Nobody's Angel (42 page)

Fear flitted across his eyes. “You’re already perfect for me,
Amore
.”

She shook her head. “I can’t explain, but give me a few days. There’s something I need to try first.”

He cocked his head and quirked an eyebrow, waiting for her to explain, but she needed to formulate a plan first.

“You’ll just have to trust me, even though I think trust might be harder for you than it was for me.”

“Touché.” He smiled, but his eyes remained filled with hurt and disappointment.

Would she survive this trial by fire she needed to put herself through to see if she could move forward in a relationship with Marc?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Marc felt his guts twist in a knot at Angelina’s announcement in Adam’s kitchen a few hours later.

“No fucking way.”

“Marc, I’m going. This is something I have to do.”

“Not with Martin lurking out there somewhere. The sheriff’s department hasn’t been able to locate him since he left the hospital Sunday morning. For all we know, he tailed us to Denver and is just waiting for his opportunity to find you alone so he can attack you again.”

“But I won’t be alone. I’ll be with Karla and Cassie.”

“I forbid you to go.”

She put her hands on her hips and stood her ground. “You and what army?”

“No way are three defenseless women going to be able to stave off an attack if Martin goes after you, Angelina.”

“Cassie and I are black belts in Tae Kwon Do,” Karla offered.

Marc glared at Karla.
You’re not helping
. His attention returned to Angelina, who put forth her argument, as well.

“You know I fought him off Saturday night, so I have a few moves of my own. My four older brothers taught me well.”

Marc felt control slipping away from him. He didn’t like to feel out of control, but she was putting herself in a place where he couldn’t protect her from harm. If he was her Dom, he had to protect her. He knew that, if he ever wanted more than a Dom/sub relationship with her, he’d have to give her freedom outside play scenes. She was a stubborn, independent woman. Italian. He realized she controlled the relationship, their future, if there was one. He couldn’t really stop her.

That thought scared him to death.

“I’ll be fine, Marc. But you know why I have to do this.”

Yeah. Marc pointed a finger at his chest and she smiled at him. She had to prove some damned thing to him. If it got her killed or hurt, he’d never forgive himself. “Let me show you the wilderness. I take novices out there all the time.”

She shook her head and the noose tightened even more around his neck.

“If I lose it out there, I’m not going to embarrass myself in front of you.” She smiled again. “Relax. It’s just an overnight camping trip. Nothing’s going to happen.”

Karla tried to reassure him. “We’re just going to be up at Lincoln Lake on Mt. Evans. There will probably be lots of other people hiking and maybe even camping, as well. Cassie’s determined to get some wildlife shots and the mountain goats are pretty easy to find there.”

Adam walked into the room, still wearing his cape, but he’d lost the mask and hat. Luke followed. The tenseness in the room was palpable.

Adam’s hand went to the back of his neck, a nervous response Marc first noticed back on Fallujah. “What’s wrong?”

Adam could help. He could at least control Karla a little bit, if he chose to. “These two women think they’re going camping overnight on Mt. Evans. They’re planning to leave at daybreak, after they run up to get Karla’s friend.”

“Yeah, Karla said it’s something she does every year with Cassie.”

“Well, Angelina’s my concern and with Allen Martin still out there, she’s not going anywhere without one of us watching over her.”

“Karla, hon, why don’t you and Cassie postpone the trip until things settle down here? Or let one of us go with you?”

“No, Adam. Cassie and I have been planning this for weeks, and now Angelina wants to join us, which is great. But this is a female bonding adventure. Cassie’s not comfortable around men, especially the dominant types like you guys.” She looked away. “I won’t make her uncomfortable like that. This is our annual ritual and we’re going to do it without men, like always.”

Shit
. Adam had no better control over her than Marc did over Angelina. God save them all from strong, stubborn women.

Chances were they’d be safe. There were fewer nutcases per capita in the wilderness than there were in the city here. Martin was probably off nursing his broken nose and laying low after realizing what a total asshole he was.

Yeah, right
.

Marc sighed. He had to let her go. As with Shibari, the rope could embrace or strangle. He had to let go of the tight rein he wanted to hold on her—or he’d lose her. But he didn’t have to leave everything to chance.

“Let me take you down to the shop to get the gear you’ll need.”

* * *

Angelina stretched her aching legs out. She’d never hiked so long in her life. The boots she’d gotten at Marc’s store were comfortable, but all she wanted to do right now was take them off and wiggle her toes.

Karla and Cassie were off gathering firewood while there still were a couple hours of daylight left, giving Angelina a chance to chill and recover from the strenuous hike. The wind blew constantly up here, no trees to slow it down. She got used to it after a while and it became like white noise, blocking out all other sound.

Such a sad and desolate place. In the distance, she could see snow-covered mountains. She shivered. At least the snowline was above them here. Still, it was cold.

Lonely.

She wished Marc were sitting here beside her. Sure, Cassie and Karla would be back soon and it sounded as though they had some fireside rituals they would go through tonight to burn away painful memories from their pasts. For Karla, it had something to do with her brother’s death. For Cassie, it sounded as though she had some demons to release, but Angelina hadn’t wanted to pry.

Angelina didn’t want to release anything, well, except maybe Allen. More importantly, she wanted to embrace someone. Be tied to him forever. All she wanted was to feel his arms around her, their bodies becoming one again.

A stinging on the side of her neck brought her hand up to swat whatever had bitten her this time. Didn’t insects migrate or hibernate for the winter or something? She’d been pestered by them all day.

After struggling to pull her boots off, straining muscles in places she didn’t know existed, she leaned back and let the warm afternoon sun kiss her face. It really was peaceful up here. A good place to come and think.

Not that she couldn’t think in civilization, too.

She certainly had some thinking to do. Like about where her relationship with Marc was going to go after this. She didn’t expect any earthshattering wilderness epiphany or anything, but would be happy if she just survived unscathed and didn’t become a whuss at the first sign of wildlife. Didn’t the animals leave you alone if you left them alone? Well, not so with bears or mountain lions, she supposed. But up here, they were more likely to see bighorn sheep and mountain goats, according to Cassie.

Even though she was from the mountains of Peru, the woman had become one with her surroundings here in Colorado. It was an almost mystical experience to watch her move. Angelina couldn’t understand how anyone could experience that sense of being. Of belonging. Did Marc feel that?

Cassie would be perfect for Marc. Well, if she liked men. Some man must have hurt her deeply.

Angelina felt a cramp tighten in her calf and stood up to put pressure on it. A movement out of the corner of her eye sent her heart into her throat. She turned expecting to find a grizzly bear only to see the blur of something tall and brown lunge at her, hitting her head and knocking her off her feet. When the back of her head hit a hard surface, she was momentarily stunned. Whatever had attacked her was straddling her, cutting off her ability to fill her lungs with air. When her eyes cleared she looked up at the bandaged face of Allen.

He pinned her wrists to the ground and hovered over her face. “Hello, Angie. Did you think I wouldn’t find you eventually?”

She struggled to get him off of her, but his weight was solid and her legs couldn’t make contact with anything but air. He moved her arms above her head, taking both wrists into one hand, then reached down and began unzipping her jacket. His hand went inside to squeeze her breast until she screamed.

“I’ve missed hearing you scream for me, Angie.”

“No! Get off of me, you fucking asshole.”

Tsk-tsk
. “You’ve been hanging around that sailor too long, picking up such foul language.” He brought his hand up and slapped her, hitting the bruise he’d left there Saturday night. She saw black spots before her eyes for a moment. “Now, we’re going to get out of here before your friends get back.”

He pulled a roll of duct tape from his pocket and he ripped off a piece. She managed to open her mouth before he placed the tape over her. Perhaps with a little mobility in her jaw, she’d be able to work the tape off. How far had Karla and Cassie gone? Did they hear her scream?

He pulled her to her feet and dragged her over to her backpack. “We’ll just take your pack, because I didn’t know we were going camping when I followed you out here today.”

She had no idea what was in there. Marc had packed it while his manager added a few items to Cassie and Karla’s already well-equipped packs. His grip on her forearm hurt and she felt stones digging into the soles of her feet. She tried to tell him she wasn’t wearing her boots, but he paid no attention. His intention was to get her away from her friends. From safety.

Angelina fought and tried to pull away from him, but he only stopped and turned her to face him. He put her pack on her back and then tackled her, his shoulder digging into her abdomen, until she was slung over his shoulder.

Oh, God. This couldn’t be happening. She looked back at where she’d been waiting for Karla and Cassie, but soon it disappeared as he turned in another direction. The path below her and Allen’s feet filled her vision as he took her further and further away.

She screamed, hoping someone would hear her despite the duct tape. Allen laughed at her feeble attempts.

“Save those screams for later, Angie. We have some catching up to do.”

* * *

Marc’s phone beeped indicating a SAR emergency. When he saw the GPS coordinates the air whooshed from his lungs. He hadn’t felt that breathlessness since his hemo-pneumo in Fallujah.

Marc sent text messages to Luke, Adam, and Damián. “Attack on Mt. Evans. Lincoln Lake. Might be the girls. Cougar. Meet at the trailhead.” He gave them the coordinates. “Adam, bring your laptop. Damián, your rifle.”

Marc grabbed his gear and headed for the Porsche, knowing he could ride shotgun with Luke once they met up. Damián had been the best sharpshooter in his Marine recon unit. Marc hoped he’d be able to traverse the terrain up there, but if he could get within a mile of the cougar, he’d be able to take it out.

Please, God, don’t let anything happen to them.

Why hadn’t he been more forceful and refused to let her go up there? He was supposed to protect her. He’d taken what precautions he could, but his mind had been so focused on the human threat, he hadn’t even considered a cougar attack.

When his phone beeped again, he looked down and saw it was Adam. “Karla says Angelina’s gone.”

The Porsche swerved as Marc lost control. Before he killed himself or someone else, he pulled over to the shoulder and dialed Adam. His heart hammered against his chest. He screamed at the top of his lungs, “No! God-damn it. You can’t take her away from me!” He lay his forehead against the steering wheel

Mio Dio, not now. I just found her. I can’t go on without her
.

When Adam answered, Marc asked, “What’s happened? Was it the cougar?” His voice rasped in his ears.

“No. It’s that fucking dickwad, Karla thinks. Damián and I are on our way with the gear you asked for.”

Martin? Who was attacked by the cougar? He signaled to merge and got back onto the highway.

“I have GPS monitors in all three packs. Find out if she has her pack still.”

“She does. But no boots. That’s why they don’t think she just wandered off on her own.” He paused and added, “There were signs of a struggle.”

Stay strong, Amore. I won’t let him hurt you again. I promised you—and I keep my promises.

God help me. Please, don’t let me fail her again
.

* * *

As the sun sank lower on the horizon, Angelina wondered if he’d ever stop. Her bones and muscles were screaming as he jarred her along the trail. Where was he taking her? Then he stopped abruptly and let her fall to the ground with a grunt.

Would anyone be able to follow their tracks? She wished she’d had something to drop along the path for them to follow. That worked in the movies, at least.

“We can’t start a fire and call attention to ourselves. I’m sure your sleeping bag will keep me warm, though.”

She closed her eyes, hoping he’d leave her outside to freeze rather than have to touch him. Allen started pulling things out of her pack—flashlight, rope, trail mix, the water purifier Marc had shown her how to use.

Angelina edged away from him, toward a pile of fist-sized rocks. Maybe if she could get one of them, she’d be able to hit him. She wished they were larger, but these would be easier to conceal. She just hoped there weren’t any snakes concealed by the rocks.

“Don’t move.”

Damn. He was onto her.

“Sit down.”

Maybe not. She moved just a little closer to the rocks, then sat on the ground. When he turned his attention back to the pack, she reached out to grasp one stone in each hand, the biggest she thought she could handle.

“That fucking bastard.”

Angelina looked at Allen and saw he held a small black box in his hand, not much larger than a matchbox. Allen stood and threw the box off the side of the mountain with as much strength as he could.