Authors: J. Rose Allister
“So you’ve been in your car all this time? Why didn’t you phone us? We’d have come up to get you.”
Terra glanced at the flickering motel sign. “I pulled in at this little place at the turnoff called Inn at the Falls.” She paused. “I would have called, but the phones cut out because of the storm. My cell phone wasn’t getting any signal, either. So I stayed here.”
There was a pause. “You didn’t have money for a motel.”
“I had the emergency credit card, actually.” Then she realized her parents could check for a charge that would never show up. “But the owner took pity on me because I was out alone in the storm, and he let me stay for free. Once I left, I drove to the nearest spot where my cell could get a signal out, and I pulled over to call you. I’m really sorry.”
There. The lie was complete and omitted any mention of hot cowboys, hitchhikers, or sex-crazed wolves. Or the erotic fever that had gripped her hard, then disappeared just as suddenly. No doubt her mother would parade her in front of a long line of doctors for that.
She heard a sigh. “Well, thank God you’re all right. I’m glad you had the sense to come out of the rain, at least. You’re coming home right now?”
That odd instinct came again, the feel of scrutinizing eyes penetrating the back of her head. Yet the motel room that was in view was still quiet. She craned her neck around, and that’s when she spotted the source. A woman stood at the edge of the woods that ran behind the motel, very near the spot where Connor had revealed his impossible secret. Despite an obvious attempt to blend with the scenery in olive drab pants and jacket, her fiery red hair stood out among the woodsy backdrop. So did the dark, calculating stare.
She who?
The huntress.
Terra’s heart began to pound. Could she be the obscure danger Nash claimed was coming? More likely, she was just a hiker on a trip through the woods. Shay Falls was a popular hiking spot, after all. Yes. That was probably it. So why was she standing there like one of the rigid pine trees, staring at Terra?
“Are you listening? Terra?”
Her mother’s words barely registered as her eyes flicked to the motel. Should she go back, warn the men? Hell, what was she thinking? If she went back, Connor might not want her to leave again. But she couldn’t just drive off when she wasn’t certain that woman was a hiker.
“
Terra!
”
“I’m here, Mom. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I have to go now. I’m driving.”
She hung up and shot another look behind her. The woman was gone. “Just a hiker, like I thought,” she said aloud.
Or had she ducked out of sight to wait for Terra to leave?
She took hold of the gearshift, ready to pull it out of park and get moving. The odd crawling sensation at the back of her neck wouldn’t go away. Nor would the nagging sense that she couldn’t simply drive off and leave the men to an ill fate.
“I’m such an idiot.”
She sighed and punched some buttons on her phone to search up the number for the motel. “Yes, can you connect me to Room 12, please?”
The phone rang and rang in the room, no answer. “Damn it. Where are they?”
They couldn’t have left. She’d have seen them going out the front door, and the bathroom window in the rear was much too small, even in their canine form. She clicked off the call and frowned at the front door. No movement. Another glance at the woods still showed no sign of the woman or anything else unusual.
She was just being paranoid. Or maybe some part of her was looking for an excuse not to leave. Maybe she wasn’t quite ready to return to mundane reality.
She swore and redialed the motel number. “Room 12 again, please. I got disconnected.”
The phone rang five times before she heard a click and a muttered male voice.
“Hi, Nash?”
There was a brief pause. “No. This is Connor, Terra.”
Oh, shit. Connor. She hadn’t really thought about having to deal with him if he answered.
“Hello?” he said again when she didn’t reply.
“Yeah, I’m here.”
“Where’s ‘here’?”
The sound of his voice tightened around her like a thick band. Or a pair of capable, strong arms.
“Terra? Say somethin’.”
She slapped herself mentally. Maybe Nash was right about Connor’s pull on her. Even just hearing his voice over the phone made it difficult to think. “The woman who’s after you. What does she look like?”
Now it was his turn for a pause. “How do you know about that?”
“Just answer the question. Does she have bright red hair?”
“Where are you?” His tone flared into insistence. “Do you see her? You need to get somewhere safe,
now.
”
She would take that as a yes. His sharp emphasis on the last word shot her head around to scan the street and motel parking lot. No more sign of the red-haired stranger.
“I just saw her here in the woods behind the motel.”
“You’re still here?”
“I’m out on the street, sitting in my car.”
“Listen to me. Start drivin’. Get the hell out of here. Away from us.”
“But what about you?”
“I’m sorry, Terra. I know Nash told you I was plannin’ to seduce you into stayin’.”
Seducing? The word flipped around in her stomach. Nash hadn’t quite put it that way, no.
“He was smart to talk you into leavin’ before I got the chance,” he went on. “I had no right to be that selfish with everythin’ that’s goin’ on. You need to go.”
Her heart sank. “Not until I know what’s going on, and that you’ll be safe.”
Connor growled. “You are the damn stubbornest female I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah? At least I’m not trying to hunt you down. That’s what’s happening here, isn’t it? That woman wants to hurt you.”
“I’m not havin’ this chat with you right now, and if you value our safety, you won’t keep me on the phone tryin’ to have it. Good-bye, Terra.”
There was a click, and the line fell silent. She stared at the phone in her hand. Why was it that she was rushing away from something one minute and desperate to cling to it the next?
They would be all right without her. Better off, even. Connor and Nash could take care of themselves. They were supernatural. They didn’t need a somewhat damaged member of the human race around to save the day.
That settled it. With another look at the surroundings, she tugged the gearshift and started the long, lonely journey back down the mountain. Hopefully, she wouldn’t have another panic attack while she was at it.
Chapter Seven
“Honestly, Terra, I don’t understand why you don’t just go back to him.”
Terra’s eyes snapped up from the bowl of mushy bran flakes she’d been poking at. “What did you say?”
Her mother shook her head. “Why won’t you go back to the gym? Physical therapy is for your own good, sweetheart.”
Gym, not
him
. Of course. Those words wouldn’t have come out of her mother’s mouth in a million years, even if Terra had told the truth about her mountain escapade two days before.
“I’m just not feeling up to it right now.”
“That’s kind of the point, isn’t it? People who need physical therapy aren’t feeling their best, naturally. It takes time to build stamina back up.”
Lilith Benson. Full-time office clerk, part-time shrink. Or so she thought, judging by the way she always tried to drop pearls of wisdom. At the moment, Terra wasn’t in the mood.
“It’s been six months.”
The woman smoothed her short, dark bob. “After thirty months of nothing but passive range-of-motion exercises while you were in bed.”
Terra sighed. Winning arguments with her mother had never been a talent of hers. The woman acted like Terra was still fourteen. Maybe she would never think of her child as a grown-up because Terra hadn’t shown up for the birthday party that would have made it official.
“I’ll go on Thursday, okay?”
“Twice this week would be better.”
“Mom.”
Lilith pushed away from the breakfast table. “I know, I know. You hate being coddled. I just want what’s best for you.”
“It’s not that I
hate
it, exactly.”
Her mother raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And who was it who hated being picked up and carried so much that she defied doctors’ predictions and walked months before they thought it possible?”
Terra picked up her bowl and followed her mother to the sink. Her mother moved gracefully in a fitted skirt and heels. Terra scuffed along in pjs and slippers. “It just brought back memories of that night. You know, being carried helpless out of the wreck.”
Her mother touched Terra’s sleeve. “I know. I’m just saying, I understand that you don’t want me nagging at you to do things. I can’t help it. I swear, it’s a mouth disease I contracted the moment you were born. It’s hopelessly incurable.”
Terra had to quirk a smile at that. “And you wouldn’t be the mom I love so much if you didn’t.” She gave her mother a short hug. “Maybe I’ll go for a nice walk today for exercise. Okay? It’s a pretty day out.”
Not that she cared much about the bright sunshine pouring through the breakfast nook windows, but it would make her mother happy. One of them should be content today, at least.
Her mother brightened. “That sounds wonderful.”
A short while later, Terra marched along on her mother-silencing walk like a trooping soldier, dressed in an emerald velour jogging suit and a sour mood that stood out against the cheerful day. Equally cheerful pedestrians and bicyclists populated the paths winding through the park. Several passersby gave her the courtesy nod of those seeking power walker solidarity, but she pretended not to notice and kept to herself while she wondered why she’d bothered to come out. She could have just
said
she was going for a walk, and then gone and sat somewhere else. Or she could just sit right there in the park, for that matter. Still, blowing off some of the extra energy jittering her stomach like a caffeine overload wasn’t the worst idea. At least the need to dodge dog walkers and roller blades helped interrupt the constant stream of thoughts that was slowly but surely driving her insane.
Nights had been the worst since her return from Shay Falls, but days stretched long and unsatisfying as well. For a woman who should be embracing each sunrise with the gratitude only a near-death survivor could appreciate, she had certainly grabbed hold of an apathy that was rapidly approaching full-on depression.
Terra tightened the high ponytail that swung behind her as she blazed along. A pair of seniors jogged by, waving.
“Forget this,” she muttered after they went past.
At the next fork in the multitiered trail, she veered onto a leaf-covered path where few would bother her. Poplar trees shouldered each other closely along this segment, their limbs overhanging the path enough to block most of the sun. While most found the encroachment too cloying and dark, she found comfort in the woodsy scent and the solitude. Everyone was in such a hurry these days, even while at a park meant for relaxation and recreation. No one stopped to really enjoy life. Not that she was a motivational speaker on the subject.
Even as her feet turned onto the darker path, her thoughts turned toward the cowboys who had taken her understanding of life and shaken it senseless. Maybe it hadn’t been Nash and Connor’s fault that she’d skipped out on her party, but just like Dorothy’s trek through Oz, once she’d started picking up assorted stragglers on the journey, things had gotten a whole lot crazier.