Lucan turned around, his expression calm. “Are you okay?”
I blinked at him, my brain refusing to catch up. “What just happened?”
“Black bears. They were curious about the car.”
“I know what they were. What did you do?”
“Nothing. She decided we weren’t worth the trouble.”
I took a step to the side, angling so I could see past him. My gaze darted to the trees, half-expecting the bears to reappear. “You growled at her.”
“I made noise. Bears don’t like confrontation.”
“That wasn’t just noise.”
He shrugged, his face unreadable. “Worked, didn’t it?”
My hands were shaking. I pressed them against my thighs, trying to steady myself. “You didn’t even move. You stood there and?—”
I stopped, the words catching in my throat.
I’d seen something in the side mirror. His eyes had looked different. Not just the angle or the light. Different.
My stomach twisted.
“Liz.” His voice was softer now. “You’re in shock. It’s normal after an adrenaline spike.”
“Don’t.” I held up a hand, taking another step back. “Don’t tell me what’s normal. That wasn’t normal.”
“I’ve been doing this job for decades. I know how to handle wildlife.”
“By growling at them?”
“By projecting confidence and dominance. Predators respond to body language and tone. She read me as a bigger threat and backed off.”
It sounded reasonable, but I heard that sound and saw his eyes. “I don’t believe you.”
He exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. “What do you want me to say?”
“The truth.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
I shook my head, frustration boiling over. “You’re giving me some sanitized version you think I’ll accept. Just like the unofficial patrol excuse. Just like showing up at Split Pine and pretending you weren’t there for me.”
We stared at each other, the tension stretching thin between us. My heart hadn’t slowed, and my hands still trembled. And I couldn’t stop replaying the image of his eyes in that mirror.
Lucan took a slow breath, his shoulders dropping as if defeated. “I’ll explain if you get in the truck.”
I should have pointed out that this was exactly how people ended up in the back of vans on true crime shows. But I was exhausted, and I just wanted to go to sleep.
So I turned on my heel and got in his truck.
Chapter 14
Liz
The truck’s interior felt too small as we pulled away from my dead car. Lucan’s hands gripped the steering wheel, knuckles white under the glow of the dashboard lights. The silence magnified every bump in the road, every subtle shift of his body.
