Springing up from the water, Adi moseys toward us, water cascading down her body. I joke as I throw her a towel. “I thought you’d never come up for air.”
“It’s not the air I came up for. I could stay underwater for days, at least I think I could. I came up because it’s so freaking cold.” She dries herself off, her quivering lips barely moving, “Are my lips blue? I feel like they’re blue.”
I have to bite mine together to keep from laughing. “Actually, they’re kind of purple.”
“Ha. I knew it.” Finally getting the last drops off of her trembling body, she slowly lowers down to face us. “What were y’all talking about so intently?”
I glance at Dani-Jo to see if she will answer, and she glances back, questioning the same. I widen my stare to hint for her to say something, anything. If she doesn’t want to discuss Kage, then that’s up to her. I’m not going to tell if she doesn’t want me to.
Fed up with the silence and awkward stares, Adi sarcastically claims, “Are you two keeping secrets?” Again Dani-Jo clams up, and I’m about to say something when Adi comes back with, “Your stunning silence is very reassuring.”
If Dani-Jo isn’t going to talk, then I’ll have to come up with something. We’ve never been one to keep secrets from each other, but she’s apparently not comfortable letting Adi know she’s interested in Kage. She can at least let Adi know there’s a potential someone.
As I finally open my mouth to speak, Dani-Jo interjects, “I might like a guy, but I’m not sure he’s into me.”
Adi squeals, “Really? Do I know this someone?”
Dani-Jo looks to me, pleading for help, and I shrug my shoulders, acknowledging that this is her story to tell. Hesitantly, she speaks quietly, “Maybe. But it could be nothing. I don’t want rumors flying for nothing. Can we just forget about me and focus on Tova? This is her last weekend as a free woman.”
“Girl, I may be going to tie the knot, but rest assured, I’ll always make time to hang out with y’all with or without Pierce.” The determination in my eyes glows toward Dani-Jo. “Now don’t change the subject, and let’s talk about this guy.”
Adi scooches up closer to us. “Yes, I need all the juicy details.”
Tearing off a blade of grass, and refusing to look at either of us, Dani-Jo says, “There are no details. Right now, we’re just friends, and I’d say barely friends at that.”
Putting her two index fingers together and touching her lips, Adi taps out a cadence. She looks like a mad scientist trying to figure out a potion. “Let me get this straight. You like a guy who may like you back, but you’re not sure. Right now, you two are just in the ‘friend zone,’ but you want to figure out if he wants more? Does that sound about right?”
“I don’t want to know, right now at least, if he wants to be more. I think that’d just scare him off.”
Adi, with a long face, sincerely pats Dani-Jo’s leg. “You’ve always been bashful, never letting your emotions show. Life is too short not to act upon feelings, not expose yourself to love. Don’t be afraid to risk your heart. I feel like we’re all so afraid of being hurt that we don’t allow ourselves the chance to experience love. We need to forget all the ‘what ifs.’ I never want to look back and say, ‘If only I had done this, or said that, or went there.’ I want to love with no regrets. Remember, people who avoid disappointments never experience triumphs. You deserve much more than a mundane life. We all do. Take action toward your dreams. You’ll never know how far you can fly until you fall, literally and figuratively.”
Blinking her eyes rapidly, twining her fingers through both of her hands in a begging fashion, Dani-Jo clowns, “Oh wise one, if we could all be as courageous as you. You and Larson have such a wonderful relationship. We’d all be blessed if we could experience that in life.”
Smiling, Adi encourages, “You can. Just have a little faith in the process and watch it flourish.”
Feeling a slight breeze, I shudder. “I don’t know about you two, but I’m done swimming for the day. I’m going to get dressed.”
Both of them following my lead, proceed to put their clothes on. After buttoning my jeans, I reach for my bra and stop when I hear Dani-Jo whistle, “Oh my word. I didn’t realize how bad that scar is on your back. Does it hurt at all?”
I reach for my shoulder blade. “No, not at all. I’m pretty sure if it hurt, it’d be so numb from the water I wouldn’t feel it, anyway.” I shrug my shirt on, feeling a sudden quickening in my gut.
I snap upright, scanning the forest opposite the pond, looking for any movement.
Noting my odd behavior, Adi tentatively interrogates, “Tova, what’s wrong?”
Becoming astute to my sixth sense, I investigate the woods. “Did we go outside the protection wall when we came here?”
Dani-Jo reassures, “No. We haven’t crossed the perimeter. Why?”
“I just have the impression that we’re being watched.”
Adi states, aghast, “Gosh, you’re freaking me out now. Do you see anything?”
“No, I just have the hair standing up on the back of my neck. I’m looking for any signs of movement, but I don’t see anything. I don’t know about staying to watch the sunset and us traveling back in the dark. What do y’all say about us heading back now?”
Dani-Jo is on edge, gnawing her fingernails. “I say we listen to your gut instincts. We can always come back and watch the sunset later when the guys are with us.”
We all gather our belongings quickly, shoving everything in our packs and throwing them on our backs. We make a beeline in the direction we came, which thankfully is the opposite of where I perceived the potential threat.
Crinkling her forehead, Adi declares, “Dani-Jo, I don’t know about you, but those self-defense classes can’t come soon enough.”
“I couldn’t agree more. Let’s pick up the pace,” Dani-Jo adds, shuffling faster down the narrow path.
All of us are on high alert, expediting our pace back toward the cabin. Not knowing how long we have to hike back, I ask in a hushed tone, “Hey, how long will it take us to get back to the cabin? I wasn’t paying attention on the way here because I was busy pestering y’all about where we were going.”
Adi says, “Maybe an hour and a half at a leisurely pace. But we’re high-tailing it out of here, so, I’d say an hour tops.”
The tree next to Adi sprays bark everywhere around her.
I slam my body into her, forcing her to the ground while screaming at Dani-Jo to, “GET DOWN!”
Diving behind a large pine tree, she hides while we crawl to her on our hands and knees. Frantically, I comb over Adi. “Are you hit anywhere?”
“No, I’m not. I’m fine. We’ve got to go. Now.”
“Ok, but we can’t outrun a gun. If this person is seeking us out and thinks we’ll be on this path, we need to get back another way and fast. Dani-Jo, do you think you can see like a bird? I know we discovered you have bird-like appendages, but what about distance visions? I can see really well up close and in my peripheral. I can notice movement but not clearly defined images from far away. We just need to know what direction the threat is in so we can go the opposite way.”
“Tova, I’m terrified that if I poke my head around this tree, then I’ll be shot. I’m not immortal. I know that.”
“I know, I know. I thought you could sprout your wings, or climb and get high enough to see. Do you think you can do that and do it quickly?” Visibly shaken, she nods. “Come on, Dani-Jo, you’ve got this. Take a deep breath, pick yourself up, dust off your legs, and get moving.”
Dani-Jo leaps from branch to branch until she’s about thirty feet off the ground, obtaining a good vantage point and peering down at us then back in the attacker's direction. Understanding the importance of us leaving immediately, she flaps down swiftly and quietly, completely uninjured.
“I didn’t get a good look at the person, but he’s alone. He’s about one hundred yards away, Northeast. We need to go southwest. I saw
a much smaller path that will lead us in the right direction to the cabin.” She waves her hand toward the alternative path. “Follow me.”
Adi and I scramble up, dust ourselves off, and scamper behind Dani-Jo. We sprint like we’ve never run before, veering off of the path we were on in an attempt to confuse the attacker of our whereabouts. After about thirty minutes of dashing through the woods, we arrive at the clearing where the cabins are. Panting as we come to a slower pace, we frantically search the guys' cabins for anyone to let them know about what happened. To our dismay, none of them are around. Since we’re the only females in training to be Protectors, there’s no one to alert.
Dani-Jo hollers, bending over and placing her hands on her knees, “Dang-it! Where is everyone?”
Adi infers, “I guess they’re all giving Pierce a farewell party.”
Dani-Jo furiously blows, “Well, where the hell is this party because we’re about to crash it?”
Looking around for anyone, I acknowledge, “It’s got to be close to dinnertime. Let’s go to the cafeteria and see if they’re there.”
Dani-Jo wheezes, “Good idea.”
Adi pats her on the back. “You going to be okay there?”
Taking deep breaths in and out, Dani-Jo enlightens us, “Of course. My adrenaline is crashing. I’m tired and pissed off, but I’m ok. I promise.”
We hike up to the cafeteria, entering the common grounds and searching for our crew. None of them are here. Where are they? Good God. My stomach growls at the smell of food while we continue our search.
Adi looks at me. “Hungry much?”
“We did just run our tails off. So, yeah, I may have worked up an appetite. While we’re here, we should eat.”
Dani-Jo, looking green, sits at our designated table. “Y’all go on and eat. I think I might throw up if I do. I’ll save us seats.”
Pausing at the table, Adi bends forward to suggest, “Want us to bring you a small snack, just in case you get hungry later?”
Dani-Jo places her elbows on the table, resting her head in her hands. “Sure, but more like a granola bar, or banana, nothing heavy, please. Oh, and extra napkins…so we can wipe up all of our sweat while we cool down.”
Giving the thumbs up, I affirm, “You got it.”
After Adi and I make our trays, I plop down next to Dani-Jo, and Adi sits in front of her. Handing her some napkins, I cross-examine her, “You sure you’re ok?”
“Yeah, I’ve never been on the run for my life. I think I may have gotten too upset.”
“I’ll make you a glass of water and put some ginger in it. That may help your nausea.” That’s a remedy we’ve used for as long as I can remember for queasiness. I hope it helps settle Dani-Jo’s stomach. Feeling nauseated is horrible.
“Thanks. That’d be great. I wished I’d just throw up. Maybe it’d make me feel better.”
“We’ll go back to the cabin after we eat, there you can get some rest. I’m sure the guys will come back later. We can update them then. I mean, if you’re comfortable going there.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ll get to feeling better after I clean up and rest.”
Finishing up my food, I toss my trash then head back through the line, making Dani-Jo some water with ginger.
Once Adi is done eating, we all get up and head back to the cabin. It’s dusk now, and I hear some rumblings up ahead at the guy's cabins. Looking in the distance, I notice an army of guys heading our way.
Dani-Jo exclaims, “It’s about time! Where have y’all been?”
Kage is the first one that reaches us, Pierce not far behind him rushes to my side, while Kage demands, “What happened to y’all? Y’all look like death warmed over.”
Adi sasses, “Thanks for noticing! I almost got shot by some moron in the woods where the flower meadow and natural spring is.”
Drawing his brows together, Kage asks, “Y’all almost got shot at the place we went to a couple of weeks ago?”
Dani-Jo verifies, “Yeah, the same place. I climbed a tree to see if I could tell who it was, but I couldn’t. I could only see that it was one person. We ran like a bad out of Cain, but when we got here, to our surprise, no one was here for us to tell or call on for help.”
“From now on, I don’t want y’all going anywhere without one of us with you.” Seeing the disgruntled look on my face, he amends, “at least not until we neutralize the threat. We’ll take shifts watching over your cabin again.”
I’m a little frustrated because I know that these guys will protect us at all costs. Still, I’d rather be armed and ready for a confrontation instead of a bodyguard. Maybe both would suffice for a week or two, but good lord, when is this going to end?
Pierce's hands begin to roast, heating my side. I peek up at him and breathe, “We’re ok, calm down, babe.” He glints down at me with fire reigning in his eyes and coursing through his veins. “Babe, you can’t tell me that this isn’t the same person who injured you earlier this summer. I can’t calm down.”
“No, I can’t. However, we can be equipped with our own guns, bows, axes, and self-defense skills, and you guys don't have to be responsible for our safety 24/7.”
“We’ll make sure you’re well equipped, that’s for damn sure.” Scratching the scruff on his chin, Pierce continues, “What’s bizarre, though, is the first assault seemed to come from outside the perimeter, and this one was inside it.”
“Maybe the first time was a fluke. A stray arrow, like I thought.”
“I guess anything is possible, but that doesn’t explain the alert you got from the animals. I just want us to all be on the lookout until we figure out what the hell is going on.”
“Ok, babe. So, what’s the plan?”
Pierce rounds up everyone. All gathered in the middle of the cabins, Kage barks orders, “Two men will take four hours shifts watching the cabin until we figure out who is harassing the girls.” Looking at me, Adi, and Dani-Jo, he states, “You three will have weapons on you at all times, even when you sleep. I want a gun at your bedside.” Kage glances back into the crowd. “We have unfinished business that we need to complete tomorrow, but I want six guys to stay back and monitor the surroundings, stay with the girls at all times, and do whatever it takes to keep them safe. Do I make myself clear?”
All the guys say in unison, “Yes, sir.”
Rubbing his hand up and down his forehead, flattening out the worry lines, Pierce says, “I have to go with Kage tomorrow, but I trust that the guys who stay back will watch over y’all like a hawk.”
Pecking Pierce on the cheek, I reply, “That’s fine. I don’t want to alter y’alls plans. I appreciate you watching out for us. I love you so much. I’ll miss you tonight.”
He kisses me back. “I love you, and I’ll miss you too. We’ll sort this out. I promise.”
“I know, love. I know. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I turn, with the girls, and we walk to our cabin.
35
Pierce
Laying in the twin bed next to Jace in a shared room, I can’t help but let my mind roam to all the essential questions.
Who the hell is this trying to hurt or even kill Tova or one of the girls? They’re now inside Iron Mountain. Where is that ass hiding?
God, I’m never going to sleep tonight if I can’t put the puzzle pieces together.
Rustling in his bed, Jace faces me. “Hey man, I know you’ve got a million things going through your mind. Just know that we’re going to do everything in our power to protect these girls. Now, get to sleep so you can finish that loft. You’re close to being done. Just a few more hours and it’ll be complete. When it’s done, we can head back here. But, if you want, I’ll stay back with them while you guys work to finish the loft.”
“I appreciate it, man. I trust that the guys who stay back will protect them. You’ll keep my mind off of not being here if you come. I’d rather you be with me.”
“Ok, I’ll be there.” He moves onto his
back. “I’m surprised Tova didn’t ask what you had to help Kage do tomorrow.”
“I was a little stunned too, but I’m glad she didn’t pry because I can't lie to her and if I told her it was a gift for her, she might spy and follow me.”
“I think it’s a great thing, man…making this living space for the two of you. She’s fortunate to have you as her partner for life.”
“Thanks, man, but I’m the lucky one.”
After a few hours mulling over all the what-ifs, I’m able to drift off to sleep only to be awakened by the most terrifying scream I’ve ever heard. Jolted out of my sleep, I jump out of bed and jet out of the cabin with Jace, Kage, Larson, and the twins behind me.
Running over to the girl’s cabin that’s being watched by a couple of Superior Protectors, I ask, “Was that scream from here? Did y’all see anyone enter the cabin?”
The guy's answer as the lights are turned on inside, and the screaming ceases.
“The scream came from inside. We ran up to the porch and knocked. But no one has answered. We didn’t see anyone enter the cabin,” the guard explains.
“They may not have heard the knocking because of the screaming.” I proceed, knocking on the door once more but with force.
Adi answers promptly, reassuring us, “It was just a nightmare. Tova’s okay. We’re okay.”
Not happy with just, ‘Tova’s okay,’ I press, “Can I come inside and check on her?”
Adi steps aside, allowing room for me to enter. “Absolutely. That may actually calm her.”
I rush inside, looking to Adi for which way to go.
She points and discloses, “Second door on the right. Dani-Jo is with her.”
I waste no more time as I burst through the door, but the sight of Tova stops me completely in my tracks. She’s as pale as a ghost and trembling like a leaf on a tree while Dani-Jo is doing her best to soothe her, handing her a glass of water to sip on.
Protecting Tova (Iron Mountain Book 1) Page 20
