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MY EYES SNAPPED OPEN, and I found the mountain man staring down at me. Well, more like glaring. Maybe that’s just his face.
“Why do you always look so hateful,” I mumbled, closing my eyes and snuggling into my pillow.
“Get dressed. We’re leaving.” He ordered, ignoring me as he strolled away.
“Shade?” The memory of my last question popped into my mind. I was curious if I heard him correctly. He turned to stare at me. “So, that is your name, then? I thought maybe I dreamt it.”
“It wasn’t a dream, darlin’.”
“Is it an alias or something?” I couldn’t help but be skeptical. It’s an unusual name after all.
“No.” He stared at me, not giving anything away. I decided not to push it, not wanting to offend him by knocking his name. I mean, how could I? My name’s Ever.
“So, where are we going?” I asked as we walked down the stairs.
The bag lay on the edge of the bed and I dug through it until I found a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and socks. I didn’t bother with going to the bathroom to change. He’d already seen me in my underwear the night before, I doubt it mattered at this point.
“Someplace where we won’t be found until it’s time,” he answered. “Now, hurry up.”
I shot him a look, but changed quickly, shoving my dirty clothes into the bag.
“I hope wherever we are going has more clothes. You only packed me the one outfit,” I said, picking the bag off the bed.
He didn’t answer as he headed out the door, leaving me running after him.
“Hey! Tall person! Some of us weren’t blessed with long legs.” He paused in his stride, turning to arch an eyebrow at me. I snapped out a ‘thanks’ as I stomped past.
“So, do I not get to know where this super secret place is or do I have to wait until we get there?” I asked while we rode the elevator down.
“You’ll find out when we get there,” he told me.
“Is it far from Vegas? Because I would like to be as far from Vegas until it’s time.”
“Is that why you chose a small town only ten hours away from Vegas? Because you want to be as far as possible?”.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“No. I was playing it smart. They would have expected me to move as far away from Vegas as I could get. They wouldn’t have expected me to only move a few states over. It kept me safe for two whole years before you found me.” I felt as though I deserved a little credit for evading my father for so long.
“Your father must’ve hired a bunch of idiots who didn’t know what they were doing,” he scoffed.
Before I could say anything, we had reached the bottom and he strolled ahead putting distance between us. I glared after him, wishing he would fall on his stupid face. He’s so freaking irritating. I’d be damned if I would chase after him to keep up.
By the time I reached the SUV, he was inside, looking rather impatient. I may or may not have taken my time getting here.
“About damn time,” he snapped as I slammed the car door shut behind me.
I just sneered at him before leaning forward to turn the radio on. He didn’t give me a chance to find a station before he switched it back off.
“Hey!” I protested. “I want to listen to that!”
“I don’t and it’s my car.”
“What is your problem?” I demanded, crossing my arms across my chest and glaring at him. “It’s like you have no experience with people.”
His silence was deafening. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“You don’t, do you?” I couldn’t quite hide the shock in my voice.
“I don’t what?” he asked, not looking at me.
“You don’t have a lot of experience with people outside of killing them.” It made so much sense now.
“Of course, I do.” But the way he said it, told me he wasn’t telling the truth.
“Lie.” He whipped his head around to look at me. The look he gave me should have cowered me, but I held my ground. “You just lied. Tell the truth.”
He studied me for a moment, then turned his attention back to the road, shrugging. “I don’t need to have experience with people. Killing people for a living doesn’t exactly leave a lot of time to make friends.”
“But that’s just... sad. Don’t you get lonely?” Even in hiding, I couldn't pull myself away from people. I needed that interaction. What kind of life could you have, if it's only you?
“There isn’t anything money can’t buy.” My face flushed when I realized what he’d meant.
“I didn’t mean that kind of lonely. I meant companionship. Talking to someone every once in a while. Or having friends.” Those were the things money couldn’t buy.
“I have friends,” he snapped, defensive now.
“And how often do you see or talk to said friends?”
His hands tightened around the steering wheel and his jaw popped as he ground his teeth together. I was getting under his skin. He reached forward and flicked on the radio, letting the music fill the air. I grinned, turning my attention to the passing landscape.
Ever one, Shade zero.
* * *
“EVER!” I JERKED AWAKE, blinking up at Shade who for the second time in one day was staring down at me. “Christ, woman, you sleep like the dead.”
“What?” I muttered, sitting up rubbing my eyes.
“Lunch is ready.” He had turned away, strolling across the room to where the stove was located.
Wait.
The last thing I remembered was singing along to the radio in the car. I must have dozed off because now I was sitting up on a very comfortable, full size bed in what appeared to be a very small shack.
Everything a person would need could be found in this small building. It was an open floor plan, even the bathroom. A clawfoot tub set in the corner and next to it set a toilet. Across the room was a small kitchen area that included a stove, a small refrigerator, and a sink.
If you were taken somewhere to be killed, this was the place.
“Ah, hell!” I swore, causing him to look over at me. “You’re a serial killer, aren’t you?”
He just rolled his eyes and turned his attention to the skillet in front of him.
“This place screams serial killer,” I muttered, tossing the covers aside, scrambling from the bed.
“I am a killer,” he said, looking back at me before returning his attention to cooking.
“True enough,” I said, stretching, then wincing as my bladder made itself known. “I have to use the bathroom.”
Without looking up from the pan, he pointed the spatula at the toilet.
“But there isn’t any privacy,” I said, pointing out the obvious.
“So?” He moved a couple of eggs from the skillet to a plate, then cracked a few more into the skillet. He piled a few pieces of bacon and toast onto the plate, then set it on the small table. He looked to me, then pointed to the plate. “That’s yours.”
It smelled good, so I started to move toward it, but my protesting bladder stopped me. I crossed my legs and stood still for a moment, then decided that peeing my pants would be worse than using the toilet in front of him.
I hurried to the toilet and did my business, looking at my knees the whole time. It made it easier if I pretended he wasn’t moving around the kitchen area. I gave a longing look at the claw foot tub. It looked very inviting, but how was I supposed to take a bath? There wasn’t even a curtain around it.
“I thought you said we were having lunch?” I asked, as I washed my hands in the kitchen sink.
“This is lunch,” he said, sitting his own plate on the table, then taking a seat.
“This is breakfast.” I corrected him
“Not when you eat it at lunchtime.” He had a point.
“Where are we?” I took a seat in front of my plate and took a huge bite.
“Colorado.”
“Colorado? That doesn’t seem very far.” That’s only a few hours further from Vegas than I initially was.
“It’s not, but this place is impossible to get to unless you know where you’re going. It’s the best place to be until I get everything in order.”
“So, we’re what? In the woods somewhere?” Looking out the window, all I could see were trees.
“Yes. In the Rocky Mountains,” he said, then shoved a fork full of food in his mouth.
My mouth quirked up. “Mountain man,” I muttered, stuffing my mouth with eggs.
“What’s that?” He asked.
“I pegged you for a mountain man the first time I saw you. In my head, that’s how I would refer to you,” I admitted.
His lips twitched, but he didn’t grin.
I finished off my plate, scooting it back, then crossed my arms in front of me.
“How does this work? Are we hiding out until the perfect time to strike?” I asked, getting straight to business.
There were so many ideas running through my head. I couldn’t wait to get this over with and finally be free of the man I had to call father.
“You watch too many movies,” he grunted, pushing back from the table to head to the sink. “Do the dishes.”
He sat his plate in the sink, then walked toward the bathroom area. He didn’t even wait until I turned my head to do his business. My face flushed as I caught a flash of hard flesh. I jumped to my feet and hurried to the sink.
“You know, asking doesn’t hurt,” I snapped to hide my embarrassment. He just grunted, not answering, so I went on. “You didn’t answer my question either.”
“Why does it matter?” His voice came from right behind me, causing me to jump and slosh water all down the front of me.
Damn, he moved quietly.
“I-I just want to know what we are doing,” I shrugged, plunging my hands into the soapy water.
“Right now we are waiting while my contact gets back to me. Then, we will return to Vegas.” He leaned against the counter, watching me.
The idea of returning to Vegas made me want to vomit, but I knew it was necessary. To get to my father, we had to go deep into his territory.
“Then what? What’s the plan once we return?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It does matter. I need to know what you plan to do so that I can make it out alive.” I would give up my life if it came down to it, but first I would fight with everything I had to survive.
“Keeping you alive isn’t the biggest priority. Once your father learns of your return, he will come for you. Once he has you, I will be able to find him.” He just stared at me expressionless.
He was using me as bait. This was a fact I had known, but I hadn’t realized that he wouldn’t even try to keep me alive. He planned to feed me to the lions and kill them all leaving me for dead. I was nothing more than a pawn in his little game. He wasn’t any different than my father. I shouldn’t have been so surprised.
My eyes pooled as I stared up at him, but he just stared coldly back. When I opened my mouth to say something, nothing came out. It was a good plan. My father would want to see me for himself, but the risk I would take would be great. The chances of me making it out of this were slim to none. There wasn’t any hope for me.
My fists balled at my sides. I moved around him, and out the door. I needed to get my shit together. I didn’t want Shade to know how much this was hurting me. My life meant little to him, and the last thing I wanted was for him to see how much that hurt. It was stupid of me to even hope that I might have someone at my back. Two years away from this life and I had already forgotten that it was everyone for themselves.
Sticks and leaves crunched behind me, announcing Shade’s presence.
“Just leave me alone, Mountain Man,” I grumbled, wrapping my arms around my middle for comfort.
“Come back inside,” he told me, coming to a stop at my side.
“Not right now,” I sniffed, wiping at my leaking nose.
“Yes, now.” Why did he have to be so demanding?
“Leave me alone.” I meant for my voice to sound strong like his, but it didn’t. It sounded as weak and pathetic as I felt.
“It’s cold. You’re not wearing a jacket or shoes. You could get sick.”
“Why do you care? Afraid I might ruin your whole plan? Can’t use me as bait if I die from the flu.” I spun away from him, moving deeper into the wooded area. Being mad at him was pointless. It’s not like I hadn’t known he planned to use me as bait.
I had only made it a few steps, when he grabbed a hold of my arm, spinning me back toward him. I stumbled into him, and he bent low, grabbing me around the thighs to heft me up over his shoulder. My breath left me in a whoosh.
By the time I recovered we were almost to the shack.
“Put me down!” I ordered, but he ignored me.
He pushed through the door, striding across the room coming to a stop right in front of the bed. With one move, he dumped me onto the bed and I landed in a heap.
“You asshole!” I growled, pushing my hair out of my face to glare up at him.
“Get over it.” His voice was hard and unsympathetic.
“Fuck you!” I shouted up at him.
“Get a jacket and shoes on,” he commanded. “Be outside in two minutes.”
“Why?”
“Two minutes,” he repeated as he strolled across the room.
“And if I’m not out there.” I lifted my chin in defiance.
He stopped, then returned to stand in front of me. He bent down until we were almost nose to nose.
“Then I’ll come and get you.” His threat rumbled through me, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Something told me he didn’t make idle threats.
I waited until he was out the door before I moved from the bed to fetch my shoes. I didn’t want to find out what would happen if I wasn’t outside when those two minutes were up.