- -
- 100%
- +
She shook her head. “I haven’t heard or seen a thing.”
“That’s good, okay? I’m here now. Nothing’s going to happen to you. Okay?”
She nodded. Her worried frown eased. A bit.
He held her hands until they warmed and she smiled, weakly, but at least she seemed less frightened.
Using the strength of his will to calm her, he set about cataloging her injuries: badly bruised chest and wrenched shoulder, serious bullet graze on arm, useless ankle, not to mention a whole host of bruises all over her body.
Anger churned in him as riotously as the stream whose banks had overflowed through the night. That someone, anyone, would do this to a girl as wonderful as Aiyana...
Not a girl. A woman. He turned away from the golden skin tempting him. Wanting her was the last thing he should be feeling at a time like this.
“Sorry to do this to you, but we have to get you out of those soaking jeans. The last thing we want is for you to get hypothermia.”
“I don’t know how we can, though—not with the way you’ve bandaged my ankle.”
“I know, and I’m not going to undo it. We need to keep the swelling down as much as possible.”
He took his Leatherman out of his pocket and grasped the hem of one of the pant legs. “I hope you aren’t in love with these. They’re about to be toast.”
“I can’t go out of here without pants.”
“I brought clothing for you.”
He flipped out the small, sharp scissors and lifted one eyebrow.
She nodded. “Do it.”
He cut a straight line up the outside of one leg and then the other. Aiyana lay down and raised her hips. Together, they slipped the jeans out from under her butt.
Her underpants, Cody noted, were the same mauve as her bra, the color beautiful against her naturally tanned skin.
“If I turn my back, can you get out of your wet underwear on your own?”
“I’ll try.”
Facing away from her and studying the rugged splendor of the forest around him, he listened to her struggle. “How are you doing?”
“I can’t— Damn. I can’t do this.”
“I’m going to help you. Okay?”
She didn’t answer.
“Okay, Aiyana?”
“Let’s just leave them on me.”
“No. I don’t know how long it’s going to take us to walk out. We need you warm and dry.”
She didn’t respond, but after a while said, “Cody, let me do this my way. I’m more comfortable leaving them on.”
“But,” he started before realizing he was being overbearing. “You’re right. Of course. I’m going to dry you off though before we get you into clean clothes. Is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
He took his mom’s dry sweater and ran it briskly over all of her, deadening his senses, adopting as much of a clinical attitude as he could. At the moment, he needed to be less of a man and more of a friend.
Goose bumps crawled across her skin.
Gingerly, he pulled an undershirt over her head and threaded her arm through the sleeves. She didn’t utter so much as a peep, even though her lips thinned and turned white at the edges.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered.
Her smile wobbled.
His mother had given him a pair of large cotton underpants and he pulled them up Aiyana’s legs, smoothing them over her hips beneath the shirt.
The waist was too wide. “These were made for a larger seventy-year-old woman.”
Aiyana huffed out an embarrassed laugh. “They’re dry. That’s all that matters.” She shivered.
“Yeah.” He dressed her in a flannel shirt and a heavy sweater, but had to go slowly. It was taking a while.
“Sorry it’s all too big,” he said. “It’s my mom’s. I figured Pearl’s clothing wouldn’t fit you.”
“You’re right. Pearl’s clothes wouldn’t have fit me. She’s so tiny. I tower over her.”
Tower? Not.
“It doesn’t matter, Cody. I’m just happy to be warm.”
“Good. You and my mom don’t exactly have the same style. Mom’s an old hippie at heart.”
“I love your mother’s style. She’s so uniquely her.”
He detected something in her tone. Envy, maybe? Why on earth would a woman as striking and handsome as Aiyana envy another woman?
Her teeth were chattering again. “I got chilled to the bone last night. I can’t seem to warm up.”
“Especially not when your skin is bare. I’ll hurry.”
He grabbed a pair of long johns and eased them onto her feet and legs. She winced when he accidentally touched her ankle.
“I’m trying to be gentle,” he said as he snugged them up over her hips.
“This is ridiculous,” she burst out, smacking her palm on the rock. “I feel like a child with you dressing me.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But we need to do this, while disturbing your injuries as little as possible.”
“I get it, Cody. I’m just frustrated by this whole situation.”
“Fortunately, Mom’s jeans will be loose on you. They’ll go on right over your ankle.”
They did.
Aiyana grasped the loose fabric around her trim waist. “How am I going to keep them up?”
He took her blouse and twisted it. “I’ll thread this through the belt loops and tie it snugly.”
She smiled. “That’ll work.” It worried him that she was still shivering.
“We need to get you warmed up. Even these clothes aren’t doing it.”
He unbuttoned his jacket and unzipped his sweater then lifted her onto his lap, snugging her against his chest. Taking his mom’s bulky winter jacket, he wrapped it across her back and held it in place with one hand while with his other he abraded her limbs wherever she wasn’t hurt.
“How can you still have so much body heat when it’s cold and rainy?” She leaned into him as though she wanted to burrow inside his body.
She felt good.
“I built up a real sweat when I was looking for you.”
“I need your warmth.”
I need yours, too.
Whoa. Where had that thought come from, that he needed anything from her?
Warmth? From Aiyana, who was a virtual stranger these days? And the warmth he meant was different from her version. He needed absolution.
He rubbed her back briskly and felt her start to relax, to melt into him. He’d never felt anything as sweet as the trust she had in him.
For the briefest nanosecond, he rested his chin on her head and bit back a sigh. The urge to give in, to take what he needed from this erstwhile friend, sent a shock wave through him.
He denied himself, lifting his head away, because, really, how could he possibly think he deserved it? Or her.
“Cody...”
Alerted by her suddenly serious tone, he tensed, knowing what was coming, the sympathy that killed him every time. Don’t say it. Don’t say it.
He set her away from him, the intimate moment broken.
“Thank you,” she said. “I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found me. I appreciate all of this.”
The air whooshed out of him. She hadn’t mentioned Ben. Thank God.
“Except for your trapped foot, you were holding it together.” He grinned, but it felt fake again, like everything in his life these days. Except for the grief. That was real. “Besides, if it hadn’t been me who found you, it would’ve been someone else.”
“Don’t do that,” she said sharply.
He startled. “Do what?”
“Put down what you’re doing here.” Her tone was harsh. The woman had claws.
He had to put himself down. She didn’t know his history, all of the things he’d done. Taking her right hand in his, he helped her sit up.
She still looked stern and ordered, “Just say ‘thank you, Aiyana.’”
He smiled, impressed by how bravely she was dealing with this adversity. She had to be in agony from her injuries.
“Thank you, Aiyana,” he said gently, and her pique eased. She smiled.
He used her damp sweater to wipe his dirty feet.
He packed everything back into the knapsack, putting her wet clothes into plastic bags.
Last, he put on his socks and shoes.
“We need to move on.”
Cody glanced at her face, alerted by a new determination in her voice.
He picked up her backpack. “Do you think your shoulder can bear this?”
“Yes.”
Carefully, he threaded her arms through the straps and settled it onto her shoulders.
“Why is it so light?” She watched him over her shoulder with a puzzled frown.
“All of your clothes and camera are in my pack. There isn’t anything left in yours. It’s empty.”
He put his knapsack on across his front and turned so she could climb onto his back. Once she was settled he took the two tarps and crammed them into a plastic shopping bag. “Can you take this with your good hand?”
“Yes.”
He hoped she was telling the truth. He wondered if she would say yes to everything he asked just to prove she could handle it.
“Okay, let’s go.”
He started off quickly but soon realized he would have to pace himself on the rough, slippery terrain. The last thing they needed was for him to get injured, too.
Aiyana felt unnatural on his back. “Don’t hold yourself so stiffly, Ai.”
Ai. He’d forgotten that old nickname. He shouldn’t use it. It felt too intimate.
“I don’t want to be a burden,” she said.
“You aren’t. You’re a friend in need.” When she still didn’t relax, he told her the truth. “Holding yourself stiffly makes it harder for me.”
She relaxed against him and he felt her chest against his back.
“Better?” she asked.
“Yes.” No. Having her body so close to his was a lot of hell, but even more of heaven.
He walked on, closing off his mind to Aiyana’s femininity on his back—as he did most days, shutting himself off from everything around him.
He plodded, one foot in front of the other. Left, right. Left, right.
While Aiyana might not be a big woman—he would guesstimate her weight at one twenty-five—he felt the effects of not being on top of his game. He was tired. He’d gotten maybe three hours’ sleep, and it had been a troubled sleep.
But that was the norm. He didn’t know how it felt to wake up refreshed anymore.
He grasped Aiyana’s thighs and trudged forward until he nearly reached his limit. He didn’t know how far they’d come, but figured he’d been carrying her for about an hour.
He was so tired he started thinking crazy thoughts, like maybe this was a metaphor for his life, that from now on he would always carry this heavy burden of unrealized potential, of memories, grief and the stress of a damaged life.
Was it damaged beyond repair? Damned if he knew.
“I have to stop,” he told Aiyana. He meant more than putting her down for a few minutes. He wanted it all to stop, every single part of his life.
CHAPTER THREE
CODY JORDAN.
Where on earth had he come from when Aiyana needed him most? Cody, an astounding, delicious...sad-looking blast from the past.
Ai hadn’t seen him in years, yet here he was, deep in the forest helping her out of the worst bind she’d ever been in.
And let’s not forget, Aiyana, seeing you in next to nothing.
Tomorrow she would be embarrassed. At the moment, all that mattered was getting warm and finding a way out of this ravine.
He warmed you a bit, though.
Oh, yikes, did he ever. Sweetly. When he’d taken her onto his lap, he’d handled her with a tenderness at odds with his honed-to-bare-bones face and body.
She couldn’t let it go to her head.
She’d been infatuated with Cody once. She couldn’t be so again.
She had often wondered if all of her romantic relationships had gone wrong because Cody had set the standard too high. Maybe things would have been better with her ex-husband if she hadn’t wanted him to be the great guy Cody had been.
On second thought, her problems with Trevor had nothing to do with Cody.
Even so, Cody had rescued her once in adolescence and was rescuing her again. All these years later, Cody was about to become her hero again...and she didn’t want that. She needed to take control.
She couldn’t become swamped, overtaken and overshadowed by another man.
But, God, it was good to have Cody here. Those overwhelming feelings of despair that had haunted her all night had abated the second she’d recognized his voice.
When it became time to assert herself, she’d said, “We need to move on,” taking back the control she needed, or as much as she could get at the moment.
He’d glanced up at her, those blue eyes as startling now as they had been twelve years ago, especially in contrast to his dark hair. It was too long and curling at the edge. Clearly he wasn’t taking care of himself.
Lurking in the depths of his eyes was a new darkness he hid with his phony smile and fake grins.
But was there any wonder? She’d heard about his son. Just the thought of losing Annie caused unimaginable pain. Cody had actually lived it. How had he survived? How was he functioning?
Maybe he wasn’t. He seemed hollow, a man without a core. The Cody Jordan she used to know was solid as a rock.
Yes, she was glad to see him, but where was her Cody?
Lean, hard edges defined this Cody, with nothing soft or forgiving about him, trimmed of every ounce of fat and softness. He looked tired, exhausted. Sadness enveloped him like a haze.
Her first impression of Cody? A man skirting too close to the edge, faking it to appear normal.
The Cody Jordan she’d known in high school had the sweetest, sexiest, most real smile.
There was a distance between old Cody and new Cody that was miles wide.
She pushed away the sorrow that particular truth caused. Cody used to be the greatest guy, but above all, he used to be her friend.
This Cody seemed to be a good, reliable man, but he wasn’t her Cody. She felt that loss keenly. Best not to dwell on what was lost and to move forward.
The gentle motion of Cody’s steady, deliberate steps soothed her.
If she weren’t careful she would fall asleep. Last night had been awful. Now she had this big, strong man to lean on and the temptation to give in was great—to give herself over completely to his control—but she wouldn’t.
She’d fought long and hard for her independence. She wouldn’t give it away at the first sign of trouble.
What a ridiculous situation to find herself in. An odd kind of quiet intimacy developed between them, without conversation—her because of her pain and Cody to preserve energy for walking, no doubt.
They traveled slowly. They had no other choice.
He carried her for an hour before having to stop, finding another large flat boulder for them to sit on.
When he put her down, Aiyana could only shake her head. “You didn’t exaggerate. You are strong.”
Bending over, he sucked in air.
“I can’t believe how long you lasted.” Aiyana settled onto the rock and grimaced. Everything hurt. Everything.
He didn’t respond—he was still catching his breath.
“You should go on without me, Cody. We’re close enough now for you to run out for help.”
“No.”
“You can’t keep carrying me.” She pointed toward the hill. “You can’t carry me up that!”
“I can. I will. Aiyana?”
“Yes?”
Still bent over, he peered at her through thick lashes. “Just say ‘thank you, Cody.’” His smile was more real, more like her old Cody, using her earlier words against her.
How could she not respond to the tiniest sparkle of mischief in his smile?
“Thank you, Cody.” Bereft of his warmth, she shivered, chilly again. “I really don’t want to be outdoors for another night.”
“It would be hard on us, but on the searchers, too. Your dad is really worried.”
Concern twisted her gut. “I feel so bad.”
“Aiyana, you’ve got nothing to feel bad about.” He paused before speaking again. “Now let’s just focus on getting out of here, okay?”
“Okay.” She studied the side of the tree-covered hill. “The incline up out of the ravine isn’t as bad here.”
“The ground’s been rising steadily.”
“It’ll be harder because of the trees.” She pointed. “There are some bare spots, though.”
“Yeah. This is where we’ll go up. Let’s eat first. If I’m going to carry you up—” he gestured toward the slope “—I need to refuel.”
“I can’t believe you carried me this far.”
His chest still rose and fell in sharp attempts at getting back his wind. “Yeah, well, thank God it stopped raining.”
That statement was so heartfelt that Aiyana laughed. “True. The highlight of my day.”
Not quite. Seeing Cody again was truly the best part of this day.
He fell onto the rock beside her, the surface so small their shoulders touched.
They finished off the rest of the pastries Laura had packed, with Aiyana leaving the remainder of the cheese and salami for Cody, along with the last protein bar.
She studied his defined profile and the way his strong jaw moved while he ate, everything about him assertive.
She worked out in the gym a couple of times a week and hiked whenever she could, so she was no couch potato. Cody, on the other hand, must work out constantly to be in such buff shape.
He was beautiful.
She started packing his bag. “Annie loves Laura’s cinnamon rolls. I should have saved her some.”
Cody flinched. Oh. Oh. What had she been thinking to mention her daughter so carelessly, knowing he was grieving?
“You can buy her one tomorrow,” he said, tone lifeless. “Today you need your energy.”
She missed Annie. She wanted to see her now, this very moment. How must Cody feel?
Sorrow seeped from him like a dark fog, despite his shallow smiles and brittle grins. She shouldn’t have mentioned Annie. What a foolish thing to do. But she could no longer ignore what had happened to him and pretend that she hadn’t heard about the death of his son.
“Cody,” she began, but he cut her off.
“Don’t.” The intensity of the order stunned her. His expression hardened before softening into a silent plea.
She opened her mouth again to speak, but he leaned forward and grasped the back of her head, closing his eyes.
He urged her closer. “Please, don’t say anything,” he whispered, so close she couldn’t see all of his face. She wanted to see him, wanted to understand everything about Cody. “No sympathy. No pity. Please. It will kill me, Ai.”
He was breaking her heart. A need to erase all of his pain surged through her, but he didn’t want her help.
His breath on her face sent wisps of hair flying, tickling her forehead and neck. He smelled like soap—simple, honest and basic.
“Just...let it go. Okay?”
She tried to nod, but his fingers gripped her too tightly.
The noise that came out of him sounded suspiciously like a sob and she regretted everything. She should have left it alone.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
He eased back and stared at her, the distance between them pregnant with regret. She sensed desire in him along with grief.
When he leaned toward her, his lips hovering above hers, she remembered his kisses. Their sweetness. Was he going to—
The crack of the gunshot sent shards of rock flying. Cody pulled her against him, his hard arms strapping across her back, and rolled both of them off the rock.
“Nooooo,” she screamed. Not again.
He landed half on and half off her. Excruciating pain overwhelmed her.
Her heart started a crazy staccato beat.
“What the hell?” Cody pressed as much of his body over hers as he could. His heartbeat battled with hers, wild and crazy.
“Where’d it come from?” Between the pain and his weight, she could barely breathe. “Do you know which direction?”
“No. Goddamn!” He eased up on her and peeked around the boulder. “I can’t see anyone. The growth’s thick here. He could be behind any tree and I wouldn’t know it.”
He moved off her, only slightly, turning her onto her uninjured side. He helped her move back against the rock and flattened himself in front of her.
“You’re shaking.” He held her head against his chest, his big hand firm, cupping her as though she were precious.
“Yeah,” she admitted to the obvious. “Being used for target practice does that to me.”
He leaned against her, using the full force of his body’s warmth to reassure her. “We’ll get out of this. I’ll keep you safe.”
“How?”
“I don’t know, but I’m so pissed off I could tear apart whoever is doing this with my bare hands.” And yet, despite his anger, those hands made her feel safe.
“It’s an unfair fight. I wish we had a gun.”
“Me, too, Aiyana.” He peeked around the boulder again then lay back down on top of her.
She missed his hand on her head. She could almost see the wheels spinning beneath his intelligent brow. “What are you thinking?”
“Just trying to figure out how to get us out of here alive.”
“I know that, Cody. I mean specifically. You look like you’re coming up with a plan.”
“Yeah. I’m trying to. We might be able to get lost in the bush. The problem is that you can’t run.”
“You should go. Leave me. Get help.”
He pressed his palm over her mouth. Sparks of anger flashed in his blue eyes. “Stop with that kind of talk. It’s foolish.”
She jerked her head away from his hand. “It isn’t. It makes sense and you know it.”
“Yeah, it does, but there’s no way in hell I’m leaving you behind, so just quit. If you go down, so do I.”
She should be quiet and grateful. She was grateful, but above all, relieved. What she wouldn’t do, though, was leave everything to Cody.
She wouldn’t play the distressed damsel to his big, strong knight. He was brittle and on edge, about to shatter even while he did his best to protect her. A man like Cody would probably die protecting her.
Getting out of this predicament would take all of the wits both of them possessed.
The problem, of course, was her ankle.
Slowing her heart rate, she looked at the situation dispassionately. Whoever was shooting at them hadn’t come around to attack from this side. They would have seen him walk up the creek. Coming down from above them through trees and brush wasn’t an option, either. In the stillness of the woods, they would have definitely heard him.
So, he had shot at them from behind—he’d followed them. She shivered, but kept control of herself, refusing to allow fear to overtake her. The ways ahead and above were clear. They could do this, except that the shooter was sitting waiting for them to move.
“Can you reach our bags?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah. And if I’m quick, I won’t get killed.” His chest rumbled with the depth of his voice.
Cody might be big and strong, but judging by the tightness around his eyes and the lines around his mouth, he was dead tired. He’d already carried her for an hour. He’d said he’d arrived home in the middle of the night, so he’d had little sleep.
He might try not to show his exhaustion, but she was fully aware of it.
He exhaled, lunged and snatched both bags, falling back on top of her. She grunted.
“Sorry.” He held up their knapsacks and grinned, a true grin this time. Triumphant.
A split second later, a shot rang out, hitting the rock surface, chipping it. The ricochet hit a tree trunk above them.
“He’s wasting his ammunition.” Aiyana wriggled away from a stone digging into her back. “Why?”
“I don’t think he wants to kill either of us. Not yet. He’s playing with us. He has all of the power and we have none.”
“So we’re dealing with a bully.”
“Looks like.”
“Let’s switch up the balance of power. I have a plan.”
“What is it?”
She used her hand to illustrate a path up the hill, showing him where they could wriggle through holes in the underbrush. “Look. We can get out of here on our bellies, zigzag so we disturb the vegetation as little as possible.”
He nodded. “That could work. You’ll go first.”
In response to her fierce Why me? reaction, he answered, “Because it will give the shooter a chance to aim. You’ll get away. If anyone gets hit this time, it’ll be me.”