Chapter 3

CHAPTERTHREE

The sun was just beginning to rise, and Tal was starting to think this search would end the same way as all the others. With him going back to Fallport with no more idea where the mysterious woman was than when he’d started.

Last night, his fourth spent in the forest, he’d stopped hiking just before sunset to make camp. When he went to sleep, he woke up again just an hour later, sweating profusely after dreaming of a faceless redhaired woman floating away from him in a river, her arm outstretched, begging for help. In the dream, Tal had run along the bank, desperate to get to her, but she was just out of his reach. No matter what he did, how fast he ran, how long the branches he held out for her, it wasn’t enough. He woke up just before the woman plunged over a hundred-foot waterfall.

After that, he’d decided to pack up his little camp and continue walking. It had been slow going in the dark, but walking in the cold evening was better than trying to go back to sleep and having more nightmares.

In the gloom just before sunrise, when he’d been about to stop for breakfast and try to honestly assess what the hell he was doing, he stepped into a tiny clearing—and stared at the small cave in front of him.

He could just see a wisp of smoke rising into the brisk morning air. The smell of burning wood wafted to his nostrils, and he immediately crouched low to the ground.

This had to be her! There was literally no one else it could be. He hadn’t seen or heard any other hikers for three days. He was so far out, so far from any established trail, it was almost impossible for anyone else to be here. Besides, it looked like this small campsite was well used. Tal could see two distinct trails leading away from the cave, and the grass in front of it was trampled down to the dirt.

His heart beat like a jackhammer in his chest and adrenaline coursed through his veins. As he crouched in the trees, Tal frantically tried to figure out what to do next. While he’d wanted to find the woman, he honestly hadn’t expected to. And thus he had no plan in mind. Did he just stroll up and say hello?

No, that wouldn’t work. He’d freak her out for sure.

Did he backtrack and make a bunch of noise as he walked toward her cave? Giving her advance notice that he was nearby?

No. He was certain she’d bolt if he did that.

Frustration rose within him. Tal had never wanted to meet a person more than he did this one, but he knew without a doubt almost anything he did would frighten her. And that was the absolute last thing he wanted.

He stayed crouched down for what seemed like forever, but was probably only about five minutes, before he cautiously moved forward until he could peek inside the cave. He and his teammates hadn’t had a search this far out in the past. He hadn’t even known this cave existed. They’d done their best to take note of all the places people might hole up for shelter, but this cave hadn’t been on their list.

Yet, it was a perfect location. It was near a stream but not too close. They were probably about half a mile from the closest water source. There was a slight overhang on the cave, protecting the inside from inclement weather. It was densely surrounded by trees, providing shade in the summer and acting as a windbreak in the winter from the blowing snow.

All in all, it was an ideal place to hole up.

The cave was larger than he’d expected, the recesses fully dark without the benefit of daylight. Tal couldn’t make out a person…but he knew she was there. He could feel it. Why else would there be a small, smoldering fire inside a cave?

The hair on his arms was standing up and adrenaline coursed through his veins. He stood, walked back about ten feet or so, to the far edge of the clearing, then slowly and silently lowered his pack to the forest floor. Staying as quiet as he could, he leaned it against a tree. He had a clear view of the mouth of the cave…just as the woman would have of him when she woke.

He was completely sure she wasn’t yet aware of his presence, because if she was, he had no doubt she’d have acted by now.

Tal lowered himself to the ground, keeping his eyes glued to the cave. He leaned back against his backpack, doing his best to look harmless and relaxed.

Of course, being six-three, muscular, and with a beard that was scruffier than he liked after so many days in the woods—not to mention wearing all black and five days of trail dust—he knew “harmless” wasn’t exactly the image he was projecting. But that couldn’t be helped at the moment.

He still had no idea what he was going to say to try to convince the woman he’d been obsessed over for the last month that he wasn’t a threat to her, but he hoped something came to him before she woke up.

* * *

Sunset woke slowly. She’d stayed out late last night checking her traps and having an impromptu feast after she’d arrived back to her shelter. She’d cooked the two squirrels she’d caught and delighted in eating every scrap of meat and licking the juices off her fingers afterward. The difference in her life now and when she was living in The Community was like night and day. There was no one to tell her to be quiet, to lie down and spread her legs, to mend a tent or clothes.

A smile spread across her face as she stretched. For the first time in her life, she was content.

Sunset sat up and crawled forward, glancing outside her cave to gauge what time it was. That was another thing she enjoyed, not having to get up with the sun to prepare breakfast for the men in The Community when they finally rolled out of their beds.

As far as she could tell by the light shining into the cave, it was mid-morning.

But as soon as that thought registered, Sunset froze.

A man was sitting directly opposite the mouth of her cave. He was leaning against a tree, staring at her.

Her first inclination was to leap up and run, but she had no doubt the man would catch her. He was huge. She could see his muscles flexing even as he watched her. He reminded her of the men in The Community, but his beard was shorter. She could see that his eyes were blue, because he didn’t blink as he continued to stare.

Sunset licked her lips and did her best to control the trembling of her limbs. Who was he? What did he want? Was he a part of The Community? Had Cypress sent him back here to find her and force her to go to Florida? That wasn’t happening. She wasn’t going.

She didn’t dare move a muscle, and it felt as if she and the man were in some kind of standoff. The fear didn’t leave her…but slowly, another emotion began to rise.

Anger.

This wasn’t fair! She was doing just fine on her own. She didn’t want a man coming in and telling her what to do, making her do his bidding!

Sunset thought about the knife Talon had left for her. If she moved very quickly, she might be able to grab it before the man could get to her. She’d used it last night to skin the squirrels, and she thought she’d left it by the fire. But she didn’t want to take her eyes off the man to look.

“I’m not going to hurt you. You can trust me,” the man said. His voice was low and raspy, and sounded completely different from anyone she’d ever heard before. He had an accent of some kind, and it took her brain a moment to process his words.

“I’m Talon. Most of my friends call me Tal. I’m the one who’s been leaving the bags of supplies for you.”

Sunset’s eyes widened. This was Talon? In her panic, she hadn’t recognized him. As she studied him, she realized that, yes, despite a bit more facial hair, it was the same man she’d seen and stalked in the woods. He looked different sitting down, for some reason.

As he spoke, he hadn’t moved. Stayed leaning against a large pack at his back. His legs were outstretched in front of him and crossed at the ankles. His arms were across his chest, and when she glanced back at his face, he smiled.

Sunset had no idea what to do or say. She was slightly relieved to know this was her mysterious benefactor, but since she didn’t know what his motives were, or how he’d found her, or why he’d tracked her down, she was still extremely wary. She didn’t want to leave her cave or all her things, but if she got a chance, she would run, leaving everything behind. She’d started from scratch before. She could do it again.

Tal kept talking. And the more he spoke, the more used to his accent she got.

“This is the perfect place to live. I’m impressed. It’s well hidden, but close to water and the deer trail I followed for a while to get here. That cave is deep enough to protect you from bad weather and allow you to set a fire inside, but not too big that it would invite animals to join you.”

His praise made Sunset feel good. How long had it been since anyone had complimented her? She honestly couldn’t remember. Back at The Community, all the men did was complain about the women being slow, or messy, or talking back, or a hundred other things.

“I hope the things I left for you were useful. I wasn’t sure what you might need. Although it doesn’t look like you actually need anything. You’ve done a wonderful job of surviving out here without help from anyone.”

He wasn’t wrong. The more he spoke, the more Sunset’s muscles relaxed, until she slowly sat on the ground, her knees bent in front of her so she could hug them—and spring up quickly if necessary. She was still wary, and he could be purposely attempting to make her drop her guard before attacking, but for the moment, he looked more than content to stay where he was.

“Will you tell me your name?”

Sunset pressed her lips together as she stared at him.

“Right, too soon. That’s okay. Brock and Finley are very thankful that you helped them. Brock couldn’t do anything as long as that knife was at Finley’s throat. He wasn’t willing to make a single move that might’ve gotten her hurt. Then you were there, throwing that dirt in her captor’s face. You gave him a chance to get her away from that knife, and for them to escape.”

Brock and Finley. Sunset liked their names. Her lips twitched upward. She knew the man and woman had been able to get away, since she’d followed them to make sure the woman was truly safe.

“I have a feeling not much that happens in this forest gets by you, does it?” Talon asked.

Sunset shook her head slightly.

Talon’s lips curled upward in a big smile. Sunset was surprised to see he had a dimple in his left cheek. She could just see it through his beard. It seemed so out of place.

“I didn’t think so. Again, they both send their gratitude.”

“What happened to the other men?” Sunset asked. Her voice was little more than a whisper, but Tal heard her. His smile widened, as if he was pleased she’d spoken.

“They buried Brock’s backpack on their way out of the woods, which my friends found. They were drug dealers, and when they didn’t get the information out of Finley that they wanted, that their boss demanded they get, they left Fallport. One of them overdosed and died. The other was caught and put in jail.”

Sunset nodded. She wasn’t sure exactly what a drug dealer was, but assumed it was something bad. For the first time in years, she considered how little she knew of the world. She could survive here in the woods on her own, knew the best way to catch and skin an animal, could make her own clothes, and had even helped one of the women in The Community give birth, but she knew nothing about the world outside of this forest.

For a moment, shame almost overwhelmed her. She was a grown woman, but she felt incredibly stupid compared to this man.

She’d begged Arrow to let her learn to read and write, but he’d refused. She’d snuck a peek at some of his books when she was sure he wouldn’t catch her, but many of the words were long and she couldn’t understand what they meant. Years ago, she’d practiced writing with a stick in the dirt, but eventually gave up since there didn’t seem to be a point.

She’d learned all she could about other things. Paying attention to the men when they thought she was busy sewing or cooking. She soaked in as much information as possible, but it obviously wasn’t enough.

“Sunset,” she blurted softly.

“I’m sorry, what?” Talon asked.

“Sunset,” she repeated. “My name.”

“Your name is Sunset?”

She nodded.

“It’s beautiful. It fits you to a T.”

Another compliment. Talon must be lying. She wasn’t pretty in the least. Arrow had told her often that she was lucky he’d taken her as a wife, since she was so unusual looking. Her red hair was the sign of the devil, and not many men would want to tie themselves to her. He’d made fun of her small boobs and hadn’t demanded she undress when she was in his tent for the night. He’d rarely looked at her when lying on top of her.

Talon was just saying nice things because he wanted her to drop her guard.

“You don’t believe me,” he said. It wasn’t a question. “I’m not lying. Your eyes are an unusual shade of bluish-green. Almost turquoise. I swear they’re the color of some of the most beautiful waters I’ve seen in the Caribbean. You’ve got eyelashes women pay big bucks for in the city. And the intelligence I see swirling in those gorgeous eyes of yours is the icing on the cake.”

Now she knew he was lying. She might’ve been swayed by his compliments if he hadn’t added that last part. She wasn’t smart. Not in the least. Again, Arrow and his son had gone out of their way to make sure she knew just how dumb she was.

“Go away,” she said, her voice hard.

Talon blinked in surprise, but she saw a muscle in his jaw flex as he stared at her. In fact, every muscle in his body tensed. She was prepared for him to come after her and beat her now. She knew better than to speak to men like that, but the words had escaped before she’d thought them through. Arrow had hit her countless times for her impulsive behavior, trying to beat it out of her…without success.

But Talon didn’t move. He stayed slumped against his bag. “I’m not here to hurt you,” he said quietly.

“Why are you here?”

Tal moved then. He slowly sat forward, pinning her in place with his gaze. “Because you were barefoot.”

Sunset frowned. “What?”

“Brock said you were barefoot when you ran through that clearing. There was no way I wasn’t going to try to find you after hearing that.”

Sunset was still confused. “I don’t understand.”

It was Tal’s turn to frown. “What don’t you understand?”

“Why does that matter?”

“Sunset, it’s December. It’s cold. I could not and would not sit around, warm and toasty in my home, knowing you were out here not properly dressed. Not to mention, I owe you. As do all of my friends. If something had happened to Finley, Brock would never have recovered. He loves her more than anything in this world.”

Sunset’s mind spun. She didn’t understand why Talon cared. Arrow had never cared if she was cold. Or hot. All he cared about was getting his meals on time and having sex when he wanted it. None of the men in The Community cared about the women’s comfort. And certainly none of them loved their wives. They were there to serve. Period.

Her belly clenched. She didn’t like not understanding, and she had a feeling there was a lot she was missing.

“Do you like the socks?” Talon asked, nodding to her feet.

Sunset stared down at her wool-covered feet. She wiggled her toes, then looked back at Talon. “Yes.”

“Good. I brought a pair of boots for you. I hope they fit, I had to guess on your size, but I did estimate based on a footprint I found that I was pretty sure was yours.”

She stared at him with wide eyes. Boots? He’d brought her boots? Only men got to wear boots. Was this another trick?

“I hate that look,” Talon muttered softly, but he leaned back again once more, as if he had nowhere he needed to be and nothing to do.

For the first time, Sunset noticed that the sky had clouded over since she’d woken up and now a light rain was falling. But Talon didn’t make any move to get out of the rain, he simply sat where he was. She was so confused. Literally every man in The Community would’ve forced their way into her cave by now, pushing her out. They would’ve ordered her to collect more wood to warm the space, insisted she go out and find breakfast, and probably settled down for a nap on the bed she’d made.

But Talon didn’t do any of those things. He sat in the rain, getting wet, acting as if he didn’t even notice.

“It’s raining,” she blurted.

“Yup,” he said without moving.

“You’re getting wet.”

“I am,” he agreed.

“Don’t you want to get out of the rain?”

“I’m okay.”

Frustrated, Sunset said, “Why aren’t you coming into the cave?”

“Because I haven’t been invited. Because it’s your cave. Because you don’t trust me. Because I don’t want to do anything that might scare you even more. Take your pick.”

Sunset was so puzzled. Talon wasn’t acting like any of the men she’d ever known. She didn’t know what was wrong with him. She couldn’t deny she appreciated him giving her space, but she didn’t understand why he was doing it.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” Talon repeated. “I’m here to help you. Get to know you. Let you get to know me. I want your trust, but I’m willing to earn it slowly. There’s a big snowstorm coming, and I’d like to take you back to Fallport before it hits…but I have a feeling that’s not something you’ll agree to. So, we’ll hunker down and ride it out together.

“I know saying it doesn’t make it so, but you can trust me, Sunset. I won’t touch you without your consent. I won’t eat your food, won’t enter your home, won’t do one bloody thing without your approval. You’ve been through enough, and I’ll be damned if I add one more black mark to your psyche.”

Surprisingly, Sunset found herself wanting to trust him. But she’d seen more than one man win a woman’s trust, only to show his true colors later. “I don’t trust anyone,” she told him.

“I know,” Tal said sadly. “I appreciate you not running when you saw me.”

“You surprised me,” she said honestly.

“I know that too.”

“I need to pee,” she blurted, then immediately regretted it.

But Talon simply smiled, that dimple making an appearance again. It disappeared as soon as it appeared. “Please don’t run,” he told her. “I swear, Sunset, I’d never hurt you.”

She had thought about running. But she knew he wasn’t lying about the storm coming. She’d felt it in the air. Over the years, she’d learned to read the signs. It had gotten colder recently and the wind had shifted the night before. Animals were burrowing in and obviously preparing for what mother nature had in store for them. If she ran now, she’d be at the mercy of the storm without her cave. As scared as she was of Talon, she didn’t have a death wish.

Finally, she nodded.

“Thank you,” he said. “Do you need water?”

Sunset frowned. “Yes, but I’ll get it on my way back.”

Talon shook his head. “I’ll go. Is that your only bucket?”

She looked at the bucket sitting near the entrance to the cave. It was one of the items she’d taken from The Community when she’d gone back to scavenge after everyone left. She nodded.

“If you throw it over here, I’ll fill it up while you’re taking care of your business. When the snow starts, if we’re still here, we can melt snow for water.”

Sunset didn’t know what to make of this man. He was offering to do one of the women’s chores? It made no sense. But she didn’t hesitate to get up on her knees and shuffle over to the bucket. She didn’t want him to get too close to her. He was way bigger than she was. He could easily overpower her. And she didn’t even want to think of being snowed in with him.

Talon slowly stood, and Sunset swallowed hard. He really was huge. He didn’t look this big when she’d seen him on the trails…but she was much closer to him now than she’d ever been before. Yeah. She hadn’t been wrong about him being able to overpower her.

She tossed the bucket in his direction.

He picked it up and took a step backward. “If you are going to run, take my pack,” he said solemnly. “It’s got the boots and other things I brought for you. I’ve also got a tent in there, and rations.”

Sunset’s head throbbed. He asked her not to run, and now was telling her if she did, to take his backpack? He was so bewildering, and she hated feeling as if she was missing something.

“I don’t want you to go,” he continued. “But if you can’t help yourself, if you’re too afraid of me, I want you to be able to survive the storm that’s coming. I’m not lying about that. The forecasts are calling for at least a foot of snow. Maybe more. This cave is the safest place for you…well, that’s not true. The safest place is back in Fallport. But I’m thinking that’s not going to happen. So the second safest place is right here. You can trust me, Sunset. I’m not going to hurt you. I’ll be back with the water.”

And with that, he turned and walked in the direction of the stream.

Sunset sat back on her heels and stared at where he disappeared into the forest for a long moment. He kept saying that he wasn’t going to hurt her, that she could trust him. He’d said it several times. She’d learned that what men said and what they did, didn’t always match. But so far, he’d been nothing but kind.

Sunset slowly stood and looked down at herself. She had on the sweatshirt he’d given her, the leggings, the socks. The knife he’d left for her previously was indeed by the fire. He hadn’t grabbed her this morning. Hadn’t done anything but sit in the rain and talk to her.

He confused the heck out of her, but he hadn’t hurt her.

His instinct was correct. A part of her was screaming at her to run. To get away from him. To grab his backpack and disappear into the forest she knew so well.

But another part, the part that was desperate for a human connection, the part that reveled in being called pretty and smart, wanted to stay. Wanted to trust him.

She was torn. So very torn.

Stepping outside into the light rain, Sunset headed into the forest.