Chapter 5

5

Caleb stepped out of the bar, his breath billowing wisps of cloudy white in the crisp night air. The raucous sounds of the ongoing party faded into the background as the heavy door swung shut behind him. His affection for his team ran deep, but tonight he needed to be alone.

Navigating through the icy parking lot, he relished the satisfying crush of snow under the weight of his boots. Ever since he was a child, nature had grounded him, stopped him from going off the rails.

Dolly's head peeked out from under her blanket when he opened the cab. He scratched the top of her head as he climbed in.

"Hey girl." The ancient engine rumbled to life as he turned the key, the headlights casting a feeble yellow glow onto churned snow.

A raggedy streak of mismatched black and white, Dolly had turned up on his doorstep three winters ago. She had been emaciated and filthy, with no ID or microchip. He took her in that day and within an hour, knew he wouldn't be able to surrender her to the rescue. They were kindred spirits. Dolly was a survivor, just like him. Life had tossed them both through the wringer and spat them out the other end. It would have been wrong to give her up.

"Let's go home." He cranked the heater up to full blast as he pulled onto the road although it barely seemed to make a dent in the cab temperature.

Between gaps in the dense forest that crowded the road, the moon loomed large and luminous in the sky, bathing the landscape in an ethereal, bone-white light—the unmistakable glow of January's Wolf moon. The wind had sculpted snow drifts at the side of the road and now they looked like they belonged in an art museum.

Sensors beeped on his dashboard. Black ice. Caleb lifted his foot off the gas a fraction, adjusting his grip to keep control on the treacherous surface. A deer bolted from the side of the road and he tramped on the brakes, his brain registering a blur of long limbs and a stream of dark hair.

Not a deer, a woman.

She stumble skidded to a stop in the middle of the road, her hand raised to shield her eyes from the glare of his headlights. Caleb veered hard to avoid hitting her, the truck's brakes protesting as he swerved around her and came to a shuddering halt.

The woman lurched off the road and disappeared between bushes crusted with snow.

"What the fuck?" His heart kicked bricks against his breastbone as he leaned forward.

Dolly whined.

"Did you see that, girl?"

What the hell?

Relief washed through him as he realized he hadn't hit her, but it was instantly replaced by anger. What the hell was she doing running out onto a dark road in the middle of the night? That was asking to be killed.

He jumped out of the truck, the wash of his rear lights casting the snow in a red glow. If it wasn't for the bushes dusted clean of snow at the side of the road, he might almost believe he'd imagined her. He crossed the road to where she'd disappeared. She'd plowed through knee deep drifts in the ditch below the road and kept going.

Determined.

Caleb ignored the sting of arctic air seeping through his flannel shirtsleeves. What the fuck was she doing? And where the hell did she think she was going? The temperature was barely double digits, and they were in the middle of god forsaken nowhere. Perfect conditions for becoming a human popsicle.

He stared at the impassive forest. This was nothing to do with him. He should get back in his truck and drive Dolly home. The stove would still be warm and there would be a burning shot of bourbon to help keep the nightmares at bay.

You can't leave her.

Fuck it.

Goddamn conscience.

With a frustrated sigh, Caleb trudged back to his truck, his steps loud in the night's stillness. "Dolly. You stay here." He ruffled Dolly's tattered ears, then retrieved his jacket and flashlight from the cab.

His inability to turn a blind eye to anyone in trouble was the reason he'd ended up as a Coast Guard in the first place, and even on dry land, he couldn't shake the impulse to help. He clicked on his flashlight and jumped into the ditch that edged the road. It was easy to follow her trail. She'd crashed through the forest like a baby elephant, snapping twigs, churning snow and mud. The trail was erratic, veering left and right. Panic. The signs were far too familiar from his experience as a SEAL. Quarry running scared.

The question was, scared of what?

His flashlight danced across gnarled tree trunks and snow scattered with wizened pine needles. Elongated shadows rose and fell around him in pace with his step.

"Hello. Are you okay?" He raised his voice. "Hello?"

He waited for a response, the rise and fall of his breathing his only company. Nothing. She couldn't have got far.

Caleb hiked for another ten minutes, calling out. He'd grown up in these woods, ran the trails on his bike and built forts among the trees with his brothers and sister. He knew them like the back of his hand but as he ventured deeper into the forest, the snow thinned and her trail grew fainter.

He scouted a small clearing where the needles were disturbed and hollered again. "Hello! I just want to know if you're okay?"

A lone owl hooted from the branches above.

This was a waste of time. He'd lost her. He turned to head back, resigned.

A twig snapped behind him, and he spun, flashlight flickering across the faceless expanse of trees.

There, a glimmer of fabric caught his eye—a flash of yellow piping amidst the darkness.

He extinguished his flashlight, approaching cautiously. "Are you okay? Do you need help?"

Silence. He pressed his lips together. She was out here. Listening to him, watching him. He could feel it.

"It's barely twelve degrees, and it's only going to get colder. If you're planning on spending the night out here, I hope you're prepared for hypothermia."

He waited, counting his inhalations, gave it ten.

"Okay. Look, I'm heading back to my truck. If you need help, maybe I could give you a lift, but I won't force a woman to do anything she's not comfortable with."

The strip of yellow piping remained motionless. It was all he could see of her, but he was unwilling to get closer, not wanting to spook her and lose her completely.

"Okay. Your rules. Whatever." He turned and clicked his flashlight back on so he could track his path back to the road.

"Wait."

He turned, and she was behind him, bundled up, her jacket zipped close to her throat, scarf obscuring her mouth, but her jeans looked thin and her boots were worn. The only warm-looking thing she wore was a pair of enormous yellow mittens that looked wonky and hand made. She must be fucking freezing.

"I…" Her voice was a whisper, her face drained of color, her eyes shining.

An ugly bruise marred her cheekbone, and there was blood on her forehead. Involuntarily, his fists flexed in his gloves, making the leather creak. Fury at the thought of someone laying a hand on her coursed through his veins like wildfire.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" He kept his hands relaxed at his side to show he was not a threat.

Her lips parted to answer. Luscious lips, blood red in the snowy night.

Gunshot ruptured the air.

Caleb's hand instinctively went to his hip, before remembering his gun was no longer there. Old habits died hard.

The woman's gasp puffed as she bolted, vanishing into the dense forest like a wraith.

A call to ask her to stop died on his lips.

Gunshot. A terrified woman.

For a split second, he grappled with conflicting impulses, his mind waging a battle between the urge to intervene and the instinct to steer clear of someone else's troubles. He had enough of his own. But walking away from someone in need wasn't in his nature.

I can't leave her.

Heart racing, Caleb plunged into the forest after the woman.