The man looked to his left, strode over to the body and hunkered down next to it. He grabbed the flashlight and used it. She didn’t watch him as he inspected the dead man, couldn’t bring herself to look at what she had done.
“You killed him if you shot him in the head,” he drawled and she felt his gaze on her.
He moved on the edges of her vision as she stared at the sky, struggling to breathe and get her panic under control. She hadn’t killed him? For some reason, it wasn’t a comfort. She still felt responsible for his death. She had pushed him down the slope, had caused his death.
The man bent and straightened again.
“A handgun?” He looked at her and she still couldn’t bring herself to look at him. “Guess he wasn’t a hunter then.”
He went back to the body and crouched beside it as he checked it over again, didn’t seem at all bothered by what he was doing or the fact the man was dead. “Any idea who he was?”
She was in too much shock to speak, could only shake her head.
He looked at her and seemed to notice it.
He went from all business to all softness as he stood and came to her, rounded her and eased to his knees on her left side. The flashlight he gripped illuminated him enough that she could make him out more clearly. His blue eyes locked on her arm, concern flickering in them as he checked the gash in her jacket.
She swallowed and looked up at his face, was sure it was the shock talking, but he was handsome as he smiled at her and dimples formed in his cheeks. Some god had sculpted this man to perfection, with his strong jaw, straight nose and a slight indent in his chin, and blue eyes that were as deep as an ocean.
“You in shock?” His smile faltered, the corners of his mouth turning downwards as his blond eyebrows pinched. “I think you’re in shock.”
She was sure she was.
She was in tremendous pain, but she couldn’t feel it as she stared at him, as she swam in those baby blues.
“Shit,” he muttered and pulled his gloves off. He pressed his fingers to her face. “You’re freezing. We need to get you somewhere warm.”
She was warm.
“The bullet only grazed your arm. You should be good to move. Maybe this whole thing has been a bit too much for you though.” He stood and pulled her onto her feet.
She screamed when she placed weight on her left leg, sank to her backside on the cold hard ground and clutched her ankle, breathing through the pain.
“Christ, I’m sorry.” He dropped to his knees beside her, gently took hold of her legs and eased them in front of her. She flinched when he moved her left one and he noticed it. “What happened here?”
He felt her leg from her thigh downwards and she tried not to think about where his hands were. When he reached just above her ankle, she clenched her teeth hard and whimpered as fire blazed outwards along her bones.
“Slope. Fell.” It was all she could manage.
His blue eyes lifted to the slope behind him.
“Gods, that’s a long drop.” He glanced at the dead man, a look in his eyes that told her he thought she was damned lucky not to have ended up like him.
He gripped her arm again and eased her onto her feet this time. She tried not to place any weight on her left leg, but even with it all on her right, her ankle still throbbed madly. Her stomach turned and she clutched it, breathed through the nausea as she stood with the man holding her upright.
“I’m not sure you can walk.” He cast a worried look at her leg.
“Can.” She bit the word out, determined to get away from the dead body and from the other man, sure he was after her by now.
She hobbled a few steps and then stopped when the man didn’t follow her and it hit her that she wasn’t sure where she was going or what she was doing. The sensible thing to do was get back to her car and get away from this place before she could get this kind man in trouble too.
She almost cursed. Her keys were in her backpack. The backpack she had left behind when the two men had shown up. She couldn’t go back for it. By now, the other man would be recovering from receiving a blast of bear spray in his face. He might be waiting for her to return for her things, or for the man who had come after her to bring her back to him so they could leave to meet up with Karl.
She glanced at the man who stood before her. Maybe he had a car she could use.
He stepped up to her, stooped and placed her arm around his shoulders. “Come on.”
She hopped along beside him, her right leg trembling, entire body quaking as he led her deeper into the forest, away from the mountain. Where was he taking her? Was it safe to trust him? The sensible side of her said it wasn’t, but one glance at him was enough to make the rest of her feel she could. There was something about him that set her at ease and made her feel safe.
Protected.
It was probably just shock talking.
“Do you have a car?” She looked up at him.
He kept his profile to her. “Me? No. My brother has one though. Did you walk all the way up here?”
She shook her head.
He glanced at her. “So you have a car?”
She nodded this time and fought a grimace as a thousand needles jabbed up her left leg. “No keys. In backpack. Lost it.”
He huffed. “You’re in no state to be driving anyway.”
She looked up at him now, trying to see whether she really could trust him, needing to convince the sensible side of her that he wasn’t a danger to her. He looked as if he could handle himself and his black jacket hid some serious muscles she could feel as he moved with her, easily helping her walk. He knew this area too, had managed to find her from wherever he had come from, despite the weather.
“Where are we going?” She peered into the forest he illuminated with the flashlight he gripped in his other hand and then at the sky, trying to make out which direction they were heading.
“I’ll take you to my place.” He noticed it when she tensed, but misinterpreted the reason for it. “I won’t hurt you. As soon as you’re strong enough to leave, you can go. I’ll stay with my brother while you take my cabin.”
She hadn’t feared he would try anything with her. She feared she was going to pull him into danger.
“What’s your name?” Her voice trembled slightly as she asked that.
“Lowe.” His tone was gruff, but the sound of his voice still warmed her.
She tried to smile, but it came off as a grimace as her leg ached. “Cameo.”
He slid her a look, one that put fire in his blue eyes that burned away all trace of gentleness.
“Whatever trouble you’re in, I’ll keep you safe, Cameo. I swear it.”
Chapter 4
Lowe helped Cameo over a particularly rough and uneven patch of ground, holding her gently, careful not to hurt her as she hopped along beside him. Every inch of him was aware of where the slight female pressed against him, how his fingers gripped her ribs beneath her right arm, and how her breath hitched whenever her leg hurt her. The feel of her was driving him crazy, together with the scent of her blood as it swirled around him in the wind, and the fact she had been attacked.
That last one had his bear side wild with a need to rip apart the male who had done this to her, made it uneasy and filled him with a deep desire to tuck her closer to him, sheltering her in his arms.