stares of her parents. “Will she heal?” His voice cracked, and he swallowed the knot building in his throat at the idea that this would be the last time he saw her.
“It will take time,” Lawrence said in a quiet voice. “She will need to once again find the balance between herself and the cheetah. It will aid her in her recovery. We’ll take her home at once. You have our undying gratitude not only for saving our daughter but for keeping her…our secret.”
“I have to go,” Duncan said. “We made several arrests. I brought her back here to shield her from scrutiny, to keep her out of the case. It would be better if she weren’t here. I don’t know what all the hunters saw.”
Lawrence nodded and the ache in Duncan’s chest grew. He moved hesitantly toward Aliyah. Her mother stood and moved back a step as if sensing his need.
He knelt by the couch and put his hand gently over her forehead. He smoothed his fingers through her hair and pressed his lips to her brow.
“Good-bye,” he whispered. “Be safe. I –” He broke off and turned away, rising to his feet. He cast a quick glance at Aliyah’s parents. “Tell her…tell her I’m sorry.”
He turned and walked out of the house t
o get into his personal truck. For a long moment he sat behind the steering wheel, watching as Lawrence Carver carried his daughter from the cabin and put her inside his vehicle.
His fingers curled around the steering wheel, and he felt the quiet rise of despair. He keyed the ignition, put it in reverse and backed out of the drive.
CHAPTER 18
He missed her. No two ways about it.
Duncan shed his coat and tossed it on the couch then followed it down with a weary sigh. The last few weeks had been a pisser. Elk Ridge had made national news, and as a result, the media had been swarming over the small town, interviewing the locals and everyone who’d ever claimed to visit the region.
Arrangements had been made for the animals recovered in the sting operation. Arrests had been made, and the poachers awaited trial on a host of federal charges. It had been a circus, but now things were finally quiet again.
And here he was, home, alone, thinking about a golden-eyed temptress and missing her with his every breath. It was pretty pathetic, and he was fairly certain it made him a pussy.
He hadn’t heard from Aliyah or her parents, a fact that made him crazy. He didn’t know how she was doing, if she was hurting, healing, but then he hadn’t tried to call them either. He didn’t want any chance of a link being discovered between him and Aliyah and the possible questions that could arise were it found out that she had been here when the raid went down.
You love her, fool.
Yeah, as crazy as it sounded, he’d fallen and fallen hard in the few days they’d been together. He’d even managed to get around the fact that she spent part of her time as a cheetah. Yep, he’d lost his mind. Or his heart more accurately.
He rubbed tiredly at his neck and briefly contemplated hitting the sack early, but going to the empty bed that awaited him in his bedroom wasn’t remotely appealing.
A light scratching noise interrupted his self-absorbed malaise. He cocked his head, thinking maybe he’d imagined it, but then he heard it again. Coming from his front door.
With a frown, he got up and walked cautiously to the door, his hand reaching for his sidearm that he hadn’t yet taken off.
There it was again. Definitely something outside his door and getting louder and more persistent.
He cracked open the door but before he could even look out to assess the potential danger, he was flattened by a flying fur ball.
He fell back as a cheetah pounced on him. His back hit the floor with a resounding thump as a golden-eyed cat licked him and nuzzled his face.
Aliyah.
His surprise turned to complete and utter joy. Relief.
And then suddenly he found himself holding a gorgeous naked woman in his arms.
“You’ve really got to stop doing that shit,” he grumbled. “It’s disconcerting and it looks painful.”
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” she asked as her lips met his.
“Oh, honey,” he groaned. “If you only had any idea how much I’ve missed you.”
He stretched his leg out to kick the door shut then wrapped his arms around his woman and proceeded to kiss her senseless. Her lips were cold against his, and she’d never tasted sweeter.
Her hair fell over his face, and her breasts pressed against his shirt. He smoothed his hands over her body, wanting to touch her, absorb her, make sure he wasn’t in the midst of a dream. One he’d had many times since she’d left.
And then it hit him. She was here. And she shouldn’t be here. She should be safe in Alaska. With her parents. Not here where she risked discovery.
“What are you doing here?” he asked even as he stroked her skin, touched her face, twined his fingers through her hair and stole another kiss. “You shouldn’t be here, honey. It’s dangerous.”
“I love you,” she said simply, and his heart nearly stopped. He actually felt light-headed, which he was sure made him even more of a pussy than all the mooning he’d done.
And yet she said it as though it answered the mysteries of the universe, as if those three simple words held the answer to all things and by virtue, her appearance made total sense.
It didn’t.
“As much as I love lying here on the floor, on my back, on the hard floor on my back with my arms full of a gorgeous…” He stopped to kiss her again. He simply couldn’t help himself. “…could we move this conversation to the couch?”
She grinned and crawled off of him then extended her hand down to help him up. As soon as he was standing, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly even as he maneuvered toward the couch.
He sat down, pulling her down on his lap so he could hold her. God, he just couldn’t stop touching her. And of course he was going to have to open his mouth and say something stupid. Something he didn’t want to say but needed saying nonetheless.
“You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous. Aliyah, what if you’re discovered? How do your parents feel about this? They must be freaking out.”
She put a finger over her lips then nuzzled closer to him and kissed him, long and hot. Her tongue swept over his lips and then inside, rippling over his, teasing, taunting. And he promptly forgot what he’d been trying to tell her.
When she pulled away, her eyes sparkled with laughter, with happiness.
He put his hand to her shoulder as it suddenly occurred to him that she might not yet be fully healed.
“I’m fine,” she said huskily. “See?” She turned her arm so he could see that not a single mark marred her sun-kissed skin.
He kissed the area where he’d last seen the angry, bloody wound. “You scared me,” he admitted. “I was afraid I’d lost you. I did lose you. You shouldn’t be here.”
She laughed. “You aren’t going to lose me any more than I’m going to lose you. You’re mine, Duncan. And I keep what’s mine. I’m very possessive that way.”
“But honey –”
“Do you love me?” she asked, her gaze earnestly searching his face.
“Yes, but –”
“No buts. Do you love me? Do you want me?”
He crushed her to him. “God yes, I love you. I want you so damn much. I don’t want you to ever leave. I want you here with me always. I love you. I love you so damn much it hurts.”
Her arms crept around his neck, and he could feel her tremble against him. Her soft lips kissed the pulse at his neck and then she pulled away.
“Then that’s all that matters.”
“It matters if I can’t keep you safe,” he said.
She smiled, her eyes shining bright with such faith that it humbled him. “You’ll keep me safe, Duncan. And I’ll be careful. We’ll be careful. It will take sacrifice. I know that I won’t be able to shift when I want and where I want. I know that there will always be a risk if we’re together, but I can’t live without you. I don’t want to be without you. I’m willing to risk anything to be with you. Always.”
When she put it that way, how could he argue? She was willing to risk everything. She was willing to sacrifice her freedom to be with him. He didn’t feel worthy of her, but damn if he was going to let that get in the way.
“I love you,” he said hoarsely. “I don’t want you to go. Stay. With me. We’ll make it work. I’ll protect you with my life.”
She cupped his face in her hands. Tears shone in her eyes making the gold liquid and glistening. “I love you, too,” she whispered. “I’ll stay. Always.”
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