Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 670(@200wpm)___ 536(@250wpm)___ 447(@300wpm)
“I thought of that.” If he was lucky, he could turn the tables. He was far more predator than prey. “If I go hunting our enemies, I would have to leave you without protection. That doesn’t sit right with me.”
She had been examining the ground and then the trees, but she turned to face him. “Isn’t that the big talk we had last night about guns? You made it very clear you wanted me to pull the trigger without hesitating if I got into trouble. I gave you my word that I would. I thought you were preparing me for when you went off alone hunting them.”
He could see how it might sound that way. She was intelligent, and she liked to plan in advance. Just because she had a vicious headache, it wouldn’t have stopped her from looking at their situation from every angle. That was one of the things he loved most about her. It was also one of the things that drove him nuts.
He liked that she had a brain and she used it. He didn’t like that she was so willing to put her life on the line with his.
“I know you like the idea that I’m going to be sitting around our little happy home with a gun in my hand, waiting for my hero to return.” She made a face at him. “That sounds so like me.” Before he could reply, she indicated the tree. “This would make a good trap. It’s right on the game trail. That slender tree is perfect to use. I think this is one of the ways they might access our cave.”
“Nice that you finally have admitted you think of me as your hero,” he said as he studied the game trail. She was right. He would follow that trail through the woods if he was searching for someone. It was clearly used often by larger animals and would be easy for anyone attempting to get off the mountain to traverse.
She gave him that little laugh of hers, the one that always got him right in the gut. “I think I just keep feeding your enormous ego.” She swayed, reached out a hand to him and gave him a little moue of regret. “Sorry, partner. You’re going to be on your own for this one. I need to lie down again.”
Alarm crashed through him. He needed his club to get there fast, and it had nothing to do with those coming after them and everything to do with the woman he swept into his arms and cradled against his chest.
“You like me carrying you, admit it.”
She turned her face into his throat without hesitation. “You guessed my secret. The light’s hurting my eyes.”
He hurried back to the cave, uncaring that he might be leaving tracks. He’d erase them after he got her comfortable. “You going to be able to stay awake if I leave?” That was imperative. He realized he would have to hunt the men who would be coming after them. “I can’t take the chance that my club won’t find us. We’re sitting ducks here.”
“I want you to go, Keys,” she whispered. “You have a much better chance out there than hiding out with me.”
There it was again, Lyric putting him first. She was quite capable of manipulating the situation if she believed they weren’t going to make it. She would do her best to separate them. Just like what was happening. But they had a much better chance if he was hunting the enemy.
He settled her on the sleeping bag, placed water, gun, and ammunition beside her. “I won’t be gone long. Please don’t fall asleep, Lyric.”
“I won’t. I’ll pretend I have coffee. Just the thought will keep me awake.”
“This isn’t a game.” He needed reassurance.
“As long as you’re in danger, Keys, I’m not about to fall asleep. Just get it done as fast as you can.”
He tipped her face up and went through his routine, dusting featherlight kisses on each swollen eye, the tip of her nose, and the corners of her mouth before he tasted her lips. He didn’t want it to hurt, so there was no pressure, but it was his claim on her. He didn’t know if she felt it, but he did.
“You stay alive, Wildfire.”
“I’m not going anywhere. I made you a promise, and I intend to keep it if for no other reason than to prove you wrong. I’ll never fit in with your family, but I told you when this was over, I’d go with you, and I will. Occasionally, it’s good for you to know you get things wrong. In any case, Caspar is close to the Lost Coast. A great place to backpack.”
He heard the resolve in her voice despite the teasing. She’d stick. He knew her better than anyone else ever would. And that was just fine with him. Lyric Johansen was a woman of her word. She would be alive and waiting for him.