Alayna lives as a recluse in the giant redwood forest far from
prying eyes. When intruders break into her home with the intention of robbing
and using her, a man with vivid green eyes becomes an unlikely saviour. The
instant they see each other their fates are sealed. Ben and Alayna have the
kind of attraction that reeks of a celestial mandate.
Chapter One
THE BLACKTOP GLISTENED after the rain, a dark snake
unfurling through the redwood forest. Cat eyes shone as if tiny creatures
populated the yellow lines.
The ripe smell of rich earth
competed with the distinct aroma of wet tar, and drips of fresh water plinked
through the foliage. Nearby a spotted owl delivered its distinguishing call.
Although it was early yet in the
afternoon, the gloom above gave the appearance of approaching night.
Set back slightly from the
switchback road, a small cottage huddled, nearly smothered in ivy huddled
beneath the giants populating northern California, wisps of smoke curling from
a stone chimney. Azaleas and rhododendron vied with prolific sword ferns for
space in a small garden.
On the porch an ancient bench
watched the days pass by, whether wet or dry. A red squirrel perched on the
gate post, unmoving until a woman came out the front door, and then he hurtled
up the nearest bole.
Grinning, Alayna gave a whistle and
left an offering of nuts and fruit in the stone platter upon the low wall.
Already, as she turned away, the squirrel shimmied downward. Soon, she knew,
his furry family would join him.
NOTHING OF NOTE happened in the small town of
Legget, besides tourists arriving to take photos of their cars driving through
the Chandelier Tree, or of themselves standing within the carved arch in the
massive trunk.
They stopped for a bite, maybe some
gas, and then most moved on to the nearest camping grounds. At certain times of
the year it was busy, but at others nothing much occurred.
Jack and Shaun argued with Ben
outside the local diner. The place was closed and a For Sale sign sat in the window.
“We need cash, bud, or we’ll never
get to San Francisco,” Jack snapped out, irritated that he needed to repeat
himself. “This one-horse town has zip for us; the tourist season is over, man.
I say we grab a few dollars from the gas station and head south.”
His scrawny body quivered with
intent.
“Yeah, hanging around here will only
get us stuck and bored,” Shaun said. “There’s nothing to eat either.”
They were quite the opposites, Jack
and Shaun, for Shaun was fat. He was stupid, too.
“Shut up,” Jack snarled at him.
“What do you know?” He shifted his attention to the third member of their trio.
“Ben, come on. Shaun and me, we’ll
grab the dough, just keep the engine running, man, like always. Man, it’s not
hard.”
Ben stared at him. “And how far will
a few dollars get us? I’m telling you, it’s a waste of effort.”
“You’re just a fucking wuss. We’ll
find other places along the way, get more. For fuck’s sake, man, do you want to
stay in this empty shithole?”
Ben lifted green eyes to the forest
surrounding them on all sides. A slight breeze promised rain later as it
ruffled his fair hair. Yes, he could stay. He hankered after some peace and
quiet. Jack, however, would pull a knife on him if he dared suggest it. The
weasel had a mean streak, and no conscience. He liked that knife too damn much.
“I’ll wait outside,” Ben eventually
said.
Jack slapped him on the back and
Shaun laughed. “Get the wheels. We’re going in.” Jack grabbed Shaun’s wobbling
arm and they strode across the road.
Their inane giggling disturbed the
quietness in the air.
Idiots. Folk would remember them.
Frowning, Ben climbed into the
driver’s seat and turned the ignition key. The old blue Chevy spluttered twice
and then caught. Eyeing the progress of the other two, hating himself for
giving in yet again, he timed his swing and landed in a squeal of brakes before
the glass doors as they vanished into the shop.
He didn’t watch. He didn’t want to
see another unsuspecting kid manning the register frightened out of his wits by
the insane Jack and the stupidity of that oaf Shaun.
It was time to leave those two
behind, but not in this quiet place. They would do too much harm here. He’d
either abandon them somewhere more populated or simply walk away when Jack
wasn’t looking.
The rear doors slammed as the two flung
bodily into the car.
“Get fucking driving!” Jack
screeched.
The Chevy sped away, heading north.
ALAYNA FINISHED EATING the vegetable soup she’d prepared
for her supper and placed the remains in the fridge, along with the butter.
Tomorrow night’s meal. She wrapped the rest of her freshly baked loaf and put
it in the old wooden bread box.
While rinsing her few dishes, she
stared out into the darkening forest. It was autumn now and summer’s
ever-present fog began to vie with the downpours that heralded winter’s
approach. It was always somewhat on the cooler side here, but she preferred
that. Heat had never summoned her, held no allure. Heat wasn’t good for her,
point of fact. She was comfortable in the mists, in the bracing air of a
fertile forest.
The fog thickened. Soon it would be so
silent out, one would believe oneself entirely alone in the universe. The road
would remain empty, isolated, and without movement but for the occasional elk
crossing its expanse on a journey through the night time forest. This was
perfection. Silence and isolation.
After the life she had, she desired
nothing else.
This was a place and time in which
to recuperate. People drained one of energy.
Finishing the dishes, she set two
lanterns alight and carried one to her desk in the living room, leaving the other
in the kitchen window. Setting it to one side, she drew her laptop closer,
flipped the lid, and called up her work in progress. She enjoyed the rustic
lifestyle, but her laptop was her mainstay of technology.
This book was taking a bit longer
than the others did. She found that the wildlife offered greater distraction
these days than her mind usually conjured.
Still, she had to eat.
It was a few small edits from
finished. She started typing.
“STOP!” SHAUN SCREAMED, and Ben slammed on the brakes, nearly
wrenching his head from his shoulders.
“What the fuck, man?” Jack demanded,
craning around to the back. He’d earlier clambered into the front passenger
seat, almost causing a goddamn calamity when his elbow ‘accidentally’ hit Ben
in the jaw.
“I saw a light,” Shaun mumbled
sheepishly.
Ben drew in a breath. Not this
again. Some unsuspecting household was about to be robbed. “No one lives out
here,” he said. “This is a waste of time.”
Jack eyed him. “You’re going soft,
bro. We may have to teach you a lesson, toughen you up a bit.” He eyed Shaun
next. “Where’d you see it?”
“Up a ways.” Shaun jerked a meaty
thumb over his shoulder.
“Back up, Ben,” Jack ordered. “This
isolated, maybe they got gas tanks out back, in case.”
Yeah, the idiots didn’t think it out
too well. Not that they ever did. So they robbed the register, got a few
dollars, but paper didn’t create gas, did it? They should’ve filled the tank
before leaving Legget behind and instead they now raced along a dark road as empty
as the tank would soon be.
These two assholes hadn’t yet
realised he deliberately drove north into the highlands, knowing there was
little to be had along the way. He intended to engineer his walk away. He’d had
enough of them and didn’t want to land up behind bars for theft or worse. All
three of them on foot? He’d leave them behind within minutes.
Ben backed up, and there it was, a
light.
A lantern in a cottage window.
Blinking, he stared at it. It called
to him, like the proverbial lamp in the storm.
His heart thundered into rapid
motion.
He didn’t like this.
This felt wrong. Something here was
not as it seemed.
“Developing a conscience, bud?” Jack
punched him on the arm, hard.
“Fuck off,” Ben said, bringing the
car to a halt.
ALAYNA LIFTED HER head, swiping dark blonde strands
of hair from her face. Did a car just stop outside?
Standing, she lifted the lantern on
her desk. Maybe a traveler was in some kind of trouble.
The lamp slid from her grasp when
three young men hurtled through the front door, which shattered on impact and instantly
flames licked at the ancient rug.
“Fuck! Stupid bitch!” Stamping the
blaze roughly out, the vocal one of the three snapped out, “You alone?”
Of course she was. To claim she
wasn’t would simply reveal she was a liar and that was potentially worse for
her. “I’m alone. May I help you? Would you boys like something to eat?”
“Yeah,” said the fat one, grinning.
“Shut up, Shaun!” The thin, dirty one, glared over his shoulder and then
crowded into her personal space. “You got any gas?”
Ah. She understood the situation in
a heartbeat. “There’s some in the shed out back, yes.”
“Shaun, go!” Scrawny screeched.
The final young man in the trio, she
noted, hadn’t moved a muscle since entering. After watching his buddy snuff the
flames, he had glanced into the kitchen, to the other lantern, and then
remained motionless. It was the strangest thing; his face was perfectly
composed, as if nothing disturbed his inner self.
Was that serenity, she wondered, or
the face of a psychopath? Why was she thinking this now? Clearly they were here
to cause harm and whatever he was inside had little bearing.
Now he did move, and she discovered
she was holding her breath. As Shaun shoved past him into the night, muttering
about always getting the shit end of the stick, he stepped aside with barely
veiled dislike.
Clearly, then, not so serene.
The skinny fellow looked her up and
down insolently. “You’re a little old for me, under normal circumstances, but
you could still keep a man warm, s’pose. What you? Like forty or something?”
Dread crawled across her skin as
bumps of puckered flesh. Her gaze flicked to the silent one, somehow drawn
there. Her blood ran cold when she read the expression on his face. No, not his
face. That remained carefully schooled. It was in his eyes … incredible eyes,
dear God. This boy was about to commit murder. And she wasn’t his victim.
“You will regret it,” she said then,
feeling she needed to warn him of the dangers to his soul.
His green gaze shifted to her and
seemed to pierce her soul. “I don’t
think so,” he replied. There was no emotion in his voice either.
“What the fuck …” the scrawny one
muttered. “Ben, fucking get her and hold her, I’m getting fucking hard here,
man.”
Ben inclined his head. “Sure, Jack.”
He approached as Jack unzipped his
filthy jeans. As he drew abreast, he snatched Jack into a head lock.
“Worm!” he spat.
Jack struggled, gasping for air,
arms flailing uselessly. Clearly Jack wasn’t a fighter. He was all air and
sound.
“Behind you!” Alayna gasped,
noticing fat Shaun’s shadow in the doorway.
Ben whirled, putting his back to
her, still holding a wheezing Jack. “Back off, Shaun.”
“What you doing, man?”
No one was now looking at her. She
stepped back unobtrusively until she felt the rifle stock under her fingers.
Gripping it, she swung it around, holding it aloft. As she did so, Shaun barreled
towards the other two, screaming obscenities at the top of his voice.
Alayna pulled the trigger.
The fat boy hurtled backwards and
toppled through the door. A gurgle sounded and then … nothing. She didn’t see
where the bullet made impact, it happened that fast.
An audible crack of snapping bone
came next and she shifted her gaze to the other two, in time to see and hear
the gaunt one hit the wooden floor, his neck at an odd angle.
That had taken both strength and
determination.
Perhaps pure desperation.
Utter silence enveloped the small
space.
And then Ben said, “I’ll remove the
evidence, and then be on my way. You might have to scrub the deck outside after
I’m gone.”
Alayna nodded. It was as much as she
could manage at that point.
His gaze again stripped her soul
naked, before he bent and hooked his hands under Jack’s arms and dragged him
out. A car door slammed soon after.
The sound of a heavier body
slithering with difficulty along her garden path sounded, and then a door
banged again.
Moments later Ben darkened her
doorway. There was no expression on his face. “Lock up. Oh, and put a fresh
round in that chamber.”
He touched his forehead and was
gone. An engine roared to life outside and tires screeched on the slippery
surface.
The sound vanished into the
distance, heading south.
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