Escaping Love (4 page)

“Why should I trust you?” Clint spat. “For all I know you could be here to collect the reward from Santos.”

Her hand fell to her side. The heat of contact was replaced by the ice of deceit. He said he didn’t know her Clan. Talk about a double standard. She couldn’t lie but he had a green flag. Putting distance between herself and the men, she fortified her inner walls that Clint’s kindness had started to shake.

“You don’t really have a choice right now. Either you let me help
you or you can die while those Mercs take the girl. We both know they don’t follow the rules of Hospitality.”

Barely breathing
, Clint stood silent while seeming to consider the strangers words. Alex spoke up first.

“He’s right, we don’t have much choice. I don’t know what kind of beef you have between each other but we have to trust him.
At least for now.”

“We need a distraction. There’s an entrance to a tunnel under the rug in the living room. It leads to a hidden exit in the forest. I have a jeep stashed in a shed not far from where it comes out.”

“Sounds like a start. The distraction we need should be happening in three minutes and counting. You might want to cover your ears.”

Clint tossed the rug to the side in a plume of dust revealing a
well concealed door built into the floor.

Alex raised her eyebrows
. “Wow, you really are prepared for everything.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of the stranger
’s lips. His whole face seemed to be fighting it, as if smiling didn’t happen very often.

“Not a word, Kane.”

“Wasn’t going to say anything.”

Kane
didn’t seem half bad to her, but Clint cataloged his every move.

“Hop in
, darlin’. I’ll be right behind you.”

Her cat bri
stled at the idea of crawling underground in the dark, musty space. Fighting for control, she stepped back.

“No, there has to be another way. I can’t—
I won’t go down there.”

Her chest heaved up and down
, jetting out her breasts. She didn’t care that Clint’s gaze locked on to them or that her nipples hardened into bit-sized morsels under his attention.

“You’re
gonna have to, Little Cat. There’s no other way out.”

“No.” Rubbing her sweating palms on her jeans, she backed away
, shaking her head.

“Grab the bag and head out. The keys to the jeep are under the floor mat.”

Kane leaped fearlessly into the hole. She bit back a sob as the darkness consumed him.

Her eyes widened in horror. Clint lifted her chin until she could look nowhere else but in his eyes.

“Listen to me. I’m not going to let anything happen to you. If you don’t want to go down there we don’t have to, but I will be honest with you. Our chances aren’t too good if we stay here. I will probably be killed, and you will be taken. Do you want that to happen?”

She shook
her head no, her voice lost in her panic.

He smiled reassuringly
. “I didn’t think so. I’m going to distract you, but you can’t hold it against me later.”

Narrowing her
eyes, she started to tell him not to, but before she could speak his mouth captured hers. With a soft confidence he coaxed her to open. He kissed her as if he had all the time in the world to taste her and her him. His tongue slipped past her defenses, dancing with hers, performing a sultry tango, neither leading but both accepting the other’s exploration. He tasted sweet but with subtle spice, leaving her body ravenous for more. 

She clung to him, pulling his heavy weight onto her body. Her core ached for this man like nothing she had ever felt before. With just a kiss, she stood on a dangerous precipice dangerously close to falling.

The need for survival brought her lust-clouded mind to pinpoint clarity. Alex pushed at him, doing her best to ignore her traitorous body. Panting, she crawled away from him and slipped into the hole. A fear, stronger than the black hole in front of her, pushed her forward. She could feel his presence at her back. Silently, he moved behind her. She knew he was there, because she could feel his gaze on her body, on her ass.  Alex stopped. She started to tell him what affect her claws would have on his roaming gaze when her world literally shook and crumbled around her.

~****~

The view of Alex’s ass shattered his reality, literally. Dirt filled his nose, having the same effect as a punch to the face. Kane’s distraction must have been one hell of a show on the outside. The Little Cat coughed and sputtered between her heartbreaking sobs. The meager light from the entrance snuffed out, leaving them in pitch black. What he wouldn’t give for his wolf’s night vision. He couldn’t shift with the freaked-out panther in front of him, or she’d claw him to pieces. He needed to sooth her nerves.

“You okay
, darlin’?”

“Oh, I’m just dandy,” she coughed, “thanks for asking.”

Her voice held a slight tremor, making his protective instinct burn on high alert.

“Listen
, Little Cat, I need you to keep moving forward. We were a little over halfway when the light went out. It’s not that much farther.”

“I can barely breathe let alone see.”

“Well, I could move past you but in the dark I may rub up against some of your more prominent features.”

He wished he could see her face, but the hitch in her breath told him everything he needed to know.

He shrugged even though she couldn’t see him. “Fine, I guess I’ll push past you. Don’t mind my hands—they have a mind of their own.”

“No, stay there, I was just,
er… waiting for the dust to settle a little.”

Clothes rustled and he could practically hear her cursing his name in her mind. He tried not to laugh. If someone told him he would be
crawlin’ behind a prissy cat, underground, running from jackals, he would have taken their beer and called a cab for their clearly ‘two sheets to the wind’ ass.

Light cut through the darkness casting perfection on her silhouette. He could still taste her sweetness through the grim
e in his mouth, like honeyed peaches, sweet and succulent. Downright mouthwatering.

The image of her beckoning him from all fours made his cock want to break through his pants. The timing was all sorts of wrong but his rock
-hard length didn’t seem to give a shit. Trying to calm his body before Kane got an eyeful of little Clint, he thought of the usual, the bar and all the incomplete paperwork sitting on his desk, then the bear tearing up the place did the trick and a deep irritated rumble echoed through the small space. Problem solved.

“Sheesh, you don’t have to get
pissy.  I’m moving as fast as I can.”

His temper still simmered just below the surface so his voice came out a tad gruffer than he meant, “It has nothing to do with you.”

She flinched but said nothing. She pushed through the exit and let out a dramatic sigh. The dirt smudged on her nose, the cheerful, self-satisfied smile gracing her lips and the twinkle in her eye painted the cutest picture he’d ever seen.

He almost missed the keys to his
Jeep Kane tossed at his face.

“Glad you two made it.”

Clint pushed past him still a bit irritated. He looked to the south and shook his head. Thick smoke billowed into the sky, blotting out what had started out to be one hell of beautiful day.

“What did you blow up?” Alex asked from behind him.
Walking around the front, he opened the door to his yellow Jeep Wrangler and slid onto his black leather seat.

Kane got in the back. Alex buckled up next to him
, and her unique scent of fresh rain calmed his nerves just a little.

“Well?” Alex shifted beside him.

“I think we should put some distance between us and the jackals.”

Clint agreed and turned the key. His baby started without missing a beat, practically purring a sweet welcome. He caressed the wheel.

His sweet old girl moved forward on the Jeep trail like they’d never been apart. He didn’t get to drive her much, but when he could they sure had one hell of a time. Why couldn’t women be like his Jeep? Dependable, fun to be with, and most of all, loyal. Sometimes he would swear she was a living, breathing entity. He soaked up the peace until Kane gave his revelation.

“I blew up the cabin.”

Alex lurched forward, the seatbelt digging into her chest as Clint slammed on the brakes.

“You did what?”

Oh
shitballs, Clint’s face was red and his hands gripped the steering wheel so tight she thought he might bust it off.

Eyes wide
, she turned to look at Kane.

He merely shrugged. “It was the best place to leave the charges without it being suspicious.
The place was a dump anyway. Once they saw me enter, I knew they would close in. We may have even taken one of the out.”

“That was my place
,” Clint gritted out. “When we get to where we’re going you will leave, and if I ever see you again I will kill you.”

Her gaze shot back to Kane, but he seemed completely unaffected, like death threats were a daily occurrence.

“Fine with me.”

Alex didn’t know what to say. She may have wanted to leave her home but it was still there to go back to if she needed. Clint didn’t have that. Her heart ached for him. Now that she thought about it the meager space busted at the seams with mementos from the pictures on his dresser
and the handmade quilt to the bookcase full of classics. They were just things but each and every one held a memory that Clint deemed worthy enough be in his life. She didn’t know how, but she would help him find his home again.

The trail dragged on what seemed like forever. Deep rivets and rocks formed obstacles until they made it to a maintained dirt road. Leaning her head against the window, she watched the trees pass in a blur of greens, brown, and patches of yellow.
She caught glimpses of red squirrels running around in their simplicity of life gathering food for the winter. Minimalism ruled their life, and Alex was jealous.

The more she thought about Clint’s cabin the more guilt seemed to lodge in her chest. If she hadn’t
run away, then he never would have lost his home. Carlos had been right—she did ruin everything she touched. A tear escaped down her cheek, and she did her best to covertly wipe it away.

“Are you crying?” Clint looked at her in horror.

“No.”

“You are too.”

“No, I’m—”

“There’s that word again. No. No. No.”

“You know what, just forget it. I’m not talking to you.”

“
Why are you mad at me? I’m the one that just lost my cabin.”

“I know
, okay? I’m really sorry about that.”

“Why are you sorry? He’s the one that blew it up.”

“It was my fault.”

“Did you tell him to plant the charges?”

“Well, no but—”

“Then that’s the end of it.”

She growled. “Stop interrupting me, it’s rude. Not to mention it pisses me off.”

“I know it pisses you off. That’s why I do it. You bite your bottom lip and it makes me want to do things to you no man has the right to think about.”

Her mouth formed an ‘O’. She started to speak but shut her mouth again.

“Put on your seatbelt,
” she fumbled.

“What?”

“Put on your seatbelt. It’s dangerous not to wear it.”

“I never wear it.”

“Please.”

His head moved back and forth
, but he did as she asked.

“If you t
wo are done with the verbal foreplay, I would like to know where we’re going.”

“Wyoming.” Clint stared at the rearview mirror.

“Oh hell, more fucking Hillbillies. Fan-fucking-tastic. Wake me up when we get there so I can know when I’ve officially entered the ninth circle of hell.”

She couldn’t help it, she laughed, loud and a bit silly. Clint grinned back at her.
Slowly, a slight weight lifted from her chest.

“I need to get fuel and leave a message at the bar for the bear.”

She uncrossed and re-crossed her legs. Good timing, the orange juice and coffee hit her with the subtlety of a brick wall.

“I could use a rest stop.”

Being a shifter outnumbered by skittish humans presented new challenges almost daily. It’s why the Clans formed in remote locations then followed the inscription of the laws. One of the most important was to never, under any circumstance, let a human know what you are.

Yeah
, some would be perfectly fine discovering a new species. Others would be afraid, persecuting them because they were different. Some would keep them in secret locations in order to figure out how they tick, cutting them open, or doing worse. Alex presented a huge risk to her people with a secret like hers; her father would never let her out of his sight. She shivered, bringing the need for a bathroom forefront in her mind.