Chapter 13

13

JONAH

A dark prickling sensation starts up between my shoulder blades as soon as Brooke drives away.

I really shouldn't be this worried. She managed to survive in the world just fine long before she met me. All she's doing is driving around a bit and sketching a little. I assume she'll take some photos along the way, too.

So why do I still feel like I shouldn't have let her go alone?

I wanted to tell her not to go without me. Insisted that I drive her myself in just a couple of hours. But there was something in her eyes telling me that she needed her space, which I understood completely. I was a loner myself my entire life until I met Brooke.

Dammit. I wish that she could have her personal space without driving all over the mountain alone.

Luckily, my afternoon appointments are simple, and I finish early since Mr. Emmerdale called to cancel, explaining that his wife talked him into going to see his regular doctor tomorrow to get some tests…which is probably for the best, to be honest.

Just as I pick up my phone to text Brooke, it rings in my hand. "Oh – hey, Clark."

"Jonah, look…" He sounds uncomfortable. "I don't mean to overstep any bounds or anything, but I feel like I should tell you something…"

"Go ahead."

"I had to do some errands today, and one of them was dropping off a few things at my cousin's mother-in-law's in Pinesley."

A bad feeling washes over me as I sink heavily into a chair.

"I was just leaving when I saw Brooke driving into town. It looked like she was heading straight to the town square, maybe."

"The church is right there, isn't it?"

"Yeah. You know it?"

"Yeah. She wanted to sketch churches today. When was this?"

"Maybe two minutes ago? Sorry, I gotta go. I'm in a huge rush today. But you know that right near the church is where all the?—"

I'm already on my feet, grabbing my keys and racing for the truck. "I know. On my way. Thanks."

Nobody should ever speed on the mountain roads. It's dangerous. But I know these mountains like the back of my hand, and my truck has a surprising amount of power and handles corners well. After making it to Pinesley in record time, I head straight for the church.

Brooke's car is across the square in a mostly empty parking lot. I can't see anyone anywhere.

Shit.

My knuckles tighten on the steering wheel as my foot jams the brake all the way to the floor. I screech to a stop in front of the church. The whole place is filthy. There's no way she would have gone inside that dilapidated old building.

I jump out and begin running down the alley behind the church, hollering at the top of my lungs.

"Brooke!" I probably look like I'm out of my mind.

I am.

The blood in my veins turns to acid as I arrive in the tiny back parking lot. Two greasy little creeps are leading Brooke to one of several rickety benches where people are passing around a bottle.

She's mumbling, "No, really, I have to go…" but one of them has a hand clamped on her shoulder.

There are several more guys lounging around, along with a few too-thin, dull-eyed women. "Aww, come on. All girls like to party," the guy with the half-assed attempt at a beard says. "Come have a drink with us, Grandma's Girl."

I'm already charging toward them with a bellow. " Get your fucking hands off her. Now. "

They release her so fast that Brooke stumbles a bit, wide-eyed and terrified.

The two guys already have their filthy hands in the air. "Hey, man," the guy in the ripped gray t-shirt says, "we were just inviting her to party." Yeah, right. From their glassy eyes, I know exactly what kind of party they mean.

My voice echoes off the nearby stone walls. "You heard her. She said no."

I want to tear them apart until I can hear their bones breaking, but I refuse to be violent in front of Brooke.

She steadies herself, then rushes into my arms. Holding her close, I stroke her hair. "It's okay, baby. I'll take you home."

She looks up at me with a timid smile, whispering, "Thank you." Then she looks around my arm and gasps.

A junker of a dirt bike has appeared out of nowhere, heading straight for us. There are two wild-eyed guys on it, one driving, the other with his arm outstretched as if he's after Brooke's purse. Wedged as we are between an old van and the stone wall of the church, there's nowhere for us to go.

I have exactly one second to decide what to do before they drive into us.

Grabbing Brooke tightly against me, I cradle the back of her head with one hand to hold it against my chest. Spinning so that my back is toward the creeps, the front end of their bike just misses me by a hair. I use the leverage of my foot against the wall to shove my hip into the side of the small vehicle, tipping it over.

Two rough yells fill the air, followed by a grinding noise as they flip hard and fast to the side, landing on the right legs of both riders and pinning them to the ground.

Still holding Brooke in my arms, I can feel her shaking. Part of me wants to destroy these horrible people for frightening her, but honestly it's more important that I get her out of here.

"It's okay," I murmur, carrying her as I jog back down the alley and to my truck. "We're going home."

There's no way I'm letting her drive herself right now, and I don't want to have to come back to this hellhole for her car. Luckily I have a trailer hitch that fits, so I tow her car to the edge of town before stopping and pulling over.

I turning toward her. "Are you really okay?"

"Yes, thank you." Her lovely eyes are huge. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. I just thought, you know…a small-town church. A few reference photos. What could possibly go wrong?"

I sigh heavily. "No, it's my fault. I didn't tell you the full story about this dump." Reaching out, I take her hands in mine. She yelps, her left hand twitching. My heart is instantly in my throat. "What is it?"

Her bottom lip quivers. "When you turned me away from that bike, I was so sure it was going to hit us. And I flung my arm out against the wall and…um… I hit my wrist on the bricks. I'm sorry. Like I said before, I've always been a bit clumsy."

Holding it gently, I straighten her wrist. "Show me where?" She points, and I run my thumb along the spot, stopping the second she flinches.

"I'll just be careful with it for a few days. I'm right-handed, so, you know. It's fine."

It isn't fine at all. I can detect serious pain.

I want to punch myself for allowing her to get hurt on my watch again. Not that I could have done much more in that split second, but still. If my sweet girl is hurt, I hurt.

"The hospital in West Stoneburg is twenty minutes from here. Can you be brave for me that long?"

"Of course."

I set her hand carefully on her knee. "Don't move that." Throwing the truck into gear, I head for the hospital, going as fast as I dare while towing a car.

Brooke's head rests back against the seat as she stares out at the trees, breathing slowly, trying to calm herself down.

My sweet girl is steadier than some soldiers would be in this situation. Maybe I'll make a mountain woman out of her yet.