But he simply laughed and said, “Yeah, my sister learned very early on not to ask that question.”
Leira nodded and studied the trees as they flew by. Then she shifted in her seat and squinted at him as the sun dappled his cheekbones every few seconds. “It would help if I could think of you as something other than DarkSecure2k.”
He glanced over at her, perplexed for a second before his gray eyes twinkled with amusement. “Sorry. I should have introduced myself but I guess I was too busy being a jerk.” He tilted his head in apology. “I’m Ciaran Alayne.”
“Leira Carmichael,” she said, reaching over to shake his hand. He paused then took her hand and shook it.
Leira wasn’t sure exactly what happened at that moment when her skin touched his but it sure as hell was something she’d ever experienced before. Her palm sizzled, sparks of heat burrowing into her flesh and into her blood. The feeling of intense emotion, somewhere between passion and sorrow, filled her mind body and soul and she let out a soft cry, blinking away a strange lightheadedness. She wasn’t able to define those feelings at all, so she swallowed hard against it, hoping to tamp it down real fast.
“Sorry, did I squeeze your hand too hard?” Ciaran replied, his smile was playful though somehow she could tell something had troubled him. He’d most likely seen her reaction and taken it as her rejecting him in some way. Which was fine with her. She didn’t need him—or anyone—picking at her reaction and trying to find out what it meant.
His jaw was tight now as he focused on the road ahead. “So where are we going?” she asked lightly, trying to calm her roiling emotions as well as the tension in the cab of the truck.
He cleared his throat and Leira glanced over at him as he said, “We’re going off-grid. After what you said about your phone being accessed even after your friend protected you, I’m concerned that being around places with Wi-Fi and internet access will only endanger you further.”
Leira nodded slowly. “That makes sense. But how can we be sure that we’re safe even if we get away somewhere far? What if someone is already following us?”
He nodded in reply. “Good question. I’m worried that whoever is after you has the kind of resources that would make it near impossible to evade. So when we get to the cabin we’re going to have to be careful. I’ll patrol to make sure we’re safe though. I think we should be ok.”
“But there is something you are concerned about?”
“Yes. It has more to do with why you are being followed and how determined they are to find you. And I think it’s up to you to tell me. When you feel comfortable.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“It gives me an idea of what I’m facing in terms of the level of the threat. I can protect you on the assumption that these people are pulling out all the stops but if I have an idea of who they are and why they are after you, then I can get some investigation done on them.”
“Which will help you to be one step ahead of them, kind of like to predict their next move.”
“Exactly.”
Leira was happy he was thinking it all through to such an extent but how could she be sure that she could trust him? If she told him Aldrich’s identity, wouldn’t it simply be a matter of time before the relic came up, either in his investigation or in their conversation?
Would it simply be more expedient to admit what she had in her possession?
No. It wasn’t. It was too risky. She didn’t know him beyond what Ivan knew was his experience and success rate. Other than that, for all she knew he could be a danger to her. And she was simply going off the grid with him? To some place without internet or Wi-Fi, with no way to call for help?
Then she shrugged the thoughts away. It wasn’t as though she was incapable of protecting herself. All she needed to do was to incinerate him. She literally had the power to do it in the palm of her hands.
She could destroy him, incinerate anything she focused her mind on. That power was something she kept closed off, had tried to hide it all her adult life. But if she needed to use it to save her life, she’d do so within a heartbeat.
So no, she wasn’t in any danger going with him into the mountains.
Hopefully.
13
Leira
The drive was actually turning out to be pleasant and relaxing. If that was even possible considering the tumultuous state of Leira’s emotions.
She cleared her throat to break the silence before she said, “So what means of outside communication do you have at your disposal? In case of emergency, or if you’re killed or injured or something? How do I get us out safely or call for help?”
Ciaran smiled, though thankfully not the oh-aren’t-you-so-cute kind of smile. “I have a sat phone,” he said, his expression only indicating that he wanted to offer her reassurance. “So we’ve got that covered. I’ll be using it only for helping the investigation or to call for help.”
“So? This guy…Frankie? You trust him?”
The man’s expression was open and honest as he replied, “Literally with my life. He’s been there more times than I can count. Pulled me out of a number of jams. He’s solid.” Ciaran looked a little sad as he spoke, as though he was feeling some sort of pain or loss where this hacker friend of his was concerned.
Leira wanted to ask if everything was ok but she bit her tongue, kept her curiosity to herself. Instead, she said, “How far do we have to go?”
“Not far. Up ahead, we take a dirt road, then hide the truck. We’re going to have to make the rest of the trip on foot.” He examined her body from her fake hair, up and down, eyes going over the clothing he’d supplied her with and then resting on her sneaker-clad feet. “Good, you have sensible shoes.”
She blinked and looked at him again. “I’m up to it. If that’s what you’re worried about?” A part of her felt somewhat miffed that he’d assumed she wasn’t up to the challenge.
He shrugged, eyes ahead on the road. “Not as though you knew to train for a climb up the mountain and into the snow.”
Leira peered out the window up at the peaks of the mountain range in the distance. “Hard to imagine snow when the town is so warm. I mean, logically, I get it, but it just seems strange.” She was rambling so she forced herself to shut her mouth before she continued to spew every dumb thought that filtered through her brain.
Ciaran cleared his throat as he slowed the truck. “I know how you feel. It’s a little confusing, I admit.” He took a sharp left, only after the truck hit the dirt track did she realize where the road had begun.
Leira grabbed a hold of the door handle and swayed with the movement of the truck as Ciaran guided them along the uneven road. After about ten minutes, he slowed to a stop and angled the truck off the dirt road into a collection of trees that looked mostly like bushes and broken logs.
He got off the truck and grabbed her knapsack. “I’ll help with that.”
Leira was reaching out to stop him, instinctively thinking the relic was inside the bag and then she stopped and smiled. “Thanks.”
She quickly jumped out of the truck, avoiding a glance at his face. He probably thought she was worse now than a simple rich socialite. A ditzy one earned her more spoiled brat points.
Outside the truck, Ciaran settled the knapsack against a fallen log and then turned to walk a few yards to the other side of the vehicle. Curious, she followed and was surprised to find him retrieving a camouflage net from inside another log.
He dusted it out and grinned. “Been wondering when I was going to put this to good use.” For a second, his smile was so wide and genuine that he appeared to have relaxed enough to enjoy himself.
And Leira caught herself smiling in return. Then she schooled her features and straightened. “Can I give you a hand?”
He glanced up and smiled. “Sure, just grab that end and hold on. I’ll get it over the truck.”
Leira obeyed and was glad to have made the job quicker. She’d never been the type to stand ar
ound and watch as people did stuff for her. With the net now covering the truck, she glanced over at Ciaran. “Is this going to be enough? I mean, if someone happens by they’re definitely going to see the truck even with the net.”
He lifted a finger, a smile quirking his lips. “I’m not done yet.” He headed past the log and then returned with and armful of branches and twigs, as well as a few broken logs.
“I like the way you think,” Leira called out. “Can I help?”
He paused to look at her for a long moment then cocked a chin over his shoulder. “Down the bank. Grab whatever you can hold.”
Leira nodded and skipped down the small incline, gathered together broken branches still covered in leaves and long splintered pieces of wood. She lugged them up the hill to the truck, where Ciaran had already made good progress covering the road-facing side of the vehicle. She dropped her haul on the ground and turned to hurry back down for second load.
“Hey, it’s ok, I’ll get the rest,” he said, waving her down.
“No worries. I’m happy to make myself useful,” she called over her shoulder as she skidded down the hillside and repeated the process.
She returned a few minutes later and dropped her next load, though this time she waited to see if he would need more. He’d managed to screen off the truck very well. Anyone driving past would think the oddly misshapen hill was simply a pile of debris accumulated over time.
Ciaran dusted his hands together and smiled. “All done. And thanks for the help.”
She grinned. “Happy to. Now what?” She scanned the truck and the ground around him, wondering why he hadn’t brought anything with him to take up to the mountain cabin. “You didn’t have stuff to bring along?”
“Nope. I’m all set at the cabin. And besides, I wouldn’t want anyone to have seen me buying supplies that would hint at where I was going. Even the most loyal of townspeople are more than likely to say too much if the right question was asked.”
“And the stuff you gave me to wear? You had that just hanging around?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.
He shook his head. “Picked them up at the safehouse.”
“Safehouse?” Leira stilled wondering where this safehouse was and why they were not headed there instead of having to hike up the mountain.
“Yeah. I had meant to take you there but given that you are still being hacked Frankie and I thought off-grid is best. And the safehouse was most definitely not off-grid.”
Leira nodded, accepting the response although again she’d noticed a shadow fall across his expression. He was holding something back but it could just be something that had totally nothing to do with her. Best not to challenge him on it right this minute.
Still, he was going to be in for a big surprise if he thought he’d be leading her meekly along while she filed her nails and primped her makeup. He headed for her knapsack and shrugged his arms into the straps. His eyes widened as the weight settled on his shoulders.
“What the hell you got in here? A dead body?”
She sighed and threw her hands in the air. “Damn. You’re way too good at your job. How did you know?”
He laughed and turned to find the trail while Leira hurried to catch up with him. His strides were long despite being shortened by the weight of her pack. She’d put everything in there that she could think of including first aid supplies.
She’d had no idea of where she’d been headed when she’d run. But she was glad she’d come somewhat prepared. Especially since she was now hiking up a fucking mountain. Not exactly what she’d been expecting.
But that was good. Aldrich would not expect her to go tramping up a mountainside. To him, she was exactly what Ciaran had assumed her to be. A snooty rich chick with a degree and oodles of family money. He’d made all those assumptions and she’d let him believe what he’d wanted to. There had been no harm in it since she’d started out in the relationship thinking it was hardly likely to become serious.
Little had she known that he’d had far more nefarious intentions.
She and Ciaran walked in silence for a while, allowing nature to envelop them, the sounds of the wildlife in the trees and the brush providing a nice backdrop for their trek. She could almost pretend she was out tramping with friends, heading up the mountain with the possibility of skiing and drinking hot chocolate around the campfire.
She was so lost in thought that she walked right into the back of her knapsack as Ciaran came to a sudden stop. He lifted his hand and she squelched the cry of surprise that had almost left her lips.
Slowly stepping around him, she came closer to meet his eyes, hers holding a question. What’s going on?
He shook his head then pointed down the hill toward where they’d hidden the truck. She strained to hear what had caught his attention but she didn’t pick up a thing. He muttered something about having super hearing.
Then she flinched. Of course. He was a shifter. Could that have been why she’d felt that sizzling heat when she’d touch his hand? She blinked and shoved the thoughts away, and just stood there in silence waiting for him to give her the okay to move.
After a few long moments, his stance softened. In a low voice, he said, “I’m not sure. I could have sworn I heard something down here. Sorry if I alarmed you.”
She shrugged. “Better alarmed than dead, right?” She smiled and then glanced up the mountainside. “Keep going?”
He nodded. “Yeah. We’d best make good timing or we’ll be stranded here in the dark.”
“We’re going to make it there before sundown?”
He smiled and nodded. “Yep, we are. And no, we’re not walking all the way. What do you take me for? A barbarian?”
Leira stifled her laughter at his words and followed as he led the way up the hillside. The temperature had dropped slowly as they’d climbed the mountain. They’d been walking for over an hour and despite the body heat that the exercise should have generated, she could still feel the iciness in the air. Not that she was cold. Or could be cold.
If she did feel at all chilled she had ways of warming up. Ways she wasn’t about to reveal to Ciaran any time soon. He was nice enough, but how could she know to trust him? He worked for her. Money in exchange for a service.
Simple and clean.
14
Ciaran
Leira slowed her steps in time with Ciaran’s and moved to walk alongside him. A quick glance over at her revealed her narrowed eyes focused on him as she frowned.
She tilted her head toward him, whispering loudly, she asked, “Are you deliberately walking slowly?” There was an edge to her voice that said she wouldn’t be all too happy at an affirmative answer.
Ciaran looked over at her, finding that he was oddly missing the bright red hair. “Not really,” he replied, shaking away those strange thoughts. He wasn’t the type to be distracted by the color of a woman’s hair, of all things. He grunted and said, “It’s best we go carefully instead of rushing along and bringing attention to ourselves with the noise we make. Or of course, ending up putting a foot wrong and falling all the way down the mountainside.”
Leira nodded. “Makes sense.” At that, her stomach growled and she realized she’d forgotten all about her coffee and cake. She made a face. “I should have eaten the cake before I went to the restroom. I’m surprised I haven’t yet passed out from hunger.”
“Shit,” Ciaran swore a little louder than he’d expected to. He’d heard her stomach grumble and was none too impressed with himself.
When she’d left for the restroom, case in hand, he’d asked for the bill and paid it, and had taken the paper bag of food with him. The paper bag which he’d left behind in the back seat of the truck which they’d worked so hard to hide.
He glanced over at her. “I’ll go back for it.”
She was shaking her head. “Of course not. It’s way too far down the mountainside.”
Ciaran smiled. “I forgot to bring it. I’ll go back for it.” She opened her mouth again to p
rotest but he held up a hand. “I can get down there fast enough by myself. I promise I won’t be too long. You’re just going to have to hunker down somewhere until I return.”
He tilted his head giving her an apologetic look. She was still shaking her head as though she wasn’t going to allow him to go. He sighed. “Okay, so I am pretty sure it’s no secret to you that I’m a wolf shifter. So you should know I can get there and back at top speed. I promise you won’t be alone for long.”
Leira was rolling her eyes. “What do you think I am? Blind? Of course I know what you are.”
She was smiling when she spoke and he found himself returning the grin. Then her expression slackened and her smiled disappeared, as though something on her mind had broken through the moment of relaxed amusement they’d shared.
She cleared her throat, then glanced beyond him down the tree-covered mountainside. “Okay. I believe you can get there and back fast. And for the record, the only reason I’m agreeing is I am starving. Better stale cake and coffee than me having to hunt down a rabbit or two for lunch.”
He chuckled softly, pushing down the rumble of laughter at the image of her hunting a rabbit and taking it down before skinning it, all while trying hard not to mess up her manicure.
Ciaran scanned the trail and found a pair of trees that had grown so close together that there was only space for one person to walk between the two trunks. He pointed. “That’s a good place. Scoot down between those trees.”
She got on her toes and followed the direction indicated by the tip of his finger, finding the spot quickly. She nodded, gave him the thumbs up and picked her way carefully between the shrubs and small plants. He watched her for a long moment, aware that she’d been careful not to break the plants, careful to step on bare ground and rocks instead of flattening clumps of grass to reveal her tracks.
Dark Moon Falls: Volume 2 Page 39
