Sari

by Middleton, Rose

  Sari bumped into him from behind. His hand found hers and kept her on her feet, the contact between them electric despite the silence. He turned to face her, making sure to keep her hand in his.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled. “You should’ve warned me you were stopping.”

  Kai smiled and squeezed her hand. Finally she met his gaze, her eyes alert and wary. “I was just admiring the view.”

  Sari frowned and tilted her head to the right. “There is no view. We’re trapped in here with two access points.”

  And it seemed clear that scared her. Did she worry they’d stumble upon a ferocious cat and have nowhere to run? The thought hadn’t even occurred to Kai. In all the times he’d come out here and during all the days and nights he’d spent in the forest, he hadn’t come across live cats. For all his efforts, he’d so far found zilch.

  But when he looked at the beauty standing before him, his mind cleared. She eased the heartache that brought him here in the first place. He had to concentrate harder than usual on following the map, and if truth be told, he wouldn’t want it any other way. Something about Sari turned him inside-out and he loved it, but he didn’t like the fear weighing her down.

  “You worried?” Kai asked and Sari pulled her hand from his.

  “A little. Our escape routes, should we need them, are limited and dangerous. That embankment we had to scramble down is going to be a bitch to climb back up.”

  He remembered, and he also remembered that Sari had scooted down the slippery rocks with grace, her footing sure, her demeanor confident. In contrast, he’d slid down on his ass like a clumsy goof and probably had the bruises to prove it.

  “What’s really bothering you, Sari? I know it’s not our location.”

  The air between them, already thick and heavy with condensation, vibrated. He sensed her discomfort, reading the worry in her eyes and the small muscle tic in her jaw. Questions flooded his mind and frustration quickened his heartbeat. He’d thought she trusted him, if not completely, then at least more than two days ago. Heck, she’d put her faith in him to remove the microchip and trusted him to hold her while she slept. He was certain she’d let her guard down another notch during the night, especially when the nightmare took hold and she’d gripped him for life. It sure was one hell of a nightmare.

  She’d spoken three words during the night that he could decipher and the curiosity threatened to strangle him. Who was Zimmerman? What was pitch? And who in their right mind would call their kid Mystery? Too little of it made sense to him. The only thing he could be sure of was that Sari harbored a burning hatred toward Zimmerman. Was he the one who’d slipped the tracking device under her skin?

  “Well,” Sari fidgeted, “it kind of is this location, Kai.”

  He focused on her face again, itching to grab her by the shoulders and shake some sense into her. Why wouldn’t she tell him anything? The way he saw it, there was no need to keep secrets any longer. Surely he’d proven himself by taking her on her word, helping her and doing what he could to protect her. Yet he waited, his patience stretched thin but holding.

  A small voice reminded him that he had his secrets as well. He was the pot calling the kettle black, a complete hypocrite for wanting her to open up when he couldn’t do the same. His lies would undermine his reliability in her eyes. How could he think to break that now?

  “I worry about a lot of things I probably shouldn’t, that’s all. I mean, what if we crossed paths with a cat in here? We might have to defend ourselves. I didn’t come here to kill one of these creatures.” To his surprise, she stepped closer, her hand fisting into his sweater and pulling at him. “I am not a murderer.”

  The intensity of her gaze made him reach for her. She didn’t flinch as he wrapped his hands around her upper arms to rub and soothe. Desperation had taken hold of her, confusing him. Her voice, strained with emotion, hit him hard. He wanted to drag her into his arms but he didn’t want to give her a reason to push him away. No matter how much he wished she’d confide in him, he would not break the meager trust he’d built with her.

  “Well, considering I didn’t bring a weapon of any sort, we’re not likely to be killing anything. I wouldn’t expect that of you, Sari.” Some of the fear in her eyes eased. He sighed and gave a nod. “I wish you’d trust me.”

  “I’m trying. I really am.”

  “I have no intention of hurting you.”

  “You may not intend to, but when you know the real me, well, there are other factors that might come into play.”

  Kai blinked. Once again this woman he’d known for two years sent him for a loop. What the hell did she mean by other factors?

  “Come on.” She slipped out of his grasp, though he wasn’t quite sure how, and led the way.

  “You might need this,” he reminded her, holding out the plastic coated map.

  It was a moment before she took it, but he noticed over the next twenty minutes that she never looked at it. She seemed to know exactly where they were headed without having to check coordinates and route direction. Not even he, who’d been on the case for so long and had been to the area before, could pull that off. He reasoned it was because she’d spent more time than him pouring over the maps for clues in their search, that she’d become familiar with the terrain and could rely on memory. She probably had a photographic memory too. At least while they were in the valley, there were only two ways to go. Straight ahead or back the way they had come.

  Maybe he read too much into it. Hard not to, really, when he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

  At the end of the valley, they came to an incline. Kai wanted to scream out his frustration. All he saw was a steep, muddy, slippery with nothing to grab onto kind of climb.

  “Where to now?” he sighed, forcing out the breathlessness.

  She turned and grinned. “Up.”

  He saw the flash in her eyes just before she turned away and started climbing up the slope. Sari appeared to have them covered. He watched her outline a winding path up the wall, picking her way through the exposed rocks and using only those that were flat and dry. She moved effortlessly, smooth as silk. There was no hint of the clumsiness that sometimes turned her into a klutz. The backpack was actually bigger than her but didn’t hinder her movements.

  It amazed him to no end. Granted he was obsessed with the big cats, but her movements mirrored the feline agility and flexibility. Light on her feet, using her hands for stability, Sari balanced on all fours and let her athletic legs do the work. She made short work of the climb. Before he knew it, she stared down at him from the top and motioned for him to join her.

  Kai rested his hands on his hips and took in her lithe figure. Why did he get the impression she’d climbed the wall so quick to get away from him?

  He shook his head at her quick-footedness and called up to her, “I get the feeling that you’ve been here before.”

  The wild beating of her heart only grew more frantic as he approached. She’d hoped for a little distance and time, but he closed the gap far too quickly and stood before her with determination in his eyes.

  “You have been here before, haven’t you?”

  She forced a laugh but it sounded fake, even to her.

  Shit.

  “Only once. It was dark and raining.” And I was bleeding to death and scared out of my mind. “I hardly remember it.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what? Why was I here? Or why don’t I remember it?”

  They stood a few feet from the edge of the slope, the valley behind them, more thick forest ahead of them. So thick, she couldn’t see the sky.

  “Both.”

  Sari glanced at her watch. It was time for a break, so why not just come out with the truth? At least that way he’d stop asking questions and if she had to run, then up here held more options than in the valley.

  Without a word she unbuckled her rucksack and dropped it to the damp ground. “It was nighttime. I had no idea where the hell I was.” She retrieved her wat
er bottle and took a long, rushed swallow. Water caught in her throat, made her cough. Kai stepped toward her but she pulled away. His helpfulness was starting to unnerve her.

  “Sari, please.”

  “I don’t remember much of it because I was injured and running for my life. If I stopped, They would have found me and taken me back. Or worse.”

  Her heart pounded against her ribs like a machine gun. Her body ached with the memories filling her mind.

  “Who, Sari?”

  She shook her head. One step at a time. On her terms. “I knew that if They took me back, I’d die there. I didn’t want to die, but I nearly did.” Lost to the gruesome visions of the past, she continued. “Kai, I was an experiment. They wanted to see how humans would react, but the first chance I got, I escaped. They sent the Hunters after me, the successful subjects.”

  “Was that when you got the scars?”

  Her head shot up at the closeness of his voice to find him standing right by her side. He didn’t make contact, though she sensed his desire to take away the hurt with the power of touch. After last night, she wanted him to do just that.

  She nodded.

  “I felt them. I saw them on the back of your neck. Who did this to you, Sari?”

  If she knew who it was, she’d tell him. They didn’t exactly explain themselves to her. She was just another test subject. Another Failure, as Zimmerman would say. The Failures and the Hunters. The weak and the strong. He used to sit outside her cage for hours describing his plans for her future, of the time he’d set her free. Give her a head start of half a day before he let loose the Hunters. To stalk their prey. To hunt her. To finish her off.

  Run, little one.

  “Come on, Sari, tell me something. It’s just the two of us now.”

  His gentle voice encouraged her to spill her guts, tell him everything, but the fear outweighed everything else in her mind. She couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen after she exposed her past. Would he look at her with disgust? Would the soothing tone of his voice be replaced by anger? She had lied to him, always telling herself they were necessary half-truths to protect her from the predators in the world. Would he understand that? Could he understand?

  “Was it Zimmerman?”

  She jumped at the sound of the name. “H-How did you know that?”

  “Shh.” He trailed his fingertips over her cheek when every single one of her instincts screamed at her to run. “You said the name in your sleep last night, but it was obvious that you despise him. And fear him. Did he hurt you?”

  She swallowed. “He didn’t give me the scars, but yes, he hurt me.”

  “And this is why you can’t trust anyone, isn’t it?” Sari could only nod. “Honey, I’m so sorry this happened to you.”

  He pressed his palm to her cheek and this time she rubbed against his warmth, giving into her feline desires. Not once did she close her eyes, but that gave her the chance to see his honesty. When he pulled her into his embrace, his arms provided a safe cocoon for her, and she enjoyed the illusion while it lasted. Against the Hunters, Kai didn’t stand a chance. He couldn’t save or protect her, but he thought he could and that chivalry would be his downfall. Still, his desire to keep her safe boosted her confidence in him.

  “Kai, I’m not what you think. I have lied to you.”

  He nodded, the movement of his cheek against hers surprisingly stimulating. “I see that, now. You have your reasons.”

  “I don’t want to lie anymore, but the truth of my life is a nightmare. It could be used against me, or anyone else who knows it.”

  “So you’re protecting me, huh?” he whispered against her ear. The heat of his breath shot straight to her womb.

  “If They set the Hunters onto us, you’re as good as dead.”

  He squeezed her tighter to his chest. For the first time in her life, someone was on her side. Was it really true? Could she trust Kai with the truth? She decided to start with one of the ugliest ones and pulled back out of his grasp. His protest died down when she reached for the hem of her sweater, grabbing it and the t-shirt underneath.

  “You don’t have to do this.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  She turned her back to him and lifted the clothing away, aware she willingly exposed a bare back to the first person since Rex Zimmerman set his charges upon her with the intention of tearing her to shreds.

  Kai gasped, the shock just as she expected, but when his heat closed in on her and his hands flattened against the gnarled tissue, Sari jumped. His fingers lovingly grazed the three slashes that ran the length of her back, the trail of his warmth stretching from her left shoulder down to her right hip. The caress made her eyes burn and her throat tighten. God, he was so gentle.

  “This kind of injury would kill most people.”

  Sari turned her head and nodded. “I’m not like most people.”

  Once again his hands flattened against her back where he rubbed her. Awareness stole across her skin when her nipples pulled tight. She stood half exposed with a man who oozed sex appeal. How easy it would be for him to reach around and take hold of her. Each breast would fit easily into his large hands. What would it really feel like? She’d fantasized the moment so many times, and the desire to experience it heated her body to the core. Sari couldn’t let it go on. To drop her guard with Kai would put them both in mortal danger.

  She let her clothing slide back into place, but his hands remained, massaging her back. He made no attempt at touching her elsewhere, which pleased her.

  “They’re ugly, Kai. You don’t have to touch them.”

  “Yeah, I do. You use these to put up a barrier between you and me. I can’t let you do it. You can’t shut yourself off from the world, Sari. You’re not alone.”

  Leaning back against him, she rested her head against his chest. “I have been.”

  “Through choice. You have another choice now. Me.”

  His hands circled around her waist, and he held her to him. The closeness seemed so strange in this landscape of tree ferns, grass trees and towering eucalypts. She could hear the water drip off the leaves near them, smell the soggy earth. A snake slithered through the branches above them. How odd for such an intimate moment to mesh with their natural surroundings. But she wouldn’t have it any other way, not when the wilderness resonated deep inside her heart. Despite the hellish previous encounters out here, this place felt like home. Something pulled at her, called to her to shift and lay claim to this territory.

  “We should get going, find a place to set up camp for the night.”

  Sari nodded and moved to step out of his hold. Kai responded by strengthening his grip. The solid chest pressed to her back aroused her when it should comfort her, and the beat of his heart gave her visions of their naked bodies sliding against each other, when really, it should scare her to hear him sound so calm.

  “Why aren’t you afraid, Kai? I’m a monster, and when you see the real me, you’ll wonder why you stayed.”

  “I’m not afraid because I trust you. I know you wouldn’t put me in danger if you could help it.”

  His unwavering faith in her floored her. “You trust too easily.”

  His lips at her ear made her suddenly grateful for it. “I’m a good judge of character, Sari. I see goodness in you.”

  “You see what you want to see, a woman in need of protection, a frightened rabbit hiding from the big bad wolf. I’m neither of those things. Hell, I may be the big bad wolf.”

  He chuckled. “I doubt that very much.”

  “Promise me something?” She turned in his arms, aware she pressed hard nipples against his chest. Even more aware of his hardening cock teasing her belly.

  “Anything.”

  Sari swallowed. The man gave her too much credit. “Keep an open mind about me. I won’t hold it against you if you decide I’m not worth it.”

  Thick brown eyebrows knitted together when he frowned. “No matter who or what you are, you are worth it, and I won’
t hear otherwise. Now let’s go, we have quite a walk ahead of us.”

  Her silent movements amazed him. She literally made no sound as she moved. He couldn’t hear her breathe, never heard her stumble, and when she stepped over slabs of rock, she barely flattened the moss under her feet. Sari gave stealth a whole new meaning and it fascinated Kai as they covered the distance to camp.

  At least now he understood why she never consulted the map. Yet it didn’t quite ease his discomfort at seeing her on high alert. She scanned the forest around them ritually every twenty minutes, as if she expected trouble to jump out at them. How was he supposed to look for clues pointing to the cats or Rebecca when she made him nervous?

  As they walked, he tried to make sense of their extremely different reactions. He wanted to investigate every nook and cranny, while she wanted to run straight back home. Neither did themselves any good, and he decided he’d sit her down once they set up camp and have a good talk.

  To his surprise, Sari came to a complete stop. One step later, he did too and followed her line of sight, trying to see what she saw. Butterflies jittered about in his gut. Was there danger close by? Or something else? She sniffed the air, her face tilted upwards, her nose high. He blinked. Why would she sniff the air?

  “Sari?”

  “Do you see it?”

  “See what?”

  She turned and her sparkling eyes settled him. What could she see that he couldn’t? “Come on.”

  Veering to the right, she weaved through the dense clutch of trees, her pace fast and excited. Kai had a time of it just to keep up. With his eyes cast downwards to avoid tripping, he followed her silent steps until she came to a halt at a tree. When Kai caught his breath, he looked at the trunk about to make a smartass remark about tree-hugging when he saw it.

  Finally he saw what she saw, though how she spotted it, he’d never know. A surge of excitement flowed through him, bringing him closer to the ravaged bark. Claw marks were clearly visible, easily identifiable. He’d seen the same sort in documentaries on other wild cats like tigers. Used to distinguish territorial boundaries and warn away competitors, the deep, jagged gauges gave him visions of an aggressive male defending both land and a mating female.