“Keep your hand under the water,” she said and left the room.Great, now she was giving him instructions.That was another thing he wasn’t used to.People looked to him for answers and direction, not the other way around.He hated how off-kilter this woman made him feel.How immune she seemed to his rough demeanor, which had always effectively kept others away.
She returned moments later with the first aid kit he’d used on her.“Okay, let me have a look.”
“I can handle it.”
“You could, but why not take advantage of having another person here?”
A carnal thought struck him and he shifted uncomfortably.Jesus, he needed to get her out of here.The second they arrived at the task force office he was handing her over to one of his agents to deal with.The mere thought of passing her off to someone else had his muscles clenching with possessiveness.More reason to assign someone else to this woman.He was so disturbed by the feelings coursing through him, he didn’t notice the water had switched off until she was gently patting the burned area of his skin dry.She applied a packet of burn ointment onto a cotton swab and dabbed it over his red skin before covering it in gauze.He continued to watch her, dumbfounded, as she cleaned up the first aid kit, then reached into the cabinet above her head and took down two more mugs.She poured them coffee, setting one in front of him, then picking up her own with both hands.She peered at him over the rim and blew along the top.
“Thanks,” he said.
She nodded, still staring at him like she could see through to his soul.He shifted, uncomfortable with the attention.“Are you okay?”
“Me?”He took a gulp of his coffee, forgetting it was radioactive hot, and forced himself to gulp it down so he didn’t look like an even bigger idiot.“You’re the one who was unconscious in the forest during a storm.The one who was chased and shot at—and you’re asking me if I’m okay?”
She took her own tentative sip, much more cautiously than he had.“You told me you came here for solitude.It didn’t escape my notice that there’s an empty bottle of whiskey on the table.Some beer cans in the trash.You sobered fast enough, but your eyes look tired.Not the I need more sleep tired, buttiredtired.Like the world has flattened you but you keep pushing forward.I can tell you’re holding on to something heavy and I…”
“No.”He clenched the handle of his mug.“I’m not looking for a friend.Certainly not looking for a fucking therapy session.You have something I need.Once it stops raining, we’ll hike down to my truck.Then you’ll give your statement at my office, and I’ll have an agent drive you home.”Shit.She was a nice girl.Didn’t deserve his toxic attitude.Self-preservation had the words spewing from his lips.The more he started to feel something stirring inside him, though, the more of an asshole he became.It was on the tip of his tongue to apologize—another first.He bit the words back and shot her a hard glare.Instead of shrinking back or looking hurt, her expression was passive.She simply nodded, looking almost bored, then stepped to the side, allowing him to pass.
He took his mug with him, stalking out of the room.
Chapter Five
When Ivy wasin elementary school, she walked hand in hand to the bus with Ash each morning.There were times he fell to the ground, overwhelmed with the weight of the day and the sensory overload that was the bus ride.The sounds and smells were all too much to process at once, which led to meltdowns.People often mistook this for bad behavior, which made her angry.She’d long ago learned that the best way to help others understand Ash’s actions was to model how they should react to them.She couldn’t remember a time when there wasn’t a rotating door of ABA therapists who came to work with Ash each afternoon.During their sessions, she sat to the side absorbing the way they interacted with him.The way they helped him to self-regulate fascinated her.Ash was her best friend.Her twin.She loved when he played alongside her or helped her with a puzzle.
Throughout elementary school, she was often called down to the substantially separate classroom when Ash was having a tough time.She’d wade through the overturned desks and the tornado of papers and supplies flung around the room and just sit with him.When he finally calmed, they’d pick up the destruction together and she’d return to class.Behaviors didn’t bother her in the least, so when Jude bristled at her questions or growled and grumbled responses, she accepted his actions for what they were.A form of communication.He was hurting inside while desperately trying to protect whatever feelings he was guarding.Growing up with Ash hadn’t always been easy, but he was always worth the effort.
She had a feeling breaking down Jude’s walls would be worth the effort, too.His actions didn’t match his words or attitude.He thought he’d seen something in the woods and left the safety of the cabin during a storm to help.He carried her back to his shelter, warmed her, and tended to her injuries.Jude had cared enough about her brother’s well-being to have a friend pick him up.He’d let her use his phone and laptop to ease her worries about Ash.So no, she wasn’t deterred by the bite in his tone nor the way he scowled at her.She’d simply ignore the less desired behaviors while doing her best to reinforce the times he opened up to her.
She took her coffee back to the couch and listened to the rain clatter onto the tin roof.Closing her eyes, she sipped the warm drink and was grateful to be inside while the storm raged.In the distance, she heard a crackling sound, like tinder snapping in a hearth.“Is there a fireplace in here?”Her words were met with silence, and she listened more closely.
“Jude!”She jumped up from the couch, thrusting her mug onto the coffee table.
“What?”he yelled from the other room.She ran toward the direction of his voice and found him in the bathroom, splashing his face with water.
“Landslide.”They exchanged a glance, and she knew the moment he heard it too.The crackling had turned to a low, distant rumble.He grabbed her palm, and they shot into the living room.When he released her hand, she no longer felt as safe as when they were linked.She remained quiet as he stuffed his belongings into the backpack and slung it over his shoulders.
“Take this.”He tossed a jacket to her, and she tugged it on.The garment reached her knees, and she bent to awkwardly zip the material around her.“Stay here.I’m going to go outside and see what direction the slide is coming from.We can’t outrun it, but we can hike to the side or go up on the roof.”
No way in hell was she waiting inside the cabin.The thick logs would splinter like toothpicks when met with the power of rolling earth, rocks, and downed trees.She didn’t protest, but she did follow behind him.When they stepped onto the porch, rain lashed against her face and she yanked the strings on the hood of Jude’s jacket, securing it more tightly around her head.He stopped abruptly and she crashed into his back, throwing her arms around his waist to keep her balance.
“I told you to stay inside!”he roared over the rain pelting their skin.
“Yeah, no.”
He growled in frustration.“I can’t devise a plan while worrying about you at the same time.”
A thick tree trunk cracking in two as it was consumed by mud resonated through the forest.“The plan is simple.”She grabbed his hand, ignoring his earlier requests not to touch him now that they were faced with a life-or-death situation.“Run!”
They took off east, in the direction that would steer them to what was hopefully the side of the landslide.Despite his long legs, she matched his pace easily as adrenaline coursed through her veins.The loose earth and debris were moving fast, fueled by the sudden and unprecedented amount of rain.She would’ve slipped and fallen in the mud more than once without Jude’s firm grip.She wasn’t sure if they were going to make it up the craggy ledge that promised more cover.The rocks were slick with moss.
“I’m going to lift you.Grab whatever you can for leverage.”Jude had stepped behind her and placed his hands on her waist, then lifted her with such force it felt like she was momentarily mid-flight.She scrambled up, gripping the edges of the rocks.Jude hoisted himself up, but whatever was below his feet crumbled under his weight.She screamed his name and dropped to her belly on the rock above.There was a sapling growing out from the rocks at an odd angle directly behind her.She angled her body, so the thin trunk was between her legs, then did her best to cross them at the ankles.
“Take my hands.”A boulder tumbled through the sludge about three hundred feet from where Jude was standing.
“No.”He was trying once again to climb up the crumbling rock.“I’ll just pull you down.Keep climbing.”
She glanced up at the rock.Jude was right in its path.Her heart was pounding, but determination filled her.No amount of yelling was going to convince him to let her help him, but assurances might.She leveled her gaze to meet his eyes and dropped the tone of her voice.“There’s a tree behind me.My legs are wrapped around it, giving me stability.If you don’t let me help you now, you won’t be able to help me survive the night in the forest.”She extended her hand, and they both gave the boulder crashing down the slope one last glance.Jude leaped, grasping her arm.She held him steady as the massive rock crashed past.Her thighs shook with effort.“Climb, Jude,” she said, keeping her tone steady.Debris was rushing past below his feet.If he let go, he was going to be swept away.In the distance, she saw the cabin shift then topple over.
