Savage Cinderella (21 page)

Brinn surveyed the room, still dazed, her
limbs numb. Chairs lay overturned and a leg on the table was
broken, leaving it propped awkwardly on its side. Blood dripped
from Cody’s mouth. A small cut on his throat made her gasp in
horror at what she’d almost done to him. She gulped, swiped at the
sweat-soaked hair that clung wildly to her face, and forced her
breath to deepen, her heartbeat to find its rhythm.

What grabbed and held her attention next was
the expression on Justin’s face as he glared at his friend. It was
a look that said, “Mine.”

A Hunting We Will Go

Uneasy about Justin’s possessive expression,
Brinn was more confused than ever. Relationships were clearly more
complicated than she realized. For now, she would focus on getting
stronger both physically and mentally. If she was going to take on
the monster who stole her life, she would have to be ready.

With each daily training session, she gained
confidence. Justin acted as her practice partner whenever possible,
and Cody instructed her in self-defense techniques that she
practiced even in her sleep. Her parents had hung a heavy bag in
the basement for her. Remarkably, every strike and kick seemed to
release another binding on her soul.

The unexpected outlet gave her a place to put
the rage that she’d forced down through the years. Emotions with a
life of their own threatened to surface and swallow her into a
canyon of darkness. But she wouldn’t give in to the desire to fall
apart. After her battle with Cody, she realized she could fight.
She realized she needed to fight. The battle was just beginning and
she had too much to lose to let her guard down now.

Brinn and Justin had a plan. The upside was
that they had a good chance of catching her stalker if he came
anywhere near her again. The downside was that Brinn had to leave
the house. Though terrified, she faced reporters and withstood the
gawking strangers with a firm resolve. When confronted with her
fear of people and crowds, she took herself back to that safe haven
of her meadow in the hills, and her calm was somewhat restored—a
technique her counselor had taught her.

Nevertheless, Brinn refused to go out
unarmed. Though it was illegal in Georgia to carry a blade longer
than a few inches, Brinn’s father made an allowance under the
circumstances. Committed to keeping her safe, he made arrangements
for a special permit. He also assigned guards to follow her
wherever she went. They kept their distance, but Brinn felt the
surveillance like a cold chill on her neck.

Wherever they went, Justin and Cody didn’t
let her out of their sight. Cody stayed as discreetly hidden as
possible with his six-foot, three-inch, two-hundred and
twenty-pound bulk. The two friends had apparently come to some
understanding, having resumed their easy camaraderie and constant
wisecracking. Considering her own barbaric behavior, she figured
she should overlook theirs.

Justin and Brinn made a show of her obvious
disregard for her stalker. They went to the mall, attended art
exhibits, and even went to the Fox Theater to see a comedy show.
Brinn finally let down her guard enough to laugh and snort
hysterically, calling additional attention to her and her date.

Within a short time her fear receded. The
ache to belong in the world took hold. Some well-meaning onlookers
eyed her with pity, but most people were kind and admired her
fortitude in overcoming her ordeal. Surprised to find that there
were more good people than bad, she began to engage in
conversations and appreciate the experience of being part of
society. She did her best to ignore reporters, thankful that Justin
was there to handle them. He patiently answered her irrepressible
questions, all the while snapping photo after photo of her,
smiling, laughing, and thoroughly enjoying her adventures.

At the same time, the photos were an
all-encompassing record of everyone in the background. At the end
of the day, they sat down with her parents and went through the
slide show of the daily events, looking for a common onlooker or
familiar face that she might recognize as her kidnapper.

∞∞∞

"Do you think we could go back to the cabin
sometime soon?" She asked Justin as they climbed the trail leading
around Stone Mountain. She loved this park best of all, with its
huge sculpted generals on horseback standing out in bold relief on
the massive stone face of the mountainside. She missed the verdant
woodlands and the wide-open spaces of the Blue Ridge range. It had
been months since she’d been there.

"I think it's best if we stay in charted
areas until we can draw this guy out into the open." Justin took
Brinn's hand and pulled her up a steep, rocky slope.

She smiled at the hand and took it, allowing
him to pull her up beside him. "I want to go before the weather
turns. I have some books and drawings that I left behind." She
thought of Anne Frank, and the story of the little Jewish girl who
had never known freedom after the occupation and infiltration of
her homeland. Brinn felt obligated to retrieve the book. She was
determined to put an end to the tyranny that had kept them both
prisoners for so long.

She also missed the solitude of living among
the wild things. There was a oneness she felt when she walked among
the creatures, both seen and unseen. Here in the woods was the only
place she felt the Angel of the Forest not far away. It was
difficult to feel it in the city with all of the energy rolling off
the steel and concrete—the distractions of people rushing about
like ants.

As part of Brinn’s therapy, her mother agreed
to supply her with charcoal of all colors and gave her free rein to
draw on the walls of her room. She’d covered one whole wall with a
picture that was an exact replica of the inside of the cabin,
including windows that looked out over the forest and painted-on
shelves with pretend jars of herbs. She drew a picture of her
meadow on another wall, and Kitty and her cubs on another. The
scenes made her feel a little more at home and her art occupied her
sleepless nights.

Justin broke through her reverie. “I trust
Cody’s judgment on this. We have to keep you protected, but we also
need to bait this guy with something he can’t resist. Keeping you
in the public eye might lure him in, but it should keep him from
doing anything drastic out in the open.”

"It's been two moons—I mean months—since he
came to the house. I think he realizes that he can't get to me as
long as people are around. Maybe if we go to the mountains where
he’s on familiar ground, he’ll think I'm easy prey." The thought
made her blood run cold, but she wanted this man caught and put
somewhere he could never come after her. Adjusting to her new life
was difficult enough. This cat-and-mouse game grated on her nerves.
She needed to put an end to it before she could ever truly move on.
If it came down to the two of them, she would make sure he would
never hurt anyone again.

"I think it's still too dangerous, Brinn.
Let's just stick to the plan." He glanced over his shoulder. Cody’s
large shadow loomed behind some shrubbery thirty feet away.
"Besides, I think Cody is finally feeling useful again." He and
Brinn shared a smile and the two walked for another little while
before Justin stopped and turned to her, the silence having grown
thick with their respective thoughts.

"Brinn, I've been wanting..." He paused, his
breath catching in his throat. "Would it be all right if I kissed
you?"

His brown eyes held a tender expectation that
made Brinn's heart melt and beat furiously all at once. She looked
away for a moment, feeling his hands tense on her shoulders and
then she smiled up at him. "I was wondering when you might."

Justin’s face relaxed and they stared at each
other for an uncomfortably long moment. He stepped closer, kept his
hands very still, and focused on her lips. He tilted his head
slightly and moved in with slow deliberation, sending her pulse
racing. His lips brushed the corner of hers so lightly it was
barely a breath. Then he drew back to watch her response.

Brinn kept her eyes open, wide with wonder.
She wanted to see only Justin. Her lips tingled as they curled up
into a tentative smile. When his lips dipped and touched hers again
they felt soft, wet, and warm. The sensation set her heart
fluttering and her nerves twitching with...desire.

Her whole body wanted him. From her toes all
the way to the warm fuzzy sensation in her head, she wanted to melt
into him. She closed her eyes and fell against him, her hands
reaching for the soft waves of chestnut hair that felt like silk
between her fingers. She gripped him and deepened into the kiss.
She imagined she was falling down a waterfall, being carried by the
force of nature into a deep pool of blissful surrender. He tasted
sweet, like the apples they had eaten earlier, and his smell was
like that of spring rain—clean and fresh, with just a hint of the
soothing spice underneath.

His hands wrapped around her waist and he
held her tight against him. She waited for the panic, but instead
she was consumed with comfort and safety, as if becoming a part of
him could save her from belonging to anyone else. Brinn opened
herself up to the sensations that roared through her body, parting
her lips and searching tentatively for his tongue, wanting to
commit the taste of him to memory.

Justin responded, touching her tongue with
his in a gentle, intimate dance that brought feverish heat to her
body. Then something shifted. Panic rose up inside her and exploded
to the surface. She pulled away, breathless and panting.

Justin immediately released his hold on her.
"I'm sorry, Brinn. I didn't mean to...it's just that I...I'm
sorry." He said again, at a loss for words and breathing heavy.

She hated that he felt a need to apologize.
Why had she pulled away? She wasn't afraid of him. She trusted that
he wouldn’t hurt her. Frustrated by her confusion, Brinn turned
away, looked out over the quiet lake, and observed the families in
paddle boats and fishermen enjoying the calm, hot summer's day. She
shivered against a sudden chill, her stomach quivering uneasily as
she scanned the strangers’ faces.

Dismissing the sensation, she turned back to
Justin. "Please don't be sorry, Justin. You didn't do
anything...wrong. I'm just a little confused, that's all." She
looked down at her boots. "Kissing you felt...good...more than
good." Warmth flushed her cheeks as she went on. "It makes me want
to do more than kiss you, though. Is that bad? It feels right,
but...I’m afraid.”

Justin caught the corner of his lip between
his teeth before a self-conscious smile retreated from his face. He
stepped closer and Brinn took a small step toward him so he would
know it wasn’t him she was afraid of, but the feelings that
blistered under her skin. He took both of her hands in his and met
her gaze.

"What you’re feeling isn’t bad or wrong. It's
totally normal. I feel the same way, but it doesn’t mean we have to
do more. We just have to figure out where the boundaries are...for
both of us.” He stood close enough for Brinn to feel the heat
radiate from his body and she breathed in his scent. More than
anything else, Justin made her feel safe and wanted. His voice was
soft as he searched her face. “When the time is right—when you’re
sure, and when you’re ready—we’ll get closer. I’m not going
anywhere, and I’ll wait as long as it takes." He touched her cheek,
his hand cool against her hot skin. "And when the time comes that
we both want more, it will be gentle and beautiful, and you’ll feel
only my love for you." He captured her eyes with the heat of his
gaze.

"I want so much to believe that, Justin,"
Brinn fell into his arms again, resting her head against the
comforting warmth of his chest. She was speechless. Could it be
true? Did he say he loved her? He wanted her? And he would wait for
her to be ready? Happiness flowed through her in a gust as if the
wind had blown all the dust from the corners of her soul.

More determined than ever to put her past
behind her, Brinn began calculating a plan of her own, one that did
not include an audience, she decided, as she heard the low rumble
of a male chuckle from the bushes.

Stealthy Stalker

High atop a nearby cliff, Roy Stockman looked
on, binoculars trained on the young couple. They were easy enough
to follow from the girl's home in Buckhead, but Stockman was
growing more impatient and uneasy as the days passed. Disabling the
security system and slipping a dose of ketamine into a couple of
guards’ coffee was one thing, but with her home so closely watched
now, he couldn’t get to her there. He’d almost been caught once
already.

A thrill ran through him. She’d known he was
there. He could feel her fear through the door. He wondered how
much she remembered of her time with him. "You’ll never erase my
mark, Little One," he whispered.

The boy kissed her and then she turned away.
She looked out over the lake—directly toward the stand of high
shrubs where he crouched and froze. A look of confusion and pain
darkened her features.

Aching with frustration to possess the girl
again, he ducked deeper into the hedge. He couldn't follow too
closely with the melon-headed muscle they had on their tail, or the
suits that followed in the distance. If the two meddlesome kids
hadn’t interrupted him at her house, she would be his now. He would
have to wait a little longer. Eventually, her guard would be down
and he would have his chance. He glanced at his watch, noting the
date and time. He had to retreat back to his house soon and take
care of matters there, but that was all the better to establish his
alibi should the need arise. He’d talked his way past cops before
and if there was one thing he was good at, it was getting around
security. He’d learned to get through almost any defense. It was
just a matter of time. Time. And waiting, and watching.