Page 29 of Screwed

I managed to tick off most of the things on my to-do list and was in desperate need of a cool-down. The call with Jules had proven my intuition correct. She had the feeling that the big bosses were growing suspicious of her and her connections with me.

She had to convince me over the course of half an hour not to fly back.

“There’s no need for both of us to be stranded here,” she’d said, her voice taking on that tone that I just knew meant there was no point in arguing with her. “This was the plan from the beginning, remember? Just stick to the plan, Ava. I’ll be fine.”

My heart didn’t fully believe that even if my brain understood the logic behind what she was saying. But that didn’t make it any easier. I wanted to get to her, and I would’ve walked back in heels if it meant I could make sure she was safe. But that would’ve rendered all our effort useless.

So instead of doing something irresponsible, I decided to take a walk outside my property to get better acquainted with my new home, and to stew in peace. The weather wasn’t as great as it’d been over the past few days, though the sun still cut through the branches of the canopy overhead, lighting up the moss hanging from the boughs. The ground was cushiony beneath my boots, and the sweet scent of decaying hemlock needles and damp peat filled my nose.

I was getting used to the smells of nature, and I was sure that one day, it wouldn’t make me feel sick.

I mentally went through all the events of the past few days as I continued to walk further away from the lake house. I started at the very beginning of the nightmare, right when everything went wrong. I reminded myself of the plan Jules and I concocted, the effort we both put into doing what was right even though we knew the risks. Especially her. Cue the escape hatch that led to the dingy little lake house currently under construction.

I stopped every once in a while, bending to gather some firewood and at least pretend to feel useful for something.

It felt almost blasphemous to even think about how I’d been perving over the guys throughout all of this when Jules was going through it back at the office. I felt like an awful friend. I kicked at a tuft of moss in frustration. It wasn’t even as if there was anything I could do, at least not right now. I had to lie low and wait for the worst of things to pass.

But in the meantime, that meant having to hope against hope that my friend would be okay until I could see her again.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

It was only then that I paid attention to the rapidly shifting environment around me. Ethan had warned me that the weather on this side of the world had the tendency to flip on a dime. I’d witnessed it myself over the past weeks. But that didn’t prepare me for the speed at which the blue sky snapped shut, and a wall of gray clouds rolled in over the valley rim. The air pressure instantly dropped, turning the woods freezing and dead calm.

My head snapped around as I realized what was happening. I hadn’t been completely oblivious to the more practical conversations the men had tried to give me. I actually did pay attention, which was why I knew exactly what was happening right now. This was a freak storm.

“Okay, and back we go,” I announced to the trees, turning on my heel and then stopping right in my tracks when I realized I could no longer see the cabin. In fact, the thick fog that had already started creeping in was obscuring much of the unmarked path behind me, making it impossible for me to know where I had come from.

Now panic was setting in.

I dropped the wood and tried walking in what felt like a direct, straight line back the way I came. But the thick ribbons of fog obscured the floor of the forest and hid any natural landmarks I could use to guide myself. Everything around me just blurred into a silver maze.

I picked up speed, my pulse now beating out of control.

My logic disintegrated in my panic, and I bolted right into the thick of it. Wet, tangled thickets and brambles caught my foot and hooked into my flannel shirt, ripping the fabric with a sharp, jagged click. Thorns tore across my forearms and thighs, white-hot welts I could feel bead up with blood. Every step felt like a hazard, my boots slipping and low-hanging branches slapping hard against my face, scraping my cheeks raw and leaving me gasping for breath in the freezing downpour that had just broken out across the lake.

“Ethan!” I called out, desperate and foolish, but hoping that somehow my voice would carry. “Deacon! Nate! Can anyone hear me?”

The sound of thunder cracking and heavy rainfall replied.

I was soaking at this point, completely unprepared for the storm, and just as I tried looking around for some kind of shelter, a big figure emerged through the fog and reached out for me.

“Ava!”

It was Deacon. I didn’t even think twice about it as I threw myself into his embrace, just so utterly relieved to have been found that I needed that comfort. His strong arms held me tight against his body for a few seconds, then he let go and dragged me by the wrist to what looked like a huge, hollow tree. I wouldn’t have been able to see it through the mist. Other than that, there was no missing the colossal ancient Monarch cedar that was now going to be our makeshift port in the storm.

He knew exactly where it was, and he guided me there with such certainty that I didn’t question it for a moment. The massive trunk could easily have been maybe fifteen feet in diameter, with a cavernous split at its base that created a narrow, teardrop-shaped sanctuary inside the living wood.

To fit us inside, Deacon pulled me flat against his massive chest. The interior was incredibly tight and smelled strongly of dry, aromatic heartwood and wet canvas. We were glued together, from chest to knee with my back pressed hard against the rough, crumbly inner bark of the tree while Deacon stood over me like a shield, his broad shoulders completely blocking the narrow opening to keep the freezing wind and lashing rain from reaching inside.

Our eyes locked onto each other, and for a moment, all we could do was breathe.

My mind was in shambles, an even bigger storm than the one raging outside. I shivered, overwhelmed by what had just happened until Deacon’s dark eyes softened in the poor lighting, pulling my mind back to a single point of focus. I was suddenly very aware of my chest moving against his, and of the way his breath was hot against my face. It smelled of mint and coffee. Shivers rippled down my spine, and I gave a small, unintentional sigh as I felt my body relax against his.

He had the opposite reaction, stiffening against me. But his eyes stayed fixed on mine. We were so close that I could see the dimples I hadn’t noticed before pressed into each cheek when his mouth tugged up at one corner, and the small little scar that ran beneath one eye.

“Was this your way of trying to get me alone, Ava? Because if it was, you need to think of better ideas,” he said, his voice a low rumble that I could feel in his chest. I burst out in quiet laughter, feeling myself unspool like wire, happy to be distracted by something familiar. Deacon’s jackass tendencies, in this case.

I leaned my head forward, half-resting against his chest before I realized what I was doing and pulled back. “I just wanted a walk,” I said honestly, but I couldn’t help the silly smile on my face. “And in my defense, the weather looked significantly better. I’m starting to think whoever’s up there has a vendetta against me.”