Saved By Her Bear by Felicity Heaton

Chapter 11

Skye was bone-deep and soul-crushingly tired by the time they were close to the cabin, had never felt more depleted. It was as if her life had been draining from her with each step, leaving her feeling hollow inside, so tired she was dead on her feet.

God, she hoped she remembered where the cabin was and hadn’t missed it or led Karl and his men on a wild goose chase. What if the family had torn it down? She had been lying through her back teeth to Karl and she feared she was about to pay her dues for it.

“How much further?” Cooper sounded as tired as she felt.

She flexed her numbed fingers and looked at the mountains that formed stark white jagged lines against the golden sky as the sun rose.

If she was remembering correctly, the cabin was just south of the pass between this valley and the next one, which meant it had to be a matter of feet from her now. The nearest mountain stood proud in front of the next one she could see, the sweeping slope of it that extended from the base of the high grey cliff beneath the peak cutting across the forest in the distance. That had to be the pass.

“We’re close.” She glanced back at Cooper and offered him a smile. “If no one is there, we can at least get warmed up and rest for a while.”

Wade huffed.

She wanted to pick him up on it and the fact he was clearly going to side against her and Cooper and convince Karl to keep moving if no one was at the cabin, but she ignored him instead. For the last hour, he had been blissfully occupied with carrying out Karl’s order to keep an eye on the forest, meaning he had left her alone.

Skye peered through the trees, trying to catch a glimpse of the cabin.

No one would be there. She knew that in her gut. They were miles from the coordinates Karl had given her for her GPS. The chances of them finding someone out at this remote cabin were extremely slim. Karl wasn’t going to be happy, and she was going to have to calm him down and make him believe she was still useful to him.

Skye wasn’t sure how the hell she was going to manage that.

She swallowed to wet her suddenly parched throat, and tried to banish the images of Karl putting a gun to her head and pulling the trigger that flooded her mind.

Ahead of her, the trees thinned and her heart leaped as she spotted the clearing and then a raised deck that had seen better days. Her nerves shot into overdrive, had her hands shaking as she started thinking of ways to calm Karl and stop him from killing her. She abruptly halted as the cabin came into view between two trees.

Smoke curled from the chimney.

Fear trickled through her for a different reason as guilt churned her stomach, making her feel sick. She had brought Karl and his men to this building and there was someone here. She had placed them in danger.

Karl unzipped his jacket enough that he could pull out his handgun. He signalled to Wade, gesturing for him to head to the left of the cabin, and silently directed Cooper to go to the right. She swallowed her racing heart as the two men moved stealthily through the trees to check out the cabin, studying every angle of it before both settled in a position where they had the small old wooden building that stood in the middle of the small clearing covered.

No escape for whoever was inside.

Skye took a step forwards, instinct pushing her to warn them they were in danger.

Karl seized her right wrist and pulled her back to him, causing her to bump into his chest. He snaked his left arm around the front of her throat, holding her at his mercy, and her brow furrowed as she stared at the cabin, as that urge to call out a warning continued to run through her. She tamped it down as Karl brought his other hand up, flashing the gun he was holding.

“What has this person done to deserve being hunted?” She tried to look over her shoulder at Karl as Wade and Cooper eased to their haunches and aimed their weapons at the cabin.

What if it was the woman they were looking for inside? What if she had led Karl right to her and now they were going to kill her? Oh God. She couldn’t be responsible for an innocent person dying. She just couldn’t. She had to find a way to alert them or get Karl to leave, giving them a chance to escape.

“They owe me a lot of money,” Karl snarled into her ear. “I also think the bitch killed my men.”

Skye jerked back against him as anger flared, hot and fierce in her veins. “The storm probably killed all of them, or the mountains… That bear—”

She cut herself off as the wooden door of the cabin creaked open and her gaze darted to it as Karl pulled her back behind a tree.

She couldn’t believe her eyes.

“Knox?” she breathed as she stared at him where he stood in the doorway, his big body taking up most of the space.

He loomed like a malevolent shadow, his black trousers and boots, and his forest green and black checked fleece shirt that stretched tight over his broad chest, causing him to cut an imposing figure as he nursed a steaming mug and yawned.

“You know this man?” Karl breathed close to her ear and she nodded.

Swallowed hard.

“Um… yeah. Knox… He was a regular at my bar for a while. I… I haven’t seen him for a while though. I wondered where he’d gone.” She dragged her gaze away from him and looked at the cabin.

Did he live here now?

“Prove you know him.” Karl’s grip on her tightened.

She scowled down at his arm. “How? All I can tell you is that he has blond hair beneath that black hat and blue eyes, and a scar… on his right shoulder.”

She could almost feel Karl staring at the side of her face as she told him that, knew the look he would be giving her, and she regretted mentioning the scar and revealing she had seen Knox with his top off at the very least.

It seemed to be enough to make Karl believe her, because he put his gun away and zipped up his coat and signalled to Cooper and Wade, calling off his dogs. The two men stashed their guns, Wade placing his behind a bush and Cooper choosing to slip his behind some logs that stood near the old trunk of a tree that was being used as a chopping block, to the right of the side porch.

Karl released her and pushed her forwards, guiding her out from behind the tree. Her heart thundered, adrenaline rushing through her as she stepped into view.

Nerves turned to relief as Knox noticed her and smiled in a way that hit her as hard today as it had back when he had come to her bar.

He pulled his hat off and his smile widened, his baby blues twinkling with it. “Well, if it isn’t Skye Callaghan. What are you doing so far from home?”

Beside her, Karl visibly relaxed and she wanted to hug Knox for making this so easy on her, proving to the man that they did know each other.

“These men are looking for people they know and they wanted a guide, so here I am.” She shrugged and Knox’s gaze slid from Karl to her, seared her with heat she hadn’t felt in a long time, not since he had walked out of her life.

She refused to get caught up in him again.

But God, he looked so damned good as he stared at her, his dark blond hair damp and tousled and a fine dusting of stubble coating his square jaw. Intense blue eyes held her immobile, doing a better job of locking her in place than Karl’s arm around her throat had.

“They came up here in this weather?” He lifted his mug and blew on the contents, his eyes never leaving hers.

Her heart did an irritating flip.

“They did. They sent GPS coordinates for a place up in this valley and that was the last we heard. Have you seen anyone?” Karl eyed him closely.

Knox just continued to stare at her, apparently unbothered by Karl or the two men who emerged from the trees to his left and right to flank him. “Nope. You want to come in and warm up? I can make more coffee. No milk though. No power up here and I haven’t been able to get to town in months… not since the snow settled in.”

How the hell could he be so relaxed? Either he was an amazing actor or he really didn’t give a damn that three men he knew were armed and dangerous had him surrounded.

She wished she could be as calm as he was.

His blue eyes softened, a hint of worry warming them, and as much as she wanted to be angry with him, as much as she wanted to keep the shield around her heart in place and not let him in again, she couldn’t stop herself from giving away everything she was feeling. She glanced at Karl and then dropped her gaze to her boots, fear getting the better of her.

Fear that she was going to get Knox killed.

She glanced at Knox, her brow furrowing as she thought about that, as it all played out in her head on repeat, tormenting her over and over again as the scenario changed each time but every time he ended up dead.

Knox’s dark eyebrows knitted hard, narrowing his blue eyes, and his broad mouth flattened. All three men tensed as he took a hard step forwards and then swiftly closed the distance between her and him, not seeming to care that Karl stepped up beside her, moving slightly in front of her in a blatant attempt to make Knox back off again and show him who was in charge.

Knox just casually brushed him aside and stepped up to her, halting close to her, and God, he smelled good, exactly the way she remembered as his heat curled around her and she tilted her head back to meet his intense gaze.

“You look tired.” His brow furrowed as he searched her eyes and she swore a war erupted in his, something savage battling the softer side of him, until he looked torn between touching her cheek and punching Karl. His voice dropped to a smooth, tingle-inducing whisper as he held her with his gaze. “Come inside. Get warmed up. Rest awhile. Let me take care of you.”

Those six words hit her hard and she wanted to crumple, wanted to let herself go and stop clinging to the tattered shreds of her courage. She wanted to sink into his arms and let him be strong for her as everything that had happened rolled up on her and hit her hard now that she felt safe.

She nodded.

Knox slid a look at Karl, one that was all malevolence. “You’re all welcome, of course. Maybe I can help you find who you’re looking for. I know the valley well.”

He didn’t wait for Karl to respond.

He slid his arm around Skye’s shoulders as he turned, the feel of his strong arm banded around her comforting her, increasing the urge to surrender to the pressing wave of everything that had happened and break down. She couldn’t. Not yet. When she was safely away from Karl and he was no longer a threat to her, she would let herself break down. She would bawl her damned eyes out for once and just let all the fear, all the hurt, everything she had bottled up flow out of her.

Knox rubbed her arm through her jacket. “You all right?”

She quietly pulled down a breath and nodded. “Coffee sounds good.”

He looked down at the mug and tilted it towards his broad chest as he muttered, “I’m not sure this qualifies as coffee.”

He released her before she could ask what he meant by that and stepped up onto the deck, passing her. Karl caught her arm and she glanced over her shoulder at him, didn’t need to be a mind reader to know what he was silently telling her as he glared at her. No sudden moves. She got the memo loud and clear. She wasn’t going to try anything because she wasn’t going to place Knox in danger. She couldn’t.

She followed Knox into the cabin, Karl hot on her heels. It was small, but neat, and it looked lived in. Did Knox really live here? She studied him as he placed an old metal kettle on top of the ancient log burner, one that looked as if it had been the first to roll off the production line. He looked so relaxed that she actually began to believe he did live here.

But the place didn’t smell very lived in.

It needed a good airing, was musty, and the more she looked around, the more she noticed odd things—like streaks of dust on the floorboards around the rickety wooden chairs, how worn the curtains were, and the fact that the springs on the small bed that stood in the far corner of the room were warped, pretty much completely gone.

She had the feeling she had been right and no one had been here since the old man had died, but Knox had come and tidied it in a hurry to give Karl and his men the impression someone did.

Wade lingered near the door. Cooper was polite enough to pick a chair to sit on. Karl stood sentinel near her, to her right, closer to the log burner.

Skye sat on the chair nearest Knox, diligently keeping her eyes off his backside as he leaned over the kettle. Her gaze roamed over him, up his arm to his face, and she passed the time by tracing his profile, something she had done more than once when they had been together. She had slipped into a sort of trance and spent a good fifteen minutes just staring at him like this once, back at her bar.

That had been the night one thing had led to another, and he had ended up breaking her damned heart.

His blue eyes slid to lock with hers, startling her out of her reverie.

“You’re as beautiful as I remember.” His whiskey-smooth voice warmed her, intoxicating her in that way it always had, and she drifted in the hazy feeling it induced in her for a moment.

And then snapped herself out of it and scowled at him.

“And you’re as arrogant as I remember.” She regretted that when the smile that had been curling his lips fell away and he averted his gaze.

He had never been arrogant. Not with her. He had been bold and brash, had been quick to get into fights and had spoken his mind to more than one man at the bar, acting just as arrogant as she had labelled him, but when it had come to her, he had been a different man.

Kind. Attentive. Sweet even.

Like she brought out another side of him.

One that, more than once, he had looked irritated about. She wasn’t the only one who wore armour, hiding the softer side of herself behind a shield that stopped anyone from getting too close.

She wasn’t the only one who was afraid of getting hurt.

But she was the one who had ended up hurt when he had walked out on her in the dead of night. She had learned her lesson when she had woken to find him gone, not even a note left for her.

Knox poured the coffee into several mugs and held the first one out to her, an apology in his eyes. She took it and busied herself in looking at it, trying to shut him and the guilt that squirmed in her stomach out. He had hurt her and he deserved to get the cold shoulder from her. Didn’t he? Part of her wasn’t sure. Part of her didn’t want to punish him.

That part of her was pleased to see he was alive, was just happy to be close to him again. She wasn’t sure what to make of that. She sipped her coffee as Knox handed mugs out to Karl and the others. Grimaced. Knox was right about it. It was hardly coffee. It tasted old and disgusting, and she didn’t want to think about how out of date it was.

Either he had really bad taste in coffee or he didn’t live here as she suspected.

Wind blew across the deck of the cabin, slamming the door shut, and Knox turned towards the window and stared out of it. Skye looked through the dirty panes too, watching the snow sweeping past.

“Weather is closing in. Might be another storm coming.” Knox looked at her. “Maybe you ought to think about heading back down the valley before it cuts you all off.”

“That’s not going to happen. I need to find my friends. It’s important.” Karl set his mug down on the bench that acted as the kitchen counter.

“They’re probably dead.” Knox stared him down. “You need to get Skye off this mountain before the snow hits.”

Darkness reigned in his eyes and she had the feeling that he was going to hit Karl if she didn’t act fast.

“There was a bear attack,” she blurted the first thing that came to her. “Karl is a bit upset because of it. The bear killed his friend.”

Knox was quick to look away from everyone and stomp to the window. “A bear, huh? This deep in winter? Something must’ve pissed it off.”

She didn’t miss the way he looked at Wade, or the fact that hunger for violence that blazed in his eyes hadn’t gone anywhere. Someone had definitely pissed Knox off, and she had the feeling it wasn’t Karl who was top of his list. He looked like he was sizing Wade up for a coffin.

Because he had seen how Wade had acted around her?

Because he had seen how frightened she was of Wade?

She didn’t want to think it might be that, even when her heart screamed that it was. Knox was trying to help her with her problem. He had led her to this place and she was sure he had a plan, a way of getting her safely away from Karl and his men. Knox cared about her.

She cursed. If he cared about her, then why the hell had he left while she had been sleeping? Why had he never tried to contact her? Never come to see her?

He looked at her as he turned and leaned against the wall near the window, his blue gaze steady and his air calm, but she could see the agitation in him, knew him well enough to spot that he was on edge around these men.

Or maybe it was being around her that had him so uneasy.

She wanted to ask him the thousand questions that had plagued her in the years since he had walked out on her, but she didn’t want to lower her shield, and asking him would strip her armour from her and leave her exposed and vulnerable.

She forced herself to remain on topic instead. “I’m not sure what could have woken a bear at this time of year.”

Knox grunted and shrugged. “Takes less than you think. Rowdy neighbours maybe? You been making lots of noise?”

“No.” Karl’s expression hardened as Knox slid him a look that called him a liar. “You’re sure you haven’t seen anyone or heard anything?”

Knox pulled a thoughtful face, pursing his lips as he frowned. He shook his head.

“Is there anywhere else our friends might have ended up?” Karl glanced at Wade.

The bastard meant to silently order his man to be ready to take Knox down. She shot to her feet, drawing Wade’s focus to her instead, and froze. What now? Every man was looking at her. Her pulse thundered and she glanced at them all, and then smiled shakily.

“I thought I heard something. Just a bit jittery I guess.” A lame excuse, but the best she could come up with on the spot.

“Nothing out there that’s going to hurt you.” Knox gave her a look that told her nothing in this cabin would hurt her either.

She wasn’t worried about herself. She was worried about him. She kept facing him as she slid a look towards Karl, trying to tell him that the man was up to something.

Knox looked from her to Karl, darkness reigning in his eyes again. He rubbed his jaw, scratching his stubble close to the dimple in his chin. A dimple she distinctly remembered kissing once. It had made Knox smile, and then he had banded his arms around her, lifted her as if she weighed nothing and kissed her breathless.

She felt a little breathless all over again as she remembered the feel of his lips against hers, how intense his kiss had been, spreading warmth through her that had reached right down to her soul and set her on fire for him.

His gaze skimmed over her, darted back as he pulled in a breath. He stared at her, the hunger that surfaced in his gaze heating her, rousing that ache he had always stirred in her whenever he had looked at her like that—as if he wanted to devour her.

She swallowed hard.

Wade moved, stepping into the room, and she glanced at him. She didn’t like the way he scowled at her and then at Knox, and looked as if he was contemplating hitting him or worse.

Knox casually looked across at Wade and stared him down until Wade looked away from him.

Unfortunately, that meant Wade was looking at her again. She kept her eyes locked on Knox, trying to shut Wade out, telling herself that Wade wouldn’t try anything, not while they were in the cabin at least.

“There’s a lodge up the valley, near the glacier.” Knox dropped his hand to his side, his fingers curled into a fist, and then he folded his arms across his chest.

She had the distinct impression he had been contemplating punching Wade.

“There is?” Her eyebrows rose as she stared at Knox.

He nodded. “Private property. I’m not surprised you don’t know about it. People who own it don’t like trespassers. If your friends went up that way, they’re probably dead.”

It didn’t deter Karl. “Do you have a map you can point it out on? I want to check it out.”

“No. Don’t need a map.” Knox tapped his temple. “It’s all up here. I know every inch of this valley.”

Skye didn’t like the way Karl looked at him, as if he was considering trading up, forcing Knox to guide him instead. Knox looked over his wide shoulder at the window.

“Weather is closing in fast. Last chance to get out of Dodge.” His blue gaze slid back to Karl, as cold as the glacier he had mentioned.

“We’ll be on our way then.” Karl signalled to Wade and Cooper.

Relief swept through her and she silently thanked whatever higher power was watching over her as she moved to let Karl pass her. She was glad he had seen sense and they were going back to town.

Time slowed for her as Karl reached into his jacket and pulled out his gun, aiming it right at Knox.

“And you’ll be leading the way to that lodge for me.”