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“Fuck it.” Taking the final steps toward the woman, I reholster my gun as I bend down. She’s a petite thing, her soaking dark clothes sticking to her frame. “Hello? Can you hear me?” I shout over the hard pattering of rain. The woman still doesn’t move.
The light from my cabin is dim in this area of the forest. Only a faint glow hits the soggy ground. Sighing, I reach for my phone in my back pocket and activate the flashlight.
I scan her body with the beam of light. It doesn’t look like she’s seriously hurt. She’s lying flat on the ground and her head isn’t twisted in any unnatural ways. No signs of blood either. Still, it’s clear she has a head injury from her lack of response. The fall has knocked her out.
A flash of lightning pierces the sky with a mighty crash of thunder shaking the earth. The storm swiftly turns ferocious. The wind picks up and the cool bite of the rain turns frigid against my skin. I need to get us out of this, and fast.
A tiny voice in the back of my head warns me that bringing a stranger into my house is a deadly move. I know nothing about this woman other than the fact she’s been spying on me all day and has trespassed on my property.
But I can’t leave her out here.
Ignoring that voice, I bend over her prone form and scoop her up as gently as I can. My feet slip in the thick mud and I curse as I fumble for solid ground. Adrenaline begins to pump through my veins. The thrill of getting us to safety elevating my heartrate. It feels good.
Clutching the woman tight in my arms, I begin the journey back to my cabin. The faint light leads the way but my vision in impaired by the heavy rain. My feet grow heavier with each step, accumulating more mud on my boots as I trudge through the dense tree line.
“Bloody hell,” I grunt, almost losing my boot in a deep hole that I hadn’t seen. A quick pinch of pain shoots up my side, tweaking a muscle. I clench my jaw against the uncomfortable sensation.
Yanking my foot out of the deep sludge, I cast my eyeline downward. It’s more important now to see where I’m stepping than eyeing my final destination. It takes only a matter of minutes to get from the area the woman fell back to my cabin’s covered porch, but the challenging trek made it feel longer.
I pride myself in staying in shape even though I’m no longer enlisted, but my chest still heaves with exhaustion as I pause at the doorway. After scanning the grounds one last time, I toe off my boots and kick them to the side.
This whole time, the woman hasn’t stirred or made a sound in my arms. It’s concerning.
Water drips from my clothes onto the dark hardwood floor as I quickly make my way through the cabin. It’s not until I’ve placed her on the bed in my guest room that she makes a small mewing sound.
A strange sense of relief bursts in my chest. Confused by the emotion, I run a hand down my damp face. Staring at her unmoving body, I realize her hair is still covering most of her face.
I don’t want to invade her space or touch her in an inappropriate way while she’s unconscious, but that can’t be comfortable. Plus, I should check her head for any injuries again.
“Miss, if you can hear me, I’m going to give your head a quick check.”
The floor creaks under my weight as I take a step closer to the bed. Bracing a knee on the edge of the mattress, I lean to the side of her and peel her hair back.
When the first section is moved, my breath catches in my throat. A tingle of familiarity cascades up my spine. Sharp cheekbones come into view with skin made too pale by the cold storm. There’s a smattering of freckles under her eyes.
I move the last strands of her sticky hair and freeze.
How in the fuck is this happening?
“Katrina?” I whisper, not believing what the hell I’m seeing.
It can’t be her. This is some kind of cruel joke.
But at the sound of my voice, the breathy exhale of her name from my lips, she opens her eyes. There’s no denying it now.
Violet eyes stare back at me.
The woman I’ve been searching for over the last four years, the woman who promised me forever and then disappeared…is back.
The question is, why was she spying on me?
Chapter Five
Katrina
I can feelmy body being jostled but I can’t open my eyes. They feel too heavy. My head is pounding.
Cold water hits my face, then suddenly it all stops. Two thuds follow but the noise is fuzzy, as if I’m hearing everything from under a blanket.
