Nor did she want to admit all of the hundreds of questions that were now swirling in her mind. Things she had no right considering and couldn’t ask.
Terrible, selfish wishes she didn’t dare speak out loud.
Pulling her gaze away from Knox, she stared out the window into the endless night that surrounded her. She had never been afraid to face the dark on her own before.
She told herself she wasn’t now, either.
No matter what the haunted reflection staring back at her seemed to say.
CHAPTER 6
If he’d been looking for a way to silence her probing questions and curiosity, Knox figured he’d found it. Leni clammed up tight after he told her he was a Hunter.
She’d hardly blinked in the diner when she realized he was Breed, but the newsflash that he had been born one of the most feared and reviled members of his race had caused an almost palpable shift in the air between them. Then again, there were few people—human or Breed—who would relish the idea of sitting beside one of Dragos’s notorious Hunters.
And Knox had been one of the best, most prolific, assassins deployed by his Master’s command.
That part of his life was ancient history now. Not so ancient that he didn’t feel a strong urge to deliver some payback on Dwight Parrish for sending Leni and her vehicle off the road.
The fact that she’d come out of it miraculously unscathed was about the only thing keeping the murderous side of him in check.
Barely.
Knox glanced at her. She stared out the passenger window, looking vulnerable and alone for the first time since he’d met her. No question, she knew how to take care of herself. He’d seen that in the diner. She was obviously smart and capable, with the spine and stubbornness to match.
But none of that had kept her out of the ravine tonight.
What would happen once Dwight Parrish’s brother came home from prison? A man willing to assault her sister probably wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Leni if things took a bad turn between them.
Fuck. Knox didn’t even want to think about it. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, rage simmering in his veins.
Not good. Leni and her problems had nothing to do with him. He meant it when he told her he wasn’t in the habit of rescuing damsels in distress. Hell, far from it.
Abbie was proof enough of that. He hadn’t been there in time to save her. Memories of that night were never far from his thoughts. The tropical storm, the awful road conditions . . . the eighteen-wheeler that lost control and plowed into her vehicle.
He had allowed himself to care for someone, to feel, only once in the two decades since his escape from the Hunter program. He had let his guard down with Abbie and fate had kicked him in teeth by ripping her away from him. So, no. He had no interest in getting tangled up in anyone’s problems. He had no intention of allowing himself to be that weak ever again.
Which meant the sooner he could put his boots on a path away from Parrish Falls, the better.
Knox navigated the slippery track of road, the Bronco’s engine droning under the slap of the wipers and the tick of icy snowflakes hitting the windshield.
“That’s my friend’s place up there on the right.”
Leni pointed to an old gray-shingled Cape Cod. It had only a handful of neighbors, each with a couple acres of land and dozens of tall pines. Flood lights illuminated the short driveway and the blanket of snow that covered the ground in all directions.
“Park on the side of the house. If Carla sees you or the condition of my truck, I’ll have a hundred questions to answer before she lets me leave. Right now, I just want to get Riley home safe and in bed.”
Knox drove to where she instructed, and she hopped out as soon as the truck came to a stop. Jogging through the dark and the flying snow, she slipped into the house through an apparently unlocked front door.
Knox scowled. Lax security was a given in small towns, but that didn’t mean he had to like it. He stared holes into the house, his combat instincts on full alert for the handful of minutes it took before Leni appeared at the door again.
She returned carrying a sleeping blond-haired boy he guessed to be about five or six years old. The kid was draped over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes in his winter coat and pajamas, out cold as she hurried outside with him back to the truck.
Knox stayed behind the wheel as she’d asked, watching her fasten the unconscious boy into the booster contraption behind the passenger seat. Nothing seemed to stir the kid until Leni arranged his head against a plush teddy bear as a makeshift pillow. His eyes fluttered open, still heavy with the sleep of childhood.
“It’s okay, buddy.” Leni soothed him with a gentle kiss to his forehead. “We’ll be home in a minute.”
The sound of her voice instantly settled him. Letting go of a deep sigh, he drifted back into a deep sleep.
