by Hazel Hunter
“Granger? Gillian?”
Without another word, Shayne knelt and pulled her into his lap. Something about the strength and size of his body made her fluttering heartbeat slow. She could feel her ragged breathing smooth out. He gently stroked her hair. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to tuck her head under his chin. For a long moment, she lost herself in the refuge of his arms.
“It’s going to be okay, you know,” Shayne said conversationally. “It really will be. This isn’t a great situation to be in, but I can think of way worse things than being in the woods with a beautiful woman. We know where we need to go, and if we just keep walking, Gillian, I promise we’ll be fine. I am not going to let anything happen to you, you understand? You’re my mission. I don’t fail missions. If you want to get to Tenebris, I’ll take you there if I have to carry you there on my back, okay? Trust me. Just trust me a little, and I swear I won’t let you down.”
Gillian took a long and shuddering breath. She nodded. One of the first lessons she had learned on the streets was that she couldn’t afford to freeze with terror. She couldn’t afford to be an easy target. That lesson still applied, even in the wilderness.
“Okay,” she said, separating from him. They stood up together. She already missed the warmth of his body. A few vestiges of her erotic dream from earlier clung to her. She turned towards the shelter before he could see her blush.
“Tell me what to do. If you say you can get us out of this, I believe you.”
“Nice to have you back with us, Granger. I’m going to filter some water, we’re going to have a quick drink, and then we’re going to march.”
She waited by the river, washing her face in the icy cold water as he broke camp.
It wasn’t until they had been walking for half an hour that she grinned.
He had called her beautiful.
• • • • •
All over again, Gillian was glad for her long jacket and gloves. It was around midday when Shayne sat her down close to the river again. They split another protein bar. It was almost peaceful, and the day was turning out to be a soft gray. Along the way, she had discovered a long, rambling stand of raspberries. She picked some of the last fall fruits as she went. Now she shared them with Shayne, offering him a few in her hand.
To her surprise, he dipped his dark head down to catch them from her palm with his lips. His quick and delicate movement tickled her, even through the glove, making her laugh softly. She liked it so much she fed him the rest. Then they were down to the last berry. She hesitated a moment, but then she gave in to the impulse that had been in the back of her mind since she found the fruit.
“Here,” she said, “this one’s for you if you can take it.”
She held the small red fruit carefully between her lips, looking at him expectantly. The look on his face was instantly hungry. He wanted to eat, and it wasn’t the fruit he had in mind. There was a wide smile on his lips. Just as he leaned in, she wondered if there wasn’t something dark there as well.
He stole the fruit from her mouth, a move as swift and sure as any other he had made. The gentle brush of his lips against hers was electric. She pulled in a quick breath at the sensuality of it.
Gillian tilted her head up, ready for the kiss to deepen. Though he stayed seated where he was, his lips hovering close to hers, he didn’t kiss her.
“We’re being watched,” he said softly.
Gillian tried to jerk backwards in surprise, but his hand was on the back of her neck, holding her still. To anyone who had been watching them, it would have looked like a tender moment. Her heart began to thump against her ribs.
“Who?” she gasped. “Who in the world is watching us?”
“At this point, I’m willing to bet good money it’s Templars. Likely they shot us down, but for a while they couldn’t find us. Now they’re following us. What I can’t figure out is why they haven’t tried to take us yet.”
“How long have you known?” Gillian asked, desperate to look, but willing herself to look at Shayne.
“I suspected not long after we started walking. I only became sure a few hours ago.”
If she had realized they were being hunted by Templars, she would be far more panicked than she already was. She took a deep breath and tried to copy Shayne’s calm manner.
“From now on, if we are being followed, I would like to know as soon as you do.”
Shayne’s smile was quick, but sincere.
“I will keep that in mind.”
Gillian yelped a little when he pulled her into his lap. It looked like a playful gesture, but instead it simply guaranteed they were not overheard.
“They haven’t shot us yet, so that means that they want us alive. They’d rather not take me while I’m up and awake. That means they’re waiting until we’re tired out and lying down to rest. That puts a few things in our favor.”
Gillian wanted very much to believe that they might have a few advantages, but it was a little difficult since she had just been in a plane that was shot down.
“Gillian…do you trust me?”
“That’s a bit of a loaded question isn’t it?” Gillian fought the slightly hysterical tone in her voice. “We’re in the woods being hunted.”
“I need to know right now.”
The answer came swift and sure, uttered with such conviction that Gillian was slightly startled.
“I do.”
“All right. Tonight, when we make camp, I want to use you as bait.”
Gillian was silent for a long moment. “You don’t ask for a little, do you?”
“I’ve always been a bit of a gambling man,” Shayne said with a hint of apology in his voice. “When I play, I play to win it all.”
“Go on.”
“I’m going to settle you at camp. Then I’m going to leave to look for something or other. When they make their move, I’ll take them down. Trust me when I say that I can do it, Gillian. I’ve done it on three different continents and for longer than some countries have been around. I wouldn’t risk you unless I was absolutely sure, and I am.”
A part of her screamed at how wrong it felt. She hadn’t survived by letting herself be staked out like a goat for a lion. She would be helpless. Worse, the plan relied on her sitting in place as if she were a little fool who had no idea what was going on. She needed to pretend to be ignorant of the danger that was stalking her. But she did trust Shayne. And if that’s the plan that would work, that was all that mattered.
“All right. I’ll do it.” When she said the words, a mantle of cold spread over her. She had made her choice, and she would have to stick to it. “What should we do now?”
Shayne’s smile was softer than she had ever seen it and perhaps a little rueful as well. He stood up, sliding her down to her feet.
“We can make some distance before dark. We’ll find a good place to camp.”
• • • • •
They walked until the shadows grew long again. The day was no less beautiful, but now Gillian thought she could see lurking forms behind every tree. There were eyes on them. There were people who wished them ill in the woods. She did her best to stay calm. Shayne helped, and in his own way, so did Max. The rat came out to ride on her shoulder, peering around in excitement at all the new smells. When Vlasti swooped down from a tree, however, Max darted straight back into her coat pocket. It startled a laugh out of her. Shayne looked back at her, a genuine smile on his face.
It suddenly occurred to her how normal this looked in some ways. Perhaps in another world, they were a normal couple. In that world, they wouldn’t be witches. There wouldn’t be madmen hunting them. Instead, they would be a couple on their camping vacation in the mountains. They would spend long nights under the stars; they would fish; perhaps they would even make love in the woods.
She shook her head angrily. That life wouldn’t even be for her, even if she was a normal person. She knew that. Her gloved hands fisted angrily. She made them open up. Shayn
e touched her on the shoulder gently, making her start.
“I’ll take care of you,” he said lowly.
She realized that he meant he would protect her from the Templars. The witch hunters were so far from her thoughts that it took her a moment to realize what he was saying.
“I know you will,” she replied.
She needed to remember that he wasn’t really her lover or her boyfriend. And for her part, she was his mission.
Finally, they came to a sheer cliff face that was set back from the river. At its base was a shallow shelter. Shayne decided it was a good place to stop for the night.
To Gillian’s surprise, he had her gather up small twigs that he could use to start a fire. As he fiddled with the flint in the survival kit, she realized that he was hiding his skills with fire. The less that the watching Templars knew about his abilities, the better. In fairly short order, he had a blaze going. The cheerful flames pushed back the invading violet gloom. Gillian sat down as close to it as she could, the cliff face at her back. She would take whatever warmth and comfort she could.
“The river bends just over there,” Shayne said, pointing. “I’m going to walk up to the curve and see if I can tell what lies beyond. I’ll only be a little while.”
It took everything that Gillian had in her not to beg him to stay. Instead, she flashed a big smile at him. When he came closer, she surprised both of them by hopping up and looping her arms around the back of his neck.
“Hurry back,” she said sincerely, and kissed him.
They had been cheated out of their kiss with the berries. She wasn’t going to be cheated out of another. He kissed her back with a will, his tongue lapping along her lips gently before sliding inside her mouth. The kiss lit a fire inside her, a craving that she wasn’t sure she’d felt before. She wanted nothing more than to drag him down next to the fire, to let those clever lips learn more about her.
Instead, she let him go.
“I’ll hurry back if that’s what’s waiting for me,” he said.
He reached down to squeeze one of her gloved hands. It startled her. But after only a brief moment of fear, she realized that she was fine with him doing it. There was no alarm that sounded in her head. There was no cold sweat of panic. It was fine. She barely had time to process the realization before he was slipping away into the growing darkness and shadows.
Then she was alone.
She stared at the fire in front of her. Shayne had built it with his hands, even though fire lived like a spirit in his heart. She had heard Wiccans who wielded fire were called firecrackers. When she thought of his vibrant personality, it suited him.
Somewhere in the darkness of the forest, a bush rustled. The wind knocked the tall pines against each other. She couldn’t see much beyond the circle of light cast by the fire. She reached in her pocket to touch Max gently. Oblivious to the world, he was curled up in a small sphere, which made her smile a little. Gillian knew that she couldn’t focus on what lay beyond the fire. She couldn’t think of men creeping through the forest to hurt her, to capture her, to kill her.
Instead, she thought about Shayne.
She had only known him for a short while, but she already felt more comfortable with him than she had felt with anyone. She remembered being a teen, being so wary of even the least kindness. She had always known that too often, kindness hid something dark and sinister. Once or twice, she had trusted someone. The fact that she had survived was a mixture of luck and sheer stubbornness.
Despite all of that, she trusted Shayne. A small voice in her head wondered if she only trusted him because she wanted to trust him. He was handsome. He was the type of man she dreamed about when she permitted herself to dream. But Gillian knew it was more than that. Something deep inside her called to Shayne. She even thought she felt something in him calling back. She didn’t know what to make of it. Perhaps it would be over when they found the remnants of Tenebris. Perhaps it would only last for a short time.
She realized that whatever it was, though, she needed to give it a chance.
Somewhere in the darkness, there was a dim shriek. She had once heard that foxes made sounds like the screaming of women or children. She couldn’t tell if it was a person or an animal. She kept her eyes on the fire in front of her.
I’m safe. I’m safe. He won’t let anything happen to me.
She pulled her thoughts away from the darkness. Instead she thought of the kiss she had shared with Shayne. She thought of how warm his lips had been on hers. She thought of how his body had felt snugged up against hers. She thought of how she could feel that spark of desire leap between them.
There was a rustle in the forest. An owl called out, its hollow hooting answered by another owl in a different direction. If she got out of the woods, she would never, ever leave the city again.
She closed her eyes, thinking of Shayne. Her hands were fisted on her lap, her back straight. He was handsome enough, but when he smiled, when he was relaxed and teasing, he was so much more. When she saw desire overtake him, when his whole body was tense with the hint of arousal, and when his eyes were dark with it, he was beautiful. Every part of him called to her hands. She imagined how she would touch him if she could, what parts she would trace with her lips.
The rattling in the woods was getting closer.
He’ll keep me safe. He won’t let any harm come to me. I trust him.
Every nerve in her body was tensed to flee. She knew it would be suicide to run into the woods with no idea where she was going. If the Templars didn’t find her, she would find the river or one of the many predators that she imagined hunted in the dark.
She thought of Shayne. She thought of his eyes, his hands, his smile. She thought of his oath to protect her. There was no denying what was between them. Even if she was a mission. Even if he didn’t understand why she needed to prove herself. Even if she needed to drag him halfway across the world so that he could finally see.
Gillian concentrated so hard on conjuring his image that she was unsurprised to see his form appear beyond the fire. She started to smile, relieved, but then she looked closer.
This man was smaller than Shayne. In the light of the flickering flame, his clothes were the murky, muddy color of camouflage gear. He stepped closer.
Shayne would never have looked at her with such hate in his eyes.
“Your man’s dead, and now you’re coming with us.”
A fearful cry rose up in Gillian’s throat, but she didn’t panic. This was no dark forest. This was a threat she had been dealing with since she was a young woman. She let the man come towards her, sitting frozen as if she were terrified. When he neared, his hand reaching for her, she grabbed his arm. She used it to pull herself up while yanking down as hard as she could. When she was up and he was bent over cursing, she gave him as hard a shove as she could manage. It would have sent a less coordinated man stumbling right into the fire. But the Templar was more skilled. He twisted hard, pulling away from her and jerking himself upright all at once.
Gillian spun to run away, but an iron-hard grip latched over her hand, crunching the fingers painfully. With a hard wrench, she slipped her hand out of her glove and pulled away.
For a moment, he was left holding her leather glove, staring at it in shock. She managed to get a few steps away. Then he roared with fury and came after her again. This time, he caught her more securely by her arm, turning her in a wide circle so she came chest to chest with him. In the unsteady light of the fire, she couldn’t make out any of his features. He was just an enormous, terrifying blob that was overwhelming her. Even in her panic, however, she managed to keep her bare hand away from his skin.
“Little bitch,” he hissed. “They need you alive, but they don’t need your legs, little bitch. Did you think of that? I’ll haul you across fifty miles of bad country with your legs broken. What do you think of that?”
Whatever Gillian might have thought of it, Max obviously didn’t care for the idea. He flew from her po
cket, launching himself across her torso. Gillian heard the painful crunch when he bit into the Templar’s hand. She knew that rat teeth were notched so that they could scissor apart their food. When they were panicked or angry, they could bite off chunks of flesh. And right now, Max was both.
The Templar howled, shoving her back. Gillian scrambled to scoop up Max’s flailing form. As she did so, however, she forgot about her bare hand. It touched one of the Templar’s, and her vision went red.
She fell to the ground.
Somewhere above her, the Templar was shouting with pain. Suddenly, he stopped screaming completely. A sickening thump of something heavy hitting the ground echoed against the cliffside. Gillian didn’t care. Distantly, she was aware that Shayne was kneeling over her. She could make out his face in the flickering light of the fire, startled and wild with concern. If she had been able to, she would have reached up to comfort him. She wanted to sit up. She wanted to shake in his arms, she wanted to cry.
Instead, she only stared up at him, her eyes wide and glassy. It felt as if she was under a thick pane of ice. She could see him, but she couldn’t feel him or touch him.
I’m so sorry, Shayne, she thought, and then her vision went black.
CHAPTER FIVE
SHAYNE HAD ONCE been ambushed by four Templars, while he was drunk in an alleyway in London. He had known that there were too many of them to fight off. He had known that one way or another, even if he managed to take one or two of them down, they would kill him. They almost did kill him, but then John Lancaster had appeared to drive them off. Shayne had been convinced that moment would go down as the time when he was the most afraid. Now he knew that fear didn’t hold a candle to what he felt when he saw the Templar practically on top of Gillian. He was already throwing himself across the clearing when the Templar lurched back. Gillian dropped to the ground like a rock. His first instinct was to go to her, but he knew he had to take care of the Templar first.
