He’s staring at me.
“Do I have something on my face, Mr. Mills?” I joke.
He smirks. “No. I was just thinking how, in this light, you look far less intimidating.”
I don’t know why, but a laugh escapes my lips. “Don’t let it fool you.” I stand and brush the dirt off my pants.
He’s on his feet a moment later. “Oh, I know better than to do that.”
A shifting of the light has me scanning the tree line behind Owen. I swear I sense movement.
Owen follows my gaze. “Probably an animal,” he comments, but there’s a quiver in his voice that makes me believe he might not trust his own words.
Perhaps I’m overthinking, but I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right. And those inklings are usually correct. They’ve saved my ass more than a few times in my line of work.
“Let’s go, so I can buy you breakfast,” Owen says, turning to lead the way down the trail that meanders along the cliffs and into the forest.
“Always so concerned with my eating habits,” I mumble behind him, ignoring the movement and noise for now but keeping myself on high alert.
He chuckles. “Can’t have you losing any of that muscle, or I’ll soon be able to beat you in a fight.”
I snort. “Unlikely.”
A twig snaps behind us, and I’m instantly turning. Owen halts and does the same.
I scan the area again. My adrenaline releases in my veins, making me more alert.
“Like I said. It’s probably an animal,” Owen whispers.
Animals don’t follow people. They’re afraid of them. And animals don’t step on twigs and break them. They don’t weigh enough and are certainly not stupid enough to give themselves away to potential prey or predators.
Only humans do that.
Fuck.
I turn to Owen and surprise him by stepping into him, pressing my body against his. Rising on my toes, I put my mouth against his ear. The movement appears intimate to any onlookers—innocent and unaware.
“That’s not an animal or other hikers. Don’t move, and don’t act surprised. We’re being followed,” I whisper, and despite the danger we find ourselves in, I can’t help but notice the warmth of his hands as they press into my hips, or the movement of his chest as it moves up and down against mine. Both find a similar cadence, perfectly in sync.
His body stiffens, the only indication he understands. He doesn’t contradict me either, which makes me believe he knew being followed was a possibility.
I suddenly don’t care if he finds out what I am. All I want is to get him out of here. Make sure he’s safe.
“I’m going to take your hand and pretend we’re having an intimate moment. Then we’re going to head back to the parking lot. Slowly. We need to stay out in the open and not let them suspect we know they’re there.”
The last person who followed Owen was only looking for information, not trying to harm him, so I’m secretly hoping this time is the same, even though every alarm bell is going off in my mind.
He dips his head until his lips brush against my ear. “Lead the way, Miss Riley.” His voice is low and deep and shows no sign of fear. Suddenly, I’m feeling things I shouldn’t be, considering the situation we find ourselves in.
I grab his hand. It dwarfs mine. His heat sinks into me, and my cold fingers suddenly turn warm.
I try to ignore the ever-increasing adrenaline running through my veins, causing my heart to pick up its pace, knowing it’s not only due to the current threat we face. Instead, I turn us back up the trail, toward the parking lot. My senses are on high alert, listening and watching for any movement.
He’s so close that I can feel the heat of him. I can hear his ragged breath, and the sound makes me think of other ways he might sound like that.
I shake my head, willing the inconvenient and inappropriate thoughts to vanish.
We walk quickly but not fast enough that anyone would suspect we know we’re being followed. Turning, we follow the trail away from the coast, and I almost allow myself to believe that I was only being paranoid when a gunshot sounds behind us.
