He ran a special task force for the Department of Homeland Security and what he’d seen in the past six years made his stomach roil as he and his team systematically shut down one human trafficking ring after the other.Rain beat relentlessly against the tin roof of the cabin.The sky had gone dark midday, casting an eerie gray-green light over the forest.The area he was currently in was a prime location for mudslides, but for now, he was staying put.He was far too inebriated to drive or hike down to his truck.Thunder boomed overhead as lightning flashed, illuminating the dusky cabin.He stumbled over to the window to look out at the storm.Another crack filled the air along with a burst of momentary light.He tensed and squinted.For a moment, he thought he saw something.He rubbed his eyes.Maybe an animal caught in the storm.The tiny hairs rose on the back of his neck, and something nagged in the back of his mind.
“Fuck.”He discarded the whiskey bottle on the counter and weaved to the front door to pull on his boots.The last thing he should be doing in his current state was wandering the treacherous landscape during a storm, but something about what he saw, or thought he saw, didn’t make sense.The slumped figure had looked more like a girl than a deer or bear.He’d check it out, verify that he was now seeing shit as well as battling the demons in his head, then come back to the cabin.He laced his boots, albeit not well, took a steadying breath, and forced open the cabin door sealed tightly shut by a gale of wind.Within seconds, his clothes were soaked through.With each step the muddy earth sucked on the soles of his shoes, as if trying to drag him down.
The storm had provided the area with much-needed rain, but after the summer drought, the fast-falling moisture was waterlogging the area.He trudged on, trying to pinpoint the spot he’d seen from the window.He grimaced at his poor coordination as his shoulder bumped into the trunk of a tree.This is why he’d only ever allowed himself to drink to excess during that one day out of the year.The day he’d lost everyone he’d loved.Lightning streaked across the sky and the air snapped with electricity.He stopped dead in his tracks at the small figure sprawled limp on the ground.It wasn’t a little girl as he’d originally thought, but he couldn’t tell if it was a teen or petite woman from this distance.
He began to jog, his mind clearing with a rush of adrenaline.Jude called out as he approached, not sure if the person was alive or dead.No movement.He crouched down and shook their shoulder, increasing the volume of his voice.His heart sank when there was no response, and he checked for a pulse, doubting he’d find one.The strong bump of a pulse against his two fingers shocked the shit out of him.He gently turned the soaked figure over.It was a woman after all.He couldn’t make out much detail with the low visibility, but her arm and forehead were bloody.Jude scooped her up and turned back toward the cabin.
She weighed less than the equipment he’d carried in his SEAL days, but the overgrowth of brush and debris now slick from the rain made his progress much slower than he would’ve liked.When they arrived at the cabin, he maneuvered her so he could open the door.Her skin was cold to the touch, so he bypassed the living room and brought her directly into the bathroom and turned on the hot water.While he was waiting for it to warm, he removed the cell phone he’d felt in her back pocket as he’d been carrying her and placed it on the vanity.
When he’d rented the cabin, he hadn’t cared about the modern amenity of a shower, but now he was glad it was available.He kicked off his boots.That’s about all he could manage with her still in his arms.When the water was an ideal temperature, he stepped beneath the spray fully clothed.She groaned and turned into him before her eyes popped open and she started to struggle in his grasp.The shower stall was far too tiny for much movement, which was the only reason he didn’t crash to the ground.She fought him wildly, eyes wide and full of terror.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”He had to yell the words several times before the fight fled out of her, and she slumped against him once again.
“What’s happening?Where am I?”She stared up at him with large, guileless brown eyes.
“You were outside this cabin, unconscious, and I don’t know for how long.Your skin is cold.You need to get warm.”Dirt, blood, and mud slid off her skin and swirled down the drain.They stood there until the water ran clean, neither saying a word.With one arm still supporting her, he reached around and shut off the tap.
“I’m going to let you go.Can you stand yourself?”He inwardly cursed when she flinched at his tone.He was what he was.Would never claim to be the sort of man who could soften his words and inflection to make others comfortable.He was used to giving orders.The degree to which those orders were followed meant life or death for the people his team were helping.
“I-I think so.”
He stared at her for a moment, looking for any sign that she wasn’t steady on her feet before stepping out of the shower.Water poured off the heavy material of his clothing.He opened the closet, found a towel, and tossed it to her before taking his own.
“Take off the wet clothes.I’ll leave some sweats just inside the door.”He stalked out and shut the bathroom door, stripping off his soaked clothes in the hallway so he didn’t track water all over the cabin.With the towel slung low on his hips, he went to his backpack and removed a pair of sweatpants, socks, and a T-shirt.He didn’t have much on him, as he was only planning to hide out for the weekend, but those would have to do for now.He returned to the bathroom and rapped his knuckles on the door.
“Clothes,” he yelled through the thick wood before turning the knob and placing them inside.He shut the door behind him and went back to his backpack, trying to piece something together for himself.He yanked on an undershirt and yesterday’s jeans, then started to pace.Jude hated the uncertainty that wriggled beneath his skin.The storm raged outside, but he’d have to get the woman to a hospital.His truck was a two-mile hike from the cabin.Not exactly safe during a severe storm.With the extent of her injuries unknown, he wasn’t going to drag her outside, even if the trek wasn’t long.
Just as he was going to check the solar-powered NOAA weather radio for an update, the emergency alarm blared from the device.The tone paused, followed by an update.
At four o’clock, the National Weather Service in San Diego County confirmed an extremely dangerous supercell thunderstorm moving west at fifty-five miles per hour.This is a severe weather emergency.Take cover indoors, in an interior room away from windows.
A crash, followed by a yelp, tore his focus from the alert.He glanced up to see the woman scrambling from the bathroom in his too-large clothes.“What was that?”
“Weather alert.”Her eyes darted toward the window.It was nearly pitch-black outside, and the wind tore at the exterior of the log cabin.“What the hell were you doing outside in a storm like this?”He stood from the couch, and she immediately shrank back.
A myriad of emotion played over her face.Anger.Confusion.Then she scrunched up her face right before recognition flooded her expression.Staring at her was like watching an animation of a cartoon character.He was a guarded man, and his small handful of friends were equally so, but he found himself transfixed by the raw emotion that the woman easily revealed.
“Oh my gosh.”Her hand went to her throat as she began to pace.“Oh my gosh!”She flattened her palms against her temples, muttering under her breath.
“Are you a junkie?”he demanded.
“What?”She stopped and stared at him for a beat.Then shook her head and the dark strands of damp hair skimmed just below her jawline.“No.”Her focus was back on her thoughts.
“Pacing around like a wind-up toy,” he muttered.“What the hell am I supposed to think?”
“The house.The kids.The men.”She took a break from wearing a hole in the floor and turned her eyes toward him.
He began to approach, once again stopping his forward progress when she shrank back.
“Are you working with them?”She backed up into the wall, let out an audible gasp, and whirled around like someone was behind her.Those big golden eyes searched the cabin, and she darted forward, grabbing a big cast-iron pan from the rudimentary stove, lifting it like a baseball bat.
He raised a brow and crossed his arms over his chest, planting his feet wide.Jesus Christ.Leave it to him to find the fucking forest lunatic.
“Is that how you found me?I know all about your sick ideas for that house.You’ll never get away with it.”
Did he stop her rant?Let her wear herself out?Fuck, he’d just wanted some solitude.
“Stop,” he demanded.The word was spoken harshly and had the intended effect.She paused and stared at him, the pan still in her grip.He dipped his gaze toward the blood trickling down her skin once again.“Your arm’s bleeding.I need to clean and wrap it.”
