by Iris Abbott
ENIGMA BUNDLE 3
Enigma, Maine Series
Books 9-10
Iris Abbott
Books by Iris Abbott
A VERY VEGAS CHRISTMAS
Montgomery Family and Friends Series
A MONTGOMERY HOMECOMING
AUBREY’S SONG
A MONTGOMERY MARRIAGE
CAROLINE’S SEDUCTION
EVAN’S SURRENDER
LAURA’S STORM
FAITH’S SHERIFF
Enigma, Maine Series
A VAMPIRE’S LOVING BITE
A GUARDIAN’S LOVING CLAIM
A PIRATE’S LOVING KISS
A SOLDIER’S CHRISTMAS HOMECOMING
LITTLE RED VALENTINE
OCEAN’S LOVING EMBRACE
A GUARDIAN’S LOVING CARESS
A WOLF’S LOVING VALENTINE
EAGLE’S EMBRACE
MAGIC’S EMBRACE
HUNTER’S EMBRACE
VAMPIRE’S EMBRACE
GUARDIAN'S EMBRACE
Rancher’s Bend Bride and Groom Series
ACCIDENTAL BRIDE AND GROOM
SECOND CHANCE BRIDE AND GROOM
EXPECTANT BRIDE AND GROOM
SURPRISE BRIDE AND GROOM
Island Medical Series
LOVE CURES ALL
ISLAND CHRISTMAS
Metal Cowboys Series
COPPER
MERCURY
STEEL
CHROME
GOLD
IRON
TITANIUM
Warm Hearts Series
GIVE ME HEART
GIVE ME LOVE
GIVE ME SHELTER
Table of Contents
EAGLE’S EMBRACE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
MAGIC’S EMBRACE
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
EAGLE’S EMBRACE
Enigma, Maine Series
Book 9
Iris Abbott
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal.
EAGLE’S EMBRACE
Copyright © 2013 by Iris Abbott
First E-book publication: October 2013
Cover design by Iris Abbott
Photos obtained from bigstockphoto.com.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission. All characters in this book are fictitious and exist only in the imagination of the author. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
ONE
The golden eagle soared high above the earth. Its keen eyesight searched the terrain, looking for any movement that was out of place. The fresh, crisp air of autumn swirled around the large bird of prey. Sunset was near, but still, the raptor flew onward.
A life was at stake. The eagle-eyed vision of the shifter might be the lost hiker’s only chance at survival. Bright splashes of golden yellow, burnt orange, and scarlet red passed under the close scrutiny of the predator. Focused and sharp, his eagle eyes saw everything.
The sun was just sinking below the horizon when he saw it, a pale splash of pink. The pastel color seemed oddly out of place against the much warmer tones of the season. The missing woman was supposed to be wearing pink clothes. This could be the break the shifter needed.
The eagle tightened its flight pattern, the circles growing smaller and smaller. He zeroed in on the pink, swooping down until he had the woman in his sights. Once his target was confirmed, the raptor flapped his mighty wings and rapidly flew out of sight. He didn’t have much time.
The golden eagle gracefully descended, landing in a familiar clearing. Feathers swiftly faded away leaving skin and hair in their place. The animal elongated and grew to take the shape of a well-toned and sinuous human male.
Craig Aquila shook off the effects of the change. The shifter was a member of the Enigma Police Department. He headed many search parties for missing persons in the wilds of Maine. It looked like he may have gotten lucky. Finding the missing woman before nightfall could mean the difference between life and death.
He quickly found one of several bags of clothes and gear he stashed all over, for just this purpose. The man dressed and sorted through his emergency equipment. He found the emergency flare stored in the waterproof bag. He shot a flare into the sky.
The other three members of his rescue team were paranormal beings as well. They were aware of his search from the air. They would be on the alert. The bright burst of light would give them his general location. They were probably headed in his direction already.
He needed to get to the hiker as quickly as possible. Calling upon his superior strength and agility, he set off on the most direct route toward the woman. The sun was sinking fast. Craig was in a race with time, and he planned to win.
****
Jenna felt like she was hanging on for dear life. Her entire body ached. She was tired and chilled to the bone. Jenna wanted to close her eyes against the pain and drift off to sleep. The only thing that stopped her was the nagging worry she might not ever wake again if she succumbed to slumber.
The sharp edges of jagged rocks poked her from almost every angle. She didn’t dare move. Jenna could hear the gentle ping of stones, gravel, and dirt that rained down from the narrow ledge she was lucky enough to find. She didn’t know how long her safe haven would last, but she was too scared to scramble somewhere else.
She was stuck on the side of a rocky cliff. It wasn’t like she had too many other places to go. The large shadow of a bird flew overhead. It was the only other living thing she’d seen in hours.
At first, Jenna thought the huge bird was a vulture looking for its next meal, and she started to freak out. Something about the majestic and elegant flight of the bird made her take a second look. In the fading light, she barely made out the rich, golden shade of brown instead of black. Not a vulture waiting for her to die then, but an eagle instead.
It was the largest bird she’d ever seen. Jenna rapidly blinked her eyes just in case she hallucinated. The majestic animal was no longer in sight. Either way, it was too bad that the giant bird couldn’t fly her out of this life-threatening predicament.
She shivered as the wonder of the awe-inspiring bird disappeared only to be replaced by the horrifying reality of her situation. Jenna was afraid there was no way out for her. Even if the ledge didn’t give way, sending her plummeting to her death, she had no food, no water, and no way to climb her way up and out of this mess.
Weariness weighed down her eyelids. The night threatened to close in around her. She would not be greeting the darkness with a smile. Jenna struggled to stay awake. Her body ached, and she was freezing. Sleep would be a welcome respite, but Jenna was afraid if she lost consciousness she’d never wake up.
Several minutes passed. Exhausted, she fought to hold on to the flickering flame of life that lingered. A strange and repetitive sound snapped her out of the growing panic that threatened to swallow her whole. Debris rained down on top of her.
Jenna realized something rather large was on top of the cliff above her. Her throat and mouth were dry, but she still managed to swallow. Moisture coated the inside of her mouth. It was enough.
“Who’s there?” she cried out. The harsh sounding croak she emitted sounded nothing like her normal voice. “Please! I’m in
jured. I need help. If anyone’s there, please say something!”
“Jenna Byrd?”
The low spoken response sent a chill down her spine. The sound of her name was music to her ears, however. Someone was looking for her, and miraculously they’d found her. She wished she could jump up to greet her rescuer. But it was too much of an effort. Besides every inch of her body hurt. She had to be content with a verbal greeting.
“Yes! That’s me, I’m Jenna Byrd!” She managed to scream out the confirmation of her identity before common sense dictated she be more prudent.
A sobering thought made her clamp her mouth tightly closed. What if this wasn’t someone trying to help her? Her so-called boyfriend had purposefully pushed her over the edge. What if he’d sent an unscrupulous gun for hire to finish the job?
“Jenna,” the deep soothing voice called out to her again. “My name is Detective Craig Aquila. I work for the Enigma Police Department. I’m also in charge of the search and rescue team that’s been looking for you.”
A strangled sob of relief escaped. “Thank goodness someone found me! I didn’t even know if anyone would be looking.”
“How badly are you injured?”
“I’m not sure. I ache all over, and I’m cold and tired.”
“Well, the good news is I found you. I have blankets, and I can keep you warm. I’m also trained as a first responder. I have a basic first aid kit with me.”
It all sounded good to Jenna. “What’s the bad news?”
“A medical helicopter is on the way.”
She was giddy with relief. “In what world is that bad news?”
“As skilled as the pilot is, there is nowhere nearby for him to land. My team and I are going to have to hike you out of here.”
He sounded genuine enough, Jenna thought. And really at this point, it almost didn’t matter. If she didn’t get off the narrow and unstable ledge, she was done for anyway. Dead was dead, whether it was the result of starvation, a bullet, or plunging from the top of a steep cliff.
“I’m glad you found me, but I’m afraid I’m not going to be much help. I don’t think this ledge will tolerate any extra weight either.”
“Can you move? Is anything broken?”
“I don’t know. I’m sore all over, and I’m as slow as a snail. I think everything still works, however,” she admitted.
The top of the cliff was hidden from her sight by a large outcrop of rock. Her body banged against the solid and unforgiving structure on the way down. In the long run, it was probably what saved her life. It hid her from Scott’s sadistic view enough for him to think she’d continued on her way down to the very bottom. She was grateful for that at least.
Thinking she was dead and unable to tell tales was probably why he felt confident enough to report her fall. It would explain her sudden death to anyone who cared. It also nicely tied up any other loose ends for Scott. And as Jenna had recently discovered, there were a lot of those.
Several small pebbles and dust rained down on her. Jenna closed her eyes and moved her head to the side. When she opened them again, she was looking at the sexiest, most gorgeous man she’d ever seen. He dangled from the face of the cliff with the help of rock climbing and rappelling equipment.
Shiny, black hair was cut close to his scalp. His eyes were so dark they looked to be black. His skin, what she could see of it appeared to be a nicely tanned light brown. It reminded her of the golden brown feathers of the bird of prey she saw soaring high above several minutes before. She shook her head at the strange direction of her thoughts.
She tried to sit up, and all the air left her body in a hiss. She closed her eyes and took several shallow breaths.
“The helicopter will be here soon. Obviously, this ledge is too narrow and unstable for them to land. I hate having to move someone who suffered a fall this bad, but I don’t have a choice.”
“I understand. I’m just afraid I won’t be much help,” she reminded him.
“I’m stronger than I look,” the man grunted. “We’ll take it one step at a time. I need you to stand if you can,” he warned her. “It will be easier for me to get the harness on you.”
“I’ll try,” she promised. Jenna painstakingly and slowly positioned her body until she was leaning against the cliff. She had to bite her lip several times to keep from crying out in pain.
“Easy there now,” the man cautioned. “You don’t want to compound any of the injuries you acquired during the fall.”
His voice slid down Jenna’s spine, leaving tingles in its wake. The sound was a soothing balm to her wounded soul. It also steeled her nerves for the necessary but unpleasant ordeal to come.
Jenna nodded. She slowly used the leverage of the hard surface at her back to rise to her feet. When she was halfway up, the man grabbed her around the middle with a viselike hold.
“The man who reported your fall was sure you were dead. He’ll be glad to learn otherwise. I’ll radio ahead. Someone at the police station will let him know you survived. He can meet us at the hospital.”
Jenna couldn’t help the whimper that escaped. She curled into the powerful body behind her, and forcibly shook her head back and forth. “No! You can’t tell Scott I’m still alive. He’ll try to kill me again!”
She struggled to get away from him. The iron band of muscle that held her up tightened even more. Jenna instantly stilled. A part of her mind whispered that she didn’t know this man and should be scared of him. Another part instinctively recognized that he was there to help and meant her no harm.
“Again?” There was skepticism in the man’s voice. “He said you wanted your photo taken near the edge. He mentioned the word stubborn a few times and claimed that you refused to heed his words of caution. As a result, you got too close to the edge, lost your balance, and tumbled over.”
Jenna expected as much, but hearing the words still made her angry. She wanted to rage at the world, but this was definitely not the time or the place. Scott’s lie about her untimely demise was in danger of becoming the truth. And while her rescuer looked more than capable, she wasn’t off the ledge yet.
“Not true,” she was compelled to defend herself. “Get us out of here, and I’ll explain everything.” She grabbed the hand wrapped around her middle. “Just please promise me that you won’t notify Scott. He won’t stop until I’m dead. I know too much.”
The man must have believed her because he agreed immediately. “You’re safe now. Leave all the worrying to me. I want you to just concentrate on getting to the top. Once we accomplish that, we’ll get medical care for your injuries.”
He fastened the climbing harness around her body. She sucked in a sharp breath of air when the tight straps bit into her battered body. She wasn’t going to complain, because she definitely couldn’t handle another fall.
“You’re securely attached to me and the safety harness,” the detective explained. “I’m going to call out to the other members of the rescue team, and they are going to slowly pull us up.”
Jenna nodded. “I’m ready.”
“We’re secure, go ahead and bring us up,” he yelled.
A male voice answered back. And they started to move.
Jenna thought she was ready. She believed anything would be better than hanging in midair with nothing but unstable earth between her and an excruciating death. The sudden, unavoidable jar as the rescuer and she started up the mountain sent a jolt of sharp pain through her body. She whimpered, and a cloud of black fog began to steadily fill her vision until she lost consciousness.
TWO
Craig cradled the precious bundle in his arms. While he had Jenna close, he took the time to study her. She was gorgeous. Long, dark-brown hair that was heavy with curls framed a delicate heart-shaped face that was the most beautiful he’d ever seen.
The raptor inside him sensed the truth to what she said. Craig was confident the boyfriend purposefully pushed her over the edge. His eagle screamed a war cry at the thought of someone who
was supposed to love her committing such a heinous act. It was incomprehensible to Craig and his eagle. This was one attempted murder he would solve and soon. Justice would be swift, and it would be final.
The eagle inside him soared from the nearness of the woman in his arms. That was enough to make the man sit up and take notice. He wasn’t going to let Jenna Byrd out of his sight anytime soon. Byrd! He snorted.
There really weren’t too many coincidences in Enigma. Most things there happened for a reason. Craig hated that someone tried to kill her, but otherwise their paths may have never crossed. He had a feeling it was meant for them to meet. Fate.
He knew she passed out. He still did his best to make her as comfortable as possible. Once they were safely at the top, he refused to relinquish her to any of the other rescuers.
“Where’s the stretcher?” he asked no one in particular. As soon as he spotted it, he walked over and gently laid her on it. He motioned for one of the other rescuers to lift the end by her feet. He stayed by her head and raised that end.
The eagle inside didn’t want another man feasting on her beauty. It was insane, he knew. But he never questioned the eagle’s instincts. It was a sharp predator and warrior that never led him astray. The raptor saved his life more than once, so he always listened.
The four-man rescue team made the long hike to the clearing where emergency medical personnel waited. Craig took the good-natured ribbing of the other rescuers in stride. As usual, he chalked the find up to good luck, eagle-eyed vision, and well-honed tracking skills.
The other three were also paranormal beings. The group contained two wolf shifters and a guardian. Each one of them had unique talents and abilities that made their group the most successful search and rescue team in Enigma’s history.
Finally, after what felt like forever, Craig heard the noisy helicopter as they neared the clearing. Jenna faded in and out of consciousness the entire trek out of the wilderness. He thought she was out again, but as if by instinct, she reached out to grab him when he started to walk away.
“Don’t leave me,” she begged. That was all she said before her eyes flickered closed, and she fainted again.
