15

Aiden

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I asked as we shut the door of the cabin behind us. I had pulled the truck all the way around the back of the place, hiding it behind the cabin and also aiming it so it was pointed deeper down the road toward Brett’s place and the driver’s door was facing the back door in the bedroom. It was tactical. I was good at tactical decisions.

“I’m so sorry,” she repeated, collapsing onto the bed.

I probably should have been angry that she seemingly claimed the bed already, but really, what other choice was there. I wasn’t going to let her get hurt. The cabin was the safest place we could be. She and I weren’t a couple, no matter how intense our kiss was.

But when she heard that knock on her door, the fear in her eyes… The things it did to me were unlike any other protective feeling I had ever experienced. I knew in that moment that whatever was on the other side of that door was going to have to go through me to get to her. It could be the devil himself, and he was going to have an ass-kicking waiting on him if he breached her doorframe. I would do anything to keep her safe. Anything.

No one followed us back to the cabin. I was pretty sure of that. I didn’t like how close to the cabin I was when I thought about tossing her phone but diving deep down into the gorge meant that it was at least confusing as to where we would have gone after. There were dozens of side roads splitting off the mountain. Not to mention the trails. We should be safe in the cabin, at least for a while. Long enough for me to have a plan.

The next storm coming wasn’t due to hit just yet, and that meant there was time to gather more supplies. But neither of us could go into town at the moment. Whoever that person was knew what we both looked like. He also had at least a decent idea of what my truck looked like too. I was stuck in the cabin as much as Desiree was. That meant calling in a favor from Brett. If there was ever a way to test the loyalty of a new friend, this was going to be it.

I gathered up the sleeping bags and a pillow and brought them back into the living room. It was late already, and I had no intention of staying up. I was already testing myself with this much stress; if I didn’t sleep soon, I just wouldn’t. Not for a long, long time.

I got a fire going in the furnace as well as the one in the living room. It was going to be a cold night, and I wanted her to be as comfortable as I could make her. The door to the bedroom stayed open as she got into bed, and I knew from where she was, she could probably see my feet in the sleeping bags.

A few hours of rest were all I got, and when the sun rose, I was already up. Not wanting to make too much noise and rustle her, I made a pot of coffee and texted Brett. I didn’t expect him to be up for a while, but he texted right back. I told him I had a situation and could use his help, that I would call him later. He responded like I thought he would.

Anything you need, boss, his text read.

Desiree stumbled into the kitchen a little later. I had created a cook station to make breakfast but didn’t want to make anything until she was up. She walked right over to the stove and stared at the ingredients all laid out.

“I can make breakfast,” she said. “Since you did all the prep work.”

“If you’d like.” I didn’t want her to feel obligated, but I knew she probably felt that way anyway. Here she was at my cabin again, depending on me for the second time. She probably felt terrible about that on top of the terror of why we ended up here. If she wanted to make breakfast to feel a little better about it all, I was going to let her.

She began to cook, rubbing her eyes and yawning occasionally. I got up and brought her a mug of coffee, which she accepted appreciatively.

“I’m sorry,” she said, after a little bit longer. “I’m sorry to drag you into my bullshit.”

“Stop apologizing, please.” She turned to look at me, a mixture of confusion and hurt on her face. “I don’t mean to be rude. I just, I don’t want you to feel like you need to apologize any more. We are going to figure it out. I just wish I had known prior to now. I could have helped.”

Tags: Natasha L. Black Romance
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