I was shaking a fair amount myself. “Christ, are you okay?”
“No,” she cried.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to call someone?”
“No, please. No one.”
“Not even your family?”
She shook her head against my chest. “I just ... I need time to think. Is there somewhere you can take me where I’ll be safe?”
“I mean, my cabin, but it’s—”
“Yes. Please. Can we go there now?”
Every instinct inside of me was screaming to get this woman to a doctor. Three days in a coma, two days dead, and then she magically popped back to life? Thatmustrequire medical attention, right? Hell, scientists would probably want to study her. But she sounded so scared, so convinced that she was in danger, and with Beau’s brother being the sheriff, and two more cousins on the police force, calling them meant he’d immediately be notified. And it wasn’t like we could bring her to a local clinic without Beau finding out.
He might have been a monumental asshole, but he was smart, and rich. I wouldn’t put it past him to find a way to get Emma moved back into the family hospital under his watch, where he’d have complete control over her again.
“Emma, if you’re set on hiding, we need to get this grave put back together.”
“How long will that take? I need a shower.” She pulled back enough to glance around, her pupils wide with fear. “And to get the hell out of this hole.”
“Hours if I do it myself. I can take you back to my place and get you settled first, and then return.”
She clung on harder. “No, please don’t leave me. I can’t be alone right now.”
“Then let me at least call my dad. He can get it done, and you know that man can keep a secret.”
She hesitated, probably picturing my father, Hank Evans, the big, scary, bearded, antisocial bastard everyone in town avoided. Almost no one spoke to him besides his immediate family, and he only spoke to other townsfolk if forced at gunpoint. So, never. As far as secret keepers went, he was as good as it got.
“He won’t tell anyone?” Emma said.
“Not if I ask him not to.”
She stared up at me, her brown eyes bottomless pools of darkness. “You swear?”
“I swear.”
She let out the longest exhale I had ever heard. “Okay, then.”
“I’m gonna help you up now,” I warned her. “Let me know if anything hurts.”
She tried to squirm free. “No, I’m too heavy.”
I frowned, hugged her closer, and stood slowly, my arms around her waist, easily holding her aloft. Was she a curvy goddess? Yes. Could I still bench-press her? Also yes.
“Oh,” she said in a soft voice, looking down.
“Can you get your feet under you?” I asked.
“Y-yeah, sorry.”
I gave her a second and then gently set her on them, warning her the silk lining would be slippery. She wobbled a little, her legs not wanting to hold her. Seeing her unsteadiness, I decided the easiest way to get us both out would be for me to climb up first and then pull her after me.
A few minutes later, we were in the excavator rumbling back to the garage, both of us covered in dirt. Emma was sitting in my lap because the seat only fit one person. High school Noah would have lost his mind over it, but adult Noahwas still too concerned about Emma’s welfare to appreciate having such a gorgeous woman wrapped around me. I was struggling to process the events of the past hour; I couldn’t even imagine how she was feeling.
“Talk to me,” I said. “I’m worried you might go into shock or something.”
